The 1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1960, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1961, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Cincinnati Bearcats won their first NCAA national championship with a 70–65 victory in overtime over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Season headlines A gambling scandal rocked the NCAA University Division and resulted in the arrests of 37 students from 22 different colleges and universities. In the 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament national third-place game, Saint Joseph's defeated 127–120 in four overtimes, tying the record for the longest game in NCAA tournament history, set in 1956 in a first-round game between Canisius and North Carolina State. The Saint Joseph's victory later was vacated because of the gambling scandal. On March 25, 1961, two teams from Ohio, Cincinnati and Ohio State, met in the 1961 NCAA University Division basketball championship game, the first time two teams from the same U.S. state had played one another for the NCAA championship. Cincinnati defeated Ohio State 70–65 in overtime. Ed Jucker of Cincinnati became the first head coach to win the NCAA championship his first year at a school.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated PressRankingTeam1Ohio State2Bradley3Detroit4Indiana5North Carolina6St. Bonaventure7St. John's8Duke9Louisville10NC State11Auburn12Maryland13UCLA14Utah State15Georgia Tech16(tie)KansasWichita18Utah19Illinois20(tie)Kansas StateKentucky UPI CoachesRankingTeam1Ohio State2Bradley3Indiana4Kansas5North Carolina6(tie)St. BonaventureUtah State8Cincinnati9Detroit10St. John's11Kansas State12Georgia Tech13Providence14Providence15Utah16Duke17California18Washington19Western Kentucky State20Dayton
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Missouri Valley Conference NCAA University Division independent NCAA University Division independent non-University Division NCAA University Division independent non-University Division
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAthletic Association of Western Universities USC None selected No TournamentAtlantic Coast Conference North Carolina Len Chappell,Wake Forest2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1961 ACC men's basketball tournament Reynolds Coliseum(Raleigh, North Carolina) Wake ForestBig Eight Conference Kansas State None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Ohio State None selected No TournamentBorder Conference Arizona State & No TournamentIvy League Princeton None selected No TournamentMetropolitan New York Conference St. John's No TournamentMid-American Conference Ohio None selected No TournamentMiddle Atlantic Conference Saint Joseph's No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Cincinnati None selected No TournamentOhio Valley Conference , & None selected No TournamentSkyline Conference Colorado State & Utah No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Mississippi State None selected No TournamentSouthern Conference West Virginia Jeff Cohen, 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1961 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Arena(Richmond, Virginia) George Washington2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference Texas Tech Carroll Broussard, No TournamentWest Coast Athletic Conference Loyola (Calif.) Tom Meschery, No TournamentYankee Conference Rhode Island None selected No Tournament Conference standings
University Division independents A total of 46 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, (20–3) had the best winning percentage (.870), while (24–4) and (24–5) finished with the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Saint Joseph's Bruce Drysdale, Temple Saint Joseph's finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Terry Dischinger F Junior Purdue Roger Kaiser G Senior Georgia Tech Jerry Lucas F/C Junior Ohio State Tom Stith G/F Senior St. Bonaventure Chet Walker F Junior Bradley
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Walt Bellamy C Senior Indiana Frank Burgess G Senior Gonzaga Tony Jackson G Senior St. John's Billy McGill C Junior Utah Larry Siegfried G Senior Ohio State
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Jerry Lucas, Ohio State Associated Press Player of the Year:Jerry Lucas, Ohio State UPI Player of the Year: Jerry Lucas, Ohio State Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Jerry Lucas, Ohio State Sporting News Player of the Year: Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
Major coach of the year awards
Henry Iba Award: Fred Taylor, Ohio State NABC Coach of the Year: Fred Taylor, Ohio State UPI Coach of the Year: Fred Taylor, Ohio State
Other major awards
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Bruce Drysdale, Temple NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Tony Jackson, St. John's
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonArizonaFred EnkeBruce LarsonBaylorBill HendersonBill MenefeeColumbiaArchie OldmanKenneth HunterJack RohanHoly CrossRoy LeenigFrank OftringKent StateBill BertkaRobert F. DollLoyola (Calif.)Bill DonovanJohn ArndtNorth CarolinaFrank McGuireDean Smith McGuire resigned to become head coach of the Philadelphia Warriors. Thirty-year-old assistant Smith was elevated to the head coaching spot. PrincetonFranklin CapponJake McCandlessSt. BonaventureEddie DonovanLarry WeiseTexas TechPolk RobinsonGene GibsonTexas WesternHarold DavisDon HaskinsUtah StateH. Cecil BakerLaDell AndersonVanderbiltBob PolkRoy SkinnerVillanovaAlexander SeveranceJack Kraft
References