1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1960–61 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1960–61 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1961
Tournament dates	March 14 – 25, 1961
National Championship	Municipal Auditorium; Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Champions	Cincinnati
Helms National Champions	Cincinnati
Other champions	Providence (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Jerry Lucas, Ohio State
	← 1959–60 1961–62 →

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 Utah 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.^[1] The Saint Joseph's victory later was vacated because of the gambling scandal.^[2]

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[3]^[4]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Bradley
3	Detroit
4	Indiana
5	North Carolina
6	St. Bonaventure
7	St. John's
8	Duke
9	Louisville
10	NC State
11	Auburn
12	Maryland
13	UCLA
14	Utah State
15	Georgia Tech
16 (tie)	Kansas
16 (tie)	Wichita
18	Utah
19	Illinois
20 (tie)	Kansas State
20 (tie)	Kentucky

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Bradley
3	Indiana
4	Kansas
5	North Carolina
6 (tie)	St. Bonaventure
6 (tie)	Utah State
8	Cincinnati
9	Detroit
10	St. John's
11	Kansas State
12	Georgia Tech
13	Providence
14	Providence
15	Utah
16	Duke
17	California
18	Washington
19	Western Kentucky State
20	Dayton

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Houston Cougars	Missouri Valley Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[5]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	USC	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Len Chappell, Wake Forest^[6]	1961 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Wake Forest
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona State & New Mexico State		No Tournament
Ivy League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. John's		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Saint Joseph's		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Kentucky State, Morehead State, & Western Kentucky State	None selected	No Tournament
Skyline Conference	Colorado State & Utah		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Mississippi State	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Jeff Cohen, William and Mary^[7]	1961 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	George Washington^[8]
Southwest Conference	Texas Tech	Carroll Broussard, Texas A&M	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Loyola (Calif.)	Tom Meschery, Saint Mary's	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Rhode Island	None selected	No Tournament

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Philadelphia Big 5	St. Joseph's	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

National Semifinals			National Finals

E	St. Joseph's	69

ME	Ohio State	95
			ME	Ohio State	65

			MW	Cincinnati	70^OT
MW	Cincinnati	82

W	Utah	67

Third Place – St. Joseph's 127, Utah 120 ^(4OT)

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals			Finals

	Saint Louis	67

	Dayton	60
				Saint Louis	59

				Providence	62
	Holy Cross	83

	Providence	90

Third Place – Holy Cross 85, Dayton 67

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

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	New Coach	Reason
Arizona	Fred Enke	Bruce Larson
Baylor	Bill Henderson	Bill Menefee
Holy Cross	Roy Leenig	Frank Oftring
North Carolina	Frank McGuire	Dean Smith	McGuire resigned to become head coach of the Philadelphia Warriors. 30 year-old assistant Smith was elevated to the head coaching spot.^[9]
Texas Western	Harold Davis	Don Haskins

References

^ The Sports Network. "The Sports Network - Men's College Basketball". Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
^ "Review of the Literature".
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ "'Frank McGuire resigns as basketball coach at UNC". Asheville Citizen-Times. August 3, 1961. p. 28. Retrieved May 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[1] The Sports Network. "The Sports Network - Men's College Basketball". Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-04-02.

[2] "Review of the Literature".

[ESPN-3] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[4] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[5] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.

[6] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14

[7] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[8] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[9] "'Frank McGuire resigns as basketball coach at UNC". Asheville Citizen-Times. August 3, 1961. p. 28. Retrieved May 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

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v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
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