1960–61 NCAA University Division 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

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. 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

Main article: 1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.

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 Wichita 18 Utah 19 Illinois 20 (tie) Kansas State Kentucky

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Ohio State 2 Bradley 3 Indiana 4 Kansas 5 North Carolina 6 (tie) St. Bonaventure 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

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	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	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	1961 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	George Washington
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

Conference standings

1960–61 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 7 USC 9 – 3   .750 21 – 8   .724 UCLA 7 – 5   .583 18 – 8   .692 Washington 6 – 6   .500 13 – 13   .500 California 5 – 7   .417 16 – 10   .615 Stanford 3 – 9   .250 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 ACC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 North Carolina 12 – 2   .857 19 – 4   .826 Wake Forest † 11 – 3   .786 19 – 11   .633 No. 10 Duke 10 – 4   .714 22 – 6   .786 NC State 8 – 6   .571 16 – 9   .640 Maryland 6 – 8   .429 14 – 12   .538 Clemson 5 – 9   .357 10 – 16   .385 South Carolina 2 – 12   .143 9 – 17   .346 Virginia 2 – 12   .143 3 – 23   .115 † 1961 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Kansas State 12 – 2   .857 22 – 5   .815 Kansas 10 – 4   .714 17 – 8   .680 Oklahoma State 8 – 6   .571 14 – 11   .560 Missouri 7 – 7   .500 11 – 13   .458 Iowa State 6 – 8   .429 14 – 11   .560 Nebraska 4 – 10   .286 10 – 14   .417 Oklahoma 2 – 12   .143 10 – 15   .400 Colorado 7 – 7   .500 15 – 10   .600 Rankings from AP Poll
1960–61 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Ohio State 14 – 0   1.000 27 – 1   .964 No. 8 Iowa 10 – 4   .714 18 – 6   .750 Purdue 10 – 4   .714 16 – 7   .696 Indiana 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625 Minnesota 8 – 6   .571 10 – 13   .435 Northwestern 6 – 8   .429 10 – 12   .455 Illinois 5 – 9   .357 9 – 15   .375 Wisconsin 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 Michigan State 3 – 11   .214 7 – 17   .292 Michigan 2 – 12   .143 6 – 18   .250 Rankings from https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-ten/1961.html	1960–61 Border Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Arizona State–Tempe 9 – 1   .900 23 – 6   .793 New Mexico State 9 – 1   .900 19 – 5   .792 Arizona 5 – 5   .500 11 – 15   .423 Texas Western 4 – 6   .400 12 – 12   .500 Hardin–Simmons 2 – 8   .200 12 – 14   .462 West Texas State 1 – 9   .100 7 – 16   .304 Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 Ivy League standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Princeton 11 – 3   .786 18 – 8   .692 Pennsylvania 10 – 4   .714 16 – 9   .640 Yale 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Brown 8 – 6   .571 11 – 14   .440 Cornell 7 – 7   .500 14 – 10   .583 Harvard 4 – 10   .286 11 – 13   .458 Columbia 4 – 10   .286 8 – 15   .348 Dartmouth 4 – 10   .286 5 – 19   .208 Rankings from AP Poll
1960–61 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT St. John's 4 – 0   1.000 20 – 5   .800 NYU 2 – 1   .667 12 – 11   .522 St. Francis (NY) 2 – 1   .667 10 – 10   .500 CCNY 1 – 1   .500 7 – 10   .412 Manhattan 1 – 2   .333 8 – 11   .421 Brooklyn 0 – 2   .000 4 – 14   .222 Fordham 0 – 3   .000 7 – 16   .304 Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Ohio 10 – 2   .833 17 – 7   .708 Toledo 8 – 4   .667 15 – 8   .652 Miami (Ohio) 7 – 5   .583 12 – 12   .500 Marshall 5 – 7   .417 11 – 13   .458 Bowling Green State 4 – 8   .333 10 – 14   .417 Western Michigan 4 – 8   .333 10 – 14   .417 Kent State 4 – 8   .333 9 – 14   .391 Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 MAC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT University Saint Joseph's* 8 – 0   1.000 25 – 5   .833** Temple 9 – 1   .900 20 – 8   .714 La Salle 7 – 2   .778 15 – 7   .682 Gettysburg 8 – 4   .667 19 – 6   .760 Lafayette 6 – 6   .500 16 – 8   .667 Bucknell 5 – 6   .455 12 – 11   .522 Rutgers 3 – 6   .333 11 – 10   .524 Lehigh 4 – 10   .286 5 – 16   .238 Delaware 2 – 7   .222 8 – 11   .421 Muhlenberg 2 – 12   .143 5 – 20   .200 College–Northern Albright † 12 – 1   .923 19 – 9   .679 No. 6 Hofstra 10 – 1   .909 21 – 4   .840 Susquehanna 9 – 4   .692 17 – 6   .739 Moravian 11 – 5   .688 13 – 7   .650 Elizabethtown 7 – 7   .500 11 – 11   .500 Lebanon Valley 8 – 8   .500 10 – 9   .526 Wagner 5 – 5   .500 9 – 15   .375 Lycoming 6 – 8   .429 9 – 13   .409 Scranton 4 – 8   .333 5 – 18   .217 Wilkes 4 – 11   .267 7 – 15   .318 Upsala 2 – 9   .182 –   – Juniata 1 – 10   .091 1 – 17   .056 Stevens*** 0 – 3   .000 –   – College–Southern Drexel 11 – 2   .846 12 – 5   .706 Western Maryland 8 – 2   .800 16 – 7   .696 Haverford 8 – 4   .667 12 – 5   .706 Dickinson 9 – 5   .643 –   – Franklin & Marshall 6 – 7   .462 8 – 11   .421 Pennsylvania Military 5 – 10   .333 –   – Ursinus 4 – 9   .308 6 – 11   .353 Swarthmore 3 – 10   .231 3 – 13   .188 Johns Hopkins 1 – 9   .100 4 – 16   .200 Washington (MD)*** 4 – 4   .500 –   – West Chester*** 3 – 3   .500 –   – † 1961 MAC College Division men's basketball tournament winner * – Regular-season University Division champion ** – Overall record later adjuted to 22–4 (.846) *** – Ineligible for championship
1960–61 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Cincinnati 10 – 2   .833 27 – 3   .900 No. 6 Bradley 9 – 3   .750 21 – 5   .808 Drake 7 – 5   .583 19 – 7   .731 Saint Louis 7 – 5   .583 21 – 9   .700 Wichita Municipal 6 – 6   .500 18 – 8   .692 Tulsa 2 – 10   .167 8 – 17   .320 North Texas State 1 – 11   .083 2 – 22   .083 Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Utah 12 – 2   .857 23 – 8   .742 Colorado State 12 – 2   .857 17 – 9   .654 BYU 9 – 5   .643 15 – 11   .577 Montana 7 – 7   .500 14 – 9   .609 Denver 6 – 8   .429 12 – 14   .462 Utah State 4 – 10   .286 12 – 14   .462 Wyoming 3 – 11   .214 7 – 18   .280 New Mexico 3 – 11   .214 6 – 17   .261 Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Western Kentucky State 9 – 3   .750 18 – 8   .692 Eastern Kentucky State 9 – 3   .750 15 – 9   .625 Morehead State 9 – 3   .750 19 – 12   .613 Murray State 7 – 5   .583 13 – 10   .565 Middle Tennessee 4 – 8   .333 9 – 14   .391 Tennessee Tech 3 – 9   .250 6 – 13   .316 East Tennessee State 1 – 11   .083 9 – 15   .375 Rankings from AP Poll
1960–61 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Mississippi State 11 – 3   .786 19 – 6   .760 Vanderbilt 10 – 4   .714 19 – 5   .792 Kentucky 10 – 4   .714 19 – 9   .679 Florida 9 – 5   .643 15 – 11   .577 Auburn 8 – 6   .571 15 – 7   .682 Georgia Tech 6 – 8   .429 13 – 13   .500 Tulane 6 – 8   .429 11 – 13   .458 LSU 6 – 8   .429 11 – 14   .440 Ole Miss 5 – 9   .357 10 – 14   .417 Alabama 5 – 9   .357 7 – 18   .280 Tennessee 4 – 10   .286 10 – 15   .400 Georgia 4 – 10   .286 8 – 18   .308 Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 9 West Virginia 11 – 1   .917 23 – 4   .852 Virginia Tech 12 – 3   .800 15 – 7   .682 The Citadel 10 – 3   .769 17 – 8   .680 William & Mary 9 – 6   .600 14 – 10   .583 Furman 6 – 7   .462 15 – 11   .577 Richmond 5 – 11   .313 9 – 14   .391 George Washington † 3 – 9   .250 9 – 17   .346 VMI 3 – 11   .214 5 – 17   .227 Davidson 2 – 10   .167 9 – 14   .391 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas Tech 11 – 3   .786 15 – 10   .600 Texas A&M 10 – 4   .714 16 – 8   .667 Arkansas 9 – 5   .643 16 – 7   .696 Texas 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583 Rice 7 – 7   .500 11 – 12   .478 SMU 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 TCU 3 – 11   .214 5 – 19   .208 Baylor 2 – 12   .143 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll
1960–61 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Loyola (Calif.) 10 – 2   .833 20 – 7   .741 Saint Mary's 8 – 4   .667 19 – 7   .731 Santa Clara 8 – 4   .667 18 – 9   .667 San Francisco 8 – 4   .667 17 – 11   .607 San Jose State –   – 11 – 14   .440 Pepperdine 3 – 9   .250 9 – 16   .360 Pacific 0 – 12   .000 5 – 21   .192 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll	1960–61 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rhode Island 9 – 1   .900 18 – 9   .667 Maine 7 – 3   .700 18 – 5   .783 Connecticut 6 – 4   .600 11 – 13   .458 Massachusetts 4 – 6   .400 16 – 10   .615 Vermont 3 – 7   .300 9 – 11   .450 New Hampshire 1 – 9   .100 6 – 18   .250

University Division independents

A total of 46 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Memphis State (20–3) had the best winning percentage (.870), while St. Bonaventure (24–4) and Providence (24–5) finished with the most wins.

1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Memphis State –   – 20 – 3   .870 No. 3 St. Bonaventure –   – 24 – 4   .857 Providence –   – 24 – 5   .828 Holy Cross –   – 21 – 5   .808 Niagara –   – 16 – 5   .762 Miami (Fla.) –   – 20 – 7   .741 Louisville –   – 21 – 8   .724 Army –   – 17 – 7   .708 Seattle –   – 18 – 8   .692 Dayton –   – 20 – 9   .690 Duquesne –   – 15 – 7   .682 DePaul –   – 17 – 8   .680 Detroit –   – 18 – 9   .667 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 15 – 8   .652 Portland –   – 16 – 9   .640 Xavier –   – 17 – 10   .630 Seton Hall –   – 15 – 9   .625 Boston College –   – 14 – 9   .609 Houston –   – 17 – 11   .607 Marquette –   – 16 – 11   .593 Florida State –   – 14 – 10   .583 Butler –   – 15 – 11   .577 Canisius –   – 13 – 10   .565 Oregon –   – 15 – 12   .556 Centenary (La.) –   – 14 – 12   .538 Colgate –   – 14 – 12   .538 Oklahoma City –   – 14 – 12   .538 Oregon State –   – 14 – 12   .538 Navy –   – 10 – 9   .526 Georgetown –   – 11 – 10   .524 Pittsburgh –   – 12 – 11   .522 Idaho State –   – 13 – 12   .520 Air Force –   – 12 – 12   .500 Iona –   – 10 – 11   .476 Notre Dame –   – 12 – 14   .462 Penn State –   – 11 – 13   .458 Villanova –   – 11 – 13   .458 Gonzaga –   – 11 – 15   .423 Montana State –   – 10 – 15   .400 Boston University –   – 9 – 14   .391 Idaho –   – 10 – 16   .385 Washington State –   – 10 – 16   .385 Creighton –   – 8 – 17   .320 Loyola (La.) –   – 6 – 18   .250 Saint Francis (Pa.) –   – 6 – 19   .240 Syracuse –   – 4 – 19   .174 Rankings from AP Poll

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

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1961 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	St. Joseph's	69
	ME	Ohio State	95
						ME	Ohio State	65
						MW	Cincinnati	70OT
	MW	Cincinnati	82
	W	Utah	67

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

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1961 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

Main article: 1961 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

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.

Team	Former Coach	Interim 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. Thirty-year-old assistant Smith was elevated to the head coaching spot.
Texas Western	Harold Davis		Don Haskins