1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1959, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1960 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 19, 1960, at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The Ohio State Buckeyes won their first NCAA national championship with a 75–55 victory over the California Golden Bears.

1959–60 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1960
Tournament dates	March 7 – 19, 1960
National Championship	Cow Palace Daly City, California
NCAA Champions	Ohio State
Helms National Champions	Ohio State
Other champions	Bradley (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
← 1958–59 1960–61 →

Season headlines

• The Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) began play. It was renamed the Pacific-8 Conference in 1968, the Pacific-10 Conference in 1978, and the Pac-12 Conference in 2011.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[1][2]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 Cincinnati 2 West Virginia 3 Ohio State 4 California 5 Bradley 6 Utah 7 Saint Louis 8 Georgia Tech 9 Indiana 10 Illinois 11 Michigan State 12 NYU 13 Kentucky 14 La Salle 15 Villanova 16 Duke 17 Detroit 18 Texas A&M 19 Iowa 20 USC

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Cincinnati 2 California 3 West Virginia 4 Ohio State 5 North Carolina 6 Kentucky 7 Saint Louis 8 Indiana 9 Kansas 10 Utah 11 Saint Joseph's 12 Bradley 13 Louisville 14 Kansas State 15 (tie) USC Georgia Tech 17 Wake Forest 18 (tie) St. John's Villanova 20 (tie) NC State UCLA

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
California Golden Bears	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
UCLA Bruins	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Idaho Vandals	Pacific Coast Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Oregon Ducks	Pacific Coast Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Oregon State Beavers	Pacific Coast Conference	NCAA University Division independent
USC Trojans	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Stanford Cardinal	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Washington Huskies	Pacific Coast Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Washington and Lee Generals	NCAA University Division independent	non-University Division
Washington State Cougars	Pacific Coast Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[3]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	California	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Lee Shaffer, North Carolina[4]	1960 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Duke
Big Eight Conference	Kansas & Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	New Mexico State		No Tournament
Ivy League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	NYU		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
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Utah		No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	None selected	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Auburn	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Virginia Tech	Jerry West, West Virginia[5]	1960 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia[6]
Southwest Conference	Texas	Jay Arnette, Texas	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Santa Clara	Jerry Grote, Loyola (Calif.)	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1959–60 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 California 11 – 1   .917 28 – 2   .933 UCLA 7 – 5   .583 14 – 12   .538 USC 5 – 7   .417 16 – 11   .593 Stanford 4 – 7   .364 11 – 14   .440 Washington 2 – 9   .182 15 – 13   .536 Rankings from AP Poll[7]	1959–60 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Carolina 12 – 2   .857 18 – 6   .750 No. 19 Wake Forest 12 – 2   .857 21 – 7   .750 Maryland 9 – 5   .643 15 – 8   .652 No. 18 Duke † 7 – 7   .500 17 – 11   .607 South Carolina 6 – 8   .429 10 – 16   .385 NC State 5 – 9   .357 11 – 15   .423 Clemson 4 – 10   .286 10 – 16   .385 Virginia 1 – 13   .071 6 – 18   .250 † 1960 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[8]	1959–60 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas 10 – 4   .714 19 – 9   .679 Kansas State 10 – 4   .714 16 – 10   .615 Oklahoma 9 – 5   .643 14 – 11   .560 Colorado 7 – 7   .500 13 – 11   .542 Iowa State 7 – 7   .500 15 – 9   .625 Missouri 5 – 9   .357 12 – 13   .480 Oklahoma State 4 – 10   .286 10 – 15   .400 Nebraska 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll[9]
1959–60 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Ohio State 13 – 1   .929 25 – 3   .893 No. 7 Indiana 11 – 3   .786 20 – 4   .833 Illinois 8 – 6   .571 16 – 7   .696 Minnesota 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Northwestern 8 – 6   .571 11 – 12   .478 Iowa 6 – 8   .429 14 – 10   .583 Purdue 6 – 8   .429 11 – 12   .478 Michigan State 5 – 9   .357 10 – 11   .476 Wisconsin 4 – 10   .286 8 – 16   .333 Michigan 1 – 13   .071 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll	1959–60 Border Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT New Mexico A&M 8 – 2   .800 20 – 7   .741 Arizona State–Tempe 7 – 3   .700 16 – 7   .696 West Texas State 7 – 3   .700 11 – 9   .550 Arizona 4 – 6   .400 10 – 14   .417 Hardin–Simmons 3 – 7   .300 8 – 18   .308 Texas Western 1 – 9   .100 6 – 19   .240 Rankings from AP Poll	1959–60 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Princeton 11 – 3   .786 15 – 9   .625 Dartmouth 10 – 4   .714 14 – 9   .609 Cornell 8 – 6   .571 13 – 10   .565 Pennsylvania 8 – 6   .571 14 – 11   .560 Brown 8 – 6   .571 13 – 12   .520 Harvard 6 – 8   .429 12 – 11   .522 Yale 3 – 11   .214 6 – 17   .261 Columbia 2 – 12   .143 9 – 14   .391 Rankings from AP Poll
1959–60 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 12 NYU 4 – 0   1.000 22 – 5   .815 No. 20 St. John's 5 – 1   .833 17 – 8   .680 St. Francis (NY) 2 – 1   .667 13 – 8   .619 Manhattan 2 – 2   .500 13 – 11   .542 Fordham 1 – 3   .250 8 – 18   .308 CCNY 1 – 5   .167 4 – 14   .222 Brooklyn 0 – 3   .000 5 – 13   .278 Rankings from AP Poll	1959–60 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Ohio 10 – 2   .833 16 – 8   .667 Toledo 9 – 3   .750 18 – 6   .750 Bowling Green State 6 – 6   .500 10 – 14   .417 Miami (Ohio) 6 – 6   .500 8 – 16   .333 Western Michigan 5 – 7   .417 13 – 11   .542 Marshall 4 – 8   .333 10 – 13   .435 Kent State 2 – 10   .167 7 – 16   .304 Rankings from AP Poll	1959–60 MAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT University Saint Joseph's* 7 – 1   .875 20 – 7   .741 La Salle 6 – 1   .857 16 – 6   .727 Temple 9 – 2   .818 17 – 9   .654 Gettysburg 7 – 3   .700 15 – 11   .577 Bucknell 6 – 5   .545 10 – 11   .476 Rutgers 4 – 4   .500 11 – 14   .440 Lafayette 6 – 7   .462 12 – 13   .480 Lehigh 4 – 10   .286 6 – 16   .273 Muhlenberg 3 – 11   .214 8 – 18   .308 Delaware 1 – 9   .100 7 – 16   .304 College–Northern Wagner 10 – 0   1.000 –   – Albright 10 – 3   .769 16 – 8   .667 Wilkes –   – 6 – 7   .462 Juniata –   – 5 – 12   .294 Elizabethtown –   – –   – Lebanon Valley –   – –   – Moravian –   – –   – Stevens** –   – –   – Hofstra –   – –   – Susquehanna –   – –   – Lycoming –   – –   – Scranton –   – –   – Upsala –   – –   – College–Southern Drexel † 10 – 4   .714 12 – 7   .632 Pennsylvania Military 10 – 7   .588 12 – 8   .600 Ursinus –   – 9 – 6   .600 Haverford 3 – 9   .250 7 – 9   .438 Washington (MD)** –   – 10 – 9   .526 Franklin & Marshall –   – 3 – 14   .176 Johns Hopkins –   – –   – Swarthmore –   – –   – West Chester** –   – –   – Western Maryland –   – –   – Dickinson –   – –   – † College Division playoff game winner * – University Division regular-season champion ** – Ineligible for championship
1959–60 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Cincinnati 13 – 1   .929 28 – 2   .933 No. 4 Bradley 12 – 2   .857 27 – 2   .931 No. 15 Saint Louis 9 – 5   .643 19 – 8   .704 Wichita Municipal 6 – 8   .429 14 – 12   .538 Houston 6 – 8   .429 13 – 12   .520 Tulsa 5 – 9   .357 9 – 17   .346 Drake 4 – 10   .286 11 – 14   .440 North Texas State 1 – 13   .071 7 – 19   .269 Rankings from AP Poll[10]	1959–60 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 6 Utah 13 – 1   .929 26 – 3   .897 No. 8 Utah State 12 – 2   .857 24 – 5   .828 Colorado State 10 – 4   .714 13 – 10   .565 Denver 8 – 6   .571 13 – 11   .542 BYU 5 – 9   .357 8 – 17   .320 Montana 3 – 11   .214 7 – 17   .292 New Mexico 3 – 11   .214 6 – 19   .240 Wyoming 2 – 12   .143 5 – 19   .208 Rankings from AP Poll	1959–60 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Western Kentucky State 10 – 2   .833 21 – 7   .750 Eastern Kentucky State 9 – 3   .750 14 – 8   .636 Tennessee Tech 7 – 4   .636 13 – 9   .591 Murray State 7 – 4   .636 12 – 11   .522 Morehead State 3 – 7   .300 5 – 14   .263 East Tennessee State 2 – 10   .167 9 – 14   .391 Middle Tennessee 2 – 10   .167 9 – 14   .391 Rankings from AP Poll
1959–60 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 11 Auburn 12 – 2   .857 19 – 3   .864 No. 13 Georgia Tech 11 – 3   .786 22 – 6   .786 Kentucky 10 – 4   .714 18 – 7   .720 Ole Miss 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625 Tulane 8 – 6   .571 13 – 11   .542 Vanderbilt 7 – 7   .500 14 – 9   .609 Tennessee 7 – 7   .500 12 – 11   .522 Georgia 6 – 8   .429 12 – 13   .480 Mississippi State 5 – 9   .357 12 – 13   .480 Alabama 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 Florida 3 – 11   .214 6 – 16   .273 LSU 3 – 11   .214 5 – 18   .217 Rankings from AP Poll[11]	1959–60 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Virginia Tech 12 – 1   .923 20 – 6   .769 No. 5 West Virginia † 9 – 2   .818 26 – 5   .839 William & Mary 10 – 5   .667 15 – 11   .577 The Citadel 8 – 4   .667 15 – 8   .652 George Washington 7 – 5   .583 15 – 11   .577 Furman 6 – 7   .462 9 – 16   .360 VMI 3 – 11   .214 4 – 16   .200 Richmond 2 – 12   .143 7 – 18   .280 Davidson 0 – 10   .000 5 – 19   .208 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1959–60 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas 11 – 3   .786 18 – 8   .692 Texas A&M 10 – 4   .714 19 – 5   .792 SMU 10 – 4   .714 17 – 7   .708 Arkansas 7 – 7   .500 12 – 11   .522 Texas Tech 7 – 7   .500 10 – 14   .417 Baylor 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 TCU 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 Rice 1 – 13   .071 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll
1959–60 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Santa Clara† 9 – 3   .750 21 – 10   .677 Loyola (Calif.) 9 – 3   .750 19 – 8   .704 Pepperdine 8 – 4   .667 14 – 11   .560 Saint Mary's 7 – 5   .583 15 – 11   .577 San Francisco 5 – 7   .417 9 – 16   .360 Pacific 2 – 10   .167 9 – 17   .346 San Jose State –   – 6 – 19   .240 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll[12]	1959–60 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 8 – 2   .800 17 – 9   .654 Maine 6 – 4   .600 19 – 4   .826 Massachusetts 6 – 4   .600 14 – 10   .583 Rhode Island 6 – 4   .600 12 – 14   .462 Vermont 2 – 8   .200 9 – 11   .450 New Hampshire 2 – 8   .200 9 – 14   .391

University Division independents

A total of 47 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Miami of Florida (23–4) had the best winning percentage (.852) and Providence (24–5) finished with the most wins.^[13]

1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 Miami (Fla.) –   – 23 – 4   .852 No. 14 Providence –   – 24 – 5   .828 Idaho State –   – 21 – 5   .808 No. 9 St. Bonaventure –   – 21 – 5   .808 Memphis State –   – 18 – 5   .783 No. 16 Holy Cross –   – 20 – 6   .769 No. 17 Villanova –   – 20 – 6   .769 Dayton –   – 21 – 7   .750 Detroit –   – 20 – 7   .741 Navy –   – 16 – 6   .727 Iona –   – 13 – 5   .722 DePaul –   – 17 – 7   .708 Seton Hall –   – 16 – 7   .696 Oregon –   – 19 – 10   .655 Notre Dame –   – 17 – 9   .654 Xavier –   – 17 – 9   .654 Syracuse –   – 13 – 8   .619 Seattle –   – 16 – 10   .615 Army –   – 14 – 9   .609 Saint Francis (Pa.) –   – 14 – 9   .609 Boston University –   – 14 – 10   .583 Butler –   – 15 – 11   .577 Louisville –   – 15 – 11   .577 Oregon State –   – 15 – 11   .577 Air Force –   – 12 – 10   .545 Creighton –   – 13 – 11   .542 Gonzaga –   – 14 – 12   .538 Marquette –   – 13 – 12   .520 Niagara –   – 13 – 12   .520 Centenary (La.) –   – 12 – 12   .500 Penn State –   – 11 – 11   .500 Washington State –   – 13 – 13   .500 Loyola (La.) –   – 12 – 13   .480 Oklahoma City –   – 12 – 13   .480 Colgate –   – 11 – 12   .478 Georgetown –   – 11 – 12   .478 Washington University –   – 11 – 13   .458 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 10 – 12   .455 Boston College –   – 11 – 14   .440 Montana State –   – 11 – 14   .440 Pittsburgh –   – 11 – 14   .440 Canisius –   – 10 – 13   .435 Idaho –   – 11 – 15   .423 Portland –   – 11 – 15   .423 Florida State –   – 10 – 15   .400 Duquesne –   – 8 – 15   .348 Siena –   – 3 – 18   .143 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Saint Joseph's & Villanova	Bill Kennedy, Temple

Saint Joseph's and Villanova both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1960 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1960 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	NYU	54
	ME	Ohio State	76
						ME	Ohio State	75
						W	California	55
	MW	Cincinnati	69
	W	California	77			Third place
						E	NYU	71
						MW	Cincinnati	95

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1960 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Utah State	62
	Providence	68
					Providence	72
					Bradley	88
	Bradley	82
	St. Bonaventure	71			Third place
					Utah State	99
					St. Bonaventure	83

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1960 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Darrall Imhoff	C	Senior	California
Jerry Lucas	F/C	Sophomore	Ohio State
Oscar Robertson	G	Senior	Cincinnati
Tom Stith	G/F	Junior	St. Bonaventure
Jerry West	G	Senior	West Virginia

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Terry Dischinger	F	Sophomore	Purdue
Tony Jackson	G	Junior	St. John's
Roger Kaiser	G	Junior	Georgia Tech
Lee Shaffer	F	Senior	North Carolina
Len Wilkens	G	Senior	Providence

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
• UPI Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

Major coach of the year awards

• Henry Iba Award: Pete Newell, California
• NABC Coach of the Year: Pete Newell, California
• UPI Coach of the Year: Pete Newell, California

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Bill Kennedy, Temple
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Satch Sanders, NYU

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Davidson	Tom Scott		Lefty Driesell
Georgetown	Tom Nolan		Tommy O'Keefe	After four seasons, Nolan resigned to focus on his role as head coach of Georgetown's baseball team, a position he had assumed in 1959 and held until 1978. His assistant O'Keefe succeeded him.[14]

References

1. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
2. "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
3. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
4. 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
5. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
6. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
7. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
8. sports-reference.com 1959-60 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary
9. sports-reference.com 1959-60 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
10. sports-reference.com 1959-60 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
11. sports-reference.com 1959-60 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
12. sports-reference.com 1959-60 West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary
13. "1959-60 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
14. "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2013.