The 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1965, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 19, 1966, at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland. The Texas Western Miners won their first NCAA national championship with a 72–65 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Quick Facts –66 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Preseason AP No. 1 ...
Close
- After introducing a preseason Top 20 the previous season, the Associated Press (AP) Poll contracted its preseason poll to a Top 10, aligning with the Top 10 format for in-season polls it had used since the 1961–62 season.[3]
- The NCAA tournament contracted from 23 to 22 teams.
- On March 19, 1966, Texas Western became both the first team to begin an NCAA tournament final game with an all-African American starting lineup and the first team with an all-African American starting line-up to win the NCAA championship. The players were Orsten Artis, Harry Flournoy, Bobby Joe Hill, David Lattin, and Willie Worsley.[4]
- The Metropolitan Collegiate Conference, consisting of schools in the New York City-New Jersey area, began play.
Pre-season polls
The Top 10 from the AP Poll and Top 20 from the Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[5][6]
More information Associated Press, Ranking ...
Close
More information School, Former conference ...
Close
NOTES:
- East Carolina did not begin University Division play until the 1966–1967 season.
- Fairleigh Dickinson did not begin University Division play until the 1967–1968 season.
- Hofstra did not begin University Division play until the 1966–1967 season.
- Long Island did not begin University Division play until the 1968–1969 season.
Conferences
Conference winners and tournaments
More information Conference, Regular season winner ...
Conference |
Regular season winner[7] |
Conference player of the year |
Conference tournament |
Tournament venue (City) |
Tournament winner |
Athletic Association of Western Universities | Oregon State | None selected | No Tournament |
Atlantic Coast Conference | Duke | Steve Vacendak, Duke[8] | 1966 ACC men's basketball tournament | Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina) | Duke |
Big Eight Conference | Kansas | None selected | No Tournament |
Big Sky Conference | Gonzaga & Weber State | None selected | No Tournament |
Big Ten Conference | Michigan | None selected | No Tournament |
Ivy League | Penn | None selected | No Tournament |
Metropolitan Collegiate Conference | Manhattan | | No Tournament |
Mid-American Conference | Miami (OH) | None selected | No Tournament |
Middle Atlantic Conference | Saint Joseph's | | No Tournament |
Missouri Valley Conference | Cincinnati | None selected | No Tournament |
Ohio Valley Conference | Western Kentucky State | Clem Haskins, Western Kentucky State | 1966 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) | Western Kentucky State |
Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | Clyde Lee, Vanderbilt (UPI selection), & Pat Riley, Kentucky (AP selection)[9] | No Tournament |
Southern Conference | Davidson | Dick Snyder, Davidson[10] | 1966 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) | Davidson[11] |
Southwest Conference | SMU | John Beasley, Texas A&M | No Tournament |
West Coast Athletic Conference | Pacific | Keith Swagerty, Pacific | No Tournament |
Western Athletic Conference | Utah | None selected | No Tournament |
Yankee Conference | Connecticut & Rhode Island | None selected | No Tournament |
Close
Conference standings
More information Conf, Overall ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1965–66 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
| Conf | | | Overall |
Team | W | | L | | PCT | | | W | | L | | PCT |
SMU | 11 | – | 3 | | .786 | | | 17 | – | 9
| | .654 |
Texas A&M | 10 | – | 4 | | .714 | | | 15 | – | 9
| | .625 |
Texas Tech | 8 | – | 6 | | .571 | | | 13 | – | 11
| | .542 |
Arkansas | 7 | – | 7 | | .500 | | | 13 | – | 10
| | .565 |
Texas | 7 | – | 7 | | .500 | | | 12 | – | 12
| | .500 |
Baylor | 6 | – | 8 | | .429 | | | 8 | – | 16
| | .333 |
TCU | 6 | – | 8 | | .429 | | | 8 | – | 16
| | .333 |
Rice | 1 | – | 13 | | .071 | | | 1 | – | 22
| | .043 |
|
Rankings from AP Poll |
|
|
|
|
Close
More information Conference, Regular season winner ...
Close
Saint Joseph's finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Statistical leaders
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021) |
NCAA tournament
Final Four
| National Semi-finals
| | | National finals
| |
| | | | | | | | | |
| E
| Duke
| 79
| | |
|
| ME
| Kentucky
| 83
| |
| | ME
| Kentucky
| 65
| |
|
| |
| | | MW
| Texas Western
| 72
| |
| MW
| Texas Western
| 85
| |
|
| W
| Utah
| 78
| | | Third place
|
|
|
| | E
| Duke
| 79
|
|
| | W
| Utah
| 77
|
National Invitation tournament
Semi-finals and Finals
| Semi-finals
| | | Finals
| |
| | | | | | | |
| BYU
| 66
| | |
|
| Army
| 60
| |
| | BYU
| 97
| |
|
| |
| | | NYU
| 84
| |
| NYU
| 69
| |
|
| Villanova
| 63
| | | Third place
|
|
|
| | Army
| 65
|
|
| | Villanova
| 76
|
Consensus All-American teams
More information Player, Position ...
Close
More information Player, Position ...
Close
Major player of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021) |
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
More information Team, Former Coach ...
Close