1953–54 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

The 1953–54 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team represented La Salle University in the 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Ken Loeffler. La Salle won the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament.

1953–54 La Salle Explorers men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
National Championship Game, W 92–76 vs. Bradley
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 2
Record	26–4
Head coach	Ken Loeffler (5th season)
Seasons ← 1952–53 1954–55 →

1953–54 NCAA men's basketball independents standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 Holy Cross		–			–			26	–	2		.929
No. 17 Seattle		–			–			26	–	2		.929
No. 5 Duquesne		–			–			26	–	3		.897
No. 6 Notre Dame		–			–			22	–	3		.880
No. 2 La Salle		–			–			26	–	4		.867
Dayton		–			–			25	–	7		.781
Louisville		–			–			22	–	7		.759
No. 9 Penn State		–			–			18	–	6		.750
Oklahoma City		–			–			18	–	7		.720
Navy		–			–			18	–	8		.692
Army		–			–			15	–	7		.682
Villanova		–			–			20	–	11		.645
Lafayette		–			–			17	–	10		.630
Saint Joseph's		–			–			14	–	9		.609
Xavier		–			–			18	–	12		.600
No. 7 Bradley		–			–			19	–	13		.594
John Carroll		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Seton Hall		–			–			13	–	10		.565
Temple		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Muhlenberg		–			–			12	–	10		.545
Washington University		–			–			12	–	10		.545
Syracuse		–			–			10	–	9		.526
Cincinnati		–			–			11	–	10		.524
DePaul		–			–			11	–	10		.524
Iona		–			–			11	–	10		.524
Butler		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Boston College		–			–			11	–	11		.500
Loyola (Calif.)		–			–			14	–	16		.467
Rutgers		–			–			11	–	13		.458
Creighton		–			–			14	–	17		.452
Gonzaga		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Valparaiso		–			–			10	–	13		.435
Marquette		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Lehigh		–			–			8	–	12		.400
Pittsburgh		–			–			9	–	14		.391
Georgetown		–			–			11	–	18		.379
Siena		–			–			7	–	14		.333
Portland		–			–			9	–	19		.321
Loyola (IL)		–			–			7	–	15		.318
Drake		–			–			7	–	16		.304
Colgate		–			–			5	–	12		.294
Bucknell		–			–			4	–	16		.200
Rankings from AP Poll

Season summary

Some basketball historians have called La Salle star Tom Gola the Magic Johnson of his day because, at 6'7", he could play all five positions. But not even Magic piled up the kind of numbers Gola did in leading the Explorers to the 1954 national championship – 21.7 points and 23 rebounds per game. Guard Frank O’Hara was Gola's capable running mate along with five sophomores who played complementary roles.

Sophomore Robert Ames, later a CIA official killed in the 1983 bombing of the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, averaged two points and one rebound in 14 games for the Explorers.^[1]

NCAA tournament

• West
  • La Salle 76, Fordham 74
  • La Salle 88, NC State 81
  • La Salle 64, Navy 48
• Final Four
  • La Salle 69, Penn State 54
  • La Salle 92, Bradley 76

^[2]

Rankings

Main article: 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball rankings

Awards and honors

• Tom Gola, NCAA Men's MOP Award^[3]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
11	93	Frank O'Hara	Philadelphia Warriors

^[4]