1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1953, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 20, 1954, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The La Salle Explorers won their first NCAA national championship with a 92–76 victory over the Bradley Braves.

1953–54 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Indiana[1]
NCAA Tournament	1954
Tournament dates	March 8 – 20, 1954
National Championship	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Champions	La Salle
Helms National Champions	Kentucky[2]
Other champions	Holy Cross (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Tom Gola, La Salle
← 1952–53 1954–55 →

Season headlines

• The Atlantic Coast Conference began play, with eight original members.
• Frank Selvy of Furman scored 100 points in a 149–95 victory over Newberry in Greenville, South Carolina, on February 13, 1954, becoming the first player to score 100 or more points in a game.^[3] Selvy finished the season with 1,209 points for the year, the first player to score 1,000 or more points in a single season.^[3] He also averaged 41.7 points per game for the season, the first player to average 40 or more points per game in a season,^[3] and finished his career (1952–1954) averaging 32.5 points a game, the first player to average 30 or more points per game during a collegiate career.^[3]
• The NCAA tournament expanded from 22 to 24 teams.
• Kentucky went undefeated, finishing with a 25–0 record. The Helms Athletic Foundation awarded its national championship to Kentucky rather than to the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament champion, La Salle.^[2] It was the fourth and final time that the NCAA champion and the Helms champion differed. In the final AP Poll, taken after the completion of the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament and the then-presitigious National Invitation Tournament, Kentucky was ranked No. 1 ahead of No. 2 La Salle (NCAA tournament champion) and No. 3 Holy Cross (1954 National Invitation Tournament champion).^[4]
• The NCAA tournament's Final Four games were played on Friday and Saturday for the first time.^[5]
• The NCAA tournament's championship game was televised nationally for the first time. The broadcast rights fee was $7,500.^[5]

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

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

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UP Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[6][7]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 Indiana 2 Kentucky 3 Duquesne 4 Oklahoma A&M 5 Kansas 6 La Salle 7 NC State 8 Kansas State 9 Illinois 10 LSU 11 Western Kentucky State 12 Minnesota 13 Oregon State 14 Wyoming 15 Dayton 16 Santa Clara 17 California 18 Saint Louis 19 (tie) Holy Cross Oklahoma City

UP Coaches Ranking Team 1 Indiana 2 Kentucky 3 Duquesne 4 Kansas 5 Oklahoma A&M 6 La Salle 7 LSU 8 NC State 9 Minnesota 10 California 11 Illinois 12 Kansas State 13 Saint Louis 14 Holy Cross 15 Oregon State 16 Dayton 17 Wyoming 18 Santa Clara 19 Notre Dame 20 UCLA

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Brown Bears	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League
CCNY Beavers	Metropolitan New York Conference	Non-major basketball program
Cincinnati Bearcats	Mid-American Conference	Independent
Clemson Tigers	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Duke Blue Devils	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Maryland Terrapins	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
North Carolina Tar Heels	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
North Carolina State Wolfpack	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
South Carolina Gamecocks	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Southern Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Virginia Cavaliers	Independent	Atlantic Coast Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[8]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke	Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest[9]	1954 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Seven Conference	Colorado & Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Indiana	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Texas Tech		No Tournament
California Basketball Association	Santa Clara	None selected	No Tournament
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Cornell	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. Francis (NY)		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Toledo	None selected	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Oklahoma A&M	None selected	No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Colorado A&M		No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	None selected	1954 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)	Western Kentucky State
Pacific Coast Conference	Oregon State (North); USC (South)		No Tournament; USC defeated Oregon State in best-of-three conference championship playoff series
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky & LSU	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	George Washington	Frank Selvy, Furman[10]	1954 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	WVU Fieldhouse (Morgantown, West Virginia)	George Washington[11]
Southwest Conference	Rice & Texas	None selected	No Tournament
Western New York Little Three Conference	Niagara		No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1953–54 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 15 Duke 9 – 1   .900 21 – 6   .778 No. 20 Maryland 7 – 2   .778 23 – 7   .767 Wake Forest 8 – 4   .667 17 – 12   .586 NC State † 5 – 3   .625 26 – 7   .788 North Carolina 5 – 6   .455 11 – 10   .524 South Carolina 2 – 8   .200 10 – 16   .385 Virginia 1 – 4   .200 16 – 11   .593 Clemson 0 – 9   .000 5 – 18   .217 † 1954 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1953–54 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 18 Kansas 10 – 2   .833 16 – 5   .762 Colorado 10 – 2   .833 11 – 11   .500 Missouri 6 – 6   .500 11 – 10   .524 Kansas State 5 – 7   .417 11 – 10   .524 Nebraska 5 – 7   .417 8 – 13   .381 Oklahoma 4 – 8   .333 8 – 13   .381 Iowa State 2 – 10   .167 6 – 15   .286 Rankings from AP Poll[12]	1953–54 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Indiana 12 – 2   .857 20 – 4   .833 No. 13 Iowa 11 – 3   .786 17 – 5   .773 No. 19 Illinois 10 – 4   .714 17 – 5   .773 Minnesota 10 – 4   .714 17 – 5   .773 Wisconsin 6 – 8   .429 12 – 10   .545 Northwestern 6 – 8   .429 9 – 13   .409 Ohio State 5 – 9   .357 11 – 11   .500 Michigan State 4 – 10   .286 9 – 13   .409 Michigan 3 – 11   .214 9 – 13   .409 Purdue 3 – 11   .214 9 – 13   .409 Rankings from AP Poll
1953–54 Border Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas Tech 11 – 1   .917 20 – 5   .800 West Texas State 9 – 3   .750 13 – 7   .650 Arizona 8 – 4   .667 14 – 10   .583 Texas Western 4 – 8   .333 8 – 14   .364 Hardin–Simmons 4 – 8   .333 7 – 17   .292 New Mexico A&M 3 – 9   .250 6 – 12   .333 Arizona State–Tempe 3 – 9   .250 5 – 18   .217 † Regular-season co-championship winner Rankings from AP Poll	1953–54 California Basketball Association men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Santa Clara 9 – 3   .750 20 – 7   .741 San Francisco 8 – 4   .667 14 – 7   .667 San Jose State 6 – 6   .500 12 – 15   .444 Saint Mary's 4 – 8   .333 10 – 14   .417 Pacific 3 – 9   .250 9 – 17   .346 Rankings from AP Poll[13]	1953–54 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Cornell† 11 – 3   .786 17 – 7   .708 Princeton 11 – 3   .786 16 – 9   .640 Pennsylvania 10 – 4   .714 17 – 8   .680 Yale 7 – 7   .500 12 – 14   .462 Columbia 6 – 8   .429 11 – 13   .458 Dartmouth 5 – 9   .357 13 – 13   .500 Brown 4 – 10   .286 13 – 11   .542 Harvard 2 – 12   .143 9 – 16   .360 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll
1953–54 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT St. Francis (NY) 5 – 0   1.000 23 – 5   .821 Fordham 3 – 1   .750 18 – 6   .750 Manhattan 3 – 3   .500 15 – 11   .577 NYU 2 – 2   .500 9 – 9   .500 St. John's 2 – 3   .400 9 – 11   .450 CCNY 2 – 4   .333 10 – 8   .556 Brooklyn 0 – 4   .000 6 – 11   .353 Rankings from AP Poll	1953–54 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Toledo 10 – 2   .833 13 – 10   .565 Bowling Green 10 – 3   .769 17 – 7   .708 Miami (Ohio) 7 – 5   .583 12 – 10   .545 Marshall 6 – 7   .462 12 – 9   .571 Western Michigan 4 – 5   .444 10 – 11   .476 Ohio 5 – 7   .417 12 – 10   .545 Kent State 3 – 9   .250 8 – 13   .381 Western Reserve 2 – 9   .182 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll	1953–54 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 Oklahoma A&M 9 – 1   .900 24 – 5   .828 Wichita Municipal 8 – 2   .800 27 – 4   .871 Tulsa 5 – 5   .500 15 – 4   .789 Saint Louis 4 – 6   .400 14 – 12   .538 Houston 3 – 7   .300 11 – 15   .423 Detroit 1 – 9   .100 11 – 17   .393 Rankings from AP Poll
1953–54 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Colorado A&M 12 – 2   .857 22 – 7   .759 Wyoming 10 – 4   .714 19 – 9   .679 BYU 9 – 5   .643 18 – 11   .621 Utah State 7 – 7   .500 14 – 13   .519 Utah 7 – 7   .500 12 – 14   .462 New Mexico 5 – 9   .357 11 – 11   .500 Montana 3 – 11   .214 7 – 20   .259 Denver 3 – 11   .214 6 – 21   .222 Rankings from AP Poll	1953–54 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 Western Kentucky State† 9 – 1   .900 29 – 3   .906 Murray State 6 – 4   .600 15 – 16   .484 Morehead State –   – 16 – 7   .696 Eastern Kentucky State 4 – 6   .400 7 – 16   .304 Tennessee Tech –   – 12 – 10   .545 Middle Tennessee –   – 12 – 17   .414 † Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1953–54 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Oregon State 11 – 5   .688 22 – 8   .733 Idaho 9 – 7   .563 15 – 8   .652 Oregon 9 – 7   .563 17 – 10   .630 Washington 7 – 9   .438 8 – 18   .308 Washington State 4 – 12   .250 10 – 17   .370 South No. 11 USC † 8 – 4   .667 19 – 14   .576 UCLA 7 – 5   .583 18 – 7   .720 California 6 – 6   .500 17 – 7   .708 Stanford 3 – 9   .250 15 – 10   .600 † Conference playoff series winner Rankings from AP Poll[14]
1953–54 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Kentucky 14 – 0   1.000 25 – 0   1.000 No. 14 LSU 14 – 0   1.000 20 – 5   .800 Alabama 10 – 4   .714 16 – 8   .667 Tulane 10 – 4   .714 15 – 8   .652 Auburn 8 – 6   .571 16 – 8   .667 Ole Miss 7 – 7   .500 12 – 12   .500 Tennessee 7 – 7   .500 11 – 12   .478 Vanderbilt 5 – 9   .357 12 – 10   .545 Mississippi State 5 – 9   .357 11 – 10   .524 Florida 3 – 11   .214 7 – 15   .318 Georgia 2 – 12   .143 7 – 18   .280 Georgia Tech 0 – 14   .000 2 – 22   .083 Rankings from AP Poll[15]	1953–54 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 12 George Washington † 10 – 0   1.000 23 – 3   .885 Furman 6 – 1   .857 23 – 9   .719 Richmond 10 – 3   .769 23 – 8   .742 West Virginia 6 – 4   .600 12 – 11   .522 William & Mary 6 – 5   .545 9 – 14   .391 VMI 6 – 7   .462 11 – 12   .478 Davidson 3 – 5   .375 7 – 15   .318 Washington and Lee 3 – 9   .250 6 – 17   .261 Virginia Tech 3 – 13   .188 3 – 24   .111 The Citadel 1 – 7   .125 2 – 17   .105 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1953–54 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rice 9 – 3   .750 23 – 5   .821 Texas 9 – 3   .750 16 – 9   .640 Arkansas 6 – 6   .500 13 – 9   .591 SMU 6 – 6   .500 13 – 9   .591 Baylor 6 – 6   .500 12 – 11   .522 TCU 5 – 7   .417 10 – 14   .417 Texas A&M 1 – 11   .083 2 – 20   .091 Rankings from AP Poll
1953–54 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 16 Niagara 3 – 1   .750 24 – 6   .800 St. Bonaventure 2 – 2   .500 12 – 11   .522 Canisius 1 – 3   .250 9 – 14   .391 Rankings from AP Poll	1953–54 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 7 – 0   1.000 23 – 3   .885 Massachusetts 5 – 1   .833 13 – 9   .591 Rhode Island 4 – 4   .500 7 – 14   .333 New Hampshire 2 – 6   .250 8 – 10   .444 Vermont 1 – 2   .333 13 – 7   .650 Maine 1 – 7   .125 6 – 12   .333

Major independents

A total of 42 college teams played as major independents. Among them, Holy Cross (26–2) and Seattle (26–2) had the best winning percentage (.929), and Holy Cross, Seattle, Duquesne (26–3), and La Salle (26–4) finished with the most wins.^[16]

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

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1954 NCAA basketball tournament and 1954 NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals				National finals
	Penn State	54
	La Salle	69
					La Salle	92
					Bradley	76
	Bradley	74
	USC	72			Third place
					Penn State	70
					USC	61

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1954 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Western Kentucky State	69
	Holy Cross	75
					Holy Cross	71
					Duquesne	62
	Duquesne	66
	Niagara	51			Third place
					Western Kentucky State	66
					Niagara	71

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1954 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Tom Gola	F	Junior	La Salle
Cliff Hagan	F	Senior	Kentucky
Bob Pettit	C	Senior	Louisiana State
Don Schlundt	C	Junior	Indiana
Frank Selvy	G	Senior	Furman

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Bobby Leonard	G	Senior	Indiana
Tom Marshall	F	Senior	Western Kentucky State
Bob Mattick	C	Senior	Oklahoma A&M
Frank Ramsey	G/F	Senior	Kentucky
Dick Ricketts	F/C	Junior	Duquesne

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Tom Gola, La Salle

Other major awards

• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Ed Conlin, Fordham

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
John Carroll	Fred George		Silvio Cornachione[17]