1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1958, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1959 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 21, 1959, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The California Golden Bears won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–70 victory over the West Virginia Mountainneers.

1958–59 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1959
Tournament dates	March 7 – 21, 1959
National Championship	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	California
Helms National Champions	California
Other champions	St. John's (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
← 1957–58 1959–60 →

Season headlines

• The Middle Atlantic Conference began NCAA University Division play, with 10 of its members competing as University Division schools.
• In the 1959 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, Eddie Hickey of Marquette became the first head coach to take three different teams to the NCAA tournament. He had done it previously with Creighton in 1941 in his first year as head coach and with Saint Louis in 1952.^[1]
• The Pacific Coast Conference disbanded at the end of the season.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[2][3]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 Cincinnati 2 Kentucky 3 Kansas State 4 West Virginia 5 NC State 6 Tennessee 7 Kansas 8 Mississippi State 9 Saint Louis 10 Northwestern 11 Notre Dame 12 Auburn 13 North Carolina 14 Saint Mary's 15 Michigan State 16 Xavier 17 Marquette 18 SMU 19 Indiana 20 (tie) Oklahoma State St. John's

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Cincinnati 2 Kansas State 3 Notre Dame 4 Kentucky 5 Michigan State 6 Washington 7 West Virginia 8 Xavier 9 Oklahoma State 10 St. John's 11 Maryland 12 NC State 13 Northwestern 14 North Carolina 15 Saint Joseph's 16 Saint Louis 17 Mississippi State 18 Purdue 19 Louisville 20 Iowa

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Bucknell Bison	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
Canisius Golden Griffins	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
Gettysburg Bullets	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
La Salle Explorers	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
Lafayette Leopards	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
Lehigh Engineers	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
Muhlenberg Mules	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
Niagara Purple Eagles	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Oklahoma State Cowboys	NCAA University Division independent	Big Eight Conference[4]
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
St. Bonaventure Brown Indians	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Saint Joseph's Hawks	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
Temple Owls	NCAA University Division independent	Middle Atlantic Conference
Washington and Lee Generals	Southern Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[5]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina & NC State	Lou Pucillo, NC State[6]	1959 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Bob Boozer, Kansas State	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Michigan State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona State, New Mexico State, & Texas Western		No Tournament
Ivy League	Dartmouth	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Manhattan		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green State	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	Eastern Kentucky State	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	California		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Mississippi State	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Jerry West, West Virginia[7]	1959 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia[8]
Southwest Conference	TCU	H. E. Kirchner, TCU	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Saint Mary's	LaRoy Doss, Saint Mary's, & Leroy Wright, Pacific	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1958–59 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 6 NC State † 12 – 2   .857 22 – 4   .846 No. 9 North Carolina 12 – 2   .857 20 – 5   .800 Duke 7 – 7   .500 13 – 12   .520 Maryland 7 – 7   .500 10 – 13   .435 Virginia 6 – 8   .429 11 – 14   .440 Wake Forest 5 – 9   .357 10 – 14   .417 Clemson 5 – 9   .357 8 – 16   .333 South Carolina 2 – 12   .143 4 – 20   .167 † 1959 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[9]	1958–59 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Kansas State 14 – 0   1.000 25 – 2   .926 Oklahoma 9 – 5   .643 15 – 10   .600 Colorado 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583 Kansas 8 – 6   .571 11 – 14   .440 Nebraska 5 – 9   .357 12 – 13   .480 Oklahoma State 5 – 9   .357 11 – 14   .440 Iowa State 4 – 10   .286 9 – 16   .360 Missouri 3 – 11   .214 6 – 19   .240 Rankings from AP Poll[10]	1958–59 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 7 Michigan State 12 – 2   .857 19 – 4   .826 Northwestern 8 – 6   .571 15 – 7   .682 Michigan 8 – 6   .571 15 – 7   .682 Purdue 8 – 6   .571 15 – 7   .682 Illinois 7 – 7   .500 12 – 10   .545 Indiana 7 – 7   .500 11 – 11   .500 Ohio State 7 – 7   .500 11 – 11   .500 Iowa 7 – 7   .500 10 – 12   .455 Minnesota 5 – 9   .357 8 – 14   .364 Wisconsin 1 – 13   .071 3 – 19   .136 Rankings from AP Poll
1958–59 Border Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT New Mexico A&M 7 – 3   .700 17 – 11   .607 Arizona State–Tempe 7 – 3   .700 17 – 9   .654 Texas Western 7 – 3   .700 14 – 9   .609 West Texas State 5 – 5   .500 6 – 16   .273 Hardin–Simmons 3 – 7   .300 14 – 12   .538 Arizona 1 – 9   .100 4 – 22   .154 Rankings from AP Poll	1958–59 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Dartmouth† 13 – 1   .929 22 – 6   .786 Princeton 13 – 1   .929 19 – 5   .792 Yale 9 – 5   .643 10 – 13   .435 Brown 6 – 8   .429 11 – 13   .458 Pennsylvania 5 – 9   .357 12 – 14   .462 Harvard 4 – 10   .286 10 – 15   .400 Cornell 4 – 10   .286 8 – 15   .348 Columbia 2 – 12   .143 3 – 21   .125 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll	1958–59 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Manhattan 4 – 0   1.000 15 – 6   .714 Brooklyn 3 – 1   .750 8 – 10   .444 St. John's 4 – 2   .667 20 – 6   .769 Fordham 2 – 2   .500 17 – 8   .680 NYU 2 – 2   .500 15 – 8   .652 CCNY 1 – 6   .143 6 – 12   .333 St. Francis (NY) 0 – 3   .000 5 – 18   .217 Rankings from AP Poll
1958–59 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Bowling Green State 9 – 3   .750 18 – 8   .692 Miami (Ohio) 9 – 3   .750 14 – 11   .560 Ohio 6 – 6   .500 14 – 10   .583 Marshall 6 – 6   .500 12 – 12   .500 Kent State 6 – 6   .500 11 – 13   .458 Toledo 5 – 7   .417 11 – 13   .458 Western Michigan 1 – 11   .083 2 – 20   .091 Rankings from AP Poll	1958–59 MAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 14 Saint Joseph's 7 – 0   1.000 22 – 5   .815 La Salle 5 – 2   .714 16 – 7   .696 Muhlenberg 8 – 6   .571 13 – 9   .591 Bucknell 6 – 5   .545 16 – 7   .696 Lafayette 7 – 6   .538 13 – 8   .619 Gettysburg 4 – 5   .444 13 – 13   .500 Delaware 4 – 6   .400 9 – 13   .409 Rutgers 3 – 5   .375 9 – 15   .375 Temple 4 – 7   .364 6 – 19   .240 Lehigh 4 – 10   .286 6 – 16   .273 Rankings from AP Poll	1958–59 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Cincinnati 13 – 1   .929 26 – 4   .867 No. 4 Bradley 12 – 2   .857 25 – 4   .862 No. 12 Saint Louis 10 – 4   .714 20 – 6   .769 Wichita Municipal 7 – 7   .500 14 – 12   .538 Houston 6 – 8   .429 12 – 14   .462 Drake 4 – 10   .286 9 – 15   .375 Tulsa 2 – 12   .143 10 – 15   .400 North Texas State 2 – 12   .143 6 – 18   .250 Rankings from AP Poll[11]
1958–59 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 18 Utah 13 – 1   .929 21 – 7   .750 Utah State 10 – 4   .714 19 – 7   .731 Denver 10 – 4   .714 14 – 10   .583 BYU 8 – 6   .571 15 – 11   .577 Montana 7 – 7   .500 10 – 14   .417 Colorado State 6 – 8   .429 8 – 14   .364 Wyoming 1 – 13   .071 4 – 22   .154 New Mexico 1 – 13   .071 3 – 19   .136 Rankings from AP Poll	1958–59 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Eastern Kentucky State 10 – 2   .833 16 – 6   .727 Western Kentucky State 8 – 4   .667 16 – 10   .615 Tennessee Tech 7 – 5   .583 16 – 9   .640 East Tennessee State 5 – 7   .417 13 – 10   .565 Morehead State 5 – 7   .417 11 – 12   .478 Middle Tennessee 4 – 8   .333 9 – 17   .346 Murray State 3 – 9   .250 10 – 15   .400 Rankings from AP Poll	1958–59 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 11 California 14 – 2   .875 25 – 4   .862 Washington 11 – 5   .688 18 – 8   .692 UCLA 10 – 6   .625 16 – 9   .640 Stanford 10 – 6   .625 16 – 9   .640 USC 8 – 8   .500 15 – 11   .577 Oregon State 7 – 7   .500 13 – 13   .500 Idaho 6 – 10   .375 11 – 15   .423 Oregon 3 – 13   .188 9 – 16   .360 Washington State 3 – 13   .188 10 – 16   .385 Rankings from AP Poll[12]
1958–59 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Mississippi State 13 – 1   .929 24 – 1   .960 No. 8 Auburn 12 – 2   .857 20 – 2   .909 No. 2 Kentucky 12 – 2   .857 24 – 3   .889 Georgia Tech 9 – 5   .643 17 – 9   .654 Tennessee 8 – 6   .571 14 – 8   .636 Vanderbilt 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583 Tulane 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542 Alabama 6 – 8   .429 10 – 12   .455 Georgia 5 – 9   .357 11 – 15   .423 LSU 2 – 12   .143 10 – 15   .400 Florida 2 – 12   .143 8 – 15   .348 Ole Miss 1 – 13   .071 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll[13]	1958–59 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 West Virginia † 11 – 0   1.000 29 – 5   .853 Virginia Tech 10 – 2   .833 16 – 5   .762 The Citadel 7 – 4   .636 15 – 5   .750 William & Mary 7 – 7   .500 13 – 11   .542 Richmond 6 – 8   .429 11 – 11   .500 Furman 5 – 7   .417 14 – 12   .538 George Washington 4 – 7   .364 14 – 11   .560 Davidson 2 – 8   .200 9 – 15   .375 VMI 2 – 11   .154 5 – 13   .278 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1958–59 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 16 TCU 12 – 2   .857 20 – 6   .769 SMU 10 – 4   .714 16 – 8   .667 Texas Tech 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625 Baylor 7 – 7   .500 11 – 13   .458 Texas A&M 6 – 8   .429 15 – 9   .625 Arkansas 6 – 8   .429 9 – 14   .391 Rice 5 – 9   .357 11 – 13   .458 Texas 2 – 12   .143 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll
1958–59 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 15 Saint Mary's 11 – 1   .917 19 – 6   .760 Santa Clara 9 – 3   .750 16 – 9   .640 Pepperdine 8 – 4   .667 16 – 8   .667 Pacific 6 – 6   .500 11 – 15   .423 Loyola (Calif.) 4 – 8   .333 8 – 15   .348 San Francisco 3 – 9   .250 6 – 20   .231 San Jose State 1 – 11   .083 5 – 19   .208 Rankings from AP Poll[14]	1958–59 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 8 – 2   .800 17 – 7   .708 Maine 7 – 3   .700 15 – 7   .682 Massachusetts 5 – 5   .500 11 – 13   .458 Rhode Island 5 – 5   .500 8 – 12   .400 Vermont 4 – 6   .400 12 – 10   .545 New Hampshire 1 – 9   .100 9 – 14   .391

University Division independents

A total of 42 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, St. Bonaventure (20–3) had the best winning percentage (.870) and Marquette (23–6) finished with the most wins.^[15]

1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 19 St. Bonaventure –   – 20 – 3   .870 Saint Francis (Pa.) –   – 20 – 5   .800 No. 20 Marquette –   – 23 – 6   .793 No. 13 Seattle –   – 21 – 6   .778 Idaho State –   – 21 – 7   .750 Navy –   – 18 – 6   .750 Boston University –   – 20 – 7   .741 No. 17 Oklahoma City –   – 20 – 7   .741 Providence –   – 20 – 7   .741 Memphis State –   – 17 – 6   .739 Miami (Fla.) –   – 18 – 7   .720 Villanova –   – 18 – 7   .720 Portland –   – 19 – 8   .704 Niagara –   – 15 – 7   .682 Butler –   – 19 – 9   .679 Iona –   – 14 – 7   .667 Boston College –   – 17 – 9   .654 Louisville –   – 19 – 12   .613 Air Force –   – 14 – 9   .609 Syracuse –   – 14 – 9   .609 Army –   – 14 – 10   .583 Seton Hall –   – 13 – 10   .565 Holy Cross –   – 14 – 11   .560 Penn State –   – 11 – 9   .550 DePaul –   – 13 – 11   .542 Duquesne –   – 13 – 11   .542 Dayton –   – 14 – 12   .538 Montana State –   – 12 – 13   .480 Notre Dame –   – 12 – 13   .480 Xavier –   – 12 – 13   .480 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 11 – 13   .458 Detroit –   – 11 – 14   .440 Gonzaga –   – 11 – 15   .423 Pittsburgh –   – 10 – 14   .417 Washington University –   – 9 – 13   .409 Loyola (La.) –   – 10 – 16   .385 Colgate –   – 7 – 12   .368 Florida State –   – 8 – 15   .348 Georgetown –   – 8 – 15   .348 Canisius –   – 7 – 16   .304 Siena –   – 3 – 16   .158 Washington and Lee –   – 1 – 15   .063 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Saint Joseph's	Joe Spratt, Saint Joseph's

Saint Joseph's finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1959 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1959 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	West Virginia	94
	ME	Louisville	79
						E	West Virginia	70
						W	California	71
	MW	Cincinnati	58
	W	California	64			Third place
						ME	Louisville	85
						MW	Cincinnati	98

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1959 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Bradley	59
	NYU	57
					Bradley	71
					St. John′s	76
	Providence	55
	St. John's	76			Third place
					NYU	71
					Providence	57

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1959 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Bob Boozer	F	Senior	Kansas State
Johnny Cox	G	Senior	Kentucky
Bailey Howell	F	Senior	Mississippi State
Oscar Robertson	G	Junior	Cincinnati
Jerry West	G	Junior	West Virginia

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Leo Byrd	G	Senior	Marshall
Johnny Green	F	Senior	Michigan State
Tom Hawkins	F	Senior	Notre Dame
Don Hennon	G	Senior	Pittsburgh
Al Seiden	G	Senior	St. John's

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: Eddie Hickey, Marquette
• NABC Coach of the Year: Eddie Hickey, Marquette
• UPI Coach of the Year: Adolph Rupp, Kentucky

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Joe Spratt, Saint Joseph's
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Al Seiden, 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
Loyola (LA)	Hank Kuzma		Bill Gardiner
Minnesota	Osborne Cowles		John Kundla
West Texas State	Borden Price		Metz LaFollette

References

1. "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
2. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
3. "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
4. "Men's Basketball Record Book: Big Eight Conference Annual Standings" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
5. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
6. 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
7. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
8. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
9. "1958–59 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
10. sports-reference.com 1958-59 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
11. sports-reference.com 1958-59 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
12. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
13. sports-reference.com 1958-59 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
14. sports-reference.com 1958-59 West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary
15. "1958-59 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 11, 2024.