1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1962, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1963, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Loyola University Chicago Ramblers won their first NCAA national championship with a 60–58 victory in overtime over the Cincinnati Bearcats.

1962–63 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Cincinnati[1][2]
NCAA Tournament	1963
Tournament dates	March 9 – 23, 1963
National Championship	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	Loyola (Ill.)
Helms National Champions	Loyola (Ill.)
Other champions	Providence (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Art Heyman, Duke
← 1961–62 1963–64 →

Season headlines

• The Western Athletic Conference began play, with six charter members.
• While playing Wyoming in the All-City Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on December 28, 1962, Loyola of Illinois replaced starter John Egan with Pablo Robertson during the second half, becoming the first team ever to have five African American players on the floor at the same time.^[3]
• Terry Baker of Oregon State became the first college football Heisman Trophy winner to play in the NCAA tournament's Final Four.^[3]
• The Metropolitan New York Conference disbanded at the end of the season after 24 seasons of competition.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and the Top 20 from the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[4][5]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 Cincinnati 2 Duke 3 Kentucky 4 Loyola (Ill.) 5 West Virginia 6 Mississippi State 7 Oregon State 8 Illinois 9 St. Bonaventure 10 Wisconsin

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Cincinnati 2 Duke 3 Kentucky 4 West Virginia 5 Loyola (Ill.) 6 Oregon State 7 Mississippi State 8 St. Bonaventure 9 Wisconsin 10 (tie) Bowling Green Stanford 12 Dayton 13 Illinois 14 Kansas State 15 Arizona State 16 NYU 17 UCLA 18 Colorado State 19 Creighton 20 Indiana

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Arizona Wildcats	NCAA University Division independent	Western Athletic Conference
Arizona State Sun Devils	Border Conference	Western Athletic Conference
BYU Cougars	Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Colorado State Rams	Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Denver Pioneers	Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Hardin–Simmons Cowboys	Border Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Montana Grizzlies	Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	NCAA University Division independent
New Mexico Lobos	Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Western Athletic Conference
New Mexico State Aggies	Border Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Texas Western Miners	Border Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Utah Utes	Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Utah State Aggies	Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	NCAA University Division independent
West Texas State Buffaloes	Border Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Wyoming Cowboys	Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Western Athletic Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[6]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	Stanford & UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke	Art Heyman, Duke[7]	1963 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Duke
Big Eight Conference	Colorado & Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Illinois & Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Fordham		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
Ohio Valley Conference	Morehead State & Tennessee Tech	Harold Sergent, Morehead State	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Mississippi State	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Fred Hetzel, Davidson[8]	1963 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia[9]
Southwest Conference	Texas	Bennie Lenox, Texas A&M	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	San Francisco	Steve Gray, Saint Mary's	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	Arizona State	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1962–63 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT UCLA † 7 – 5   .583 20 – 9   .690 Stanford 7 – 5   .583 16 – 9   .640 USC 6 – 6   .500 20 – 9   .690 Washington 6 – 6   .500 13 – 13   .500 California 4 – 8   .333 13 – 11   .542 † Conference playoff game[10][11] winner Rankings from AP Poll[12]	1962–63 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Duke † 14 – 0   1.000 27 – 3   .900 Wake Forest 11 – 3   .786 16 – 10   .615 North Carolina 10 – 4   .714 15 – 6   .714 Clemson 5 – 9   .357 12 – 13   .480 NC State 5 – 9   .357 10 – 11   .476 South Carolina 4 – 10   .286 9 – 15   .375 Maryland 4 – 10   .286 8 – 13   .381 Virginia 3 – 11   .214 5 – 20   .200 † 1963 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[13]	1962–63 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 Colorado 11 – 3   .786 19 – 7   .731 Kansas State 11 – 3   .786 16 – 9   .640 Iowa State 8 – 6   .571 14 – 11   .560 Oklahoma 8 – 6   .571 12 – 13   .480 Oklahoma State 7 – 7   .500 16 – 9   .640 Kansas 5 – 9   .357 12 – 13   .480 Missouri 5 – 9   .357 10 – 15   .400 Nebraska 1 – 13   .071 6 – 19   .240 Rankings from AP Poll[14]
1962–63 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 7 Ohio State 11 – 3   .786 20 – 4   .833 No. 8 Illinois 11 – 3   .786 20 – 6   .769 Indiana 9 – 5   .643 13 – 11   .542 Michigan 8 – 6   .571 16 – 8   .667 Minnesota 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Wisconsin 7 – 7   .500 14 – 10   .583 Northwestern 6 – 8   .429 9 – 15   .375 Iowa 5 – 9   .357 9 – 15   .375 Michigan State 3 – 11   .214 4 – 16   .200 Purdue 2 – 12   .143 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll	1962–63 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Princeton† 11 – 3   .786 19 – 6   .760 Yale 11 – 3   .786 13 – 10   .565 Pennsylvania 10 – 4   .714 19 – 6   .760 Brown 6 – 8   .429 11 – 13   .458 Cornell 6 – 7   .462 12 – 12   .500 Harvard 5 – 9   .357 6 – 15   .286 Columbia 4 – 9   .308 10 – 12   .455 Dartmouth 2 – 12   .143 7 – 18   .280 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll	1962–63 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Fordham 4 – 1   .800 18 – 8   .692 No. 9 NYU 3 – 1   .750 18 – 5   .783 St. Francis (NY) 4 – 2   .667 16 – 7   .696 St. John's 2 – 2   .500 9 – 15   .375 CCNY 1 – 2   .333 8 – 10   .444 Brooklyn 0 – 2   .000 6 – 12   .333 Manhattan 0 – 4   .000 9 – 14   .391 Rankings from AP Poll
1962–63 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 19 – 8   .704 Ohio 8 – 4   .667 13 – 11   .542 Toledo 8 – 4   .667 13 – 11   .542 Miami (Ohio) 8 – 4   .667 12 – 12   .500 Western Michigan 7 – 5   .583 12 – 12   .500 Marshall 1 – 11   .083 7 – 16   .304 Kent State 1 – 11   .083 3 – 18   .143 Rankings from AP Poll	1962–63 MAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Saint Joseph's† 8 – 0   1.000 23 – 5   .821 La Salle 7 – 1   .875 16 – 8   .667 Delaware 7 – 3   .700 14 – 8   .636 Temple 6 – 3   .667 15 – 7   .682 Lafayette 6 – 4   .600 13 – 11   .542 Gettysburg 6 – 5   .545 16 – 9   .640 Lehigh 3 – 10   .231 6 – 19   .240 Bucknell 2 – 8   .200 7 – 16   .304 Muhlenberg 0 – 11   .000 4 – 17   .190 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll	1962–63 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Cincinnati 11 – 1   .917 26 – 2   .929 No. 5 Wichita Municipal 7 – 5   .583 19 – 8   .704 Bradley 6 – 6   .500 17 – 9   .654 Saint Louis 6 – 6   .500 16 – 12   .571 Tulsa 5 – 7   .417 17 – 8   .680 North Texas State 4 – 8   .333 10 – 14   .417 Drake 3 – 9   .250 11 – 14   .440 Rankings from AP Poll[15]
1962–63 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Tennessee Tech 8 – 4   .667 16 – 8   .667 Morehead State 8 – 4   .667 13 – 7   .650 East Tennessee State 7 – 5   .583 14 – 8   .636 Murray State 6 – 6   .500 13 – 9   .591 Eastern Kentucky State 6 – 6   .500 9 – 12   .429 Middle Tennessee 4 – 8   .333 9 – 15   .375 Western Kentucky State 3 – 9   .250 5 – 16   .238 Rankings from AP Poll	1962–63 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 6 Mississippi State 12 – 2   .857 22 – 6   .786 Auburn 10 – 4   .714 18 – 4   .818 Georgia Tech 10 – 4   .714 21 – 5   .808 Vanderbilt 9 – 5   .643 16 – 7   .696 Kentucky 8 – 6   .571 16 – 9   .640 Alabama 7 – 7   .500 14 – 11   .560 Tennessee 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542 LSU 5 – 9   .357 12 – 12   .500 Florida 5 – 9   .357 12 – 14   .462 Georgia 4 – 10   .286 9 – 17   .346 Ole Miss 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 Tulane 4 – 10   .286 6 – 16   .273 Rankings from AP Poll[16]	1962–63 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT West Virginia † 11 – 2   .846 23 – 8   .742 Davidson 8 – 3   .727 20 – 7   .741 William & Mary 10 – 5   .667 15 – 9   .625 Furman 9 – 6   .600 14 – 14   .500 George Washington 6 – 6   .500 8 – 15   .348 Virginia Tech 6 – 6   .500 12 – 12   .500 VMI 6 – 10   .375 6 – 15   .286 Richmond 3 – 13   .188 7 – 18   .280 The Citadel 2 – 10   .167 3 – 20   .130 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll
1962–63 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas 13 – 1   .929 20 – 7   .741 Texas A&M 9 – 5   .643 16 – 8   .667 Rice 9 – 5   .643 12 – 11   .522 Arkansas 8 – 6   .571 13 – 11   .542 SMU 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 Texas Tech 6 – 8   .429 6 – 17   .261 Baylor 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 TCU 1 – 13   .071 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll	1962–63 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT San Francisco 10 – 2   .833 18 – 9   .667 Santa Clara 9 – 3   .750 16 – 9   .640 Saint Mary's 8 – 4   .667 14 – 11   .560 Pepperdine 6 – 6   .500 14 – 11   .560 San Jose State –   – 14 – 10   .583 Loyola (Calif.) 3 – 9   .250 9 – 17   .346 Pacific 0 – 12   .000 4 – 22   .154 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll[17]
1962–63 WAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Arizona State 9 – 1   .900 26 – 3   .897 BYU 6 – 4   .600 12 – 14   .462 Utah 5 – 5   .500 12 – 14   .462 New Mexico 4 – 6   .400 16 – 9   .640 Arizona 3 – 7   .300 13 – 13   .500 Wyoming 3 – 7   .300 11 – 15   .423 Rankings from AP Poll[18]	1962–63 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 9 – 1   .900 18 – 7   .720 Rhode Island 8 – 2   .800 15 – 11   .577 Massachusetts 6 – 4   .600 12 – 12   .500 Maine 3 – 7   .300 8 – 15   .348 Vermont 2 – 8   .200 10 – 13   .435 New Hampshire 2 – 8   .200 7 – 17   .292

University Division independents

A total of 56 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Loyola of Illinois (29–2) had both the best winning percentage (.935) and the most wins.^[19]

1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Loyola (Ill.) –   – 29 – 2   .935 Providence –   – 24 – 4   .857 Miami (FL) –   – 23 – 5   .821 Colorado State –   – 18 – 5   .783 Seattle –   – 21 – 6   .778 Niagara –   – 14 – 4   .778 Idaho –   – 20 – 6   .769 Pittsburgh –   – 19 – 6   .760 Penn State –   – 15 – 5   .750 Utah State –   – 20 – 7   .741 Canisius –   – 19 – 7   .731 Memphis –   – 19 – 7   .731 Texas Western –   – 19 – 7   .731 Oregon State –   – 22 – 9   .710 Seton Hall –   – 16 – 7   .696 Marquette –   – 20 – 9   .690 Oklahoma City –   – 19 – 10   .655 Villanova –   – 19 – 10   .655 Notre Dame –   – 17 – 9   .654 DePaul –   – 15 – 8   .652 Holy Cross –   – 16 – 9   .640 Iona –   – 12 – 7   .632 Regis –   – 15 – 9   .625 Butler –   – 16 – 10   .615 Dayton –   – 16 – 10   .615 Florida State –   – 15 – 10   .600 Duquesne –   – 13 – 9   .591 Houston –   – 15 – 11   .577 Louisville –   – 14 – 11   .560 Detroit –   – 14 – 12   .538 Gonzaga –   – 14 – 12   .538 Boston University –   – 10 – 9   .526 St. Bonaventure –   – 13 – 12   .520 Creighton –   – 14 – 13   .519 Georgetown –   – 13 – 13   .500 Montana State –   – 13 – 13   .500 Loyola (LA) –   – 12 – 12   .500 Navy –   – 9 – 9   .500 Centenary –   – 12 – 14   .462 Air Force –   – 10 – 12   .455 Saint Francis (PA) –   – 10 – 13   .435 Xavier –   – 12 – 16   .429 Oregon –   – 11 – 15   .423 Army –   – 8 – 11   .421 Boston College –   – 10 – 16   .385 Hardin–Simmons –   – 10 – 16   .385 Syracuse –   – 8 – 13   .381 Idaho State –   – 9 – 15   .375 Portland –   – 8 – 18   .308 Rutgers –   – 7 – 16   .304 Colgate –   – 5 – 13   .278 Montana –   – 6 – 18   .250 West Texas State –   – 6 – 18   .250 Denver –   – 6 – 19   .240 Washington State –   – 5 – 20   .200 New Mexico State –   – 4 – 17   .190 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Penn & Villanova	Wali Jones, Villanova, & Jim Lynam, Saint Joseph's

Penn 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: 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1963 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	Duke	75
	ME	Loyola (Ill.)	94
						ME	Loyola (Ill.)	60OT
						MW	Cincinnati	58
	MW	Cincinnati	80
	W	Oregon State	46			Third place
						E	Duke	85
						W	Oregon State	63

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1963 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Villanova	46
	Canisius	61
					Canisius	66
					Providence	81
	Providence	70
	Marquette	64			Third place
					Villanova	58
					Marquette	66

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1963 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Ron Bonham	F	Junior	Cincinnati
Jerry Harkness	G	Senior	Loyola (IL)
Art Heyman	F	Senior	Duke
Barry Kramer	G/F	Junior	NYU
Tom Thacker	G	Senior	Cincinnati

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Gary Bradds	F	Junior	Ohio State
Bill Green	F	Senior	Colorado State
Cotton Nash	F	Junior	Kentucky
Rod Thorn	G/F	Senior	West Virginia
Nate Thurmond	C	Senior	Bowling Green

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Art Heyman, Duke
• Associated Press Player of the Year:Art Heyman, Duke
• UPI Player of the Year: Art Heyman, Duke
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Art Heyman, Duke
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Art Heyman, Duke

Major coach of the year awards

• Henry Iba Award: Ed Jucker, Cincinnati
• NABC Coach of the Year: Ed Jucker, Cincinnati
• UPI Coach of the Year: Ed Jucker, Cincinnati

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Wali Jones, Villanova, & Jim Lynam, Saint Joseph's
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Barry Kramer, NYU

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Bowling Green	Harold Anderson		Warren Scholler
West Texas A&M	Metz LaFollette		Jimmy Viramontes

References

1. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
2. "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
3. "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
4. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
5. "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
6. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
7. 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
8. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
9. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
10. "UCLA five clips Stanford by 51–45". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 13, 1963. p. 1D.
11. "UCLA trips Stanford in playoff 51–45". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. March 13, 1963. p. 9.
12. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
13. sports-reference.com 1962-63 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary
14. "1962-63 Big Eight Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
15. sports-reference.com 1962-63 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
16. sports-reference.com 1962-63 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
17. sports-reference.com 1962-63 West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary
18. sports-reference.com 1962-63 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
19. "1962-63 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 13, 2024.