The 1955–56 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team represented

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

as a member of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

during the

1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season The 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1955, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1956 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 24, 1956, at Welsh-Ryan Arena, ...

. The team was led by head coach Doc Hayes and played their home games at Perkins Gymnasium in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

for the final season (

SMU Coliseum Moody Coliseum is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Texas (an inner suburb of Dallas). The arena opened in 1956. It is home to the Southern Methodist University Mustangs basketball teams and volleyball team. It was also home ...

opened in December 1956). Playing out of the Midwest region, the Mustangs made a run to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament – the first, and only, in program history. In the National semifinals, SMU lost to the eventual National champions,

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, 86–68, in what was the Dons 54th consecutive victory. The Mustangs closed out the season with a loss to

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

in the consolation game to finish with a record of 25–4 (12–0). Three of the team's four losses came to Final Four participants.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA Tournament

Rankings

Awards and honors

Jim Krebs James Krebs (September 8, 1935 – May 6, 1965) was an American basketball player. A power forward (basketball), power forward/center (basketball), center, he starred for the SMU Mustangs men's basketball, SMU Mustangs during the mid-1950s and ...

–

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1955-56 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team SMU Mustangs men's basketball seasons

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons SMU SMU SMU