The 1956–57 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team was a Division I

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

team that represented the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. Coached by

Dick Harp Richard F. Harp (March 28, 1918 – March 18, 2000) was an American college basketball coach who spent the majority of his career at the University of Kansas. He became the Kansas Jayhawks' fourth men's basketball coach in 1956. He coached for ei ...

, the Jayhawks posted a 24–3 win–loss record, winning the then- Big Seven Conference and qualifying for the

1957 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1957 NCAA University Division basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 23 teams to determine the national champion of men's college basketball in the NCAA University Division, which was replaced in 1973 by NCAA D ...

. Kansas won three games in the NCAA tournament to reach the

championship game A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

, where the Jayhawks lost to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in triple overtime.

Season summary

was named the head coach of the Jayhawks before the 1956–57 season. The previous coach,

Phog Allen Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen (November 18, 1885 – September 16, 1974) was an American basketball coach and physician. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching,"National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

, in his first season with the varsity program. Expectations for the team were high entering the season; Allen said of the Jayhawks' new player that "Anybody could win the national championship with Wilt Chamberlain and four cheerleaders." Chamberlain averaged 29.6 points and 18.8

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game over the course of the season. In Kansas' opening game against Northwestern, he scored 52 points and compiled 31 rebounds in an 87–69 win. The Jayhawks won their next five games by at least 10 points each, and began the season with 12 consecutive victories. Following that streak,

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

defeated Kansas 39–37. Kansas lost one other game in the regular season, on February 20, 1957, against

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

by a score of 56–54. The Jayhawks wrapped up the Big Seven title, and an NCAA Tournament berth, with a 64–57 win over

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

on March 7. They ended the regular season with a record of 20–2, and a Big Seven record of 11–1. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, Kansas faced SMU and was forced into an overtime period. Behind 36 points by Chamberlain, the Jayhawks won 73–65 to advance to the regional finals. There, the Jayhawks defeated

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

81–61 to reach the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

. Chamberlain scored 30 points in the game, adding 15 rebounds. The two-time defending NCAA Tournament 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 ...

, faced Kansas in the Final Four's host site, Kansas City. With a field goal percentage of almost 60 percent, the Jayhawks posted an 80–56 win to advance to the championship game against undefeated North Carolina, the number one-ranked team in the country. The Tar Heels defeated the Jayhawks 54–53 in triple overtime; North Carolina's

Joe Quigg Joe Quigg is an American former basketball player. He was a key player on the 1957 National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels and a second round draft pick by the New York Knicks in 1958. Quigg stood 6 feet 9 inches tall and played the center ...

made the tying and go-ahead

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s in the final seconds.

Roster

*Bob Billings *

*John Cleland *Eddie Dater *Gene Elstun *Joe Ensley *Lee Green *Blaine Hollinger *Harry Jett *Lew Johnson *Monte Johnson *Ron Johnston *Larry Kelley *Lyn Kindred * Maurice King *Ron Loneski *John Parker *Gary Thompson

Schedule and results

Rankings

From the beginning of the season, the Jayhawks topped the Associated Press Poll, holding their position until mid-January. After the Jayhawks' loss to Iowa State, the team fell to number two in the poll. Kansas stayed in that position for the rest of the season. In the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

Poll, the Jayhawks held the top overall ranking at the start of the season and remained there until the January 22 rankings, when they fell to second behind North Carolina. They stayed in that position in each subsequent poll during the season.

In popular culture

The team, specifically starting center

and coach

Phog Allen Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen (November 18, 1885 – September 16, 1974) was an American basketball coach and physician. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching,"Jayhawkers Jayhawker and red leg are terms that came to prominence in Kansas Territory during the Bleeding Kansas period of the 1850s; they were adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause during the American Civil War. These gangs were ...

'', which was directed by University of Kansas film professor

Kevin Willmott Kevin Willmott (born August 31, 1959) is an Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. He is known for work focusing on black issues including writing and directing '' Ninth Street,'' '' C.S.A.: The Confederate States of Am ...

. The film featured former Jayhawk basketball player

Scot Pollard Scot L. Pollard (born February 12, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. In an 11-year NBA career, he played for five teams, spending the bulk of his career with the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers.

and Justin Wesley, who was on the roster at the time of the release. Additionally, Kansas alumni Jay Karnes portrays Chancellor Franklin Murphy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1956-57 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the college basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Divis ...

Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons