| Region | Team | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| East | ||
| East | Canisius | Joseph Curran |
| East | Connecticut | Hugh Greer |
| East | Dartmouth | Doggie Julian |
| East | Holy Cross | Roy Leenig |
| East | Manhattan | Ken Norton |
| East | North Carolina State | Everett Case |
| East | Temple | Harry Litwack |
| East | West Virginia | Fred Schaus |
| Far West | ||
| Far West | Idaho State | Steve Belko |
| Far West | San Francisco | Phil Woolpert |
| Far West | Seattle | Al Brightman |
| Far West | UCLA | John Wooden |
| Far West | Utah | Jack Gardner |
| Midwest | ||
| Midwest | DePaul | Ray Meyer |
| Midwest | Iowa | Bucky O'Connor |
| Midwest | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp |
| Midwest | Marshall | Jule Rivlin |
| Midwest | Morehead State | Robert Laughlin |
| Midwest | Wayne State | Joel Mason |
| West | ||
| West | Houston | Alden Pasche |
| West | Kansas State | Tex Winter |
| West | Memphis State | Eugene Lambert |
| West | Oklahoma City | Abe Lemons |
| West | SMU | Doc Hayes |
| West | Texas Tech | Polk Robison |
1956 NCAA Tournament (March Madness)
Play In Round Sweet 16 Elite 8 Final 4 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Winning Team highlighted in Green Box
Play In Round March 12, 1956
|
East REGIONAL |
|||||
| Favorite | Site | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| Madison Square Garden | Connecticut | Manhattan | 84-75 | ||
| Madison Square Garden | Canisius | N.C. State | 79-78 (4 OT) | ||
| Madison Square Garden | Dartmouth | West Virginia | 61-59 | ||
| Madison Square Garden | Temple | Holy Cross | 74-72 | ||
|
Midwest REGIONAL |
|||||
| Favorite | Site | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, Indiana |
Wayne State (Mich.) |
DePaul | 72-63 | ||
| Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, Indiana | Morehead State | Marshall | 107-92 | ||
|
West REGIONAL |
|||||
| Favorite | Site | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| Allen FieldhouseLawrence, Kansas | Oklahoma City | Memphis State | 97-81 | ||
| Allen FieldhouseLawrence, Kansas | SMU | Texas Tech | 68-67 | ||
|
Far West REGIONAL |
|||||
| Favorite | Site | Team | Team |
Score |
Star Efforts |
| Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, | Seattle | Idaho State | 68-66 | ||
| Region | Site | Other Locations |
|---|---|---|
| East | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | New York City, New York |
| Far West | Corvallis, Oregon | Seattle, Washington |
| Midwest | Iowa City, Iowa | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| West | Lawrence, Kansas | Wichita, Kansas |
|
East REGIONAL at |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| The Palestra Philadelphia | Canisius | Dartmouth | 66-58 | |
| The Palestra Philadelphia | Temple | Connecticut | 65-59 | |
|
Midwest REGIONAL |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| Iowa Field HouseIowa City, Iowa |
Iowa |
Morehead State | 97-83 | |
| Iowa Field HouseIowa City, Iowa | Kentucky | Wayne State (Mich.) | 84-64 | |
|
West REGIONAL at |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| Allen FieldhouseLawrence, Kansas | Southern Methodist | Houston | 89-84 | |
| Allen FieldhouseLawrence, Kansas | Oklahoma City | Kansas State | 97-93 | |
|
Far West REGIONAL at |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| Oregon State ColiseumCorvallis, Or | San Francisco | UCLA | 72-61 | |
| Oregon State ColiseumCorvallis, Or | Utah | Seattle | 81-72 | |
|
East REGIONAL at |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| The Palestra Philadelphia | Temple | Canisius |
60-58 |
|
|
Midwest REGIONAL at |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team |
Score |
Star Efforts |
| Iowa Field HouseIowa City, Iowa |
Iowa |
Kentucky |
89-77 |
|
|
West REGIONAL at |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| Allen FieldhouseLawrence, Kansas | SMU | Oklahoma City |
84-63 |
|
|
Far West REGIONAL at |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| Oregon State ColiseumCorvallis, Or | San Francisco | Utah |
92-77 |
|
Regional Third Place
East:
Dartmouth 85, Connecticut 64
Midwest:
Morehead State 95, Wayne State 84
West:
Kansas State 89, Houston 70
Far West:
UCLA 94, Seattle 70
at
|
NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS |
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
|
Iowa |
Temple |
83-76 |
||
| San Francisco | SMU |
86-68 |
||
at Evanston, Illinois - March 24
National Third Place
Temple 90, SMU 81
|
|
||||
| Favorite | Team | Team | Score | Star Efforts |
| San Francisco | Iowa | 83-71 | ||
Top 10 Teams
| Rank | School | W-L | NCAA Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | 29-0 | 1st Place |
| 2 | North Carolina State | 24-4 | L Regional |
| 3 | Dayton | 25-4 | 2nd in NIT |
| 4 | Iowa | 20-6 | 2nd |
| 5 | Alabama | 21-3 | DNP |
| 6 | Louisville | 26-3 | NIT 1st Place |
| 7 | SMU | 25-4 | 4th Place |
| 8 | UCLA | 22-6 | L Regional |
| 9 | Kentucky | 20-6 | L Regional |
| 10 | Illinois | 18-4 | DNP |
All-America Team
| Pos | Name | Cl. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | Tom Heinsohn | Sr | Holy Cross |
| C | Bill Russell | Sr | USF |
| C | Ron Shavlik | Sr | N.C. State |
| G | Robin Freeman | Sr | Ohio State |
| C | Sihugo Green | Sr | Duquense |
All NCAA Tournament Team
| Pos | Name | Cl. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | Carl Crain | Sr. | Iowa |
| C | Bill Logan | Sr. | Iowa |
| C | Bill Russell | Sr. | USF |
| G | Hal Lear (MVP) | Sr. | Temple |
| G | Hal Perry | Sr. | USF |
San Francisco leaders: C Bill Russell, Sr.; G K.C. Jones, Sr.; G Hall Perry, Sr.; F Carl Boldt, Jr.; F Mike Farmer, So.
Team Offense
Morehead State, 95.9
Team Defense
San Francisco, 52.2
Individual Scoring
| Name | School | Avg. |
|---|---|---|
| Darrell Floyd | Furman | 33.8 |
| Robin Freeman | Ohio State | 32.9 |
| Dan Swartz | Morehead State | 28.6 |
| Tom Heinsohn | Holy Cross | 27.4 |
| Julius McCoy | Michigan State | 27.3 |
| Len Rosenbluth | North Carolina | 26.7 |
Individual Rebounding
| Name | School | Avg. |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Holup | George Washington | .256 |
| Charlie Tyra | Louisville | .235 |
| Jerry Harper | Alabama | .232 |
Notes
- NIT 1st Place: Louisville def. Dayton, 93-80.
- San Francisco set a record being ranked No. 1 the entire 14-week season.
- Alabama was ranked 5th but did not participate in NCAA because of a rules technicality involving freshman players.
- Darrell Floyd scored 62 vs. The Citadel, which during this season broke its NCAA-record 37-game losing streak.
- Notre Dame (9-15) had its first losing season in 33 years.