1954–55 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team

The 1954–55 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team represented the University of San Francisco in NCAA competition in the 1954–55 season. The Dons, a member of the California Basketball Association (now known as the West Coast Conference), finished the season ranked #1 in the nation.

1954–55 San Francisco Dons men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions CBA regular season champions
Conference	California Basketball Association
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	28–1 (12–0 CBA)
Head coach	Phil Woolpert (5th season)
Assistant coach	Ross Giudice
Home arena	Kezar Pavilion
Seasons ← 1953–54 1955–56 →

1954–55 California Basketball Association men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 San Francisco	12	–	0		1.000			28	–	1		.966
San Jose State	7	–	5		.583			16	–	9		.640
Santa Clara	6	–	6		.500			13	–	11		.542
Pacific	4	–	8		.333			11	–	15		.423
Saint Mary's	1	–	11		.083			6	–	19		.240
Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

Roster

1954–55 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 4 K. C. Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr San Francisco, California C 6 Bill Russell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Oakland, California F 14 Jerry Mullen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Berkeley, California G 23 Hal Perry 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Jr Ukiah, California	Head coach Phil Woolpert (Loyola Marymount) Assistant coach(es) Ross Giudice (San Francisco) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site city, state
Regular Season
Dec 2, 1955*		Cal State-Chico	W 70–39	1–0	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Dec 10, 1954*		at Loyola (Los Angeles)	W 54–45	2–0	–	–	–	Alumni Memorial Gymnasium  Los Angeles, California
Dec 11, 1954*		at No. 13 UCLA	L 40–47	2–1	–	–	–	UCLA Men's Gymnasium  Los Angeles, California
Dec 17, 1954*		Oregon State	W 60–34	3–1	–	–	–	Cow Palace  Daly City, California
Dec 18, 1954*		No. 8 UCLA	W 56–44	4–1	–	–	–	Cow Palace  Daly City, California
Dec 20, 1954*		vs. No. 17 Wichita State All-College Tournament	W 94–75	5–1	–	–	–	Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dec 21, 1954*	No. 17	at Oklahoma City All-College Tournament	W 75–51	6–1	–	–	–	Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dec 22, 1954*	No. 17	vs. No. 8 George Washington All-College Tournament	W 73–57	7–1	–	–	–	Oklahoma City Municipal Auditorium  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dec 29, 1954*	No. 5	San Diego State	W 70–56	8–1	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Jan 4, 1955	No. 5	at Saint Mary's	W 51–37	9–1 (1–0)	–	–	–	Madigan Gymnasium  Moraga, California
Jan 10, 1955	No. 5	San Jose State	W 56–30	10–1 (2–0)	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Jan 12, 1955	No. 5	at Santa Clara	W 54–44	11–1 (3–0)	–	–	–	Oakland, California
Jan 14, 1955	No. 5	Pacific	W 62–49	12–1 (4–0)	12 – Tied	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Jan 28, 1955*	No. 2	Stanford	W 76–60	13–1	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Jan 29, 1955*	No. 2	California	W 84–62	14–1	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Feb 4, 1955*	No. 2	Loyola (Los Angeles)	W 65–55	15–1	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Feb 5, 1955	No. 2	Saint Mary's	W 69–48	16–1 (5–0)	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Feb 9, 1955	No. 1	at Pacific	W 72–52	17–1 (6–0)	–	–	–	Pacific Pavilion  Stockton, California
Feb 11, 1955	No. 1	at San Jose State	W 59–49	18–1 (7–0)	–	–	–	Spartan Gym  San Jose, California
Feb 14, 1955	No. 1	at Santa Clara	W 66–52	19–1 (8–0)	31 – Russell	–	–	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, California
Feb 16, 1955	No. 1	at Saint Mary's	W 65–57	20–1 (9–0)	–	–	–	Madigan Gymnasium  Moraga, California
Feb 23, 1955	No. 1	at San Jose State	W 64–40	21–1 (10–0)	–	–	–	Spartan Gym  San Jose, California
Feb 26, 1955	No. 1	Pacific	W 67–57	22–1 (11–0)	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
Mar 2, 1955	No. 1	Santa Clara	W 73–61	23–1 (12–0)	–	–	–	Kezar Pavilion  San Francisco, California
NCAA Tournament
Mar 8, 1955*	No. 1	vs. West Texas A&M First round	W 89–66	24–1	29 – Russell	11 – Tied	–	Cow Palace  Daly City, California
Mar 11, 1955*	No. 1	vs. No. 7 Utah West Regional semifinal	W 78–59	25–1	24 – Mullen	9 – Russell	–	Oregon State Coliseum  Corvallis, Oregon
Mar 12, 1955*	No. 1	vs. No. 10 Oregon State West Regional Final	W 57–56	26–1	29 – Russell	16 – Russell	–	Oregon State Coliseum  Corvallis, Oregon
Mar 18, 1955*	No. 1	vs. No. 15 Colorado National semifinal	W 62–50	27–1	24 – Russell	9 – Russell	–	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, Missouri
Mar 19, 1955*	No. 1	vs. No. 3 La Salle National Championship Game	W 77–63	28–1	24 – Jones	25 – Russell	–	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific Time.

^[2]

Rankings

Main article: 1954–55 NCAA men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	—	—	17	5	5	5	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
Coaches	—	—	—	6	5	5	4	3	2	1	1	1	1	1

^[3][4]

Awards and honors

• Bill Russell, First Team All-America selection

Team players drafted into the NBA

Main article: 1955 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
2	11	Jerry Mullen	New York Knicks
10	76	K. C. Jones	Minneapolis Lakers

^[5]

References

1. sports-reference.com 1954-55 California Basketball Association Season Summary
2. "Men's Basketball Yearly Results (1950-60) - University of San Francisco Athletics". University of San Francisco Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 634–635. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
4. "1954-55 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
5. "1955 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020.