1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1958, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1959 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 21, 1959, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The California Golden Bears won their first NCAA national championship with a 71–70 victory over the West Virginia Mountainneers.

1958–59 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	None
NCAA Tournament	1959
Tournament dates	March 7 – 21, 1959
National Championship	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	California
Helms National Champions	California
Other champions	St. John's (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
← 1957–58 1959–60 →

Season headlines

• The Pacific Coast Conference disbanded at the end of the season.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[1][2]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 Cincinnati 2 Kentucky 3 Kansas State 4 West Virginia 5 NC State 6 Tennessee 7 Kansas 8 Mississippi State 9 Saint Louis 10 Northwestern 11 Notre Dame 12 Auburn 13 North Carolina 14 Saint Mary's 15 Michigan State 16 Xavier 17 Marquette 18 SMU 19 Indiana 20 (tie) Oklahoma State St. John's

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Cincinnati 2 Kansas State 3 Notre Dame 4 Kentucky 5 Michigan State 6 Washington 7 West Virginia 8 Xavier 9 Oklahoma State 10 St. John's 11 Maryland 12 NC State 13 Northwestern 14 North Carolina 15 Saint Joseph's 16 Saint Louis 17 Mississippi State 18 Purdue 19 Louisville 20 Iowa

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Canisius Golden Griffins	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Niagara Purple Eagles	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
St. Bonaventure Brown Indians	Western New York Little Three Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Washington and Lee Generals	Southern Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[3]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina & NC State	Lou Pucillo, NC State^[4]	1959 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Bob Boozer, Kansas State	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Michigan State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona State, New Mexico State, & Texas Western		No Tournament
Ivy League	Dartmouth	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	Manhattan		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	Eastern Kentucky State	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Conference	California		No Tournament
Skyline Conference	Utah		No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Mississippi State	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Jerry West, West Virginia^[5]	1959 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia^[6]
Southwest Conference	TCU	H. E. Kirchner, TCU	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Saint Mary's	LaRoy Doss, Saint Mary's, & Leroy Wright, Pacific	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Philadelphia Big 5	St. Joseph's	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1959 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1959 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	West Virginia	94
	ME	Louisville	79
						E	West Virginia	70
						W	California	71
	MW	Cincinnati	58
	W	California	64

• Third Place – Cincinnati 98, Louisville 85

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1959 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals					Finals
		Bradley	59
		NYU	57
							Bradley	71
							St. John′s	76
		Providence	55
		St. John's	76

• Third Place – NYU 71, Providence 57

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1959 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Bob Boozer	F	Senior	Kansas State
Johnny Cox	G	Senior	Kentucky
Bailey Howell	F	Senior	Mississippi State
Oscar Robertson	G	Junior	Cincinnati
Jerry West	G	Junior	West Virginia

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Leo Byrd	G	Senior	Marshall
Johnny Green	F	Senior	Michigan State
Tom Hawkins	F	Senior	Notre Dame
Don Hennon	G	Senior	Pittsburgh
Al Seiden	G	Senior	St. John's

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
• UPI Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

Major coach of the year awards

• Henry Iba Award: Eddie Hickey, Marquette
• NABC Coach of the Year: Eddie Hickey, Marquette
• UPI Coach of the Year: Adolph Rupp, Kentucky

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Joe Spratt, Saint Joseph's
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Al Seiden, St. John's

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Loyola (LA)	Hank Kuzma		Bill Gardiner
Minnesota	Osborne Cowles		John Kundla
West Texas A&M	Borden Price		Metz LaFollette

References

1. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
2. "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
3. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
4. 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
5. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
6. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09