The 1956–57 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team was the varsity college basketball team that represented the University of North Carolina.[N 1] The head coach was Frank McGuire. The team played its home games at Woollen Gymnasium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team was the second undefeated national champion in NCAA basketball history and was the first ACC team to win a title. The team notably won its last two games in triple overtime. The Tar Heels leading scorer was player of the year, small forward Lennie Rosenbluth.
1956–57 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball | |
---|---|
Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 1 |
Record | 32–0 (14–0 ACC) |
Head coach | |
Assistant coach | Buck Freeman |
Home arena | Woollen Gymnasium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 North Carolina† | 14 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 32 | – | 0 | 1.000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maryland | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | 16 | – | 10 | .615 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Duke | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 13 | – | 11 | .542 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 18 Wake Forest | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 19 | – | 9 | .679 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NC State | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 15 | – | 11 | .577 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South Carolina | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 17 | – | 12 | .586 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Virginia | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 6 | – | 19 | .240 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clemson | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 7 | – | 17 | .292 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† 1957 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1] |
In the semifinal against Jumping Johnny Green and Michigan State, to tie the game in regulation, Pete Brennan, usually the power forward, after gathering the rebound, ran the floor like a guard and put in a jump shot with a soft touch. Three overtimes later, UNC won 74 to 70.
This placed undefeated North Carolina for the championship against Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas. Again the game went to triple overtime. Center Joe Quigg made the winning free throws.
Roster
editNo. | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Class | Hometown |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Lennie Rosenbluth | F | 6–5 | 180 | Senior | Bronx, New York |
11 | Ken Rosemond | G | 5–10 | 155 | Junior | Hillsborough, North Carolina |
20 | Bob Young | C | 6–6 | 220 | Senior | Queens, New York |
22 | Roy Searcy | F | 6–4 | 185 | Junior | Draper, North Carolina |
31 | Gehrmann Holland | F | 6–3 | 200 | Sophomore | Beaufort, North Carolina |
32 | Bob Cunningham | G | 6–4 | 190 | Junior | New York City, New York |
33 | Danny Lotz | F | 6–7 | 198 | Sophomore | Northport, New York |
35 | Pete Brennan | F | 6–6 | 190 | Junior | Brooklyn, New York |
40 | Tommy Kearns | G | 5–11 | 191 | Junior | Bergenfield, New Jersey |
41 | Joe Quigg | C | 6–9 | 210 | Junior | Brooklyn, New York |
Reference:[3][4] |
Schedule
editDate time, TV |
Opponent | Result | Record | Site city, state |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | |||||||||||
1956/12/04* |
Furman | W 94–66 | 1–0 |
Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
1956/12/08 |
vs. Clemson | W 94–75 | 2–0 |
Charlotte, NC | |||||||
1956/12/12* |
vs. George Washington | W 82–55 | 3–0 |
Norfolk, VA | |||||||
1956/12/15 |
at South Carolina | W 90–86OT | 4–0 |
Carolina Fieldhouse Columbia, SC | |||||||
1956/12/17 |
Maryland | W 70–61 | 5–0 |
Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
1956/12/20* |
vs. NYU | W 64–59 | 6–0 |
Madison Square Garden New York City | |||||||
1956/12/21* |
vs. Dartmouth | W 89–61 | 7–0 |
Boston Garden Boston | |||||||
1956/12/22* |
vs. Holy Cross | W 83–70 | 8–0 |
Boston Garden Boston | |||||||
1956/12/27* |
vs. Utah Dixie Classic |
W 97–76 | 9–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | |||||||
1956/12/28* |
vs. Duke Dixie Classic |
W 87–71 | 10–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | |||||||
1956/12/29* |
vs. Wake Forest Dixie Classic |
W 63–55 | 11–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | |||||||
1957/01/08* |
at William & Mary | W 71–61 | 12–0 |
Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA | |||||||
1957/01/11 |
Clemson | W 86–54 | 13–0 |
Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
1957/01/12 |
Virginia | W 102–90 | 14–0 |
Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
1957/01/15 |
at NC State | W 83–57 | 15–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | |||||||
1957/01/30* |
at Western Carolina | W 77–59 | 16–0 |
Breese Gymnasium Cullowhee, NC | |||||||
1957/02/05 |
at Maryland | W 65–612OT | 17–0 |
Cole Field House College Park, MD | |||||||
1957/02/09 |
Duke | W 75–73 | 18–0 |
Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
1957/02/11 |
at Virginia | W 68–59 | 19–0 |
Memorial Gymnasium Charlottesville, VA | |||||||
1957/02/13 |
Wake Forest | W 72–69 | 20–0 |
Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
1957/02/19 |
NC State | W 86–57 | 21–0 |
Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
1957/02/22 |
South Carolina | W 75–62 | 22–0 |
Woollen Gymnasium Chapel Hill, NC | |||||||
1957/02/26 |
at Wake Forest | W 69–64 | 23–0 |
Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC | |||||||
1957/03/01 |
at Duke | W 86–72 | 24–0 |
Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC | |||||||
ACC tournament | |||||||||||
1957/03/07 |
vs. Clemson ACC tournament |
W 81–61 | 25–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | |||||||
1957/03/08 |
vs. Wake Forest ACC tournament |
W 61–59 | 26–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | |||||||
1957/03/09 |
vs. South Carolina ACC tournament |
W 95–75 | 27–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | |||||||
NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
1957/03/12 |
vs. Yale NCAA east regional quarterfinal |
W 90–74 | 28–0 |
Madison Square Garden New York City | |||||||
1957/03/15 |
vs. Canisius NCAA east regional semifinal |
W 87–75 | 29–0 |
Palestra Philadelphia, PA | |||||||
1957/03/16 |
vs. Syracuse NCAA east regional final |
W 67–58 | 30–0 |
Palestra Philadelphia, PA | |||||||
1957/03/22 |
vs. Michigan State NCAA national semifinal |
W 74–703OT | 31–0 |
Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO | |||||||
1957/03/23 |
vs. Kansas NCAA championship |
W 54–533OT | 32–0 |
Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO | |||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Standard Time. |
Season summary
editHired away from St. John's in 1952 to make North Carolina basketball competitive with rival NC State, legendary coach Frank McGuire mined his native New York for talent and put together a team that won the national championship by slowing down dominating Kansas center Wilt Chamberlain. A veteran lineup led by star forward Lennie Rosenbluth, who averaged 28 points, finished the season a perfect 32–0.
Rankings
editAwards and honors
edit- Lennie Rosenbluth, Helms Foundation Player of the Year
- Lennie Rosenbluth, ACC Player of the Year
- Lennie Rosenbluth, 1st Team All-ACC
- Frank McGuire, UPI National Coach of the Year
- Frank McGuire, ACC Coach of the Year
- Tommy Kearns, 1st Team All-ACC
- Pete Brennan, 2nd Team All-ACC
References
editFootnotes
editCitations
edit- ^ sports-reference.com 1956-57 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary
- ^ Vance Barron (February 6, 1963). "Pearsall Group Recommends 5-Part Plan For University". The Daily Tar Heel. p. 1. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Collegiate Basketball Championship" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 13–14. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
- ^ Morris 1988, p. 281.
- ^ 2009–10 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball media guide Archived 2010-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, University of North Carolina, retrieved 2009-12-31
- ^ Wade 1957, p. 8.
- ^ Wade & Merritt 1956, p. 1.
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 652–653. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
Bibliography
edit- Lucas, Adam (2006). The Best Game Ever: How Frank McGuire's '57 Tar Heels Beat Wilt and Revolutionized College Basketball. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-59228-982-0.
- Lucas, Adam (2010). Carolina Basketball: A Century of Excellence. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-3410-7.
- Morris, Ron (1988). ACC Basketball: An Illustrated History. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Four Corners Press. ISBN 978-0-9609548-9-6.
- Wade, Jack; Merritt, Davis Jr., eds. (1956). University of North Carolina 1956–57 Basketball Blue Book. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
- Wade, Jack; Carmichael III, Billy; Campbell, Orville; Thompson, Wayne; Myers, Bob, eds. (1957). University of North Carolina 1957–58 Basketball Blue Book. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
- Wade, Jack, ed. (1957). University of North Carolina 1956–57 Post–Season Basketball Blue Book. Retrieved June 17, 2014.