1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team

American college basketball season

The 1955–56 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team represented the University of San Francisco as a member of the California Basketball Association during the 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season. The Dons ended the season undefeated, becoming the first NCAA tournament champion to record a perfect season and the first team to go wire-to-wire as No. 1 in the AP and UP polls. San Francisco finished the season with a 29–0 record (14–0 CBA) and had won 55 consecutive games.

Season summary

San Francisco won two straight NCAA titles behind a punishing defense led by Bill Russell, who turned shot blocking into an art form. He was also better scorer than history gives him credit for, averaging more than 20 points in both championship seasons. In 1956, Russell had support from guard K.C. Jones and a balanced lineup; besides Russell, five other players averaged between 7.1 and 9.8 points per game.

Roster

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Schedule and results

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Rankings

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Awards and honors

• Bill Russell – Consensus First Team All-America selection, Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (2x), UPI College Basketball Player of the Year, California Basketball Association Player of the Year
• K. C. Jones – Consensus Second Team All-America selection
• Phil Woolpert – UPI College Basketball Coach of the Year

Team players drafted into the NBA

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References

1. sports-reference.com 1955-56 California Basketball Association Season Summary
2. "usfdons.com Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine." Retrieved on July 27, 2009.
3. "54TH IN ROW WON BY SAN FRANCISCO; Dons Beat S.M.U., 86 to 68". The New York Times. March 23, 1956. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
4. "San Francisco Wins 55th Straight, Second NCAA Championship, 83-71". The Southern Illinoisan via newspapers.com. March 25, 1956. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
5. "Men's Basketball Yearly Results (1950-60) - University of San Francisco Athletics". University of San Francisco Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
6. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 643–644. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
7. "1955-56 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
8. "1956 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020.