1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1961–62 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1961–62 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Ohio State
NCAA Tournament	1962
Tournament dates	March 12 – 24, 1962
National Championship	Freedom Hall; Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	Cincinnati
Helms National Champions	Cincinnati
Other champions	Dayton (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Paul Hogue, Cincinnati
	← 1960–61 1962–63 →

The 1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1961, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 24, 1962, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The Cincinnati Bearcats won their second NCAA national championship with a 71–59 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Season headlines

The Associated Press (AP) Poll changed format, abandoning the Top 20 format it had used since its inception in the 1948–49 season and becoming a Top 10 poll.^[3]
Cincinnati's national championship was its second in a row as well as second overall, and the national championship game was a rematch from the year before between Cincinnati and Ohio State.
The 1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament set a new attendance record for an NCAA tournament, with a combined 177,469 fans attending its 29 games.^[4]
The Border Conference and Mountain States (or Skyline) Conference both disbanded at the end of the season.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[5]^[6]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Cincinnati
3	Wake Forest
4	USC
5	Providence
6	Purdue
7	Duke
8	Kansas State
9	St. John's
10	Seattle

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Ohio State
2	Cincinnati
3	Kansas State
4	Providence
5	Duke
6	Purdue
7	USC
8	Arizona State
9	West Virginia
10	Wake Forest

Regular season

Conference

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[7]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	Wake Forest	Len Chappell, Wake Forest^[8]	1962 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Wake Forest
Big Eight Conference	Colorado	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Border Conference	Arizona State		No Tournament
Ivy League	Yale	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan New York Conference	St. John's		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green State	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Saint Joseph's		No Tournament
Mountain States (Skyline) Conference	Utah		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Bradley & Cincinnati	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky State	None selected	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky & Mississippi State	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Rod Thorn, West Virginia^[9]	1962 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Arena (Richmond, Virginia)	West Virginia^[10]
Southwest Conference	SMU & Texas Tech	Carroll Broussard, Texas A&M	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Pepperdine	Harry Dinnel, Pepperdine, & Steve Gray, Saint Mary's	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Massachusetts	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1961–62 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
UCLA	10	–	2	.833	18	–	11	.621
Stanford	8	–	4	.667	16	–	6	.727
Washington	5	–	7	.417	16	–	10	.615
USC	5	–	7	.417	14	–	11	.560
California	2	–	10	.167	8	–	17	.320

Rankings from AP Poll^[11]

1961–62 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Wake Forest †	12	–	2	.857	22	–	9	.710
No. 10 Duke	11	–	3	.786	20	–	5	.800
NC State	10	–	4	.714	11	–	6	.647
North Carolina	7	–	7	.500	8	–	9	.471
South Carolina	7	–	7	.500	15	–	12	.556
Clemson	4	–	10	.286	12	–	15	.444
Maryland	3	–	11	.214	8	–	17	.320
Virginia	2	–	12	.143	5	–	18	.217

† 1962 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[12]

1961–62 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 9 Colorado	13	–	1	.929	19	–	7	.731
No. 6 Kansas State	12	–	2	.857	22	–	3	.880
Iowa State	8	–	6	.571	13	–	12	.520
Oklahoma State	7	–	7	.500	14	–	11	.560
Nebraska	5	–	9	.357	9	–	16	.360
Oklahoma	5	–	9	.357	7	–	17	.292
Missouri	3	–	11	.214	9	–	16	.360
Kansas	3	–	11	.214	7	–	18	.280

Rankings from AP Poll^[13]

1961–62 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Ohio State	13	–	1	.929	26	–	2	.929
Wisconsin	10	–	4	.714	17	–	7	.708
Purdue	9	–	5	.643	17	–	7	.708
Illinois	7	–	7	.500	15	–	8	.652
Indiana	7	–	7	.500	13	–	11	.542
Iowa	7	–	7	.500	13	–	11	.542
Minnesota	6	–	8	.429	10	–	14	.417
Michigan	5	–	9	.357	7	–	17	.292
Michigan State	3	–	11	.214	8	–	14	.364
Northwestern	3	–	11	.214	8	–	15	.348

Rankings from AP Poll^[14]

1961–62 Border Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Arizona State–Tempe	8	–	0	1.000	23	–	4	.852
Texas Western	5	–	3	.625	18	–	6	.750
New Mexico State	3	–	5	.375	10	–	14	.417
West Texas State	3	–	5	.375	5	–	18	.217
Hardin–Simmons	1	–	7	.125	8	–	17	.320

Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 Ivy League men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Yale	13	–	1	.929	18	–	6	.750
Pennsylvania	11	–	3	.786	17	–	8	.680
Princeton	10	–	4	.714	13	–	10	.565
Cornell	9	–	5	.643	18	–	7	.720
Brown	6	–	8	.429	11	–	14	.440
Harvard	3	–	11	.214	10	–	14	.417
Dartmouth	3	–	11	.214	6	–	18	.250
Columbia	1	–	13	.071	3	–	21	.125

Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
St. John's	5	–	0	1.000	21	–	5	.808
CCNY	2	–	1	.667	9	–	9	.500
NYU	3	–	2	.600	20	–	5	.800
St. Francis (NY)	2	–	3	.400	8	–	15	.348
Manhattan	1	–	3	.250	12	–	10	.545
Fordham	1	–	3	.250	10	–	14	.417
Brooklyn	0	–	2	.000	4	–	13	.235


Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 8 Bowling Green State	11	–	1	.917	21	–	4	.840
Ohio	8	–	4	.667	13	–	10	.565
Toledo	7	–	5	.583	14	–	10	.583
Western Michigan	6	–	6	.500	13	–	11	.542
Marshall	6	–	6	.500	10	–	13	.435
Miami (Ohio)	3	–	9	.250	7	–	17	.292
Kent State	1	–	11	.083	2	–	19	.095

Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 MAC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Saint Joseph's†	9	–	1	.900	18	–	10	.643
Temple	8	–	2	.800	18	–	9	.667
Delaware	9	–	3	.750	18	–	5	.783
Lafayette	9	–	3	.750	18	–	6	.750
La Salle	5	–	3	.625	16	–	9	.640
Gettysburg	7	–	5	.583	18	–	6	.750
Lehigh	4	–	10	.286	7	–	12	.368
Rutgers	2	–	8	.200	10	–	13	.435
Bucknell	2	–	9	.182	7	–	15	.318
Muhlenberg	1	–	12	.077	5	–	17	.227

† Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Cincinnati	10	–	2	.833	29	–	2	.935
No. 5 Bradley	10	–	2	.833	21	–	7	.750
Wichita Municipal	7	–	5	.583	18	–	9	.667
Drake	6	–	6	.500	16	–	8	.667
Saint Louis	5	–	7	.417	11	–	15	.423
Tulsa	4	–	8	.333	7	–	19	.269
North Texas State	0	–	12	.000	3	–	23	.115

Rankings from AP Poll^[15]

1961–62 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 7 Utah	13	–	1	.929	23	–	3	.885
Utah State	12	–	2	.857	22	–	7	.759
Colorado State	10	–	4	.714	18	–	9	.667
Montana	5	–	9	.357	10	–	14	.417
BYU	5	–	9	.357	10	–	16	.385
Denver	5	–	9	.357	8	–	17	.320
Wyoming	3	–	11	.214	9	–	17	.346
New Mexico	3	–	11	.214	6	–	20	.231

Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Western Kentucky State	11	–	1	.917	17	–	10	.630
Tennessee Tech	7	–	5	.583	16	–	6	.727
Morehead State	7	–	5	.583	14	–	8	.636
Eastern Kentucky State	7	–	5	.583	10	–	6	.625
Murray State	5	–	7	.417	13	–	12	.520
East Tennessee State	3	–	9	.250	11	–	14	.440
Middle Tennessee	2	–	10	.167	6	–	12	.333

Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Mississippi State	13	–	1	.929	24	–	1	.960
No. 3 Kentucky	13	–	1	.929	23	–	3	.885
Auburn	11	–	3	.786	18	–	6	.750
Florida	8	–	6	.571	12	–	11	.522
LSU	7	–	7	.500	13	–	11	.542
Tulane	6	–	8	.429	12	–	10	.545
Vanderbilt	6	–	8	.429	12	–	12	.500
Alabama	6	–	8	.429	11	–	15	.423
Ole Miss	5	–	9	.357	12	–	13	.480
Georgia Tech	4	–	10	.286	10	–	16	.385
Georgia	3	–	11	.214	8	–	16	.333
Tennessee	2	–	12	.143	4	–	19	.174

Rankings from AP Poll^[16]

1961–62 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
West Virginia †	12	–	1	.923	24	–	6	.800
Virginia Tech	9	–	3	.750	19	–	6	.760
Furman	8	–	5	.615	15	–	12	.556
George Washington	6	–	7	.462	9	–	15	.375
Davidson	5	–	6	.455	14	–	11	.560
VMI	6	–	8	.429	9	–	11	.450
The Citadel	4	–	8	.333	8	–	15	.348
Richmond	5	–	11	.313	6	–	21	.222
William & Mary	5	–	11	.313	7	–	17	.292

† Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
SMU	11	–	3	.786	18	–	7	.720
Texas Tech	11	–	3	.786	19	–	8	.704
Texas A&M	9	–	5	.643	15	–	9	.625
Texas	8	–	6	.571	16	–	8	.667
Rice	7	–	7	.500	12	–	11	.522
Arkansas	5	–	9	.357	14	–	10	.583
TCU	4	–	10	.286	5	–	19	.208
Baylor	1	–	13	.071	4	–	20	.167

Rankings from AP Poll

1961–62 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Pepperdine	11	–	1	.917	20	–	7	.741
Santa Clara	8	–	4	.667	19	–	6	.760
Saint Mary's	8	–	4	.667	13	–	11	.542
Loyola (Calif.)	6	–	6	.500	18	–	9	.667
Pacific	5	–	7	.417	10	–	16	.385
San Francisco	4	–	8	.333	10	–	15	.400
San Jose State		–		–	13	–	11	.542

† Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll^[17]

1961–62 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Massachusetts	8	–	2	.800	15	–	9	.625
Connecticut	7	–	3	.700	16	–	8	.667
Rhode Island	7	–	3	.700	14	–	12	.538
Maine	4	–	6	.400	11	–	13	.458
Vermont	3	–	7	.300	12	–	12	.500
New Hampshire	1	–	9	.100	3	–	20	.130

University Division independents

A total of 48 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Loyola of Illinois (23–4) had the best winning percentage (.852), while Oregon State (24–5) and Dayton (24–6) finished with the most wins.^[18]

1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Loyola (Ill.)		–		–	23	–	4	.852
Oregon State		–		–	24	–	5	.828
Creighton		–		–	21	–	5	.808
Dayton		–		–	24	–	6	.800
Butler		–		–	22	–	6	.786
Houston		–		–	21	–	6	.778
Holy Cross		–		–	20	–	6	.769
Providence		–		–	20	–	6	.769
Duquesne		–		–	22	–	7	.759
Villanova		–		–	21	–	7	.750
Air Force		–		–	16	–	7	.696
Boston College		–		–	15	–	7	.682
Memphis State		–		–	15	–	7	.682
Niagara		–		–	16	–	8	.667
St. Bonaventure		–		–	14	–	7	.667
Seattle		–		–	18	–	9	.667
Centenary (La.)		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Idaho State		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Florida State		–		–	15	–	8	.652
Saint Francis (Pa.)		–		–	14	–	8	.636
Seton Hall		–		–	15	–	9	.625
Navy		–		–	13	–	8	.619
Georgetown		–		–	14	–	9	.609
Louisville		–		–	15	–	10	.600
Marquette		–		–	15	–	11	.577
Canisius		–		–	12	–	9	.571
DePaul		–		–	13	–	10	.565
Detroit		–		–	15	–	12	.556
Gonzaga		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Miami (Fla.)		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Oklahoma City		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Xavier		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Penn State		–		–	12	–	11	.522
Pittsburgh		–		–	12	–	11	.522
Idaho		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Loyola (La.)		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Army		–		–	10	–	11	.476
Regis		–		–	10	–	11	.476
Arizona		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Montana State		–		–	10	–	13	.435
Iona		–		–	8	–	11	.421
Colgate		–		–	8	–	15	.348
Oregon		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Portland		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Washington State		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Notre Dame		–		–	7	–	16	.304
Boston University		–		–	5	–	15	.250
Syracuse		–		–	2	–	22	.083


Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Villanova	Hubie White, Villanova

Villanova finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

National semifinals			National finals

E	Wake Forest	68

ME	Ohio State	84
			ME	Ohio State	59

			MW	Cincinnati	71
MW	Cincinnati	72

W	UCLA	70	National finals


			E	Wake Forest	82

			W	UCLA	80

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals		Finals

Dayton	98

Loyola (Ill.)	82
		Dayton	73

		St. John's	67
Duquesne	65

St. John's	75	Third place


		Loyola (Ill.)	95

		Duquesne	84

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Len Chappell	C/F	Senior	Wake Forest
Terry Dischinger	F	Senior	Purdue
Jerry Lucas	F/C	Senior	Ohio State
Billy McGill	C	Senior	Utah
Chet Walker	F	Senior	Bradley

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Jack Foley	G/F	Senior	Holy Cross
John Havlicek	F	Senior	Ohio State
Art Heyman	F	Junior	Duke
Cotton Nash	F	Sophomore	Kentucky
John Rudometkin	F	Senior	USC
Rod Thorn	G/F	Junior	West Virginia

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Hardin–Simmons	Bill Scott		Lou Henson

References

^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ sports-reference.com Matchup Finder
^ Smith Barrier, "Unusual West Coast Watch Factory -- They Don't Make Any, Just Win Them", 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, Published by College Athletics Publishing Service
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ sports-reference.com 1961-62 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary
^ sports-reference.com 1961-62 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
^ "1961-62 Big Ten Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference.
^ sports-reference.com 1961-62 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
^ sports-reference.com 1961-62 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
^ sports-reference.com 1961-62 West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary
^ "1961-62 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

[preseason-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[3] sports-reference.com Matchup Finder

[4] Smith Barrier, "Unusual West Coast Watch Factory -- They Don't Make Any, Just Win Them", 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, Published by College Athletics Publishing Service

[ESPN-5] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[6] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[7] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[8] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14

[9] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[10] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[11] "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.

[12] sports-reference.com 1961-62 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary

[13] sports-reference.com 1961-62 Big Eight Conference Season Summary

[14] "1961-62 Big Ten Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference.

[15] sports-reference.com 1961-62 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary

[16] sports-reference.com 1961-62 Southeastern Conference Season Summary

[17] sports-reference.com 1961-62 West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary

[18] "1961-62 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

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