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
ConferenceCalifornia Basketball Association
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record28–1 (12–0 CBA)
Head coach
Assistant coachRoss Giudice
Home arenaKezar Pavilion
Seasons
← 1953–54
1954–55 California Basketball Association men's basketball standings
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

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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
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

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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

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
Poll12345678910111213Final
AP1755532211111
Coaches65543211111

[3][4]

Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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

[5]

References

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  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.