1956–57 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

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
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record32–0 (14–0 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coachBuck Freeman
Home arenaWoollen Gymnasium
Seasons
1956–57 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
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

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1956–57 North Carolina Tar Heels roster
No. 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

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Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site
city, state
Schedule[5][6][7]
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

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Hired 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

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[8]

Awards and honors

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References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ The school was known as the University of North Carolina until February 1963.[2]

Citations

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1956-57 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ 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.  
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Morris 1988, p. 281.
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Wade 1957, p. 8.
  7. ^ Wade & Merritt 1956, p. 1.
  8. ^ 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

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