1955–56 Temple Owls men's basketball team

The 1955–56 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University during the 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Harry Litwack and played their home games at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Playing out of the East region, the Owls made a run to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament – the first in program history. In the National semifinals, Temple lost to Iowa. The Owls bounced back to defeat SMU in the consolation game to finish with a record of 27–4. It would be the second time in three seasons Temple reached the Final Four and took third place.

1955–56 Temple Owls men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Third place
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 15
Record27–4
Head coach
Home arenaThe Palestra
Seasons

Roster

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1955–56 Temple Owls men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 5 Guy Rodgers 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Northeast HS Philadelphia, PA
G 6 Hal Lear 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Overbrook HS Philadelphia, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

[1]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1957*
Albright W 87–56  1–0
South Hall 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 7, 1957*
Gettysburg W 74–53  2–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 10, 1955*
at No. 2 Kentucky W 73–61  3–0
Memorial Coliseum 
Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 14, 1957*
No. 11 at Gettysburg W 74–53  4–0
 
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Dec 17, 1955*
No. 11 Princeton W 83–80  5–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 20, 1955*
No. 12 vs. Penn W 93–72  6–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 4, 1956*
No. 16 at Lehigh W 81–48  7–0
Taylor Gym 
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Jan 6, 1956*
No. 16 at Scranton W 90–60  8–0
John Long Center 
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Jan 11, 1956*
No. 10 vs. Villanova W 80–73  9–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 14, 1956*
No. 10 Manhattan W 91–79  10–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 21, 1956*
No. 8 Lehigh W 72–44  11–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 26, 1956*
No. 6 at Delaware W 108–81  12–0
 
Newark, Delaware
Jan 28, 1956*
No. 6 at Navy W 93–74  13–0
Dahlgren Hall 
Annapolis, Maryland
Feb 1, 1956*
No. 7 at Muhlenberg L 66–67  13–1
Memorial Hall 
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Feb 4, 1956*
No. 7 at Saint Francis (PA) W 103–68  14–1
 
Loretto, Pennsylvania
Feb 6, 1956*
No. 9 at Duquesne W 63–48  15–1
Duquesne Gymnasium 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 8, 1956*
No. 9 Bucknell W 88–50  16–1
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 10, 1956*
No. 9 Penn State W 77–58  17–1
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 15, 1956*
No. 9 vs. La Salle W 60–57  18–1
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 18, 1956*
No. 9 at Lafayette W 66–65  19–1
Alumni Gym 
Easton, Pennsylvania
Feb 20, 1958*
No. 10 Lebanon Valley W 72–68  20–1
South Hall 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 22, 1956*
No. 10 vs. Saint Joseph's L 68–77  20–2
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 25, 1956*
No. 10 Duquesne L 64–66  20–3
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 29, 1958*
No. 14 at Albright W 86–75  21–3
 
Reading, Pennsylvania
Mar 7, 1956*
No. 13 St. John's W 71–66  22–3
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 10, 1956*
No. 13 vs. Saint Joseph's W 89–82  23–3
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1956*
No. 15 vs. No. 14 Holy Cross
First round
W 74–72  24–3
Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Mar 16, 1956*
No. 15 vs. Connecticut
Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 65–59  25–3
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 17, 1956*
No. 15 vs. Canisius
Regional final – Elite Eight
W 60–58  26–3
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 22, 1956*
No. 15 vs. No. 4 Iowa
National semifinal – Final Four
L 76–83  26–4
McGaw Hall 
Evanston, Illinois
Mar 23, 1956*
No. 15 vs. No. 7 Southern Methodist
Consolation
W 90–81  27–4
McGaw Hall 
Evanston, Illinois
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

[2]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APNot released111217 т16108679910141315
Coaches1116 т19149778981214Not released

[3][4]

Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 7 Hal Lear Philadelphia Warriors

[5]

References

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  1. ^ "1957–58 Temple Owls Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "2019-20 Temple Owls Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Temple Owls. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  3. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 643–644. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  4. ^ "1955-56 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "1956 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.