1955–56 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

The 1955–56 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa in intercollegiate basketball during the 1955–56 season. After opening the season 3–5, the team won 17 consecutive games to finish with a 20–6 record (13–1 in Big Ten), and won their second straight Big Ten title. The Hawkeyes also made their second consecutive trip to the Final Four, defeating Temple before falling to the unbeaten, back-to-back National champion San Francisco Dons in the title game.

1955–56 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record20–6 (13–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPCarl Cain
Home arenaIowa Field House
Seasons
1955–56 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Iowa 13 1   .929 20 6   .769
No. 10 Illinois 11 3   .786 18 4   .818
Ohio State 9 5   .643 16 6   .727
Purdue 9 5   .643 16 6   .727
Michigan State 7 7   .500 13 9   .591
Indiana 6 8   .429 13 9   .591
Minnesota 6 8   .429 11 11   .500
Michigan 4 10   .286 9 13   .409
Wisconsin 4 10   .286 6 16   .273
Northwestern 1 13   .071 2 20   .091
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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The group of seniors on this team – Sharm Scheuerman, Bill Logan, Carl Cain, Bill Seaberg and Bill Schoof – are known to Hawkeye fans as the "Fabulous Five."[1]

1955–56 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 21 Carl Cain 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Sr Freeport High School Freeport, IL
G 22 Bill Seaberg 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Sr Moline, IL
G 24 Augie Martel 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Jr
C 31 Bill Logan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Sr Keokuk High School Keokuk, IA
F 33 Bill Schoof 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Sr Homewood, IL
F/C 35 Bob George
Sr
F 42 Tom Payne
So
G 46 Sharm Scheuerman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Sr Rock Island High School Moline, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Schedule/results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
12/4/1955*
No. 4 Nebraska W 60–51[2]  1–0
 16  Logan                Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
12/9/1955*
No. 4 SMU W 80–62[3]  2–0
 17  Seaberg                Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
12/12/1955*
No. 4 at Colorado L 57–60[4]  2–1
 18  Seaberg                Balch Fieldhouse 
Boulder, CO
12/17/1955*
8:00 pm
No. 4 Loyola (Los Angeles) W 84–61[5]  3–1
 17  Logan                Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
12/27/1955*
No. 6 at Washington L 71–76[6]  3–2
                     Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
12/29/1955*
No. 6 at Stanford L 52–54[7]  3–3
                     Old Pavilion 
Palo Alto, CA
12/30/1955*
No. 6 at California L 45–70[8]  3–4
                     Harmon Gym 
Berkeley, CA
1/7/1956
No. 20 Michigan State L 64–65  3–5
(0–1)
                     Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
1/9/1956
No. 10 Ohio State W 88–73  4–5
(1–1)
                     Ohio Expo Center Coliseum 
Columbus, OH
1/14/1956
Minnesota W 84–62[9]  5–5
(2–1)
                     Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
1/21/1956
No. 20 Michigan W 78–67  6–5
(3–1)
                     Yost Field House 
Ann Arbor, MI
1/23/1956
No. 20 Purdue W 67–63[10]  7–5
(4–1)
                     Lambert Fieldhouse 
West Lafayette, IN
2/4/1956*
No. 19 Wichita W 98–86  8–5
                     Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
2/6/1956
No. 19 Wisconsin W 78–74[11]  9–5
(5–1)
                     Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
2/11/1956
No. 17 at Northwestern W 70–65  10–5
(6–1)
                     McGaw Hall 
Evanston, IL
2/13/1956
No. 17 Purdue W 88–75[12]  11–5
(7–1)
                     Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
2/18/1956
7:30 pm
No. 15 Wisconsin W 80–66  12–5
(8–1)
                     Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
2/20/1956
No. 15 at Indiana W 87–83[13]  13–5
(9–1)
                     The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, IN
2/25/1956
No. 13 at Minnesota W 83–73  14–5
(10–1)
                     Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
2/27/1956
No. 13 Northwestern W 86–68[14]  15–5
(11–1)
 21  Logan                Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
3/3/1956
No. 10 No. 2 Illinois W 96–72  16–5
(12–1)
                     Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
3/5/1956
No. 10 Indiana W 84–73[15]  17–5
(13–1)
 21  Seaberg                Iowa Field House (14,900)
Iowa City, IA
NCAA tournament
3/16/1956*
No. 4 vs. Morehead State
Midwest Regional semifinal
W 97–83[16]  18–5
 28  Cain   14  Cain         Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
3/17/1956*
No. 4 vs. No. 9 Kentucky
Midwest Regional Final
W 89–77[17]  19–5
 34  Cain   13  Logan         Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
3/22/1956*
No. 4 vs. No. 15 Temple
National semifinal
W 83–76  20–5
 36  Logan   18  Schoof         McGaw Hall 
Evanston, IL
3/23/1956*
No. 4 vs. No. 1 San Francisco
National Championship
L 71–83[18]  20–6
 17  Tied   15  Logan         McGaw Hall 
Evanston, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APNot released541062013191715131054
Coaches5546516131216131294Not released

[19][20]

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "Iowa basketball: A look back at the Fabulous Five". Hawk Central. August 31, 2010. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "Hawks Need To Play Much Better: O'Connor" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. December 6, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  3. ^ "Hawks Dump SMU, 80-62" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. December 10, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  4. ^ "Colorado Edges Iowa in Closing Seconds" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. December 13, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  5. ^ "Hawks Point for West Coast Trip" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. December 20, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  6. ^ "Hawks Drop 76-71 Tilt". Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune. December 28, 1955. p. 5. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  7. ^ "Stanford Hands Hawkeyes Third Defeat, 54-52". Ames Tribune. December 30, 1955. p. 10. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  8. ^ "Iowa Absorbs 70-45 Beating by California". Chicago Tribune. December 31, 1955. p. 3. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  9. ^ "New Record Set in Iowa Victory" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. January 17, 1956. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  10. ^ "Down 9 Points, Iowa Storms Back To Win" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. January 21, 1956. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  11. ^ "Logan Leads Iowa In Thriller, 78-74" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. February 7, 1956. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  12. ^ "Iowa Defeats Purdue, 88-75, for 7th Win" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. February 14, 1956. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "Hawks Win Thriller In Last-Minute Effort" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. February 21, 1956. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  14. ^ "Hawks Down Cats, 86-68, for 12th Straight" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. February 28, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  15. ^ "Hawks Take Title, 84-73" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. March 6, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  16. ^ "Referees 'Lost Control', Coaches Claim" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. March 17, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  17. ^ "Cain's rampage sends Iowa to the NCAA semifinals". The Des Moines Register. March 18, 1956. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  18. ^ "San Francisco Wins 55th Straight, Second NCAA Championship, 83-71". The Southern Illinoisan. March 25, 1956. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  19. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 643–644. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  20. ^ "1955-56 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 20, 2020.