1955–56 Temple Owls men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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.
Roster
1955–56 Temple Owls men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
[ 1]
Schedule and results
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
[ 2]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP Not released — 11 12 17 т 16 10 8 6 7 9 9 10 14 13 15 Coaches — — 11 16 т — 19 14 9 7 7 8 9 8 12 14 Not released
[ 3] [ 4]
Awards and honors
Team players drafted into the NBA
[ 5]
References
Venues Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics