1955–56 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1955–56 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team represented Marshall College (now Marshall University ) during the 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season . The Thundering Herd, led by first-year head coach Jule Rivlin , played their home games at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse as members of the Mid-American Conference . They finished the season 18–5, 10–2 in MAC play to finish in first place. For the first time in school history, they received the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost to Morehead State in the first round.
The season also marked the first time in the program's history that the Thundering Herd were ranked in the AP Poll during the season, coming in at No. 18 on the week of January 31.[ 2]
Roster
1955–56 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Bob Ashley
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
Dave Dingess
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
Jack Freeman
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
G
16
Hal Greer
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
—
So
Joe Hunnicutt
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
Dave Kirk
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
John Mayfield
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
—
Sonny Parkins
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
—
Jerry Pierson
5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
—
Cebe Price
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
—
17
Charlie Slack
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
Sr
Paul Underwood
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
—
Ron Williamson
—
—
Bill Zban
—
—
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
[ 3]
Schedule/results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Regular Season
Dec 8, 1955 *
Spring Hill
W 83–69
1–0
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Dec 10, 1955 *
Washington and Lee
W 115–83
2–0
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Dec 15, 1955
Ohio
W 87–71
3–0 (1–0)
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Dec 17, 1955
at Western Michigan
L 70–80
3–1 (1–1)
Oakland Gymnasium Kalamazoo, MI
Dec 20, 1955 *
at Morehead State
L 89–102
3–2
Button Hall Morehead, KY
Dec 29, 1955 *
vs. Boston College Fayetteville Invitational
W 130–69
4–2
Fayetteville, IN
Dec 30, 1955 *
vs. Denver Fayetteville Invitational
W 79–78
5–2
Fayetteville, IN
Jan 4, 1956
Miami (OH)
W 99–93
6–2 (2–1)
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Jan 7, 1956
Western Michigan
W 85–72
7–2 (3–1)
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Jan 12, 1956
at Ohio
W 72–63
8–2 (4–1)
Woodruff Hall Athens, OH
Jan 14, 1956
Toledo
W 92–53
9–2 (5–1)
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Jan 18, 1956 *
Morris Harvey
W 115–76
10–2
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Jan 20, 1956 *
at Baldwin Wallace
W 91–87
11–2
Berea, OH
Jan 21, 1956
at Kent State
W 97–83
12–2 (6–1)
Men's Physical Education Building Kent, OH
Jan 28, 1956
Kent State
W 110–108
13–2 (7–1)
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Feb 2, 1956 *
No. 18
Morehead State
L 103–108
13–3
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Feb 7, 1956 *
West Virginia Wesleyan
W 85–64
14–3
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Feb 10, 1956
at Bowling Green
W 87–85
15–3 (8–1)
Bowling Green, OH
Feb 11, 1956
at Toledo
W 78–70
16–3 (9–1)
The Field House Toledo, OH
Feb 20, 1956
Bowling Green
W 95–91
17–3 (10–1)
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV
Feb 22, 1956
at Miami (OH)
L 82–103
17–4 (10–2)
Withrow Court Oxford, OH
Feb 25, 1956 *
at Morris Harvey
W 109–91
18–4
Charleston, WV
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1956 *
vs. Morehead State First Round – Midwest Region
L 92–107
18–5
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, IN
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
[ 4] [ 5]
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NAIA national championship in bold