1956

North Carolina became the first team from the Old South to win the NCAA tournament, but the Tar Heels did it with a roster full of Irish Catholic Yankees (and one Jew) from coach Frank McGuire's hometown of New York City.

They also did it by winning two triple overtime games in less than 24 hours at the Final Four and beating Wilt Chamberlain in the title game.

Paced by All-America forward Lennie Rosenbluth and guard Pete Brennan, the top-ranked Heels had to outlast Michigan State, 74–70, in three extra periods on March 22 and then do battle with Chamberlain and No.2 Kansas on March 23.

The first No.1 vs No.2 championship game since 1949 reached halftime with Carolina in front 29–22, but Kansas rallied in the second half to lead 44–41 with 1:45 left. Despite losing Rosenbluth on fouls, the Tar Heels came back to tie the score (46–46) in regulation and force the first title game overtime in tourney history. The Heels finally won it in the third extra period when Joe Quigg sank two foul shots with six seconds left. Chamberlain, a sophomore, led all scorers with 23 points and was named MVP.

Elsewhere, San Francisco had its three-season win streak snapped at 60 by Illinois (62–33), but made it back to the Final Four and placed third.

		Before Tourns	Head Coach	Final Record
1	N. Carolina	27–0	Frank McGuire	32–0
2	Kansas	21–2	Dick Harp	24–3
3	Kentucky	22–4	Adolph Rupp	23–5
4	SMU	21–3	Doc Hayes	22–4
5	Seattle	24–2	John Castellani	24–3
6	Louisville	21–5	Peck Hickman	same
7	West Virginia	25–4	Fred Schaus	25–5
8	Vanderbilt	17–5	Bob Polk	same
9	Oklahoma City	17–8	Abe Lemons	19–9
10	St. Louis	19–7	Eddie Hickey	19–9
11	Michigan St.	14–8	Forddy Anderson	16–10
12	Memphis St.	21–5	Bob Vanatta	24–6
13	California	20–4	Pete Newell	21–5
14	UCLA	22–4	John Wooden	same
15	Mississippi St.	17–8	Babe McCarthy	same
16	Idaho St.	24–2	John Grayson	25–4
17	Notre Dame	18–7	John Jordan	20–8
18	Wake Forest	19–9	Murray Greason	same
19	Canisius	20–5	Joe Curran	22–6
	Oklahoma A&M	17–9	Hank Iba	same

Note: North Carolina won the NCAAs and unranked Bradley (19–7, Chuck Orsborn, 22–7) won the NIT.

1. North Carolina
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. SMU
5. Seattle
6. Louisville
7. West Virginia
8. Vanderbilt
9. Oklahoma City
10. St. Louis

1. North Carolina
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. SMU
5. Seattle
6. California
7. Michigan State
8. Louisville
9. UCLA
10. St. Louis

No. 1 and unbeaten North Carolina, which played triple-overtime games on back-to-back nights, was the underdog in the final for one reason—Chamberlain, who averaged 30.3 points and 15.5 rebounds in the tournament (23, 14 in the final). Searching for a psychological edge, UNC coach Frank McGuire sent 5'11" Tommy Hearns out to jump center against the 7'1" Chamberlain. Each team scored just two points in the first OT and none in the second. With six seconds left in the third OT, UNC's Joe Quigg was fouled and hit both free throws to put his team up one. At the other end, Quigg knocked away an entry pass to Chamberlain to preserve UNC's win. Lennie Rosenbluth led the Tar Heels with 20 points.

Memorable Moment: Michigan State had two chances to win its semifinal against UNC. At the end of regulation, Jack Quiggle threw in a 50-foot prayer, but it was ruled after the buzzer. With six seconds left in the first OT and his team up by two, Spartans star Johnny Green went to the line for a one-and-one and a chance to ice the game; he missed, and UNC's Pete Brennan grabbed the rebound, dashed up the floor and hit a 20-footer to keep the Heels alive.

SI's Pick: "Carolina's one chance is to keep the ball away from Wilt Chamberlain. And their defensive record to date suggests this is an unlikely feat."

Surprise Guest: Unranked San Francisco made another trip despite the graduation of Bill Russell, upsetting No. 13 California 50-46 in the West final.

Notable Performance: McGuire became the first coach to guide two teams to the title game (his 1952 St. John's squad lost to, coincidentally, Kansas).

Significant Fact: Dick Harp was the new coach at Kansas, because Phog Allen had reached the state's mandatory retirement age.

Future First-Round Picks: North Carolina—Lennie Rosenbluth (1957, 6th, Philadelphia), Pete Brennan (1958, 4th, New York); Kansas—Wilt Chamberlain (1959, territorial, Philadelphia); San Francisco—Mike Farmer (1958, 3rd, New York); Michigan State—Johnny Green (1959, 5th, New York).

First Round
Syracuse 82, Connecticut 76
Canisius 64, West Virginia 56
North Carolina 90, Yale 74
Pittsburgh 86, Morehead State 85
Notre Dame 89, Miami (Ohio) 77
Oklahoma City 76, Loyola (La.) 55
Idaho State 68, Hardin-Simmons (Tex.) 57
Regional Semifinals
Syracuse 75, Lafayette 71
North Carolina 87, Canisius 75
Kentucky 98, Pittsburgh 92
Michigan State 85, Notre Dame 83
Kansas 73, Southern Methodist 65 (OT)
Oklahoma City 75, St. Louis 66
San Francisco 66, Idaho State 51
California 86, Brigham Young 59
Regional Third Place
East:
Canisius 82, Lafayette 76
Mideast: Notre Dame 86, Pittsburgh 85
Midwest: Southern Methodist 78, St. Louis 68
West: Brigham Young 65, Idaho State 54
Regional Finals
East: North Carolina 67, Syracuse 58
Mideast: Michigan State 80, Kentucky 68
Midwest: Kansas 81, Oklahoma City 61
West: San Francisco 50, California 46
National Semifinals
North Carolina 74, Michigan State 70 (3 OT)
Kansas 80, San Francisco 56
National Third Place
San Francisco 67, Michigan State 60
Championship Game
North Carolina 54, Kansas 53 (3ot)
North Carolina leaders: F Lennie Rosenbluth, Sr.; F Pete Brennan, Jr.; C Joe Quigg, Jr.; G Tommy Kearns, Jr.; G Bob Cunningham, Jr.

• Bradley defeated Memphis State 84-83 to win NIT title and finish with a 22-7 record.

There wasn't anyone on the North Carolina team capable of looking Wilt Chamberlain in the eye without standing on a ladder, so Tar Heels coach Frank McGuire decided to challenge the 7-foot center's pride instead of his muscle.

It resulted in perhaps the single-most unforgettable sight in Final Four history.

Wilt Chamberlain

This was only the start of the evening, but it set the tone for the most fascinating, most compelling and most bizarre championship game in the annals of the NCAA Tournament.

If Carolina couldn't stand up to Chamberlain and his Kansas teammates physically, the Tar Heels would attack them psychologically. After mulling the consequences of playing against the most overpowering individual in college basketball, McGuire decided to send out Tommy Kearns to jump center.

Kearns, it so happened, was the shortest Carolina starter: 5-11 in his sneakers.

"I told him if he jumped high enough," McGuire said, "he might reach Wilt's stomach. You're not going to get the tap anyway, so why waste a big man?

That was precisely the idea, to embarrass the sophomore who had led the nation in intimidation in his first varsity season. Such was the force of Chamberlain's presence that Kansas, 24-2 entering the title game, was favored to win the championship even though Carolina was undefeated in 31 games, was ranked No. 1 and was better manned at every position but one.

Where Chamberlain was concerned, one against five seemed to be pretty good odds.

Only the previous night, after the East Regional champion Tar Heels survived in three overtimes against Mideast champion Michigan State, Midwest winner Kansas had demolished Far West survivor San Francisco, 80-56.

Granted, the defending NCAA champion Dons were without Bill Russell, yet the scope of the beating administered to a sound defensive team was awesome to behold. The Jayhawks had lost only twice all season, dropping road games at Iowa State and Oklahoma State, and had won earlier NCAA Tournament games against Southern Methodist (in overtime) and Oklahoma City.

Not only had Carolina encountered nothing like Chamberlain all season, but the game was scheduled for the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, a short drive from the Lawrence campus. For all Dick Harp's agonizing over living up to the expectations of Chamberlain's arrival, the former aide to Phog Allen seemed to have one hand on the championship trophy in his first season as a major-college head coach.

In speaking to his team, McGuire deliberately fed the growing Chamberlain legend.

"I said he was so good," McGuire recalled, "maybe we better not show up. I said he might stuff some of them through the basket with the ball. I said we didn't have a chance unless our entire team defensed him at all times, and he'd still probably beat us so bad it would be embarrassing to go home.

"Of course, I was kidding them, and they knew it, but it was psyching them up and loosening them up at the same time. Like, hey, let's not take this seriously, it's only a game. But they were gung-ho."

All McGuire's starters were New York City-area kids, personally recruited by the dapper, silver-tongued coach who had directed St. John's to the title game against, again, Kansas five years earlier.

The steady parade of metropolitan standouts to Carolina became known as McGuire's "underground railroad." The joke was that they had built a Southern terminus of the New York subway system in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Regardless of what uniform they wore, the Tar Heels had inbred New York cockiness.

"We're a chilly club," Kearns said of the Tar Heels, who seemingly would have been emotionally drained after their 74-70 escape against Michigan State in a game in which Carolina's Lennie Rosenbluth scored 29 points and converted two third-overtime steals into field goals. "We play it chilly all the time.

"I mean, we just keep cool. Chamberlain won't give us the jitters like he did to all those (other) clubs."

But just in case, McGuire selected Kearns for the opening tip against Kansas. It was a comic master stroke that ridiculed the Jayhawks' major asset and brought smiles to his own players.

"That tipoff took the edge away from Kansas," decided Rosenbluth, the 6-5 consensus All-American who finished the season with a 28-point scoring average. As it developed, Kansas was almost as concerned with Rosenbluth as Carolina was with Chamberlain. The Jayhawks opened in a box-and-one defense, with four players in a zone and one shadowing Rosenbluth. It was a mistake.

After Rosenbluth scored the first two points of the game on free throws, Carolina center Joe Quigg stepped to the corner, hoping to draw Chamberlain outside. Chamberlain stayed close to the basket, so Quigg, a 6-9 junior and the weakest outside shot on the team, popped in a one-hander. He did so again the next time he touched the ball and Pete Brennan's basket and free throw boosted the Tar Heels to a 9-2 lead.

The game was almost five minutes old and Chamberlain had scarcely touched the ball. McGuire had instructed Quigg to front the big man, preventing easy passes into the post, while the forwards attempted to seal Chamberlain from the basket. Finally, at 4:48 of the first half, Chamberlain scored.

But Carolina worked the ball for open shots against the zone and kept making them. In fact, the Tar Heels hit their first seven field-goal attempts, widening the gap to 19-7.

Finally, Harp called a timeout, scrapped the box-and-one and ordered Kansas to play man-to-man.

That was fine with McGuire. Now when Quigg went to the corner, Chamberlain moved with him, freeing the inside for the resourceful Rosenbluth. With his shifty moves and wide assortment of soft shots, he took control in the final minutes of the half. He missed only two field-goal tries in the first 20 minutes, scored 14 points and helped Carolina to a 29-22 lead.

The Tar Heels had been successful on 64.7 percent of their floor shots in the first half, and Kansas made a dismal 27.3 percent of its attempts.

Harp had been a co-captain of Kansas' 1940 tournament finalist and an eight-year assistant to the legendary Allen. It was Allen who had won the nationwide recruiting battle for Chamberlain, but he was prevented from coaching him because he had reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The old man didn't do any favors for his successor when he predicted, "We could win the championship with Wilt, two sorority girls and two Phi Beta Kappas."

The Jayhawks were having trouble enough winning the championship with sophomore forward Ron Loneski and seniors Gene Elstun, Maurice King and John Parker alongside Chamberlain. But Harp reckoned Carolina wouldn't continue to shoot 64 percent in the second half. He was correct.

The Jayhawks closed the deficit within four minutes. Then they inched ahead. The game remained close as both teams waited and waited for an opening. Carolina's hopes appeared to evaporate when Rosenbluth fouled out with 1:45 remaining and Kansas in front, 46-43.

Elstun, a 6-3 forward, went to the free-throw line and missed. A Quigg field goal cut the deficit to one point and, after Loneski threw away an inbounds pass, Kearns was fouled and made the free throw. The score after the regulation 40 minutes was 46-46.

Carolina scored first in the overtime, on a driving basket by Bob Young, Rosenbluth's replacement. Chamberlain matched the basket with a spinning jump shot. Then the Tar Heels tried to hold for a last shot, but Brennan was tied up by Loneski. Kansas gained possession, but Loneski missed the chance at victory.

Neither team scored in a cautiously-played second overtime. Kearns suddenly shocked the crowd at the outset of the third extra period, hitting a basket and two free throws for a 52-48 Carolina lead.

Chamberlain took a pass inside, scored with the Tar Heels draped over him and made the foul shot to complete a three-point play. One of two free throws by King retied the score.

Again, Carolina played for the final shot with little success. Parker, a 6-foot guard, flicked the ball away from Quigg and passed to Elstun, who was knocked down by Kearns. Referee Gene Conway signaled a deliberate foul. Two shots for Kansas. Elstun made only one.

Thirty-one seconds remained. Kearns drove the lane and attempted to spin around Chamberlain. The giant swatted it away but Quigg, trailing on the play, grabbed the ball, went up for the shot and drew a foul. He would have two chances. Quigg had dreamed of winning a big game at the end.

"Follow through," assistant coach Buck Freeman told Quigg on the sideline, "and end up on your toes."

Quigg finished on his toes both times -- the foul shots sent the Tar Heels ahead, 54-53 -- and Carolina finished on top when Quigg batted away a long, high pass intended for Chamberlain.

The longest game in championship history ended at 12:14 a.m. Carolina time. For the second time in two nights, the Tar Heels had gone three overtimes to win.

They had completed an implausible, undefeated season with their fifth tournament victory. (Carolina's pre-Final Four triumphs had come against Yale, Canisius and Syracuse.)

Chamberlain slumped on a stool in the Kansas dressing room. He had scored a game-high 23 points and accounted for half of his team's rebounds, but one man had not been enough.

It was a loss that presaged a career of great individual accomplishment and collective disappointment. He was outdone this time because Carolina had four players in double figure and more help on the backboards, where the Tar Heels outrebounded Kansas, 42-28.

"We had the better team," said McGuire who, as fate would have it, was Chamberlain's coach when he scored 100 points in an NBA game five years later. "We played him, not Kansas. We beat Kansas, not him."

Rank	School	W-L	NCAA Result
1.	North Carolina	32-0	NCAA 1st Place
2.	Kansas	24-3	NCAA 2nd Place
3	Kentucky	23-5	Lost NCAA regionals
4.	SMU	22-4	Lost NCAA regionals
5.	Seattle	24-3	Lost NIT quarterfinals
6.	Louisville	21-5	Probation
7.	West Virginia	25-5	Lost NCAA regionals
8.	Vanderbilt	17-5	DNP
9.	Oklahoma City	9-19	Lost NCAA regionals
10.	St. Louis	19-9	Lost NCAA regionals

Name	School	Avg.
1. Grady Wallace	South Carolina	31.2
2. Joe Gibbon	Mississippi	30.0
3. Elgin Baylor	Seattle	29.7
4. Wilt Chamberlain	Kansas	29.6
5. Chet Forte	Columbia	28.9
6. Jim Ashmore	Mississippi State	28.3

Name	School	Avg.
1. Elgin Baylor	Seattle	.235
2. Alex “Boo” Ellis	Niagara	.234
3. Charlie Tyra	Louisville	.229

First Round	Player	College
1. Cincinnati Royals	Rod Hundley	West Virginia
2. Detroit Pistons	Charles Tyra	Louisville
3. Minneapolis Lakers	Jim Krebs	Southern Methodist
4. St. Louis Hawks	Win Wilfong	Memphis State
5. New York Knicks	Brendan McCann	St. Bonaventure
6. Philadelphia Warriors	Len Rosenbluth	North Carolina
7. Syracuse Nationals	George Bon Salle	Illinois
8. Boston Celtics	Sam Jones	North Carolina Central

Pos	Name	Cl.	School
Pete Brannan	Jr.	F	North Carolina
Lennie Rosenbluth	Sr.	F	North Carolina
Wilt Chamberlain	So.	C	Kansas
Johnny Green	So.	C	Michigan State
Gene Brown	Sr.	G	San Francisco