1959-60

For the second straight year, Oscar Robertson and Cincinnati ran into California in the Final Four semifinals and lost. This time, they were both No.1 when they met—Cincy in the AP poll, Cal according to UPI. The Golden Bears beat the Bearcats, 77–69, and the Big O ended his college career with three scoring titles, three Player of the Year awards, and no NCAA title.

Cal, now in position to join Oklahoma A&M, Kentucky and San Francisco as the NCAA's only repeat champions, advanced to the championship game against No.3 Ohio State. It shaped up as a classic final: OSU's No.1 offense (90.5 ppg) vs Cal's No.1 defense (49.5 ppg). All-America sophomore Jerry Lucas of the Buckeyes vs. All-America senior Darrall Imhoff of the Bears in the pivot.

Ohio State shot 68.4 from the field and won basketball's version of the Rose Bowl (Big 10 vs AAWU) by 20 points. The Buckeyes' sophomore center Jerry Lucas was named the outstanding player in the tournament, the first time since 1956 that the MVP award went to a member of the championship team.

In New York, No.4 Bradley won its second NIT title, beating 14th-ranked Providence, 88–72 in the final. The losing Friars did have the tourney MVP, however, in guard Lenny Wilkens.  And for the second year in a row, Mississippi State won the SEC championship and declined to play in the integrated NCAA tournament.

Final AP Top 20 (Writers' poll taken before major tournaments).

Note: Ohio St. won the NCAAs and Bradley won the NIT.

Consensus All-America (By position, in alphabetical order)

  First Team

·         Darrall Imhoff, California

·         Jerry Lucas, Ohio St.

·         Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

·         Tom Stith, St. Bonaventure

·         Jerry West, West Virginia

  Second Team

·         Terry Dischinger, Purdue

·         Tony Jackson, St. John's

·         Roger Kaiser, Georgia Tech

·         Lee Shaffer, North Carolina

AP POLL

1. Cincinnati
2. California
3. Ohio State
4. Bradley
5. West Virginia
6. Utah
7. Indiana
8. Utah State
9. St. Bonaventure
10. Miami-Florida

UPI COACHES POLL

1. California
2. Cincinnati
3. Ohio State
4. Bradley
5. Utah
6. West Virginia
7. Utah State
8. Georgia Tech
9. Villanova
10. Indiana

NCAA Results

Duke 84, Princeton 60
West Virginia 94, Navy 86
New York University 78, Connecticut 59
Ohio University 74, Notre Dame 66
Western Kentucky 107, Miami (Fla.) 84
DePaul 69, Air Force 63
California 71, Idaho State 44
Oregon 68, New Mexico State 60
Utah 80, Southern Cal 73
Regional Semifinals
Duke 58, St. Joseph's 56
New York University 82, West Virginia 81
Georgia Tech 57, Ohio University 54
Ohio State 98, Western Kentucky 79
Kansas 90, Texas 81
Cincinnati 99, DePaul 59
California 69, Santa Clara 49
Oregon 65, Utah 54
Regional Third Place
East: West Virginia 106, St. Joseph's 100
Mideast: Western Kentucky 97, Ohio U. 87
Midwest: DePaul 67, Texas 61
West: Utah 89, Santa Clara 81
Regional Finals
East: New York University 74, Duke 59
Mideast: Ohio State 86, Georgia Tech 69
Midwest: Cincinnati 82, Kansas 71
West: California 70, Oregon 49
National Semifinals
Ohio State 76, New York University 54
California 77, Cincinnati 69
National Third Place
Cincinnati 95, New York University 71
Championship Game
Ohio State 75, California 55

Ohio State leaders: F John Havlicek, So.; F Joe Roberts, Sr.; C Jerry Lucas, So.; G Larry Siegfried, Jr.; G Mel Nowell, So.

All-NCAA Tournament Team

Top 10

All-America Team

Leaders
Team
Offense: Ohio State, 90.4
Defense : California, 49.5
Individual Scoring

Rebounding

Notes

• Oscar Robertson won his third scoring title, scoring a high of 62 vs. North Texas State.

• Providence def. St. Louis 62-59 to win the NIT title.

• Jerry West, at 6-3, became the shortest player to achieve career totals of 2,300 points and 1,200 rebounds.

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

1960
*Ernest A. Blood, Coach
*Victor A. Hanson, Player
*George T. Hepbron, Referee
*Frank W. Keaney, Coach
*Ward L. Lambert, Coach
Edward C. Macauley, Player
*Branch McCracken, Player
*Charles C. Murphy, Player
*Henry V. Porter, Contributor
+John R. Wooden, Player     (Enshrined as a Coach in 1972)

Buckeyes roll behind Lucas

They formed the best and the brightest recruiting class in Ohio State basketball history. As freshmen, they routinely scored 100 points or more in a restricted schedule, and twice they defeated the varsity in closed scrimmages.

It was by no means unusual for thousands to stream out of St. John Arena after the preliminary game even as the varsity was about to take on a Big Ten Conference opponent.

Foremost among the newcomers was Jerry Lucas, a 6-foot-8 center who had led Middletown High School to two Ohio championships. His team's only loss in three years was a one-point decision to Columbus North in his final game. Such was his good fortune, however, that he made the acquaintance of a Columbus North cheerleader who would later become his wife.

In addition to being an excellent shooter, Lucas was a skilled passer and superb rebounder particularly adept at starting the fast break. He rarely shot when it wasn't for the good of the team, was unfailingly polite and had been a straight-A student in high school.

Lucas' priorities were such that he sought and received an academic scholarship rather than a basketball grant. Lucas said he chose Ohio State because it was the only major school to stress education in its recruiting pitch.

"All the others talked only about basketball," he said.

The youngster had a photographic mind that enabled him to commit anything that interested him to memory. Lucas could recount how many telephone poles there were to a mile on the highway, how many steps he had to climb in the dormitory and each classroom building and all the cards that had been played in a hand. He could recite a long list of numbers, forward and backward.

"About the only time he did study," said John Havlicek, his roommate, "was the night before an exam. Then he'd stay up all night and wind up with a great mark."

In his freshman year, in the College of Commerce, Lucas took 50 percent more than the normal workload and averaged just below a straight-A.

Lucas would have been the centerpiece of whatever program he joined. But he was only one of several all-stars in his class at Ohio State. Havlicek, a scholastic football talent, was a 6-5 forward who excelled on defense.

Mel Nowell was a 6-2 guard with extraordinary offensive gifts. Gary Gearhart and Bob Knight both had been exceptional scorers in high school.

It didn't take coach Fred Taylor long to realize the future did not lie with the nucleus of the 1959 Ohio State team, his first varsity squad. That year he installed an offense to take advantage of Lucas' abilities, even though he wouldn't be available until the following season.

"We put in the whole kit and caboodle," the coach conceded later. "The boys learned the offense just the way we were going to play it with Lucas in 1960."

Lucas was an instant starter in his sophomore year, and Nowell also earned a starting berth alongside junior Larry Siegfried in the backcourt. Although Havlicek didn't start his first varsity game, he replaced an injured player in that game and remained in the lineup thereafter. The fifth starter was forward Joe Roberts, a senior.

After early-season losses at Utah and Kentucky, the Buckeyes tore through the Big Ten. They compiled a 13-1 conference record, losing only to Indiana (a team they had edged earlier in the season).

The league title meant an automatic berth in the 1960 NCAA Tournament. It was the school's first NCAA appearance since 1950 when, with Fred Taylor at center, Ohio State was defeated by eventual champion City College of New York by a single point.

"We immediately developed almost total communication on the floor," Havlicek said. "Our basketball intellects meshed perfectly. We never had to call a play. The offense was geared on keys and movement. You never saw us running down the floor holding up two or three fingers, or heard us calling out plays."

Lucas threw the outlet pass as well as anyone in basketball, and the Buckeyes were able to overwhelm many of their opponents with the fast break. They moved the ball without excessive dribbling and rarely took a bad-percentage shot. In fact, Lucas led the nation in 1960 with 63.7 percent field-goal accuracy.

Ohio State was ranked third nationally preceding the NCAA Tournament, trailing only Oscar Robertson's Cincinnati team and defending national champion California. (The Bearcats were ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press; Cal headed the United Press International poll.)

There was little suspense in any of the four regionals. The Buckeyes battered Western Kentucky, 98-79, and Georgia Tech, 86-69, in the Mideast to qualify for the Final Four in San Francisco. Cincinnati and California also won handily in the Midwest and Far West, respectively. The three top clubs were joined by New York University, surprise conqueror of West Virginia and Duke in the East Regional.

NYU was no match for Ohio State in the first national semifinal at the Cow Palace. The Violets were nervous at the outset and never found their composure. They bowed, 76-54, in a game that impressed few in the crowd.

Cincinnati and Cal staged a significantly better game in the second half of the doubleheader. The Bearcats, expecting to reverse their semifinal loss to Cal the previous year, opened a 20-11 lead midway through the first half. But the Golden Bears seized the advantage before halftime and held on in the second half.

Two baskets by Earl Shultz following Bearcats errors in the closing two minutes sealed the 77-69 victory and thwarted Robertson in his final attempt at winning an NCAA title. The Big O had to settle for a third consecutive scoring title as a memento of his last collegiate season.

The final attraction pitted the national leaders in offense and defense. Ohio State averaged 90.4 points per game. Playing just across the Bay from Berkeley and appearing in the NCAA championship game for a second consecutive year, the Golden Bears were favored.

Cal had lost three starters from the 1959 title team, but 6-10 center Darrall Imhoff had developed into a consensus All-American, 6-4 junior Bill McClintock was a fine rebounder and the entire team exercised the self-restraint demanded by Pete Newell.

There appeared to be no team in America better suited to combat Ohio State than California, which had won 28 of 29 games. The Buckeyes were 24-3.

Such was Newell's reputation for defense that Taylor had sought his advice the previous summer.

"My team last year had the worst defensive record in Ohio State's history," Taylor said of a club that yielded 122 points in one game and more than 90 points in four others. "I had to do something, and Pete's the best in the business at this. I asked him to help me and he did. He showed me everything. He confirmed some of my ideas and he gave me the courage to try things I was afraid were too radical.

"Last year, our boys couldn't have caught Marilyn Monroe in a phone booth."

So smooth and efficient was the Buckeyes offense that Ohio State rarely was credited with good defense. But on the night of the championship game, the Buckeyes played superbly at both ends of the court. In the first half, they took 19 shots and hit a remarkable 16. Lucas sank 5-of-6, Havlicek 2-of-4 and the other three starters -- Roberts, Nowell and Siegfried -- made a combined 9-of-9 attempts.

Just as impressive, the Buckeyes held Cal to a shooting mark below 30 percent. Imhoff, who had scored 25 points in the victory over Cincinnati, was shackled by Lucas inside. The score at halftime was 37-19.

Cal fans were accustomed to their team falling behind, although not by this margin. Still, the Bears' press was a potent weapon, and Newell unleashed it at the start of the second half. The defending champions did cut into the deficit, outscoring Ohio State 10-5 and suggesting the possibility of a memorable comeback. But no sooner had the hope been raised than it was crushed by the Buckeyes.

There was an open man or two on the floor and Ohio State began to exploit the situation. The mismatches enabled the Buckeyes to roll up a 20-point lead. Taylor began sending in reserves with five minutes left. All five regulars scored in double figures, topped by Lucas' 16 points, and the starters sank 75 percent of their floor shots (27-of-36).

Cal never was able to run its offense, to display the patience for which it was famous. Imhoff scored only eight points, and none of the Bears had more than 11.

"I used many of Pete's ideas," Taylor said after the Buckeyes' 75-55 triumph, "and they paid off for us tonight."

The defeat marked the last game as Cal coach for Newell, who was retiring to become the school's athletic director. But he did have the satisfaction that summer of coaching the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Rome. The stars of that team included Lucas and Pobertson.