1960-61

The NCAA title that eluded Oscar Robertson for three years was brought home by Cincinnati in 1961 on one of the most memorable evenings in Final Four history.

On the last night of the season in Kansas City, two teams from the same state (Cincy and defending champ Ohio State) met in the championship game, the Buckeyes were ranked No.1 and the Bearcats No.2, and both the title and consolation games went into overtime. The preliminary for third place actually went four OT periods before St. Joseph's beat Utah, 127–120.

In the Final, a layup by Ohio State's Bobby Knight sent the game into OT, tied at 61. Cincy, led by Paul Hogue and Bob Wiesenhahn, took it from there, winning 70–65. Jerry Lucas scored 27 points for the losers and was named MVP for the second straight year.

Ohio State reached the Final unbeaten (some said “unbeatable”) in 27 games. Lucas, a junior, was everybody's pick for Player of the Year, while Buckeyes' coach Fred Taylor was the unanimous choice for Coach of the Year.

At the NIT, Providence, a finalist in 1960, won the title with a 62–59 victory over St. Louis.

Elsewhere, 10 years after the point-shaving scandals of the '50s, the New York District Attorney's office uncovered another one, this time involving 37 players on 22 teams from Connecticut to Detroit to Mississippi St

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

Note: Cincinnati won the NCAAs and unranked Providence (20–5, Joe Mullaney, 24–5) won the NIT.

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

  First Team

·         Terry Dischinger, Purdue

·         Roger Kaiser, Georgia Tech

·         Jerry Lucas, Ohio St.

·         Tom Stith, St. Bonaventure

·         Chet Walker, Bradley

Second Team

·         Walt Bellamy, Indiana

·         Frank Burgess, Gonzaga

·         Tony Jackson, St. John's

·         Billy McGill, Utah

• Larry Siegfried, Ohio St.

AP POLL

1. Ohio State
2. Cincinnati
3. St. Bonaventure
4. Kansas State
5. North Carolina
6. Bradley
7. Southern Cal
8. Iowa
9. West Virginia
10. Duke

UPI COACHES POLL

1. Ohio State
2. Cincinnati
3. St. Bonaventure
4. Kansas State
5. Southern Cal
6. North Carolina
7. Bradley
8. St. John's
9. Duke
10. Wake Forest

NCAA Results

Princeton 84, George Washington 67
St. Bonaventure 86, Rhode Island 76
Wake Forest 97, St. John's 74
Louisville 76, Ohio University 70
Morehead State 71, Xavier 66
Houston 77, Marquette 61
Arizona State 72, Seattle 70
Southern Cal 81, Oregon 79
Regional Semifinals
St. Joseph's 72, Princeton 67
Wake Forest 78, St. Bonaventure 73
Ohio State 56, Louisville 55
Kentucky 71, Morehead State 64
Cincinnati 78, Texas Tech 55
Kansas State 75, Houston 64
Utah 91, Loyola (Calif.) 75
Arizona State 86, Southern Cal 71
Regional Third Place
East: St. Bonaventure 85, Princeton 67
Mideast: Louisville 83, Morehead State 61
Midwest: Texas Tech 69, Houston 67
West: Loyola (Calif.) 69, Southern Cal 67
Regional Finals
East: St. Joseph's 96, Wake Forest 86
Mideast: Ohio State 87, Kentucky 74
Midwest: Cincinnati 69, Kansas State 64
West: Utah 88, Arizona State 80
National Semifinals
Ohio State 95, St. Joseph's 69
Cincinnati 82, Utah 67
National Third Place
St. Joseph's 127, Utah 120 (4OT)
Championship Game
Cincinnati 70, Ohio State 65 (OT)

Cincinnati leaders: F Bob Wiesenhahn, Sr.; G-F Tom Thacker, So.; C Paul Hogue, Jr.; G Carl Bouldin, Sr.; G Tony Yates, So.

All-NCAA Tournament Team

Top 10

All-America Team

Leaders
Team
Offense: St. Bonaventure, 88.5
Defense: Santa Clara, 48.7
Individual Scoring

Rebounding

  Notes

• Providence def. St. Louis 62-59 for NIT title.

• St. Bonaventure’s 99-game home win streak was ended.

• Mississippi State won the Southeastern Conference title but refused to play in a racially integrated NCAA tournament.

• A St. Joseph’s player was involved in a minor point-shaving scandal.

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

1961
Buffalo Germans
*Bernard Borgmann, Player
*Forrest S. DeBernardi, Player
*George H. Hoyt, Referee
*George E. Keogan, Coach
Robert A. Kurland, Player
*John J. O'Brien, Contributor
*Andy Phillip, Player
*Ernest C. Quigley, Referee
*John S. Roosma, Player
*Leonard D. Sachs, Coach
*Arthur A. Schabinger, Contributor
*Christian Steinmetz, Player
*David Tobey, Referee
*Arthur L. Trester, Contributor
*Edward A. Wachter, Player
*David H. Walsh, Referee

The best team in Ohio

The basketball euphoria in Ohio did not extend all the way to the state's southwestern corner. While Ohio State fans reveled in the 1960 national championship and eagerly anticipated two more seasons with Jerry Lucas, there was a genuine sense of loss at the University of Cincinnati. It was felt, among other places, at the box office.

 

John Havlicek

Not only had the great Oscar Robertson graduated, but he also had signed with the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA. This left the university with a two-fold problem: It had to replace a superstar, and it had to face up to constant comparison with a legend.

Many fans decided to take their business crosstown to the Big O's new home, the Cincinnati Gardens.

Even George Smith, the man who had coached Robertson, abandoned the Bearcats. He decided this was the perfect time to assume the position of athletic director at the university. Ed Jucker, his longtime assistant, inherited a team with talent but with no great expectations.

"My main concern," Jucker said, "is to make the games close. And for us to stay close, we have to change our style."

And so, from a high-scoring, free-wheeling outfit that was as entertaining as any college aggregation in the country, Cincinnati evolved into a cautious, defense-oriented team whose approach to basketball did little to attract fans. At least in the early going.

In fact, in the first month of the season, the Bearcats' average home attendance was down by thousands compared with the Robertson-era crowds. It didn't help that Cincinnati lost three of its first eight games, including wipeouts to Missouri Valley Conference rivals Saint Louis (17-point margin) and Bradley (19 points). At least one player suggested to Jucker that it might be better to let the team run.

But the coach was convinced that a pressing defense and a ball-control offense would succeed with this team, while past tactics would fail.

"None of you can be an Oscar Robertson," Jucker told the players, "but with all five working together, maybe we can do as much."

Jucker had yet to envision a trip to the Final Four.

The victory the Bearcats needed to foster a belief system and in themselves occurred against conference rival Dayton. Staging an impressive rally, Cincinnati beat the Flyers by 10 points. The team embraced Jucker's style. As the victories started to come with regularity, the fans returned.

Meanwhile, up in Columbus, the Buckeyes were proving themselves to be every bit as good as imagined. Their fast break was beautiful to behold, they had exquisite offensive balance and Jerry Lucas, their star, was utterly selfless.

The question was not whether the Buckeyes were the best team in the nation but whether they were the best team of all time. Ohio State sailed undefeated through the Big Ten Conference and arrived at the Mideast Regional in Louisville with a record of 24-0.

There, it received a real scare from hometown Louisville. Triple-teaming Lucas and daring the Buckeyes to beat them, the Cardinals led by five with three minutes remaining. Ohio State rallied to tie, and John Havlicek's long jump shot provided the Buckeyes with the winning margin in a 56-55 escape.

"I was guarded so tightly," said Lucas, who was held to nine points, "I felt like I was in jail."

Lucas broke out the following night, making 14-of-18 from the field, scoring 33 points and collecting 30 rebounds against Kentucky. The 87-74 romp by Ohio State convinced Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp.

"That team," said the Baron, "is truly great. They're going all the way."

So it appeared. And while Cincinnati raised a few eyebrows by polishing off Texas Tech and fourth-ranked Kansas State in the Midwest Regional, increasing its winning streak to 20 games, it still was regarded as nothing more than a potential victim for the Buckeyes. Far West Regional titlist Utah and East champion St. Joseph's joined the two Ohio teams in Kansas City for the Final Four.

As expected, Ohio State conducted a clinic against St. Joseph's, crushing Jack Ramsay's well-coached team, 95-69. In the other semifinal, Cincinnati hounded Utah's high-scoring center, Billy "The Hill" McGill and won, 82-67. While McGill managed 25 points, he made only 11-of-31 field-goal attempts.

There was no doubt the Bearcats could take one exceptional player out of his game, but what could they do against such a complete team as Ohio State? The Kansas City newspapers weren't optimistic.

One paper joked the Bearcats could not be found in their rooms because they had checked out of town. Given little chance to win, Jucker said his pressured by expectations that "we would be the victims of another blowout."

Fred Taylor, the Ohio State coach, was taking nothing for granted. The scouting report he delivered to his team noted Cincinnati's great strength on the backboards. Especially notable was the work of 6-foot-9 center Paul Hogue and forward Bob Wiesenhahn, whose 215 pounds appeared to have been sculpted.

The Bearcats did not have a strong bench and were particularly thin at center. Taylor underlined Hogue's name and said, "Make him foul."

In his pregame instructions, Jucker told his team to concentrate on the first 20 minutes.

"If we can stay in the game for the first half," he said, "we can beat them."

Jucker also wanted the Bearcats to send a fourth man to the boards, to stop the Ohio State fast break before it could get started. He didn't want the Buckeyes running under any circumstance.

As it happened, both teams spent a lot of time sitting in Municipal Auditorium. The consolation game between St. Joseph's and Utah went on and on and on. It wasn't until the fourth overtime that St. Joseph's secured a 127-120 victory, no triumph for the kind of defense Jucker preached.

Regardless of the long wait, the Bearcats remained calm and confident. Without a great scorer, they had developed into a team whose offense was spread among all five starters. Tom Thacker, the lithe 6-2 forward, was the most creative of the Cincinnati players, point guard Tony Yates the most steady and Carl Bouldin the best outside shooter.

Given the presence of Hogue -- a tree trunk with glasses -- and Wiesenhahn, the Bearcats had been outrebounded only once all season.

The game unfolded exactly as Jucker had planned. Cincinnati's superior rebounding denied Ohio State many fast-break opportunities. As well as Lucas was shooting, the Bearcats' defense had forced him from the low post, where his whirling moves were most effective. Neither team conceded a basket in the first half, which ended with the Buckeyes clinging to a 39-38 lead.

Cincinnati had not been blown out, and the tempo of the game was in its favor. But Ohio State had induced Hogue to foul three times. Jucker thought about sitting his pivotman down at the start of the second half, but he didn't dare risk changing the momentum. He stayed with Hogue, and the big man finished the game with the same three fouls.

Ohio State had concentrated on stopping Hogue in the first half and succeeded by dropping guard Larry Siegfried, the Buckeyes' captain, back inside. Bouldin took advantage of that tactic to make five consecutive shots in the second half and Cincinnati grabbed a six-point lead. Slowed to a shot-a-minute pace, Ohio State came back to edge five points ahead, 58-53.

The Bearcats clawed back to tie the score, 59-59, and even seized the lead on Thacker's short jump shot. But a driving layup by a brash Ohio State junior reserve named Bob Knight made it 61-61 with 1:41 left and that was the score when regulation ended.

It was fast approaching midnight when Cincinnati took its final slow steps to the title that had eluded the Bearcats during the Robertson era.

The Bearcats began the overtime with two free throws by Hogue and steadily pulled away to a stunning 70-65 victory.

In the final 25 minutes, they had held one of college basketball's most dynamic offenses to 26 points.

Lucas finished as the game's high scorer with 27 points, but he was ably assisted only by Siegfried, who had 14. The Buckeyes' stronger bench resulted in a scoring edge of only 4-0.

By contrast, Hogue was the only Cincinnati starter not to score in double figures -- and he had nine points.

Although Lucas as honored as the Final Four's outstanding player for the second consecutive year, the Bearcats had won just as Jucker had pledged, as a team. They celebrated together while Siegfried, the huge second-place trophy clutched to his chest, placed a towel over his head and cried.