The 1956–57 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team was a Division I college basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

 team that represented the University of Kansas

University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

. Coached by Dick Harp

Dick Harp

Dick Harp became the Kansas Jayhawks' fourth men's basketball coach in 1957. He coached for eight years until 1964. Harp's overall Kansas record was 121-82 and conference record was 53-45 ....

, the Jayhawks posted a 24–3 win–loss record, winning the then-Big Seven Conference

Big Eight Conference

The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...

 and qualifying for the 1957 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1957 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1957 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1957, and ended with the championship game on March 23 in Kansas City, Missouri...

. Kansas won three games in the NCAA Tournament to reach the championship game

1957 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game

The 1957 NCAA Basketball Championship Game featured Wilt Chamberlain and the Kansas Jayhawks against the undefeated North Carolina Tar Heels. The game went into triple-overtime, the only championship game to have ever done so, leading many pundits to call it one of, if not the best college...

, where the Jayhawks lost to North Carolina

North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball

The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history...

 in triple overtime

Overtime (sports)

Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...

.

The 1956–57 Jayhawks featured future National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 center

Center (basketball)

The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

 Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...

, who averaged 29.6 points per game over the course of the season. In Kansas' opening game against Northwestern

Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball

The Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference. Men's basketball was first introduced at Northwestern in 1901...

, he scored 52 points and compiled 31 rebounds

Rebound (basketball)

A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...

 in an 87–69 win. From the beginning of the season, the Jayhawks topped the Associated Press Poll

AP Poll

The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...

, holding their position until mid-January. Following 12 consecutive victories, Iowa State

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball

The Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represents Iowa State University and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I.-Johnny Orr era :...

 defeated Kansas 39–37, and the team fell to number two in the poll. Kansas lost one other game in the regular season, on February 20, 1957 against Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball

-1908-1980:The Sooners enjoyed moderate success on the court during this era, posting only 16 losing records in their first 72 seasons. They were coached by 9 different coaches during this period, beginning with Bennie Owen , and ending with Dave Bliss in 1980...

 by a score of 56–54. Despite the loss, the team remained second in the national rankings, staying in that position for the rest of the season. The Jayhawks wrapped up the Big Seven title, and an NCAA Tournament berth, with a 64–57 win over Kansas State

Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball

The Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represents Kansas State University in college basketball competition. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The current head coach is Frank Martin....

 on March 7. They ended the regular season with a record of 20–2, and a Big Seven record of 11–1.

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Kansas faced SMU

SMU Mustangs

The SMU Mustangs is the name of the athletic teams representing Southern Methodist University. The Mustangs participate in the NCAA's Division I as a member of Conference USA. In 2005, SMU accepted an invitation to the Western Division of Conference USA, and left the Western Athletic Conference...

 and was forced into an overtime period. Behind 36 points by Chamberlain, the Jayhawks won 73–65 to advance to the regional finals. There, the Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma City University, often referred to as OCU, is a coeducational, urban, private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church...

 81–61 to reach the Final Four

Final four

Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...

. Chamberlain posted 30 points in the contest, adding 15 rebounds. The two-time defending NCAA Tournament champions, San Francisco

San Francisco Dons men's basketball

The San Francisco Dons basketball team represents the University of San Francisco in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's college basketball. The Dons compete in the West Coast Conference, in which they have won sixteen regular season and one conference tournament...

, faced Kansas in the Final Four's host site, Kansas City. With a field goal percentage of almost 60 percent, the Jayhawks posted an 80–56 win to advance to the championship game against undefeated North Carolina, the number one-ranked team in the country. The Tar Heels defeated the Jayhawks 54–53 in triple overtime; North Carolina's Joe Quigg made the tying and go-ahead free throw

Free throw

In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court , and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team...

s in the final seconds.