The 1957 NCAA Basketball Championship Game featured 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...

 and the Kansas Jayhawks against the undefeated North Carolina Tar Heels

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...

. 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 basketball game of all time.

Pre-game

Even though the Tar Heels were undefeated and ranked number 1 in the nation, Kansas entered the game as a 3-point favorite, mostly because playing in Kansas City was a virtual home game.

The Tar Heels were coming off another 3-overtime game in the Final Four, a 74-70 victory over Michigan State Kansas had defeated San Francisco 80-56 in their Final Four game.

First half

The Tar Heels started the game with a psychological ploy, as Frank MacGuire sent the 5'11" Tommy Kearns

Tommy Kearns

Thomas Francis "Tommy" Kearns Jr. is a retired American basketball player.He played collegiately for the University of North Carolina, where he played an integral role on the 1957 National Championship team...

 out to face the 7'0" Wilt Chamberlain for the jump ball, while dropping the rest of his team back to the bucket to set up their zone defense.
The Tar Heels triple teamed Chamberlain for nearly the entire game, forcing the Jayhawks to rely on their somewhat poor outside shooters. North Carolina took an early 19-7 lead before Kansas would close the gap slightly and at the end of the first half North Carolina led 29-22.

Second half

The Jayhawks regrouped in the second half and took a 36-35 lead 9 minutes into the half. The Tar Heels got a late free throw from Kearns to send the game to overtime. The Jayhawks outscored the Tar Heels 24-17 in the half.

First and second overtime

Scoring slowed dramatically in the overtime periods, as each team stalled their offense and held the ball (the shot clock was not used in college basketball at the time). In the first overtime, each team scored just a single basket and neither team scored in the second.

Third overtime

In the third and final overtime, the Jayhawks' Gene Elstun hit one of two free throws with 31 seconds left to give Kansas a 53-52 lead. The Tar Heels got the ball back and Kearns drove the lane, only to be blocked by Chamberlain, however Quigg recovered the ball and was fouled while shooting. Quigg hit both free throws to give UNC the 54-53 lead with seconds to go. Loneski attempted a lob to Chamberlain, only to have it knocked down by Quigg and gave the Tar Heels the victory.

Post game

It was assumed by many that Chamberlain would be unbeatable at the college level and the championship loss, followed by missing the tournament the next year prompted him to leave college and join the Harlem Globetrotters

Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...

.
Iconic North Carolina coach Dean Smith

Dean Smith

Dean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...

, who was a member the 1952 Kansas team that won the national championship and who coached three of the Jayhawk Seniors during his time at Kansas, was said to have been devastated by the Kansas loss.

Box score

Possibly the most surprising stat from the game was that the Tar Heels out rebounded the Chamberlain led Jayhawks by a mark of 42-28.

North Carolina

Name	FG	FT	REB	PF	P
Brennan, Pete Pete Brennan Peter Joseph "Pete" Brennan is a retired American basketball player.He played collegiately for the University of North Carolina, where he was chosen ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year in the 1957-58 season....	4-8	3-7	11	3	11
Cunningham, Bob	0-3	0-1	5	4	0
Kearns, Tommy Tommy Kearns Thomas Francis "Tommy" Kearns Jr. is a retired American basketball player.He played collegiately for the University of North Carolina, where he played an integral role on the 1957 National Championship team...	4-8	3-7	1	4	11
Lotz, Danny	0-0	0-0	2	0	0
Rosenbluth, Lennie Lennie Rosenbluth Leonard Robert "Lennie" Rosenbluth is an American former basketball player.-Biography:...	8-15	4-4	5	5	20
Quigg, Joe Joe Quigg Joe Quigg is a retired American basketball player. He was a key player on the 1957 National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels and a second round draft pick by the New York Knicks in 1958....	4-10	2-3	9	4	10
Young, Bob	1-1	0-0	3	1	2
Totals	21-45 (.467)	12-22 (.545)	42	21	54

Kansas

Name	FG	FT	REB	PF	P
Billings, Bob	0-0	0-0	0	2	0
Chamberlain, Wilt 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...	6-13	11-16	14	3	23
Elstun, Gene	4-12	3-6	4	2	11
Johnson, Lew	0-1	2-2	0	1	2
King, Maurice	3-12	5-6	4	4	11
Loneski, Ron	0-5	2-3	3	2	2
Parker, John	2-4	0-0	0	0	4
Total	15-47 (.319)	23-33 (.697)	28	14	53

External links

• Article on game