San Francisco won its first of two consecutive national titles in 1955, defeating defending national champion La Salle in the final, 77-63. Dons star Bill Russell won the Most Outstanding Player award, scoring a tournament-high 118 points in five games (23.6 points per game).
Colorado and Iowa also advanced to the Final Four in Kansas City, Missouri. Find the 1955 NCAA tournament bracket, scores and more below.
1955 NCAA tournament: Bracket
Click or tap here for a closer look at the 1955 March Madness bracket.
1955 NCAA tournament: Scores
- First Round
- East Region-1
- La Salle 95, West Virginia 61
- Canisius 73, Williams 60
- Villanova 74, Duke 73
- East Region-2
- Marquette 90, Miami (Ohio) 79
- Penn State 59, Memphis State 55
- West Region-1
- Bradley 69, Oklahoma City 65
- West Region-2
- Seattle 80, Idaho State 63
- San Francisco 89, West Texas State 66
- East Region-1
- Regional Semifinals
- East Region-1
- La Salle 73, Princeton 46
- Canisius 73, Villanova 71
- East Region-2
- Marquette 79, Kentucky 71
- Iowa 82, Penn State 53
- West Region-1
- Bradley 81, SMU 79
- Colorado 69, Tulsa 59
- West Region-2
- Oregon State 83, Seattle 71
- San Francisco 78, Utah 59
- East Region-1
- Regional Third Place Games
- East Region-1
- Kentucky 84, Penn State 59
- East Region-2
- Villanova 64, Princeton 57
- West Region-1
- Tulsa 68, SMU 67
- West Region-2
- Utah 108, Seattle 85
- East Region-1
- Regional Finals
- East Region-1
- La Salle 99, Canisius 64
- East Region-2
- Iowa 86, Marquette 81
- West Region-1
- Colorado 93, Bradley 81
- West Region-2
- San Francisco 57, Oregon State 56
- East Region-1
- Final Four (Kansas City, Missouri)
- National semifinals
- La Salle 76, Iowa 73
- San Francisco 62, Colorado 50
- National Third Place Game
- Colorado 75, Iowa 54
- National championship
- San Francisco 77, La Salle 63
- National semifinals
1955 NCAA tournament: Stats, records
Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses (minimum three games):
Individual scoring
- Terry Rand, Marquette (3) — 24.4 points per game
Team facts/records
- Bradley, at 7-19, and 9-17 Oklahoma City became the first teams to make the NCAA tournament with losing records. Bradley would win its first two games in the tournament — the first against Oklahoma City.