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USF won 26 games in the 1954-1955 season and ended their season with their first NCAA Basketball Championship, with Hall of Fame colleagues Bill Russell and K.C. Jones.
The Dons were ranked 1st in the nation after victories over UCLA, Wichita State, Oklahoma City and George Washington. They won an invitation to the California Basketball Association Title match with a 12-0 record, beat West Texas State 89-66, Utah 79-59 and Oregon State 57-56 to earn a place in the Final Four. They defeated Colorado 62-50 and LaSalle 77-63 under Head Coach Phil Woolpert. In the championship game against LaSalle, K.C. Jones held Tom Gola, a three-time All-American, to 16 points, including 7 after intermission. Jones led the Dons with 24 points, Russell shot 23 and Jerry Mullen shot 10. Russell was named the MVP, while Jones was named to the All-Tournament Team. The city of San Francisco embraced the Dons upon their return from Kansas City with a parade down Market Street. In November of 2011, Sporting News named the 1955 Dons the 5th-Best Collegiate Team of All-Time, after the 1966-1967 UCLA team 33-0, the 1972-1973 UCLA 30-0, the 1975-1976 Indiana Hoosiers 32-0, and the 1981-1982 North Carolina Tar Heels 32-2 games featuring Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins.
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