1956–57 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 1956–57 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team was a Division I college basketball team that represented the University of Kansas. Coached by Dick Harp, the Jayhawks posted a 24–3 win–loss record, winning the then-Big Seven Conference and qualifying for the 1957 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Kansas won three games in the NCAA Tournament to reach the championship game, where the Jayhawks lost to North Carolina in triple overtime.

Dick Harp was named the head coach of the Jayhawks before the 1956–57 season. The previous coach, Phog Allen, had been forced to leave the program due to an enforced retirement age in place at the school. The 1956–57 Jayhawks featured future National Basketball Association center Wilt Chamberlain, in his first season with the varsity program. Expectations for the team were high entering the season; Allen said of the Jayhawks' new player that "Anybody could win the national championship with Wilt Chamberlain and four cheerleaders." Chamberlain averaged 29.6 points and 18.8 rebounds per game over the course of the season. In Kansas' opening game against Northwestern, he scored 52 points and compiled 31 rebounds in an 87–69 win. From the beginning of the season, the Jayhawks topped the Associated Press Poll, holding their position until mid-January. Following 12 consecutive victories, Iowa State 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 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 on March 7. They ended the regular season with a record of 20–2, and a Big Seven record of 11–1.

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