1956–57 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

1956–57 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
1956–57 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
SEC champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Southeast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
Record	23–5 (12–2 SEC)
Head coach	Adolph Rupp (26th season);
Assistant coach	Harry Lancaster
Captain	Ed Beck
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1955–56 1957–58 →

The 1956–57 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky. The head coach was Adolph Rupp. The team was a member of the Southeast Conference and played their home games at Memorial Coliseum. This squad, led by a core of juniors, was often nicknamed the "Fiddlin' Five".^[2]

1956–57 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 3 Kentucky	12	–	2	.857	23	–	5	.821
No. 8 Vanderbilt	11	–	4	.733	17	–	5	.773
Georgia Tech	12	–	5	.706	18	–	8	.692
No. 15 Mississippi State	9	–	5	.643	17	–	8	.680
Tulane	9	–	5	.643	15	–	9	.625
Auburn	8	–	7	.533	13	–	8	.619
Alabama	7	–	7	.500	15	–	11	.577
Florida	6	–	8	.429	14	–	10	.583
Tennessee	5	–	9	.357	13	–	9	.591
Ole Miss	4	–	11	.267	9	–	12	.429
Georgia	4	–	12	.250	8	–	16	.333
LSU	1	–	13	.071	6	–	19	.240

Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	40	Earl Adkins	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	—	Ashland, KY
F	50	Jay Bayless	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	—	Knoxville, TN
C	34	Ed Beck (C)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	Jr	—	Fort Valley, GA
G	70	John Brewer	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	—	Louisville, KY
G	10	Gerry Calvert (C)	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sr	—	Maysville, KY
G/F	12	Billy Ray Cassady	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	Jr	—	Inez, KY
G	10	Lincoln Collinsworth	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	—	Salyersville, KY
F	24	Johnny Cox	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Hazard	Hazard, KY
F	32	John Crigler	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Hebron	Hebron, KY
G	66	John Hardwick	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	—	Lexington, KY
G	52	Vernon Hatton	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Lafayette	Lexington, KY
F/C	20	Dick Howe	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	—	Carbondale, IL
F/C	14	Phil Johnson	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	University	Lexington, KY
F	55	Ray Mills	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	—	Manchester, KY
G/F	33	Harold Ross	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	—	Hickman, KY
G	50	Adrian Smith	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	Jr	—	Farmington, KY
F	88	Bill Smith	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	—	Walton, KY

Head coach

Adolph Rupp

Assistant coach(es)

Harry Lancaster

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 20, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
Dec 1, 1956*		Washington & Lee	W 94–66	1–0	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 3, 1956*		Miami (FL)	W 114–75	2–0	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 8, 1956*		at Temple	W 73–58	3–0	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 10, 1956*	No. 3	Saint Louis	L 70–71	3–1	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 15, 1956*	No. 3	Maryland	W 76–55	4–1	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 18, 1956*	No. 7	at No. 13 Duke	L 84–85	4–2	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina
Dec 21, 1956*	No. 7	No. 4 Southern Methodist UK Invitation Tournament	W 73–67	5–2	Memorial Coliseum (9,500) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 22, 1956*	No. 7	No. 5 Illinois UK Invitation Tournament	W 91–70	6–2	Memorial Coliseum (9,500) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 28, 1956*	No. 3	vs. Virginia Tech Sugar Bowl Tournament	W 56–55	7–2	The Field House (3,800) New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 29, 1956*	No. 3	vs. Houston Sugar Bowl Tournament	W 111–76	8–2	The Field House (3,500) New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 5, 1957	No. 3	Georgia Tech	W 95–72	9–2 (1–0)	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Jan 7, 1957*	No. 3	Loyola–Chicago	W 81–62	10–2	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Jan 12, 1957	No. 3	at Louisiana State	W 51–46	11–2 (2–0)	John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 14, 1957	No. 4	at Tulane	L 60–68	11–3 (2–1)	Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 19, 1957	No. 4	at Tennessee	W 97–72	12–3 (3–1)	Alumni Memorial Gymnasium Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 26, 1957	No. 5	at No. 13 Vanderbilt	W 91–83	13–3 (4–1)	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 28, 1957	No. 4	at Georgia Tech	W 76–65	14–3 (5–1)	Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia
Jan 30, 1957	No. 4	Georgia	W 84–53	15–3 (6–1)	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 2, 1957	No. 4	Florida	W 88–61	16–3 (7–1)	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 8, 1957	No. 3	vs. Ole Miss	W 75–69	17–3 (8–1)	Ellis Auditorium Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 11, 1957	No. 3	at Mississippi State	L 81–89	17–4 (8–2)	McCarthy Gymnasium Starkville, Mississippi
Feb 15, 1957*	No. 3	at Loyola–Chicago	W 115–65	18–4	Chicago Stadium Chicago, Illinois
Feb 18, 1957	No. 3	No. 10 Vanderbilt	W 80–78	19–4 (9–2)	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 23, 1957	No. 3	Alabama	W 79–60	20–4 (10–2)	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 25, 1957	No. 3	Auburn	W 103–85	21–4 (11–2)	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 2, 1957	No. 3	Tennessee	W 93–75	22–4 (12–2)	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1957*	No. 3	vs. Pittsburgh Mideast Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 98–92	23–4	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 16, 1957*	No. 3	vs. No. 11 Michigan State Mideast Regional Final – Elite Eight	L 68–80	23–5	Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast.

^[3]^[4]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	Not released	3	7	3	3	3	4	5	4	3	3	3	3	3	3
UP	14	7	7	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

References

^ sports-reference.com 1956-57 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
^ Nelli, Bert; Nelli, Steve (January 20, 2024). The Winning Tradition: A History of Kentucky Wildcat Basketball. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-8823-2.
^ "2023-24 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). University of Kentucky Athletics. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
^ "1956-57 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2024.

[1] sports-reference.com 1956-57 Southeastern Conference Season Summary

[2] Nelli, Bert; Nelli, Steve (January 20, 2024). The Winning Tradition: A History of Kentucky Wildcat Basketball. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-8823-2.

[3] "2023-24 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). University of Kentucky Athletics. Retrieved January 20, 2024.

[4] "1956-57 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2024.

[2]

[1]

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[4]