1956–57 Tennessee A&I State Tigers basketball team
American college basketball season
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The 1956–57 Tennessee A&I State Tigers basketball team represented Tennessee A&I State College (now called Tennessee State University) in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) men's basketball during the 1956–57 season. Coached by third-year head coach John McLendon, the Tigers finished the season with a 31–4 record and were crowned NAIA national champions by winning the 1957 NAIA tournament.[1] This marked the first of three consecutive national championships, a feat that no other team at any level of college basketball had previously accomplished.[2] In addition, the 1956–57 team became the first historically black college to win a national basketball title.[3] In 2019, all three national championship teams were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[2][4]
| 1956–57 Tennessee A&I State Tigers men's basketball | |
|---|---|
NAIA tournament National Champions | |
| Conference | Independent |
| Record | 31–4 |
| Head coach |
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| Home arena | Kean Hall |
Schedule
| Date time, TV |
Opponent | Result | Record | Site city, state | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philander Smith | W 134-51 | 1-0 |
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| Philander Smith | W 108-76 | 2-0 |
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| Philander Smith | W 87-86 | 3-0 |
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| Lincoln University | W 91-80 | 4-0 |
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| Lincoln University | W 114-74 | 5-0 |
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| Arkansas-Pine Bluff | W 94-75 | 6-0 |
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| Arkansas-Pine Bluff | W 83-64 | 7-0 |
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| Knoxville | W 118-100 | 8-0 |
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| Knoxville | W 113-81 | 9-0 |
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| Kentucky St | W 79-75 | 10-0 |
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| Kentucky St | W 95-71 | 11-0 |
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| Grambling | L 75-76 | 11-1 |
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| Grambling | W 98-74 | 12-1 |
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| Central State | W 89-63 | 13-1 |
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| Central State | W 92-78 | 14-1 |
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| Jackson College | L 73-79 | 14-2 |
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| Jackson College | W 84-81 | 15-2 |
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| Omaha University | W 96-80 | 16-2 |
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| South Dakota State | L 85-95 | 16-3 |
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| South Dakota State | W 88-74 | 17-3 |
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| Illinois State | W 98-91 | 18-3 |
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| Rockhurst | L 63-71 | 18-4 |
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| North Dakota | W 84-51 | 19-4 |
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| Rockhurst | W 69-57 | 20-4 |
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| Dillard | W 79-61 | 21-4 |
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| Xavier University | W 85-73 | 22-4 |
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| Grambling | W 118-94 | 23-4 |
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| Kentucky St | W 89-74 | 24-4 |
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| North Carolina A&T | W 91-72 | 25-4 |
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| Winston-Salem | W 100-80 | 26-4 |
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| Adrian College | W 87-69 | 27-4 |
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| Portland University | W 87-60 | 28-4 |
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| Western Illinois | W 90-88 | 29-4 |
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| Pacific Lutheran | W 71-70 | 30-4 |
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| Southeastern Oklahoma State | W 92-73 | 31-4 |
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*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. | |||||||||||
Individual honors
- Associated Press Little All-America – Dick Barnett
- NAIA All-America – Dick Barnett, John Barnhill, James Satterwhite