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. The Jayhawks won their next five games by at least 10 points each, and began the season with 12 consecutive victories. Following that streak,
Iowa State defeated Kansas 39–37. Kansas lost one other game in the regular season, on February 20, 1957, against
Oklahoma by a score of 56–54. 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, With a field goal percentage of almost 60 percent, the Jayhawks posted an 80–56 win to advance to the championship game against undefeated North Carolina, the number one-ranked team in the country. The Tar Heels defeated the Jayhawks 54–53 in triple overtime; North Carolina's
Joe Quigg made the tying and go-ahead
free throws in the final seconds. ==Roster==