La Salle Explorers Basketball
2023–24 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team
UniversityLa Salle University
Head coachFran Dunphy (2nd season)
ConferenceAtlantic 10
LocationPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
ArenaTom Gola Arena
(Capacity: 3,400)
NicknameExplorers
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
Alternate jersey
Team colours
Alternate
NCAA tournament champions
1954
NCAA tournament runner-up
1955
NCAA tournament Final Four
1954, 1955
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1954, 1955
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1954, 1955, 2013
NCAA tournament round of 32
1975, 1978, 1983, 1990, 2013
NCAA tournament appearances
1954, 1955, 1968, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2013
Conference tournament champions
East Coast: 1975, 1978, 1980, 1983
MAAC: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992
Conference regular season champions
1968, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1983 (ECC)
1984, 1988, 1989 (MAAC)

The La Salle Explorers men's basketball program represents La Salle University in college basketball.

Rivalries

The Explorers, a member of the Big 5, have long-standing rivalries with multiple institutions including Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph's University, and Villanova University. La Salle also has a rivalry with Drexel University who were previously a member of the now defunct City 6, and who were added to the Big 5 in 2023.

History

The program has been rated the 53rd "Greatest College Basketball Program of All-Time" by Street & Smith's magazine and 71st by the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia.

La Salle has won one National Championship, one National Invitation Tournament Championship, and advanced to two Final Fours. The Explorers have also made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, won eight Philadelphia Big 5 city championships, and four Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships. The program is one of only two schools (with Houston) to have two players in the top 25 in all-time NCAA scoring – Lionel Simmons and Michael Brooks. It's also had three National Players of the Year.[2]

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Explorers have appeared in the NCAA tournament 12 times. Their combined record is 14–11. They were National Champions in 1954 and National Finalists in 1955.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1954First round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship		Fordham
NC State
Navy
Penn State
Bradley		W 76–74OT
W 88–81
W 64–48
W 69–54
W 92–76
1955First round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship		West Virginia
Princeton
Canisius
Iowa
San Francisco		W 95–61
W 73–46
W 99–64
W 73–76
L 63–77
1968First roundColumbiaL 69–83
1975First roundSyracuseL 83–87OT
1978First roundVillanovaL 97–103
1980No. 11First roundNo. 6 PurdueL 82–90
1983No. 12Preliminary Round
First Round		No. 12 Boston University
#5 VCU		W 70–58
L 67–76
1988No. 13First roundNo. 4 Kansas StateL 53–66
1989No. 9First roundNo. 8 Louisiana TechL 74–83
1990No. 4First round
Second Round		No. 13 Southern Miss
#5 Clemson		W 79–63
L 75–79
1992No. 13First roundNo. 4 Seton HallL 76–78
2013No. 13First Four
Second Round
Third Round
Sweet Sixteen		No. 13 Boise State
#4 Kansas State
#12 Ole Miss
#9 Wichita State		W 80–71
W 63–61
W 76–74
L 58–72

NIT results

The Explorers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 12 times. Their combined record is 9–11. They were NIT champions in 1952, when the tournament was considered an elite event.

Year Round Opponent Result
1948Quarter-finalsWKUL 61–68
1950First round
Quarterfinals		Arizona
Duquesne		W 72–66
L 47–49
1951First roundSaint LouisL 61–73
1952First round
Quarterfinals
Semi-finals
Finals		Seton Hall
St. John's
Duquesne
Dayton		W 80–76
W 51–45
W 59–46
W 75–64
1953Quarter-finalsSt. John'sL 74–75
1963First roundSaint LouisL 61–63
1965First roundDetroitL 86–93
1971First roundGeorgia TechL 67–70
1984First roundPittsburghL 91–95
1987First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semi-finals
Finals		Villanova
Niagara
Illinois State
Arkansas–Little Rock
Southern Miss		W 86–84
W 89–81
W 70–50
W 92–73
L 80–84
1991First roundMassachusettsL 90–93
2012First roundMinnesotaL 61–70

Explorers in the NBA

La Salle has an extensive history of players who played professional basketball, including:

Explorers in international leagues

Retired numbers

La Salle has retired five jersey numbers:[3]

La Salle Explorers retired numbers
No. Player Pos. Career
15Tom GolaSF/G1951–1955
22Lionel SimmonsSF1986–1990
20Larry CannonG1966–1969
32Michael BrooksPF1976–1980
33Ken DurrettPF1968–1971

Coaches

Previous head coach Dr. John Giannini previously coached at Rowan College, where he won the NCAA Division III national championship in 1996, and the University of Maine, where he left with the Black Bears' best winning percentage in school history.

On April 8, 2018, La Salle announced Ashley Howard as the next head coach of the Explorers.[4] Howard previously served as an assistant coach under Jay Wright at Villanova University. As assistant coach, he helped lead the Wildcats to two NCAA Division 1 basketball championships. After four losing seasons at La Salle, Howard was fired.

On April 5, 2022, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the La Salle would hire Fran Dunphy to be the Explorer's next men's basketball coach.[5]

Fran Dunphy, the head men's basketball coach at La Salle
La Salle Explorers vs. Penn Quakers at Tom Gola Arena.

Year-by-Year Records

La Salle has held membership in five conferences throughout its existence. After being an independent for several years they officially joined the Middle Atlantic Conference in 1958, before the larger schools in the conference created the East Coast Conference in 1974. In 1983 the team switched to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), staying until joining the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now known as the Horizon League) in 1992. In 1995 the team joined fellow Philadelphia Big 5 teams Temple and Saint Joseph's in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Season Record Conference Record Postseason
1931–3215–8
1932–3313–3
1933–3414–3
1934–3515–6
1935–364–13
1936–3712–7
1937–3813–6
1938–3913–6
1939–4012–8
1940–4111–8
1941–4212–11
1942–4313–10
1943–448–8
1944–4511–8
1945–469–14
1946–4720–6
1947–4820–4NIT
1948–4911–8Cincinnati Invitational Tournament
1949–5021–4NIT
1950–5122–7NIT
1951–5225–7NIT champion
1952–5325–3NIT
1953–5426–4NCAA champion
1954–5526–5NCAA finalist
1955–5615–10
1956–5717–9
1957–5816–9
1958–5916–75–2
1959–6016–66–1
1960–6115–77–2
1961–6216–95–3
1962–6316–87–1NIT
1963–6416–95–1
1964–6515–84–1NIT
1965–6610–153–2
1966–6714–122–3
1967–6820–88–0NCAA tournament
1968–6923–17–0*Suspended from Postseason
1969–7014–123–2
1970–7120–75–1NIT
1971–726–192–4
1972–7315–103–3
1973–7418–105–1
1974–7522–75–1NCAA tournament
1975–7611–151–4
1976–7717–123–2
1977–7818–125–0NCAA tournament
1978–7915–1310–3
1979–8022–97–4NCAA tournament
1980–8114–138–3
1981–8216–137–4
1982–8318–147–2NCAA tournament
1983–8420–1111–3NIT
1984–8515–138–6
1985–8614–148–6
1986–8720–1310–4NIT Finalist
1987–8824–1014–0NCAA tournament
1988–8926–613–1NCAA tournament
1989–9030–216–0NCAA tournament
1990–9119–1012–4NIT
1991–9220–1112–4NCAA tournament
1992–9314–139–5
1993–9411–164–6
1994–9513–147–7
1995–966–243–13
1996–9710–175–11
1997–989–185–11
1998–9913–158–8
1999-0011–175–11
2000–0112–175–11
2001–0215–176–10
2002–0313–166–10
2003–0410–205–11
2004–0510–195–11
2005–0618–1010–6
2006–0710–203–13
2007–0815–178–8
2008–0918–139–7
2009–1012–184–12
2010–1114–166–10
2011–1221–129–7NIT
2012–1323–911–5NCAA round of 16
2013–1415–167–9
2014–1517–168–10
2015–169–224–14
2016–1715–159–9
2017–1813–197–11
2018–1910–218–10
2019–2015–156–12
2020–219-166–11

References

  1. ↑ La Salle Brand Standards Manual (PDF). July 29, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Did You Know?! :: A Few Things You Should Know About Explorer Athletics". Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  3. ↑ "Exploreres never stop" on La Salle Magazine
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "Sources: La Salle to hire Fran Dunphy as men's basketball coach". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
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