When Bill Russell first came to the University of San Francisco, he was 6-7 158 pounds

USF (University of San Francisco) is the first West Coast team to reach the NCAA championship game since Stanford in 1942.

By defeating Iowa 76-73 in a 1955 NCAA semifinal game, the La Salle Explorers passed Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) by having nine victories with no losses in NCAA tournament play. Oklahoma A&M won their eighth game without a loss 3/19/49 in a 1949 NCAA semifinal game. Oklahoma A&M then lost to Kentucky in the 1949 NCAA championship game.

During the 1954-1955 regular season, John Wooden's UCLA Bruins defeated San Francisco. Following that game, USF went on a 60-game winning streak.