List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 60 or more points in a game

In basketball, points are the sum of the score accumulated through free throw or field goal.[1] The National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I is the highest level of amateur basketball in the United States. The NCAA did not split into its current divisions format until August 1973.[2] From 1906 to 1955, there were no classifications to the NCAA nor its predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS).[2] Then, from 1956 to 1973, colleges were classified as either "NCAA University Division (Major College)" or "NCAA College Division (Small College)".[2] This is a comprehensive list (through the 2009–10 season) of all occurrences of an NCAA Division I men's basketball player scoring 60 or more points in a single game. For legitimization purposes, the official NCAA men's basketball media guide has two lists: one containing all 60+ point games against Division I opponents, and one against non-Division I opponents.[3]

The all-time record against a Division I opponent is 72 points.[3][4] It was set by U.S. International's Kevin Bradshaw, a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) guard, on January 5, 1991 against Loyola Marymount in the highest-scoring game in Division I history.[3] Loyola Marymount defeated U.S. International 186–140.[5] Bradshaw shot 23-for-59 in field goal attempts overall (7-of-22 from three-point range) and made 19-of-23 free throws in his record-setting performance.[5] After the game, Bradshaw reflected on the achievement, "I'm still completely stunned. I wasn't gunning for the record until the last 10 minutes. That's when the bench became aware of the mark and the coaches allowed me to go for it. I won't be celebrating because we lost the game."[5] He also remarked on how he was even able to put himself in the position to break Pete Maravich's record of 69 points: "Our style of play allows for the freelancing that we do. I have to put up the ball a lot because we don't have a lot of shooters on the team."[5]

Among the players who have scored 60+ points against Division I opponents, only LSU's Maravich, Oral Roberts' Anthony Roberts and Ole Miss' Johnny Neumann appear on the list more than once. Maravich's four career 60+ point games is the most in NCAA Division I history.[3] Five players who achieved the feat against a Division I opponent—Maravich, Calvin Murphy, Oscar Robertson, Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Elgin Baylor—are all inductees in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[6][7][8][9][10] Meanwhile, three players who achieved the feat against non-Division I opponents are also Hall of Fame inductees: Paul Arizin,[11] Elvin Hayes,[12] and Bob Pettit.[13]

The highest scoring performance in NCAA Division I basketball history, regardless of the opponent's classification, is 100 points, scored by Frank Selvy of Furman against Newberry College on February 13, 1954.[14] He made a still-standing NCAA record 41 field goals on 66 attempts.[14] He made his final shot of the game—scoring his 99th and 100th points—with only two seconds remaining on a 40-foot attempt.[14] Selvy later said, "I'll say that I made at least eight or nine baskets that would have been three-pointers today. Plus they didn't have the one-and-one in those days."[14]

The performance occurred during Selvy's senior season in which he led the nation in scoring at 41.7 points per game.[15][16] He also led the nation in scoring the previous year at 29.5 points per game.[15][16] Coincidentally, a teammate of Selvy's for one season, Darrell Floyd, is the only player who has scored 60 or more points against both a Division I and a non-Division I opponent.[17] Floyd scored 62 points against The Citadel (Division I) and 67 against (then) non-Division I Morehead State.[17]

Key

Pos. G F C Ref.
Position Guard Forward Center References
Class (Cl.) key
Fr Freshman So Sophomore Jr Junior Sr Senior
* Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player appears on the list

Against Division I opponents

Points Player Pos. Cl. Team Opponent Date Ref.
72 Bradshaw, KevinKevin Bradshaw G Sr U.S. International Loyola Marymount January 5, 1991 [4]
69 Maravich, PetePete Maravich* G Sr LSU Alabama February 7, 1970 [18]
68 Murphy, CalvinCalvin Murphy* G Jr Niagara Syracuse December 7, 1968 [19]
66 Handlan, JayJay Handlan F Jr Washington & Lee Furman February 17, 1951 [20]
66 Maravich, PetePete Maravich* (2) G Jr LSU Tulane February 10, 1969 [18]
66 Roberts, AnthonyAnthony Roberts F/G Sr Oral Roberts North Carolina A&T February 19, 1977 [21]
65 Haffner, ScottScott Haffner G Sr Evansville Dayton February 18, 1989 [22]
65 Roberts, AnthonyAnthony Roberts (2) F/G Sr Oral Roberts Oregon March 9, 1977 [21]
64 Maravich, PetePete Maravich* (3) G Sr LSU Kentucky February 21, 1970 [18]
63 Hawkins, HerseyHersey Hawkins G Sr Bradley Detroit February 22, 1988 [23]
63 Neumann, JohnnyJohnny Neumann F/G So Ole Miss LSU January 30, 1971 [24]
62 Floyd, DarrellDarrell Floyd G Sr Furman The Citadel January 14, 1956 [17]
62 Jones, AskiaAskia Jones G Sr Kansas State Fresno State March 24, 1994 [25]
62 Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson* G/F Sr Cincinnati North Texas February 6, 1960 [26]
61 Alcindor, LewLew Alcindor* C So UCLA Washington State February 25, 1967 [27]
61 Carr, AustinAustin Carr G Jr Notre Dame Ohio March 7, 1970 [28]
61 (2OT) House, EddieEddie House G Sr Arizona State California January 8, 2000 [29]
61 Maravich, PetePete Maravich* (4) G Sr LSU Vanderbilt December 11, 1969 [18]
61 Mount, RickRick Mount G Sr Purdue Iowa February 28, 1970 [30]
61 Tisdale, WaymanWayman Tisdale F/C So Oklahoma Texas–San Antonio December 28, 1983 [31]
60 Baylor, ElginElgin Baylor* F Jr Seattle Portland January 30, 1958 [32]
60 McGill, BillyBilly McGill C/F Sr Utah BYU February 24, 1962 [33]
60 Mengelt, JohnJohn Mengelt G Jr Auburn Alabama February 14, 1970 [34]
60 Neumann, JohnnyJohnny Neumann (2) F/G So Ole Miss Baylor December 29, 1970 [3]
60 (3OT) Woodside, BenBen Woodside G Sr North Dakota State Stephen F. Austin December 12, 2008 [35]

Against non-Division I opponents

Note: Some of the opponents on this list that are currently Division I universities were not classified as Division I schools at the time of the 60-point game. Morehead State, Mercer, Saint Peter's and Valparaiso, for example, are present-day Division I schools.

Points Player Pos. Cl. Team Opponent Date Ref.
100 Selvy, FrankFrank Selvy G Sr Furman Newberry College February 13, 1954 [14]
85 Arizin, PaulPaul Arizin* F/G Jr Villanova Naval Air Materials Center February 12, 1949 [36]
81 Williams, FreemanFreeman Williams G/F Sr Portland State Rocky Mountain College February 3, 1978 [37]
73 Mlkvy, BillBill Mlkvy F Jr Temple Wilkes University March 3, 1951 [38]
71 Williams, FreemanFreeman Williams (2) G/F Jr Portland State Southern Oregon February 9, 1977 [39]
67 Floyd, DarrellDarrell Floyd G Jr Furman Morehead State January 22, 1955 [17]
66 Williams, FreemanFreeman Williams (3) G/F Sr Portland State George Fox January 13, 1978 [39]
65 Zawoluk, BobBob Zawoluk C Sr St. John's Saint Peter's March 30, 1950 [40]
63 Selvy, FrankFrank Selvy (2) G Jr Furman Mercer February 11, 1953 [14]
63 White, ShermanSherman White F Jr Long Island John Marshall College February 28, 1950 [41]
62 Hayes, ElvinElvin Hayes* C Sr Houston Valparaiso February 24, 1968 [42]
60 Jamerson, DaveDave Jamerson G Sr Ohio Charleston (WV) December 21, 1989 [43]
60 Kelly, HarryHarry Kelly F Sr Texas Southern Jarvis Christian February 23, 1983 [44]
60 Pettit, BobBob Pettit* C Sr LSU Louisiana College December 7, 1953 [45]

See also

References

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NCAA Division I men's basketball statistical leaders
Career
Season
Game