1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

Last updated

1968 NCAA University Division
basketball tournament
Season 196768
Teams23
Finals site Sports Arena
Los Angeles, California
Champions UCLA Bruins (4th title, 4th title game,
5th Final Four)
Runner-up North Carolina Tar Heels (3rd title game,
4th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coach John Wooden (4th title)
MOP Lew Alcindor (UCLA)
Attendance160,888
Top scorer Elvin Hayes (Houston)
(167 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
« 1967 1969 »

The 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 9, 1968, and ended with the championship game on March 23 in Los Angeles, California. A total of 27 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.

Contents

UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won the national title with a 78–55 victory in the final game over North Carolina, coached by Dean Smith. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second of three consecutive years. This UCLA team, composed of three All-Americans, Player of the Year Alcindor, Lucius Allen, and Mike Warren, along with dead eye pure shooter Lynn Shackleford (most of his shots would be 3 pointers today) and burly senior power forward Mike Lynn is considered to be one of the greatest teams in college basketball history.

The NCAA semi-final match between the Houston Cougars and UCLA Bruins was a re-match of the college basketball Game of the Century held in January at the Astrodome, in the Cougars' home city. The match was historic, the first nationally syndicated college basketball game and the first to play in a domed stadium before more than 52,000 fans. It was UCLA's only loss in two years, a two-pointer, to the then-#2 Houston, but with UCLA's dominating center Alcindor playing with an eye injury that limited his effectiveness after being hospitalized the week before. The loss broke a 47-game winning streak for UCLA. In the March NCAA Tournament Final 4, the Bruins at full strength avenged that loss with a 101–69 drubbing of that same Houston team, now ranked #1, in UCLA's home city at the Memorial Sports Arena. UCLA limited Houston's Elvin Hayes, who was averaging 37.7 points per game but was held to only 10. Bruins coach John Wooden credited his assistant, Jerry Norman, for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes. [1] [2]

Locations

RoundRegionSiteVenueHost
First RoundEast College Park, Maryland Cole Field House Maryland
East Kingston, Rhode Island Keaney Gymnasium URI
Mideast Kent, Ohio Memorial Gymnasium Kent State
Midwest
& West
Salt Lake City, Utah Nielsen Fieldhouse Utah
RegionalsEast Raleigh, North Carolina Reynolds Coliseum North Carolina State
Mideast Lexington, Kentucky Memorial Coliseum Kentucky
Midwest Wichita, Kansas WSU Field House Wichita State
West Albuquerque, New Mexico University Arena ("The Pit") New Mexico
Final Four Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena USC

Teams

RegionTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
East Boston College Bob Cousy IndependentFirst round St. Bonaventure L 102–93
East Columbia John Rohan Ivy League Regional third place St. Bonaventure W 95–75
East Davidson Lefty Driesell Southern Regional Runner-up North Carolina L 70–66
East La Salle Jim Harding Middle Atlantic First round Columbia L 83–69
East North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic Coast Runner Up UCLA L 78–55
East St. Bonaventure Larry Weise IndependentRegional Fourth Place Columbia L 95–75
East St. John's Lou Carnesecca IndependentFirst round Davidson L 79–70
Mideast
Mideast Bowling Green Bill Fitch Mid-American First round Marquette L 72–71
Mideast East Tennessee State J. Madison Brooks Ohio Valley Regional Fourth Place Marquette L 69–57
Mideast Florida State Hugh Durham IndependentFirst round East Tennessee State L 79–69
Mideast Kentucky Adolph Rupp Southeastern Regional Runner-up Ohio State L 82–81
Mideast Marquette Al McGuire IndependentRegional third place East Tennessee State W 69–57
Mideast Ohio State Fred Taylor Big Ten Third Place Houston W 89–85
Midwest
Midwest Houston Guy Lewis IndependentFourth Place Ohio State L 89–85
Midwest Kansas State Tex Winter Big Eight Regional Fourth Place Louisville L 93–63
Midwest Louisville John Dromo Missouri Valley Regional third place Kansas State W 93–63
Midwest Loyola–Chicago George Ireland IndependentFirst round Houston L 94–76
Midwest TCU Johnny Swaim Southwest Regional Runner-up Houston L 103–68
West
West New Mexico Bob King Western Athletic Regional Fourth Place New Mexico State L 62–58
West New Mexico State Lou Henson IndependentRegional third place New Mexico W 62–58
West Santa Clara Dick Garibaldi West Coast Athletic Regional Runner-up UCLA L 87–66
West UCLA John Wooden AAWU Champion North Carolina W 78–55
West Weber State Dick Motta Big Sky First round New Mexico State L 68–57

Bracket

The 1968 tournament bracket as depicted in NCAA's monthly press newsletter 1968 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament bracket (NCAA News).jpg
The 1968 tournament bracket as depicted in NCAA's monthly press newsletter

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
 North Carolina91
 St. Bonaventure 72
 St. Bonaventure102
 Boston College 93
 North Carolina70
 Davidson 66
 Davidson79
 St. John's 70
 Davidson61
 Columbia 59*
 Columbia83
 La Salle 69

Mideast region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
 Ohio State79
 East Tennessee State 72
 East Tennessee State79
 Florida State 69
 Ohio State82
 Kentucky 81
 Kentucky107
 Marquette 89
 Marquette72
 Bowling Green 71

Midwest region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
 TCU77
 Kansas State 72
 TCU 68
 Houston103
 Louisville 75
 Houston91
 Houston94
 Loyola–Chicago 76

West region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
 Santa Clara86
 New Mexico 73
 Santa Clara 66
 UCLA87
 UCLA58
 New Mexico State 49
 New Mexico State68
 Weber State 57

Final Four

National Semifinals National Championship Game
      
E North Carolina80
ME Ohio State 66
E North Carolina 55
W UCLA78
MW Houston 69
W UCLA101

National third-place game

National third-place game
   
ME Ohio State89
MW Houston 85

Regional third-place games

See also

Notes

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References

  1. Esper, Dwain (March 25, 1968). "Bruins Hope Norman Stays". The Independent. Pasadena, California. p. 15. Retrieved July 22, 2015 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. Gasaway, John (June 7, 2010). "John Wooden's Century". Basketball Prospectus. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.