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Teams | 25 | ||||
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Finals site | St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri | ||||
Champions | UCLA Bruins (9th title, 9th title game, 10th Final Four) | ||||
Runner-up | Memphis State Tigers (1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
Semifinalists |
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Winning coach | John Wooden (9th title) | ||||
MOP | Bill Walton (UCLA) | ||||
Attendance | 163,160 | ||||
Top scorer | Ernie DiGregorio Providence (128 points) | ||||
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The 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA University Division (now Division I, created later in 1973) college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 10, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 26, in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 29 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
Led by longtime head coach John Wooden, the UCLA Bruins won their seventh consecutive national title with an 87–66 victory in the final game over Memphis State, coached by Gene Bartow, a future head coach at UCLA. Junior center Bill Walton of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
This was the first year that the championship game was held on a Monday night, with Saturday semifinals. Previously, the championship game was on Saturday, with the semifinals on either Thursday or Friday. Also, this was the first year matchups in the semifinals rotated; previously, it was East vs. Mideast and West vs. Midwest every year.
The UCLA – Memphis State championship game made USA Today ′s list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time at #18. [1] Bill Walton set a championship game record, hitting 21 of 22 shots and scoring 44 points.
This tournament marked the first appearance of Bob Knight as coach of Indiana University.
The participation for this tournament, as well as the previous tournament, for Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) was vacated on August 5, 1973, when the NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled the university guilty of over 100 violations, including impermissible benefits and doctoring high school transcripts of players. USL's program was shut down for the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons, all other Ragin Cajun' athletic programs were placed on three years' probation and banned from postseason participation, and the university was stripped of voting rights at the NCAA convention until 1977 (the NCAA originally planned to expel USL from the organization, but that sanction was downgraded in January 1974).
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1973 tournament:
First round
Regional Semifinals, 3rd Place Games, and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National Semifinals, 3rd Place Game, and Championship (Final Four and Championship)
The city of St. Louis became the 12th host city, and the St. Louis Arena became the thirteenth host venue, of the Final Four. The arena, home to the St. Louis Blues of the NHL and, at the time, the St. Louis Billikens basketball team, was the first of five straight venues to host the Final Four for the first time, and it was the first time the tournament was held in the city of St. Louis as well. Besides the St. Louis Arena, only one other venue made its debut in the tournament. For the second straight year, the tournament opened a new city in the state of Tennessee; this time, it was the capital city of Nashville. Memorial Gym on the campus of Vanderbilt University would go on to host the tournament four times overall before tournament games in the city were moved to the downtown Bridgestone Arena in 2000. Additionally, only one venue saw its final games in the 1972 Tournament, with William & Mary Hall ending its usage in the tournament. The tournament has come back to the state of Virginia twice since, both times being at the Richmond Coliseum in the capital city of Richmond.
Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East | ||||||
East | Furman | Joe Williams | Southern | First round | Syracuse | L 83–82 |
East | Maryland | Lefty Driesell | Atlantic Coast | Regional Runner-up | Providence | L 103–89 |
East | Penn | Chuck Daly | Ivy League | Regional Fourth Place | Syracuse | L 69–68 |
East | Providence | Dave Gavitt | Independent | Fourth Place | Indiana | L 97–79 |
East | St. John's | Frank Mulzoff | Independent | First round | Penn | L 62–61 |
East | Saint Joseph's | Jack McKinney | Middle Atlantic | First round | Providence | L 89–76 |
East | Syracuse | Roy Danforth | Independent | Regional third place | Penn | W 69–68 |
Mideast | ||||||
Mideast | Austin Peay | Lake Kelly | Ohio Valley | Regional Fourth Place | Marquette | L 88–73 |
Mideast | Indiana | Bob Knight | Big Ten | Third Place | Providence | W 97–79 |
Mideast | Jacksonville | Tom Wasdin | Independent | First round | Austin Peay | L 77–75 |
Mideast | Kentucky | Joe B. Hall | Southeastern | Regional Runner-up | Indiana | L 72–65 |
Mideast | Marquette | Al McGuire | Independent | Regional third place | Austin Peay | W 88–73 |
Mideast | Miami (OH) | Darrell Hedric | Mid-American | First round | Marquette | L 77–62 |
Midwest | ||||||
Midwest | Houston | Guy Lewis | Independent | First round | Southwestern Louisiana | L 102–89 |
Midwest | Kansas State | Jack Hartman | Big Eight | Regional Runner-up | Memphis State | L 92–72 |
Midwest | Southwestern Louisiana (Vacated) | Beryl Shipley | Southland | Regional Fourth Place | South Carolina | L 90–85 |
Midwest | Memphis State | Gene Bartow | Missouri Valley | Runner Up | UCLA | L 87–66 |
Midwest | South Carolina | Frank McGuire | Independent | Regional third place | Southwestern Louisiana | W 90–85 |
Midwest | Texas Tech | Gerald Myers | Southwest | First round | South Carolina | L 78–70 |
West | ||||||
West | Arizona State | Ned Wulk | Western Athletic | Regional Fourth Place | Long Beach State | L 84–80 |
West | Long Beach State | Jerry Tarkanian | Pacific Coast | Regional third place | Arizona State | W 84–80 |
West | Oklahoma City | Abe Lemons | Independent | First round | Arizona State | L 103–78 |
West | San Francisco | Bob Gaillard | West Coast | Regional Runner-up | UCLA | L 54–39 |
West | UCLA | John Wooden | Pacific-8 | Champion | Memphis State | W 87–66 |
West | Weber State | Gene Visscher | Big Sky | First round | Long Beach State | L 88–75 |
* – Denotes overtime period
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
Maryland | 91 | |||||||||||||
Syracuse | 75 | |||||||||||||
Syracuse | 83 | |||||||||||||
Furman | 82 | |||||||||||||
Maryland | 89 | |||||||||||||
Providence | 103 | |||||||||||||
Penn | 62 | |||||||||||||
St. John's | 61 | |||||||||||||
Penn | 65 | |||||||||||||
Providence | 87 | |||||||||||||
Providence | 89 | |||||||||||||
Saint Joseph's | 76 |
East Regional third place | ||||
Syracuse | 69 | |||
Penn | 68 |
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
Indiana | 75 | |||||||||||||
Marquette | 69 | |||||||||||||
Marquette | 77 | |||||||||||||
Miami (OH) | 62 | |||||||||||||
Indiana | 72 | |||||||||||||
Kentucky | 65 | |||||||||||||
Kentucky | 106 | |||||||||||||
Austin Peay | 100* | |||||||||||||
Austin Peay | 77 | |||||||||||||
Jacksonville | 75 |
Mideast Regional third place | ||||
Marquette | 88 | |||
Austin Peay | 73 |
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
Memphis State | 90 | |||||||||||||
South Carolina | 76 | |||||||||||||
South Carolina | 78 | |||||||||||||
Texas Tech | 70 | |||||||||||||
Memphis State | 92 | |||||||||||||
Kansas State | 72 | |||||||||||||
Kansas State | 66 | |||||||||||||
Southwest Louisiana | 63 | |||||||||||||
Southwestern Louisiana | 102 | |||||||||||||
Houston | 89 |
Midwest Regional third place | ||||
South Carolina | 90 | |||
Southwestern Louisiana | 85 |
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
UCLA | 98 | |||||||||||||
Arizona State | 81 | |||||||||||||
Arizona State | 103 | |||||||||||||
Oklahoma City | 78 | |||||||||||||
UCLA | 54 | |||||||||||||
San Francisco | 39 | |||||||||||||
San Francisco | 77 | |||||||||||||
Long Beach State | 67 | |||||||||||||
Long Beach State | 88 | |||||||||||||
Weber State | 75 |
West Regional third place | ||||
Arizona State | 80 | |||
Long Beach State | 84 |
National Semifinals Saturday, March 24 | National Championship Game Monday, March 26 | ||||||||
E | Providence | 85 | |||||||
MW | Memphis State | 98 | |||||||
MW | Memphis State | 66 | |||||||
W | UCLA | 87 | |||||||
ME | Indiana | 59 | |||||||
W | UCLA | 70 | National Third Place Game | ||||||
ME | Indiana | 97 | |||||||
E | Providence | 79 |
The 1973 NC State Wolfpack team averaged 93 points per game (ppg), led the nation in win margin (21.8 ppg), and posted a 27–0 record, but was ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA probation. David Thompson, a two-time national Player of the Year, and All-America Tom Burleson, led NC State to a 30–1 record the following season, losing only to seven-time defending champion UCLA. The Wolfpack avenged its only loss during the two-year period by defeating UCLA in the 1974 Final Four and winning the title.
Gene Bartow, the Memphis State coach, would be John Wooden's successor at UCLA after the 1974–1975 season.
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The 1975 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 1975, and ended with the championship game on March 31 at the San Diego Sports Arena, now known as Pechanga Arena San Diego, in San Diego, California. A total of 36 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game. This was the first 32-team tournament.
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The 1969 NCAA University Division men's basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1969, and ended with the championship game on March 22 in Louisville, Kentucky. Including consolation games in each of the regions and an overall consolation game, a total of 29 games were played.
The 1970 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1970, and ended with the championship game on March 21 in College Park, Maryland. A total of 29 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game. This tournament was notable for the number of small schools that reached the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4, and Championship Game. Another notable aspect of the tournament was that Marquette became the first team to turn down an announced NCAA Tournament bid for the National Invitation Tournament. Coach Al McGuire took issue with being seeded in the Midwest regional instead of the geographically closer Mideast. They were replaced in the field by Dayton. As a result of this action, the NCAA forbid its members from playing in other postseason tournaments if offered an NCAA bid.
The 1971 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1971, and ended with the championship game on March 27 in Houston, Texas. A total of 29 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1972 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA University Division college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 11, and ended with the championship game in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 25. A total of 29 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
The 1974 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It was the first tournament to be designated as a Division I championship—previously, NCAA member schools had been divided into the "University Division" and "College Division". The NCAA created its current three-division setup, effective with the 1973–74 academic year, by moving all of its University Division schools to Division I and splitting the College Division members into Division II and Division III. Previous tournaments would retroactively be considered Division I championships.
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The 1978 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1978, and ended with the championship game on March 27 in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third place game.
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