1975 NCAA Division I basketball tournament

Last updated

1975 NCAA Division I
basketball tournament
NCAA 70s logo.svg
NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979
Season 197475
Teams32
Finals site San Diego Sports Arena,
San Diego, CA
Champions UCLA Bruins (10th title, 10th title game,
12th Final Four)
Runner-up Kentucky Wildcats (6th title game,
7th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coach John Wooden (10th title)
MOP Richard Washington (UCLA)
Attendance183,857
Top scorer Jim Lee (Syracuse)
(119 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
« 1974 1976 »

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.

Contents

UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won his 10th and last national title with a 9285 victory in the final game over Kentucky, coached by Joe B. Hall. Richard Washington of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The Bruins again had an advantage by playing the Final Four in their home state. It was the last time a team won the national championship playing in its home state.

Tournament notes

Memorable games

There were two memorable games in the 1975 tournament. Number 2 ranked Kentucky upset previously unbeaten Indiana 92–90 in their regional final. The Hoosiers, coached by Bob Knight, were undefeated and the number one team in the nation, when leading scorer Scott May suffered a broken arm in a win over arch-rival Purdue. This was the only loss Indiana would suffer between March 1974 and December 1976. In the national semifinals, UCLA defeated Louisville, coached by former Wooden assistant Denny Crum, 75–74 in overtime, rallying late in regulation to force overtime and coming from behind in overtime to win on a last second shot by Richard Washington.

Both games made USA Today's 2002 list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time, with the former at #8 and the latter at #28. [7]

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1975 tournament:

First round

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)

Teams

RegionTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
East Boston College Bob Zuffelato IndependentRegional Fourth Place North Carolina L 110–90
East Furman Joe Williams SouthernRound of 32 Boston College L 82–76
East Kansas State Jack Hartman Big EightRegional Runner-up Syracuse L 95–87
East La Salle Paul Westhead East CoastRound of 32 Syracuse L 87–83
East New Mexico State Lou Henson Missouri ValleyRound of 32 North Carolina L 93–69
East North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic CoastRegional third place Boston College W 110–90
East Penn Chuck Daly Ivy LeagueRound of 32 Kansas State L 69–62
East Syracuse Roy Danforth IndependentFourth Place Louisville L 96–88
Mideast
Mideast Central Michigan Dick Parfitt Mid-AmericanRegional third place Oregon State W 88–87
Mideast Georgetown John Thompson IndependentRound of 32 Central Michigan L 77–75
Mideast Indiana Bob Knight Big TenRegional Runner-up Kentucky L 92–90
Mideast Kentucky Joe B. Hall SoutheasternRunner-up UCLA L 92–85
Mideast Marquette Al McGuire IndependentRound of 32 Kentucky L 76–54
Mideast Middle Tennessee State Jimmy Earle Ohio ValleyRound of 32 Oregon State L 78–67
Mideast Oregon State Ralph Miller Pacific-8Regional Fourth Place Central Michigan L 88–87
Mideast UTEP Don Haskins Western AthleticRound of 32 Indiana L 78–53
Midwest
Midwest Cincinnati Gale Catlett IndependentRegional third place Notre Dame W 95–87
Midwest Creighton Tom Apke IndependentRound of 32 Maryland L 83–79
Midwest Kansas Ted Owens Big EightRound of 32 Notre Dame L 77–71
Midwest Louisville Denny Crum Missouri ValleyThird Place Syracuse W 96–88
Midwest Maryland Lefty Driesell Atlantic CoastRegional Runner-up Louisville L 96–82
Midwest Notre Dame Digger Phelps IndependentRegional Fourth Place Cincinnati L 95–87
Midwest Rutgers Tom Young IndependentRound of 32 Louisville L 91–78
Midwest Texas A&M Shelby Metcalf SouthwestRound of 32 Cincinnati L 87–79
West
West Alabama C. M. Newton SoutheasternRound of 32 Arizona State L 97–94
West Arizona State Ned Wulk Western AthleticRegional Runner-up UCLA L 89–75
West Michigan Johnny Orr Big TenRound of 32 UCLA L 103–91
West Montana Jud Heathcote Big SkyRegional Fourth Place UNLV L 75–67
West UNLV Jerry Tarkanian West CoastRegional third place Montana W 75–67
West San Diego State Tim Vezie Pacific CoastRound of 32 UNLV L 90–80
West UCLA John Wooden Pacific-8Champion Kentucky W 92–85
West Utah State Dutch Belnap IndependentRound of 32 Montana L 69–63

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Syracuse 87
La Salle 83*
Syracuse 78
North Carolina 76
North Carolina 93
New Mexico State 69
Syracuse 95
Kansas State 87*
Kansas State 69
Penn 62
Kansas State 74 East Regional third place
Boston College 65
Boston College 82 North Carolina 110
Furman 76 Boston College 90

Mideast region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Indiana 78
UTEP 53
Indiana 81
Oregon State 71
Oregon State 78
Middle Tennessee 67
Indiana 90
Kentucky 92
Central Michigan 77
Georgetown 75
Central Michigan 73 Mideast Regional third place
Kentucky 90
Kentucky 76 Oregon State 87
Marquette 54 Central Michigan 88

Midwest region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Maryland 83
Creighton 79
Maryland 83
Notre Dame 71
Notre Dame 77
Kansas 71
Maryland 82
Louisville 96
Cincinnati 87
Texas A&M 79
Cincinnati 63 Midwest Regional third place
Louisville 78
Louisville 91 Notre Dame 87
Rutgers 78 Cincinnati 95

West region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
UCLA 103
Michigan 91*
UCLA 67
Montana 64
Montana 69
Utah State 63
UCLA 89
Arizona State 75
Arizona State 97
Alabama 94
Arizona State 84 West Regional third place
UNLV 81
UNLV 90 Montana 67
San Diego State 80 UNLV 75

Final Four

National semifinals
Saturday, March 29
National Championship Game
Monday, March 31
      
E Syracuse 79
ME Kentucky95
ME Kentucky 85
W UCLA92
MW Louisville 74*
W UCLA75National third-place game
E Syracuse 88*
MW Louisville96

Announcers

Curt Gowdy, Billy Packer, Jim Simpson and Jerry Lucas (Final Four only) - First Round at Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Marquette-Kentucky); West Regional Final at Portland, Oregon; Final Four in San Diego, California

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "'At large' spots set in NCAA cage playoffs". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. August 21, 1974. p. 13.
  2. "Both wire service polls agree-- UCLA is best club in country". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 16, 1971. p. 2B.
  3. Bill Free – This Overtime Lasts 25 Years Archived 2008-09-12 at the Wayback Machine The 1974 team left it all out on the floor. Baltimore Sun, hosted at University of Maryland Terrapins athletic site, February 20, 1999
  4. Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
  5. "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Beginnings of the Big East". Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  6. Maffei, John (July 6, 2013). "Sports site No. 3: San Diego Sports Arena". U-T San Diego . MLIM Holdings. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  7. Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002