The 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1971, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1972, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their eighth NCAA national championship with an 81–76 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.
Season headlines
At Illinois State, Will Robinson became the first African-American head coach at an NCAA University Division (now NCAA Division I) school. UCLA went undefeated (30–0) and won its sixth NCAA championship in a row, eighth overall, and eighth in nine seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its sixth of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles. The NCAA national championship game was played on Saturday for the last time. It moved to Monday night in 1973.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated PressRankingTeam1UCLA2North Carolina3USC4Marquette5Ohio State6Maryland7Houston8Long Beach State9Louisville10Kentucky11Jacksonville12South Carolina13Michigan14Kansas15Penn16New Mexico17St. John's18Villanova19BYU20Oklahoma UPI CoachesRankingTeam1UCLA2Marquette3USC4North Carolina5Ohio State6Houston7Maryland8Louisville9Long Beach State10Kentucky11Jacksonville12New Mexico State13South Carolina14BYU15St. John's16Kansas17Villanova18Michigan19Harvard20Pacific
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference non-University Division University Division independent non-University Division University Division independent non-University Division University Division independent non-University Division University Division independent Gulf States Conference (College Division) Southland Conference University Division independent Discontinued basketball program University Division independent Discontinued basketball program non-University Division University Division independent West Coast Athletic Conference Pacific Coast Athletic Association University Division independent West Coast Athletic Conference non-University Division University Division independent Atlantic Coast Conference University Division independent Gulf States Conference (College Division) Southland Conference non-University Division University Division independent
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference North Carolina Barry Parkhill,Virginia2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1972 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina) North CarolinaBig Eight Conference Kansas State Isaac "Bud" Stallworth, Kansas2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04 No TournamentBig Sky Conference Weber State None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Minnesota None selected No TournamentIvy League Penn None selected No TournamentMid-American Conference Ohio Tom Kozelko, Toledo2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14 No TournamentMiddle Atlantic Conference Temple (East); No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Louisville & Larry Finch, LouisvilleOhio Valley Conference Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, & Western Kentucky Les Taylor, Murray State No TournamentPacific 8 Conference UCLA None selected No TournamentPacific Coast Athletic Association Long Beach State Ed Ratleff, No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Kentucky & Tennessee Mike Edwards, Tennessee, & , Kentucky2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 No TournamentSouthern Conference Davidson Russ Hunt,Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1972 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Greenville Memorial Auditorium(Greenville, South Carolina)(Semifinals and Finals) East Carolina2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southland Conference Louisiana Tech Dwight "Bo" Lamar,Southwest Louisiana No TournamentSouthwest Conference SMU & Texas Larry Robinson, Texas No TournamentWest Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Mike Stewart, No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference BYU None selected No TournamentYankee Conference Rhode Island None selected No Tournament
Conference standings
University Division independents A total of 67 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, (26–2) had the best winning percentage (.929) and Florida State (28–5) finished with the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Penn & Temple Corky Calhoun, Penn, & Chris Ford, Villanova Penn and Temple both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Henry Bibby G Senior UCLA Jim Chones C Junior Marquette Dwight Lamar G Junior Southwestern Louisiana Bob McAdoo F Junior North Carolina Ed Ratleff F Junior Long Beach State Tom Riker F/C Senior South Carolina Bill Walton C Sophomore UCLA
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Rich Fuqua G Junior Oral Roberts Barry Parkhill G Junior Virginia Jim Price G Senior Louisville Bud Stallworth F Senior Kansas Henry Wilmore G/F Junior Michigan
Major player of the year awards
Naismith Award: Bill Walton, UCLA Helms Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA Associated Press Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA UPI Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Bill Walton, UCLA Adolph Rupp Trophy: Bill Walton, UCLA Sporting News Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
Major coach of the year awards
Associated Press Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA Henry Iba Award (USBWA): John Wooden, UCLA NABC Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA UPI Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA Sporting News Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
Other major awards
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Scott Martin, Oklahoma Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Corky Calhoun, Penn, & Chris Ford, Villanova NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Richie Garner, Manhattan, & Tom Sullivan, Fordham
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonArizonaBruce LarsonFred Snowden Snowden was an assistant at Michigan.Ball StateBud GetchellJim Holstein BucknellDon SmithJim Valvano BYUStan WattsGlenn Potter CaliforniaJim PadgettDick Edwards Padgett left to coach Nevada.CanisiusBob MacKinnonJohn Morrison MacKinnon left to join the coaching staff for the Buffalo BravesCincinnatiTay BakerGale Catlett Baker left to coach Xavier. Catlett was formerly an assistant with Kentucky.ColgateEd AshnaultBill Vesp Ashnault left to coach William & Mary.CornellJerry LaceTony Coma DartmouthGeorge BlaneyTom O'Connor Blaney left to coach Holy Cross.DenverJim KarabetsosAl Harden GeorgetownJack MageeJohn ThompsonMcGee was fired at the end of the season after the 1971–72 Georgetown team finished with a record of 3–23.GonzagaHank AndersonAdrian Buoncristiani Hardin–SimmonsGlen WhitisRussell Berry HofstraPaul LynnerRoger Gaeckler Holy CrossJack DonohueGeorge Blaney KentuckyAdolph RuppJoe B. HallRupp retired as the NCAA all-time leader in victories after reaching the Commonwealth of Kentucky's mandatory retirement age of 70. He was replaced by lead assistant Hall, who coached the Wildcats for 13 seasons and led UK to the 1978 national championship.LehighRoy HeckmanTom Pugliese LSUPress MaravichDale BrownMaravich, father of NCAA career scoring leader Pete Maravich, was fired after the Tigers finished 10–16 in their first season in the LSU Assembly Center (later renamed for Pete Maravich in 1988). He was succeeded by Washington State assistant Brown, who remained at LSU for 25 seasons. Maravich left to coach Appalachian State.MarshallCarl TacyBob DanielsTacy left after the season to become the head coach at Wake Forest.Montana StateGary HulstHank Anderson NevadaJack SpencerJim Padgett Spencer stepped down to take an assistant coaching job under new head coach Jim Padgett.New MexicoBob KingNorm Ellenberger King left to be the athletic director at Indiana State.PacificDick EdwardsStan Morrison PurdueGeorge KingFred Schaus Saint Peter'sDon KennedyBernie Ockene SeattleMorris BuckwalterBill O'Connor VermontArthur LochePeter Salzberg VMIMike SchulerBill Blair Wake ForestJack McCloskeyCarl TacyMcCloskey left after the season to become the head coach for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.Washington StateBob GreenwoodGeorge Raveling
References