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

  • 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 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.[3][4]

Associated Press
Ranking Team
1 UCLA
2 North Carolina
3 USC
4 Marquette
5 Ohio State
6 Maryland
7 Houston
8 Long Beach State
9 Louisville
10 Kentucky
11 Jacksonville
12 South Carolina
13 Michigan
14 Kansas
15 Penn
16 New Mexico
17 St. John's
18 Villanova
19 BYU
20 Oklahoma
UPI Coaches
Ranking Team
1 UCLA
2 Marquette
3 USC
4 North Carolina
5 Ohio State
6 Houston
7 Maryland
8 Louisville
9 Long Beach State
10 Kentucky
11 Jacksonville
12 New Mexico State
13 South Carolina
14 BYU
15 St. John's
16 Kansas
17 Villanova
18 Michigan
19 Harvard
20 Pacific

Conference membership changes

School Former conference New conference
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Gulf States Conference Southland Conference
NYU Violets University Division independent No basketball program
Pacific Tigers West Coast Athletic Conference Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Seattle Redhawks University Division independent West Coast Athletic Conference
South Carolina Gamecocks Atlantic Coast Conference University Division independent
Southwest Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Gulf States Conference Southland Conference

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference Regular
season winner[5]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Atlantic Coast ConferenceNorth CarolinaBarry Parkhill,
Virginia[6]
1972 ACC men's basketball tournamentGreensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
North Carolina
Big Eight ConferenceKansas StateIsaac "Bud" Stallworth, Kansas[7]No Tournament
Big Sky ConferenceWeber StateNone selectedNo Tournament
Big Ten ConferenceMinnesotaNone selectedNo Tournament
Ivy LeaguePennNone selectedNo Tournament
Mid-American ConferenceOhioTom Kozelko, Toledo[8]No Tournament
Middle Atlantic ConferenceTemple (East); Rider (West)No Tournament
Missouri Valley ConferenceLouisville & Memphis StateLarry Finch, Memphis StateNo Tournament
Ohio Valley ConferenceEastern Kentucky, Morehead State, & Western KentuckyLes Taylor, Murray StateNo Tournament
Pacific 8 ConferenceUCLANone selectedNo Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic AssociationLong Beach StateEd Ratleff, Long Beach StateNo Tournament
Southeastern ConferenceKentucky & TennesseeMike Edwards, Tennessee, & Tom Parker, Kentucky[9]No Tournament
Southern ConferenceDavidsonRuss Hunt,
Furman[10]
1972 Southern Conference men's basketball tournamentGreenville Memorial Auditorium
(Greenville, South Carolina)
(Semifinals and Finals)
East Carolina[11]
Southland ConferenceLouisiana TechDwight "Bo" Lamar,
Southwest Louisiana[12]
No Tournament
Southwest ConferenceSMU & TexasLarry Robinson, TexasNo Tournament
West Coast Athletic ConferenceSan FranciscoMike Stewart, Santa ClaraNo Tournament
Western Athletic ConferenceBYUNone selectedNo Tournament
Yankee ConferenceRhode IslandNone selectedNo Tournament

Informal championships

Conference Regular
season winner
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Philadelphia Big 5Penn & TempleNone selectedNo Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

National semifinals National finals
      
E North Carolina 75
ME Florida State 79
ME Florida State 76
W UCLA 81
MW Louisville 77
MW UCLA 96
  • Third Place – North Carolina 105, Louisville 91

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals Finals
      
  Jacksonville 77
  Maryland 91
  Maryland 100
  Niagara 69
  St. John's 67
  Niagara 69
  • Third Place – Jacksonville 83, St. John's 80

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

Major coach of the year awards

Other major awards

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team Former
Coach
Interim
Coach
New
Coach
Reason
Georgetown Jack Magee John Thompson McGee was fired at the end of the season after the 1971–72 Georgetown team finished with a record of 3–23.
Hardin–Simmons Glen Whitis Russell Berry
Kentucky Adolph Rupp Joe B. Hall Rupp retired as the NCAA all-time leader in victories. He was replaced by lead assistant Hall.
Marshall Carl Tacy Bob Daniels Tacy left after the season to become the head coach at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest Jack McCloskey Carl Tacy McCloskey left after the season to become the head coach for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

References

  1. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  2. "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  4. "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  5. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  6. 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
  7. 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
  8. 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
  9. 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
  10. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  11. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  12. 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
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