1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1966, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1967 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1967, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The UCLA Bruins won their third NCAA national championship with a 79–64 victory over the Dayton Flyers.

1966–67 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA[1][2]
NCAA Tournament	1967
Tournament dates	March 11 – 25, 1967
National Championship	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	UCLA
Helms National Champions	UCLA
Other champions	Southern Illinois (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Lew Alcindor, UCLA
← 1965–66 1967–68 →

Season headlines

• The NCAA tournament expanded from 22 to 23 teams.
• UCLA went undefeated (30–0) and won its first of an eventual seven NCAA championships in a row, third overall, and third in four seasons. In the Athletic Association of Western Universities, it also won its first of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and Top 20 from the Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[3][4]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 UTEP 3 Kentucky 4 Duke 5 Louisville 6 New Mexico 7 Houston 8 Western Kentucky 9 North Carolina 10 Cincinnati

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 UTEP 3 Kentucky 4 Duke 5 Michigan State 6 Houston 7 Louisville 8 BYU 9 Western Kentucky 10 Providence 11 Nebraska 12 Boston College 13 (tie) Dayton Kansas 15 North Carolina 16 (tie) Loyola-Chicago New Mexico 18 Cincinnati 19 Colorado State 20 St. John's

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Tulane Green Wave	Southeastern Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[5]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Larry Miller, North Carolina[6]	1967 ACC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Big Eight Conference	Kansas	None selected	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Gonzaga & Montana State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Indiana & Michigan State	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	Manhattan, St. Peter's, & St. Francis (NY)		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Toledo	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Temple		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Louisville	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky	Clem Haskins, Western Kentucky	1967 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)	Tennessee Tech
Southeastern Conference	Tennessee	Ron Widby, Tennessee[7]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	West Virginia	Johnny Moates, Richmond[8]	1967 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	West Virginia[9]
Southwest Conference	SMU	Denny Holman, SMU	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Pacific	Keith Swagerty, Pacific	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	BYU & Wyoming	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1966–67 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 UCLA 14 – 0   1.000 30 – 0   1.000 Washington State 8 – 6   .571 15 – 11   .577 Oregon State 8 – 6   .571 14 – 14   .500 Stanford 7 – 7   .500 15 – 11   .577 California 6 – 8   .429 17 – 10   .630 Washington 6 – 8   .429 13 – 12   .520 USC 6 – 8   .429 13 – 12   .520 Oregon 1 – 13   .071 9 – 17   .346 Rankings from AP Poll[10]	1966–67 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 North Carolina † 12 – 2   .857 26 – 6   .813 Duke 9 – 3   .750 18 – 9   .667 South Carolina 8 – 4   .667 16 – 7   .696 Clemson 9 – 5   .643 17 – 8   .680 Wake Forest 5 – 9   .357 9 – 18   .333 Maryland 5 – 9   .357 11 – 14   .440 Virginia 4 – 10   .286 9 – 17   .346 NC State 2 – 12   .143 7 – 19   .269 † 1967 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1966–67 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Kansas 13 – 1   .929 23 – 4   .852 Colorado 10 – 4   .714 17 – 8   .680 Nebraska 10 – 4   .714 16 – 9   .640 Kansas State 9 – 5   .643 17 – 8   .680 Iowa State 6 – 8   .429 13 – 12   .520 Oklahoma 5 – 9   .357 8 – 17   .320 Oklahoma State 2 – 12   .143 7 – 18   .280 Missouri 1 – 13   .071 3 – 22   .120 Rankings from AP Poll[11]
1966–67 Big Sky men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Gonzaga 7 – 3   .700 21 – 6   .778 Montana State 7 – 3   .700 15 – 11   .577 Weber State 5 – 5   .500 18 – 7   .720 Idaho 5 – 5   .500 15 – 12   .556 Idaho State 5 – 5   .500 11 – 16   .407 Montana 1 – 9   .100 7 – 17   .292	1966–67 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Michigan State 10 – 4   .714 16 – 7   .696 Indiana 10 – 4   .714 18 – 8   .692 Iowa 9 – 5   .643 16 – 8   .667 Wisconsin 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625 Purdue 7 – 7   .500 15 – 9   .625 Northwestern 7 – 7   .500 11 – 11   .500 Ohio State 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542 Illinois 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 Minnesota 5 – 9   .357 9 – 15   .375 Michigan 2 – 12   .143 8 – 16   .333 Rankings from AP Poll	1966–67 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Princeton 13 – 1   .929 25 – 3   .893 Cornell 11 – 3   .786 19 – 5   .792 Yale 11 – 3   .786 14 – 7   .667 Pennsylvania 7 – 7   .500 11 – 14   .440 Columbia 6 – 8   .429 11 – 14   .440 Harvard 4 – 10   .286 10 – 14   .417 Brown 3 – 11   .214 10 – 16   .385 Dartmouth 1 – 13   .071 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll
1966–67 Metropolitan Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT St. Francis (NY) 7 – 2   .778 15 – 8   .652 Saint Peter's 7 – 2   .778 18 – 6   .750 Manhattan 7 – 2   .778 13 – 8   .619 NYU 6 – 3   .667 10 – 16   .385 LIU 5 – 4   .556 22 – 7   .759 Wagner 4 – 5   .444 19 – 9   .679 Iona 4 – 5   .444 11 – 10   .524 Seton Hall 3 – 6   .333 7 – 17   .292 Hofstra 2 – 7   .222 12 – 13   .480 Fairleigh Dickinson 0 – 9   .000 4 – 19   .174 Rankings from AP Poll	1966–67 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Toledo 11 – 1   .917 23 – 2   .920 Marshall 10 – 2   .833 20 – 8   .714 Miami (Ohio) 7 – 5   .583 14 – 10   .583 Bowling Green State 5 – 7   .417 11 – 13   .458 Western Michigan 4 – 8   .333 10 – 14   .417 Ohio 4 – 8   .333 8 – 15   .348 Kent State 1 – 11   .083 5 – 18   .217 Rankings from AP Poll	1966–67 MAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Temple† 7 – 0   1.000 20 – 8   .714 Saint Joseph's 2 – 1   .667 16 – 10   .615 Bucknell 6 – 3   .667 11 – 11   .500 Gettysburg 6 – 5   .545 12 – 10   .545 American 3 – 3   .500 16 – 8   .667 Delaware 4 – 5   .444 15 – 9   .625 Lehigh 4 – 5   .444 11 – 12   .478 La Salle 2 – 3   .400 14 – 12   .538 Lafayette 1 – 10   .091 4 – 21   .160 Rider* –   – 11 – 12   .478 West Chester (Pa.)* –   – 8 – 15   .348 † Regular-season championship winner * – Played as non-major program Rankings from AP Poll
1966–67 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Louisville 12 – 2   .857 23 – 5   .821 Tulsa 10 – 4   .714 19 – 8   .704 Wichita State 9 – 5   .643 14 – 12   .538 Bradley 6 – 8   .429 17 – 9   .654 Cincinnati 6 – 8   .429 17 – 9   .654 Saint Louis 5 – 9   .357 13 – 13   .500 North Texas State 4 – 10   .286 12 – 13   .480 Drake 4 – 10   .286 9 – 16   .360 Rankings from AP Poll[12]	1966–67 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 6 Western Kentucky 13 – 1   .929 23 – 3   .885 Morehead State 8 – 6   .571 16 – 8   .667 East Tennessee State 8 – 6   .571 17 – 9   .654 Murray State 8 – 6   .571 14 – 9   .609 Austin Peay State 7 – 7   .500 14 – 9   .609 Tennessee Tech† 6 – 8   .429 12 – 11   .522 Middle Tennessee 4 – 10   .286 10 – 15   .400 Eastern Kentucky 2 – 12   .143 5 – 18   .217 † Ohio Valley Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1966–67 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 Tennessee 15 – 3   .833 21 – 7   .750 Florida 14 – 4   .778 21 – 4   .840 Vanderbilt 14 – 4   .778 21 – 5   .808 Auburn 12 – 6   .667 17 – 8   .680 Mississippi State 8 – 10   .444 14 – 11   .560 Kentucky 8 – 10   .444 13 – 13   .500 Ole Miss 7 – 11   .389 13 – 12   .520 Alabama 6 – 12   .333 13 – 13   .500 Georgia 5 – 13   .278 9 – 17   .346 LSU 1 – 17   .056 3 – 23   .115 Rankings from AP Poll[13]
1966–67 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT West Virginia † 9 – 1   .900 19 – 9   .679 Davidson 8 – 4   .667 15 – 12   .556 William & Mary 8 – 5   .615 14 – 11   .560 Richmond 9 – 7   .563 11 – 12   .478 The Citadel 6 – 7   .462 8 – 16   .333 George Washington 5 – 7   .417 6 – 18   .250 Furman 4 – 6   .400 9 – 15   .375 East Carolina 4 – 8   .333 7 – 17   .292 VMI 4 – 12   .250 5 – 16   .238 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1966–67 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT SMU 12 – 2   .857 20 – 6   .769 Baylor 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583 Texas 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583 TCU 8 – 6   .571 10 – 14   .417 Texas Tech 7 – 7   .500 9 – 15   .375 Texas A&M 5 – 9   .357 6 – 18   .250 Rice 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 Arkansas 4 – 10   .286 6 – 17   .261 Rankings from AP Poll	1966–67 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Pacific 14 – 0   1.000 24 – 4   .857 Loyola (Calif.) 10 – 4   .714 16 – 10   .615 Santa Clara 8 – 6   .571 13 – 13   .500 San Francisco 7 – 7   .500 13 – 12   .520 UC Santa Barbara 6 – 8   .429 10 – 16   .385 Pepperdine 5 – 9   .357 9 – 17   .346 San Jose State –   – 9 – 15   .375 Saint Mary's 2 – 12   .143 4 – 21   .160 Rankings from AP Poll[14]
1966–67 WAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT BYU 8 – 2   .800 14 – 10   .583 Wyoming 8 – 2   .800 15 – 14   .517 New Mexico 5 – 5   .500 19 – 8   .704 Utah 5 – 5   .500 15 – 11   .577 Arizona 3 – 7   .300 8 – 17   .320 Arizona State 1 – 9   .100 5 – 21   .192 Rankings from AP Poll[15]	1966–67 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Connecticut 9 – 1   .900 17 – 7   .708 Rhode Island 8 – 2   .800 14 – 12   .538 Massachusetts 7 – 3   .700 11 – 14   .440 New Hampshire 4 – 6   .400 10 – 12   .455 Maine 1 – 9   .100 8 – 12   .400 Vermont 1 – 9   .100 9 – 15   .375

University Division independents

A total of 51 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Boston College (21–3) had the best winning percentage (.875) and Houston (27–4) finished with the most wins.^[16]

1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 9 Boston College –   – 21 – 3   .875 No. 7 Houston –   – 27 – 4   .871 St. John's –   – 23 – 5   .821 Dayton –   – 25 – 6   .806 No. 10 Texas Western –   – 22 – 6   .786 St. Francis (PA) –   – 20 – 6   .769 Syracuse –   – 20 – 6   .769 Utah State –   – 20 – 6   .769 Rutgers –   – 22 – 7   .759 Providence –   – 21 – 7   .750 VPI –   – 20 – 7   .741 Marquette –   – 21 – 9   .700 Seattle –   – 18 – 8   .692 DePaul –   – 17 – 8   .680 Georgia Tech –   – 17 – 9   .654 Hardin–Simmons –   – 17 – 9   .654 Memphis State –   – 17 – 9   .654 Villanova –   – 17 – 9   .654 Holy Cross –   – 16 – 9   .640 Army –   – 13 – 8   .619 Oklahoma City –   – 16 – 10   .615 Loyola Chicago –   – 13 – 9   .591 St. Bonaventure –   – 13 – 9   .591 Canisius –   – 14 – 10   .583 Tulane –   – 14 – 10   .583 Miami (FL) –   – 15 – 11   .577 New Mexico State –   – 15 – 11   .577 Fairfield –   – 12 – 9   .571 Colorado State –   – 13 – 10   .565 Fordham –   – 14 – 11   .560 Georgetown –   – 12 – 11   .522 Notre Dame –   – 14 – 14   .500 Xavier –   – 13 – 13   .500 Loyola (LA) –   – 11 – 11   .500 Creighton –   – 12 – 13   .480 Niagara –   – 12 – 13   .480 Navy –   – 8 – 10   .444 Colgate –   – 10 – 13   .435 Florida State –   – 11 – 15   .423 Penn State –   – 10 – 14   .417 Detroit –   – 10 – 15   .400 Portland –   – 10 – 16   .385 Butler –   – 9 – 17   .346 Centenary –   – 9 – 17   .346 Jacksonville –   – 8 – 17   .320 Duquesne –   – 7 – 15   .318 Air Force –   – 6 – 18   .250 Pittsburgh –   – 6 – 19   .240 Boston University –   – 4 – 18   .182 West Texas State –   – 1 – 18   .053 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Villanova	Cliff Anderson, Saint Joseph's

Villanova finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1967 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1967 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	North Carolina	62
	ME	Dayton	76
						ME	Dayton	64
						W	UCLA	79
	MW	Houston	58
	W	UCLA	73			Third place
						E	North Carolina	62
						MW	Houston	84

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1967 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Southern Illinois	79
	Rutgers	70
					Southern Illinois	71
					Marquette	56
	Marshall	78
	Marquette	83			Third place
					Rutgers	93
					Marshall	76

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1967 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Lew Alcindor	C	Sophomore	UCLA
Clem Haskins	G	Senior	Western Kentucky
Elvin Hayes	F/C	Junior	Houston
Bob Lloyd	G	Senior	Rutgers
Wes Unseld	C	Senior	Louisville
Bob Verga	G	Senior	Duke
Jimmy Walker	G	Senior	Providence

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Louie Dampier	G	Senior	Kentucky
Mel Daniels	C	Senior	New Mexico
Sonny Dove	F	Senior	St. John's
Don May	G/F	Junior	Dayton
Larry Miller	F	Junior	North Carolina

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• UPI Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, 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: Jack Hartman, Southern Illinois

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Cliff Anderson, St. Joseph's
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Sonny Dove, St. John's

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Bowling Green	Warren Scholler		Bill Fitch
Dartmouth	Doggie Julian		Dave Gavitt
Lehigh	Pete Carril		Roy Heckman
Missouri	Bob Vanatta		Norm Stewart
Princeton	Butch van Breda Kolff		Pete Carril
West Texas A&M	Jimmy Viramontes		Dennis Walling

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 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
8. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
9. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
10. "2011-12 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 67. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
11. sports-reference.com 1966-67 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
12. sports-reference.com 1966-67 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
13. sports-reference.com 1966-67 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
14. sports-reference.com 1966-67 West Coast Athletic Conference Season Summary
15. sports-reference.com 1966-67 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
16. "1966-67 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2024.