1970–71 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1970–71 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won the National Collegiate Championship on March 27, 1971, in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.^[4] It was UCLA's fifth consecutive national title, and seventh in eight years under head coach John Wooden. The Bruins defeated Villanova 68–62,^[4] but the Wildcats' runner-up finish was later vacated by the NCAA.^[5]

1970–71 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Celebrating another national championship
NCAA tournament National Champions Pac-8 champions
National Championship Game, W 68-62 vs. Villanova
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	29–1 (14–0 Pac-8)
Head coach	John Wooden (23rd season)
Assistant coaches	Denny Crum (8th season) Gary Cunningham
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion
Seasons ← 1969–70 1971–72 →

1970–71 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 UCLA	14	–	0		1.000			29	–	1		.967
No. 5 USC	12	–	2		.857			24	–	2		.923
Oregon	8	–	6		.571			17	–	9		.654
California	8	–	6		.571			16	–	9		.640
Washington	6	–	8		.429			15	–	13		.536
Oregon State	4	–	10		.286			12	–	14		.462
Washington State	2	–	12		.143			12	–	14		.462
Stanford	2	–	12		.143			6	–	20		.231
As of 1971[1][2] Rankings from AP Poll[3]

Smith Barrier, executive sports editor at the Daily News and Record of Greensboro, North Carolina, wrote: "Mister John Wooden has a watch factory out in Los Angeles. It's a bit different from most Swiss works. They don't make watches, they win 'em."^[5]

The Bruins' only blemish was a 89–82 loss at Notre Dame on January 23. The victory over UC Santa Barbara on January 30 began UCLA's record 88-game winning streak; it lasted nearly three years, broken on January 19, 1974, again at Notre Dame.

UCLA averaged 83.5 points per game, and allowed 71.1 points. Seniors Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe were selected to the consensus All-America team.^[6]

The Bruins opened NCAA West Regional in Salt Lake City with a 91–73 win over BYU,^[7] then edged Long Beach State 57–55 in the regional final.^[8][9]

At the Final Four in Houston, UCLA defeated fourth-ranked Kansas 68–60 in the semifinal game on Thursday night.^[10]

Roster

1970–71 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 24 Rick Betchley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr G 45 Henry Bibby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Jr Franklinton, North Carolina G 23 Kenny Booker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Sr Long Beach, California C 34 Jon Chapman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — G 22 Tommy Curtis  5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — F 52 John Ecker 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Sr F 54 Larry Farmer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So G 25 Andy Hill 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Jr Los Angeles, California G/F 53 Larry Hollyfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — C 32 Steve Patterson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Sr Riverside, California F 30 Curtis Rowe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr Bessemer, Alabama G 42 Terry Schofield 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr Los Angeles, California F 35 Sidney Wicks 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Sr Los Angeles, California	Head coach John Wooden (Purdue) Assistant coach(es) Denny Crum (UCLA) Gary Cunningham (UCLA) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2016-Mar-20

Schedule

Sidney Wicks was a consensus All-American

Henry Bibby against Stanford

Kenny Booker against Kansas in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
December 4, 1970*	No. 1	Baylor	W 108–77	1–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles
December 5, 1970*	No. 1	Rice	W 124–78	2–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 11, 1970*	No. 1	Pacific	W 100–88	3–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 12, 1970*	No. 1	Tulsa	W 95–75	4–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 1970*	No. 1	Missouri	W 94–75	5–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 23, 1970*	No. 1	Saint Louis	W 79–65	6–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 29, 1970*	No. 1	vs. William & Mary Steel Bowl	W 90–71	7–0	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, PA
December 30, 1970*	No. 1	at Pittsburgh Steel Bowl	W 77–65	8–0	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, PA
January 2, 1971*	No. 1	Dayton	W 106–82	9–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 8, 1971	No. 1	Washington	W 78–69	10–0 (1–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 9, 1971	No. 1	Washington State	W 95–71	11–0 (2–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 15, 1971	No. 1	at Stanford	W 58–53	12–0 (3–0)	Maples Pavilion  Stanford, CA
January 16, 1971	No. 1	at California	W 94–76	13–0 (4–0)	Harmon Gym  Berkeley, CA
January 22, 1971*	No. 1	at Loyola–Chicago	W 87–62	14–0	Chicago Stadium  Chicago, IL
January 23, 1971*	No. 1	at No. 9 Notre Dame	L 82–89	14–1	Athletic & Convocation Center  Notre Dame, IN
January 30, 1971*	No. 2	UC Santa Barbara	W 74–61	15–1	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 6, 1971	No. 3	at No. 2 USC	W 64–60	16–1 (5–0)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena  Los Angeles, CA
February 12, 1971	No. 1	at Oregon	W 69–68	17–1 (6–0)	McArthur Court  Eugene, OR
February 13, 1971	No. 1	at Oregon State	W 67–65	18–1 (7–0)	Gill Coliseum  Corvallis, OR
February 19, 1971	No. 1	Oregon State	W 94–64	19–1 (8–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 20, 1971	No. 1	Oregon	W 74–67	20–1 (9–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 27, 1971	No. 1	at Washington State	W 57–53	21–1 (10–0)	Bohler Gymnasium  Pullman, WA
March 1, 1971	No. 1	at Washington	W 71–69	22–1 (11–0)	Hec Edmundson Pavilion  Seattle, WA
March 5, 1971	No. 1	California	W 103–69	23–1 (12–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
March 6, 1971	No. 1	Stanford	W 107–72	24–1 (13–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
March 13, 1971	No. 1	No. 3 USC	W 73–62	25–1 (14–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 18, 1971* 8:20 pm	No. 1	vs. No. 20 BYU Regional semifinals	W 91–73	26–1	Special Events Center (15,032) Salt Lake City, UT
March 20, 1971* 3:30 pm, NBC	No. 1	vs. No. 16 Long Beach State Regional Final	W 57–55	27–1	Special Events Center (14,003) Salt Lake City, UT
March 25, 1971* 6:30 pm, NBC	No. 1	vs. No. 4 Kansas National semifinal	W 68–60	28–1	Astrodome (31,428) Houston, TX
March 27, 1971* 1:15 pm, NBC	No. 1	vs. No. 19 Villanova National Final	W 68–62	29–1	Astrodome (31,765) Houston, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific time.

Source:^[11]

Notes

• The Bruins also won the "Steel Bowl" in Pittsburgh in late December, defeating William & Mary and Pittsburgh
• Sidney Wicks was a consensus All-American and Curtis Rowe was named to the second team.
• Sidney Wicks received player of the year awards from the USBWA and The Sporting News
• November 21, 2010 – Sidney Wicks will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

References

1. "Pacific-8 Conference: final standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 14, 1971. p. 1D.
2. 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, College Athletics Publishing Service, 1971
3. "Both wire service polls agree-- UCLA is best club in country". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 16, 1971. p. 2B.
4. "Steve Patterson's greatest game sparks UCLA to fifth straight NCAA crown". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 28, 1971. p. 1, sports.
5. Official Collegiate Basketball Guide 1972, College Athletic Publishing Service, 1972
6. Jerry Crowe, "In time of great change, Sidney Wicks helped UCLA stay the same", Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2009
7. Miller, Hack (March 19, 1971). "All-California finale". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B5.
8. "Bruins escape in final seconds; Wicks' FT's give 57-55 triumph". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 21, 1971. p. 1, sports.
9. Miller, Hack (March 22, 1971). "Bruin shaky, but Houston beckons". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. C1.
10. "Iron-man quints to battle Bruins". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 26, 1971. p. 13.
11. "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.

External links

• Media related to 1970–71 UCLA Bruins men's basketball season at Wikimedia Commons
• 1970–71 UCLA Bruins at Sports-Reference.com