1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won the National Collegiate Championship on March 25, 1972, in the Los Angeles Sports Arena with an 81–76 victory over Florida State.^[2] It was the sixth consecutive championship (and eighth in nine years) under John Wooden, in his 25th year as head coach at UCLA. This was the final year that the national championship game was played on Saturday.^[3]

1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions Pac-8 champions Bruin Classic champions
National Championship Game, W 81-76 vs. Florida State
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	30–0 (14–0 Pac-8)
Head coach	John Wooden (24th season)
Assistant coach	Gary Cunningham
Seasons ← 1970–71 1972–73 →

1971–72 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			30	–	0		1.000
Washington	10	–	4		.714			20	–	6		.769
Oregon State	9	–	5		.643			18	–	10		.643
USC	9	–	5		.643			16	–	10		.615
California	6	–	8		.429			13	–	16		.448
Stanford	5	–	9		.357			10	–	15		.400
Washington State	3	–	11		.214			11	–	15		.423
Oregon	0	–	14		.000			6	–	20		.231
As of April 15, 1972[1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971–72 Bruins had an undefeated record of 30–0, winning by an average margin of over thirty points. They won all 26 games in the regular season (fourteen in Pac-8 play), then four in the NCAA tournament. This was the 45th consecutive victory in a winning streak that reached 88 games, an NCAA record.

Season summary

Sophomore Bill Walton lived up to his advance billing, leading the Bruins to a 30–0 record and the National Championship while averaging a double-double (21.1 PPG, 15.5 RPG). Greg Lee and Henry Bibby formed a solid back court, and forwards Keith Wilkes and Larry Farmer were double-digit scorers. Walton's backup, Swen Nater, could have been a star at other schools and went on to a lengthy pro career.

Starting lineup

Position	Player	Class
F	Larry Farmer	Jr.
F	Keith Wilkes	So.
C	Bill Walton	So.
G	Greg Lee	So.
G	Henry Bibby	Sr.

Roster

1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 45 Henry Bibby (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Franklinton, North Carolina F 30 Vince Carson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So F 34 Jon Chapman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr G 22 Tommy Curtis 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Tampa, Florida F 54 Larry Farmer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr G 25 Andy Hill 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Sr Los Angeles, CA F 53 Larry Hollyfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr G 43 Greg Lee 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Reseda, California C 31 Swen Nater 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Den Helder, Netherlands C 32 Bill Walton 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So La Mesa, California F 52 Keith Wilkes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Berkeley, California	Head coach John Wooden (Purdue) Assistant coach(es) Gary Cunningham (UCLA) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
December 3, 1971*	No. 1	The Citadel	W 105–49	1–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 4, 1971*	No. 1	Iowa	W 106–72	2–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 10, 1971*  KTLA (delay)	No. 1	Iowa State	W 110–81	3–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 11, 1971*	No. 1	Texas A&M	W 117–53	4–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 1971*	No. 1	Notre Dame	W 114–56	5–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 23, 1971*	No. 1	TCU	W 119–81	6–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 29, 1971*	No. 1	Texas	W 115–65	7–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 30, 1971*	No. 1	No. 6 Ohio State	W 79–53	8–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 7, 1972	No. 1	at Oregon State	W 78–72	9–0 (1–0)	Gill Coliseum  Corvallis, OR
January 1972	No. 1	at Oregon	W 93–68	10–0 (2–0)	McArthur Court  Eugene, OR
January 14, 1972	No. 1	Stanford	W 118–79	11–0 (3–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 15, 1972	No. 1	California	W 82–43	12–0 (4–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 21, 1972*	No. 1	Santa Clara	W 92–57	13–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 22, 1972*	No. 1	Denver	W 108–61	14–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 28, 1972	No. 1	at Loyola–Chicago	W 92–64	15–0	Chicago Stadium[4] (11,255) Chicago, IL
January 29, 1972*	No. 1	at Notre Dame	W 57–32	16–0	Athletic & Convocation Center (11,343) Notre Dame, IN
February 5, 1972	No. 1	USC	W 81–56	17–0 (5–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 11, 1972	No. 1	Washington State	W 89–58	18–0 (6–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 12, 1972	No. 1	Washington	W 109–70	19–0 (7–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 19, 1972	No. 1	at Washington	W 100–83	20–0 (8–0)	Hec Edmundson Pavilion  Seattle, WA
February 21, 1972	No. 1	at Washington State	W 85–55	21–0 (9–0)	Bohler Gymnasium  Pullman, WA
February 25, 1972	No. 1	Oregon	W 92–70	22–0 (10–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 26, 1972	No. 1	Oregon State	W 91–72	23–0 (11–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
March 3, 1972	No. 1	at California	W 85–71	24–0 (12–0)	Harmon Gym  Berkeley, CA
March 4, 1972	No. 1	at Stanford	W 102–73	25–0 (13–0)	Maples Pavilion  Stanford, CA
March 10, 1972	No. 1	at USC	W 79–66	26–0 (14–0)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena  Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 16, 1972* 6:00 pm	No. 1	vs. Weber State Regional semifinal	W 90–58	27–0	Marriott Center  Provo, UT
March 18, 1972* 3:00 pm	No. 1	vs. No. 5 Long Beach State Regional Final	W 73–57	28–0	Marriott Center  Provo, UT
March 23, 1972* 8:00 pm	No. 1	vs. No. 4 Louisville National semifinal	W 96–77	29–0	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena  Los Angeles, CA
March 25, 1972* 2:00 pm	No. 1	vs. No. 10 Florida State National Final	W 81–76	30–0	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena  Los Angeles, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

Source:^[5]

Notes

• The team opened the season as the No. 1 team in both the AP and UPI polls
• Prior to joining the varsity team, Lee (17.9 ppg), Wilkes (20.0 ppg), and Walton (18.1, 68.6 per cent) were members of the 20–0 Frosh team^[6]
• Bruins won the Bruin Classic in Pauley Pavilion
• Bill Walton and Henry Bibby were named to the 1972 Consensus All-America first team

Awards and honors

• Bill Walton, USBWA College Player of the Year^[7]
• Bill Walton, Naismith College Player of the Year^[8]
• Bill Walton, Adolph Rupp Trophy^[9]

Team players drafted into the NBA

• Henry Bibby, New York
• Bill Walton, San Antonio (ABA)

References

1. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
2. "It was the same old story -- Bruins take NCAA crown". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 26, 1972. p. 1D.
3. "Bruins bid for sixth straight". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 25, 1972. p. 5B.
4. Prugh, Jeff (January 29, 1972). "Bruin Cagers Romp but Walton Loses 'Duel' With Martin". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156908204.
5. "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
6. 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, College Athletics Publishing Service, 1971
7. "USBWA > Awards > Oscar Robertson Trophy". Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
8. "Naismith Awards - Naismith Trophy". Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
9. "About Us". Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.

External links

• Media related to 1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball season at Wikimedia Commons
• 1971–72 UCLA Bruins at Sports-Reference.com