1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team went undefeated again at 30–0 and claimed a seventh consecutive national championship.^[2][3][4][5]

1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions Pac-8 champions
National Championship Game, W 87–66 vs. Memphis State
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	30–0 (14–0 Pac-8)
Head coach	John Wooden (25th season)
Assistant coach	Gary Cunningham
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion
Seasons ← 1971–72 1973–74 →

1972–73 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
USC	9	–	5		.643			18	–	10		.643
Oregon	8	–	6		.571			16	–	10		.615
Stanford	7	–	7		.500			14	–	11		.560
Washington	6	–	8		.429			16	–	11		.593
Oregon State	6	–	8		.429			15	–	11		.577
California	4	–	10		.286			11	–	15		.423
Washington State	2	–	12		.143			6	–	20		.231
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

In the title game of the NCAA tournament at St. Louis, junior center Bill Walton scored 44 points (21 of 22 field goal attempts) with thirteen rebounds as the top-ranked Bruins defeated #12 Memphis State, 87–66.^[2][3] Some regard this as the greatest ever offensive performance in American college basketball.^[6] Tied at 39 at halftime, the Bruins dominated the second half and outscored the Tigers, 48–27.^[2][3][5][4]

UCLA set a new NCAA record of 75 consecutive wins and a three-season composite record of 89–1 (.989).

Roster

1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 30 Vince Carson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr G 22 Tommy Curtis 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Tampa, Florida F 54 Larry Farmer (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr F 50 Gary Franklin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr F 53 Larry Hollyfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr G 43 Greg Lee 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr Reseda, California F 34 Dave Meyers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So San Diego, CA C 31 Swen Nater 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Den Helder, Netherlands G 25 Pete Trgovich 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So East Chicago, Indiana C 32 Bill Walton 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr La Mesa, California F 52 Keith Wilkes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr 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

Starting lineup

Position	Player	Class
F	Larry Farmer	Senior
F	Keith Wilkes	Junior
C	Bill Walton	Junior
G	Larry Hollyfield	Senior
G	Greg Lee	Junior

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
November 25, 1972*	No. 1	Wisconsin	W 94–53	1–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 1, 1972*	No. 1	Bradley	W 73–38	2–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 2, 1972*	No. 1	Pacific	W 81–48	3–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 16, 1972*	No. 1	UCSB	W 98–67	4–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 1972*	No. 1	Pittsburgh	W 89–73	5–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 23, 1972*	No. 1	Notre Dame	W 82–56	6–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 29, 1972*	No. 1	vs. Drake Sugar Bowl Classic	W 85–72	7–0	Municipal Auditorium  New Orleans, LA
December 30, 1972*	No. 1	vs. Illinois Sugar Bowl Classic	W 71–64	8–0	Municipal Auditorium (7,123) New Orleans, LA
January 5, 1973	No. 1	Oregon	W 64–38	9–0 (1–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 6, 1973	No. 1	Oregon State	W 87–61	10–0 (2–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 12, 1973	No. 1	at Stanford	W 82–67	11–0 (3–0)	Maples Pavilion  Stanford, CA
January 13, 1973	No. 1	at California	W 69–50	12–0 (4–0)	Harmon Gym  Berkeley, CA
January 19, 1973*	No. 1	No. 10 San Francisco	W 92–64	13–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 20, 1973*	No. 1	No. 9 Providence	W 101–77	14–0	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
January 25, 1973*	No. 1	at Loyola–Chicago	W 87–73	15–0	Chicago Stadium[7] (15,817) Chicago, IL
January 27, 1973*	No. 1	at Notre Dame	W 82–63	16–0	Athletic & Convocation Center  Notre Dame, IN
February 3, 1973	No. 1	at No. 20 USC	W 79–56	17–0 (5–0)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena  Los Angeles, CA
February 10, 1973	No. 1	at Washington State	W 88–50	18–0 (6–0)	Bohler Gymnasium  Pullman, WA
February 12, 1973	No. 1	at Washington	W 76–67	19–0 (7–0)	Hec Edmundson Pavilion  Seattle, WA
February 16, 1973	No. 1	Washington	W 93–62	20–0 (8–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 17, 1973	No. 1	Washington State	W 96–64	21–0 (9–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
February 22, 1973	No. 1	at Oregon	W 72–61	22–0 (10–0)	McArthur Court  Eugene, OR
February 24, 1973	No. 1	Oregon State	W 73–67	23–0 (11–0)	Gill Coliseum  Corvallis, OR
March 2, 1973	No. 1	California	W 51–45	24–0 (12–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
March 3, 1973	No. 1	Stanford	W 51–45	25–0 (13–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
March 9, 1973	No. 1	USC	W 76–56	26–0 (14–0)	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 15, 1973*	No. 1	vs. No. 16 Arizona State Regional semifinal	W 98–81	27–0	Pauley Pavilion (12,671) Los Angeles, CA
March 17, 1973*	No. 1	vs. No. 20 San Francisco Regional Final	W 54–39	28–0	Pauley Pavilion (12,705) Los Angeles, CA
March 24, 1973* 1:30 pm, NBC	No. 1	vs. No. 6 Indiana National semifinal	W 70–59	29–0	St. Louis Arena (19,029) St. Louis, MO
March 26, 1973* 6:10 pm, NBC	No. 1	vs. No. 12 Memphis State National Final	W 87–66	30–0	St. Louis Arena (19,301) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific time.

Notes

• The 1972 team was ranked No. 1 by both AP and UPI pre-season polls
• Walton set a school record with 506 rebounds
• Larry Farmer and Larry Hollyfield became the only players to have the best winning record over a three-year period, 89–1.^[8]
• In the semifinal against #6 Indiana, the Hoosiers rallied in the second half to give the Bruins a scare. Curtis scored 22 points off the bench to help UCLA with the 70–59 victory.
• Walton and Keith Wilkes were consensus first team All-Americans.

Awards and honors

• Bill Walton, James E. Sullivan Award,^[9] which recognizes the top amateur athlete in the United States
• Bill Walton, USBWA College Player of the Year^[10]
• Bill Walton, Naismith College Player of the Year^[11]
• Bill Walton, Adolph Rupp Trophy^[12]