Basketball contests at the 1972 Summer Olympics was the eighth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It took place at Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, Germany from August 27 to September 9. The Soviet Union controversially won the gold medal game against the United States.[1][2] This was the first time that the USA did not win a gold medal since the sport's introduction into the Olympics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games. The bronze was won by Cuba, the only Olympic medal they have won in basketball.[3] Another controversy was suspension of Mickey Coll after a positive drug test.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2015) |
| 8th Olympic Basketball Tournament | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munich 1972 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Tournament details | |||||||||
| Olympics | 1972 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
| Host nation | West Germany | ||||||||
| City | Munich | ||||||||
| Duration | August 27 – September 9 | ||||||||
| Men's tournament | |||||||||
| Teams | 16 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Tournaments | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Medal summary
Qualification
Automatic qualifications were granted to the host country and the first four places at the previous tournament. Additional spots were decided by various continental tournaments held by FIBA plus an additional pre-Olympic tournament that granted two extra berths.
| Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Automatic qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Egypt[a] Senegal |  Cuba Puerto Rico |  Japan Philippines |  Italy Czechoslovakia Poland Spain |  Australia |  United States – Gold medal in 1968 Yugoslavia – Silver medal in 1968 Soviet Union – Bronze medal in 1968 Brazil – 4th place in 1968 West Germany – Olympic hosts |
- a Egypt withdrew from the tournament following the events of the Munich massacre.
Format
- Two groups of eight teams are formed, where the top two from each group compete for the medals in a knockout round.
- The remaining places are defined as follows:
- Fifth through eighth places are decided in a separate bracket between the third and fourth places from each group in a separate bracket.
- Ninth through sixteenth places are decided between the fifth through eighth places from each group in separate brackets.
Tie-breaking criteria:
- Head to head results
- Goal average (not the goal difference) between the tied teams
Squads
For the team rosters see: Basketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's team rosters.
Preliminary round
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, while the remaining teams compete for 5th through 16th places in separate brackets.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
7 | 7 | 0 | 542 | 312 | +230 | 14 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Cuba |
7 | 6 | 1 | 560 | 445 | +115 | 13 | |
| 3 | Brazil |
7 | 4 | 3 | 561 | 490 | +71 | 11[a] | 5th–8th classification round |
| 4 | Czechoslovakia |
7 | 4 | 3 | 493 | 489 | +4 | 11[a] | |
| 5 | Spain |
7 | 3 | 4 | 486 | 500 | −14 | 10[b] | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Australia |
7 | 3 | 4 | 523 | 524 | −1 | 10[b] | |
| 7 | Japan |
7 | 1 | 6 | 442 | 643 | −201 | 8 | 13th–16th classification round |
| 8 | Egypt |
7 | 0 | 7 | 440 | 644 | −204 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union |
7 | 7 | 0 | 639 | 479 | +160 | 14 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Italy |
7 | 5 | 2 | 547 | 471 | +76 | 12[a] | |
| 3 | Yugoslavia |
7 | 5 | 2 | 582 | 484 | +98 | 12[a] | 5th–8th classification round |
| 4 | Puerto Rico |
7 | 5 | 2 | 570 | 531 | +39 | 12[a] | |
| 5 | West Germany (H) |
7 | 3 | 4 | 482 | 518 | −36 | 10 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Poland |
7 | 2 | 5 | 520 | 536 | −16 | 9 | |
| 7 | Philippines |
7 | 1 | 6 | 526 | 666 | −140 | 8 | 13th–16th classification round |
| 8 | Senegal |
7 | 0 | 7 | 405 | 586 | −181 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
Notes:
Knockout stage
Medal bracket
| Semifinals (September 7)[4] | Gold medal (September 9) | ||||||||
| A1 | United States
| 68 | |||||||
| B2 | Italy
| 38 | |||||||
| A1 | United States
| 50 | |||||||
| B1 | Soviet Union
| 51 | |||||||
| B1 | Soviet Union
| 67 | |||||||
| A2 | Cuba
| 61 | Bronze medal (September 8) | ||||||
| B2 | Italy
| 65 | |||||||
| A2 | Cuba
| 66 | |||||||
Classification brackets
5th–8th place
| Semifinals (September 7[4]) | 5th place (September 9) | ||||||||
| A3 | Brazil
| 83 | |||||||
| B4 | Puerto Rico
| 87 | |||||||
| B4 | Puerto Rico
| 70 | |||||||
| B3 | Yugoslavia
| 86 | |||||||
| B3 | Yugoslavia
| 66 | |||||||
| A4 | Czechoslovakia
| 63 | 7th place (September 8) | ||||||
| A3 | Brazil
| 87 | |||||||
| A4 | Czechoslovakia
| 69 | |||||||
9th–12th place
| Semifinals (September 5) | 9th place (September 9) | ||||||||
| A5 | Spain
| 76 | |||||||
| B6 | Poland
| 87 | |||||||
| B6 | Poland
| 83 | |||||||
| A6 | Australia
| 91 | |||||||
| B5 | West Germany
| 69 | |||||||
| A6 | Australia
| 70 | 11th place (September 8) | ||||||
| A5 | Spain
| 84 | |||||||
| B5 | West Germany
| 83 | |||||||
13th–16th place
| Semifinals (September 5) | 13th place (September 7) | ||||||||
| A7 | Japan
| 70 | |||||||
| B8 | Senegal
| 67 | |||||||
| A7 | Japan
| 73 | |||||||
| B7 | Philippines
| 82 | |||||||
| B7 | Philippines
| 2 | |||||||
| A8 | Egypt
| 0[a] | 15th place | ||||||
| B8 | Egypt
| 0[a] | |||||||
| A8 | Senegal
| 2 | |||||||
- a Forfeited match.
Final
September 9 23:30 |
| Soviet Union |
51–50 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 26–21, 25–29 | ||
| Pts: Sergey Belov 20 Rebs: Alexander Belov 8 |
Pts: Tom Henderson, Jim Brewer 9 each Rebs: Mike Bantom 9 | |
Awards
| 1972 Olympic Basketball Champions |
|---|
| Soviet Union First title |
Final standings
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Soviet Union | 9 | 9 | 0 |
 | United States | 9 | 8 | 1 |
 | Cuba | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 4th | Italy | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 5th | Yugoslavia | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 6th | Puerto Rico | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| 7th | Brazil | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 8th | Czechoslovakia | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| 9th | Australia | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 10th | Poland | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 11th | Spain | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| 12th | West Germany | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 13th | Philippines | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 14th | Japan | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 15th | Senegal | 9 | 1 | 8 |
| 16th | Egypt | 9 | 0 | 9 |
References
External links
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