1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team American college basketball season
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]
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
Starting lineup
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
References
^ "2011-12 Men's Basketball Media Guide" . Pac-12 Conference. p. 67. Retrieved November 23, 2011 .
^ a b c Hofmann, Dale (March 27, 1973). "Walton's 44 KO Memphis State" . Milwaukee Sentinel . p. 1, part 2.
^ a b c "Walton may be $2 million bargain" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. March 27, 1973. p. 1C.
^ a b UCLA media guide
^ a b "Walton 'demolishes' Memphis State, 87–66" . Wilmington Morning Star . (North Carolina). UPI. March 27, 1973. p. 14.
^ Kirkpatrick, Curry (April 2, 1973). "A slight case of being superhuman" . Sports Illustrated . p. 18.
^ Rapoport, Ron (January 26, 1973). "Bruins Tie All-Time Mark". Los Angeles Times . ProQuest 157194780 .
^ NCAA Division 1 Record , NCAA , 2002
^ "AAU Sullivan Award" .
^ "USBWA > Awards > Oscar Robertson Trophy" . Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007 .
^ "Naismith Awards - Naismith Trophy" . Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009 .
^ "About Us" . Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009 .
External links
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics