1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Pac-8 Champions
Conference Athletic Association of Western Universities
Ranking
Coaches No. 2
AP No. 2
1967–68 record 29–1 (14–0 Pac-8)
Head coach John R. Wooden (20th season)
Assistant coach Jerry Norman
Assistant coach Denny Crum
1967–68 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
#2 UCLA14–0 1.000  29–1  .967
USC11–3 .786  18–8  .692
Washington State8–6 .571  16–9  .640
California7–7 .500  16–9  .640
Oregon State5–9 .357  12–13  .480
Stanford5–9 .357  11–15  .423
Washington4–10 .286  12–14  .462
Oregon2–12 .143  7–19  .269
As of April 15, 1967[1]; Rankings from AP Poll

The 1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won UCLA's fourth NCAA National Basketball Championship under head coach John R. Wooden with a win over North Carolina.[2]

UCLA's 47-game winning streak came to an end in January when the Bruins were beaten by Houston and All-American Elvin Hayes in the Astrodome 71–69; the game was known as the Game of the Century. The Bruins avenged the loss in a rematch with Houston in the NCAA Final Four, by beating the Cougars 101–69 to become the only team to win consecutive NCAA championships twice.

Season Summary

This team ushered in a new era of college hoops when it played and lost to Houston in a regular-season game at Houston Astrodome that was seen by a national television audience. The Bruins avenged the only loss in the Final Four, thrashing the Cougars behind Lew Alcindor’s 19 points and 18 rebounds. "Big Lew" was even more dominant in the title game, with 34 points and 16 boards in a win over North Carolina. UCLA limited Houston's Elvin Hayes, who was averaging 37.7 points per game but was held to only 10. Bruins coach John Wooden credited his assistant, Jerry Norman, for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes.[3][4]

Players

1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
C 33 Lew Alcindor 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)225 lb (102 kg) Jr New York, New York
G 42 Lucius Allen 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) Jr Kansas City, KS
G 22 Kenny Heitz 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
 Jr Santa Monica, CA
F 54 Edgar Lacey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
 Sr Los Angeles, California
F 35 Mike Lynn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
 Sr Covina, California
F 34 Jim Nielsen
—
—
C 30 Neville Saner 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
F 53 Lynn Shackelford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) Jr Burbank, CA
G 24 Gene Sutherland 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
G 45 Bill Sweek 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
 Jr Pasadena, CA
G 44 Michael Warren 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
—
 Sr South Bend, IN
Head coach

John Wooden (Purdue)

Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster


Lew Alcindor would suffer the first major injury of his athletic career. He suffered a scratched left cornea on January 12, 1968, in a game against the California Golden Bears. He got struck by Ted Henderson of Cal in a rebound battle.[5] He would miss the next two games against Stanford and Portland. This happened right before the game against the University of Houston.

Schedule

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
December 2, 1967*
 No. 1 at Purdue W 73-71  1-0
 Purdue Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
December 8, 1967*
 No. 1 Wichita State W 120-86  2-0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 9, 1967*
 No. 1 Iowa State W 121-80  3-0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 1967*
 No. 1 No. 10 Bradley W 109-73  4-0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 23, 1967*
 No. 1 Notre Dame W 114-63  5-0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 27, 1967*
 No. 1 Minnesota
Los Angeles Classic		 W 95-55  6-0
 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
December 29, 1967*
 No. 1 Saint Louis
Los Angeles Classic		 W 108-67  7-0
 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
December 30, 1967*
 No. 1 Wyoming
Los Angeles Classic		 W 104-71  8-0
 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
January 5, 1968
 No. 1 Washington State W 97-69  9-0
(1-0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 6, 1968
 No. 1 Washington W 93-65  10-0
(2-0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 12, 1968
 No. 1 at California W 94-64  11-0
(3-0)		 Harmon Gym 
Berkeley, CA
January 13, 1968
 No. 1 at Stanford W 73-63  12-0
(4-0)		 Stanford Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
January 18, 1968*
 No. 1 Portland W 93-69  13-0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 20, 1968*
 TVS		 No. 1 vs. No. 2 Houston
Game of the Century		 L 69-71  13-1
 Houston Astrodome (52,693)
Houston, TX
January 26, 1968*
 No. 2 vs. Holy Cross W 90-67  14-1
 Madison Square Garden (18,106[6])
New York, NY
January 27, 1968*
 No. 2 vs. Boston College W 84-77  15-1
 Madison Square Garden (18,499[7])
New York, NY
February 3, 1968
 No. 2 USC W 101-67  16-1
(5-0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 9, 1968
 No. 2 at Oregon State W 55-52  17-1
(6-0)		 Gill Coliseum 
Corvallis, OR
February 10, 1968
 No. 2 at Oregon W 104-63  18-1
(7-0)		 McArthur Court 
Eugene, OR
February 16, 1968
 No. 2 Oregon W 119-78  19-1
(8-0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 17, 1968
 No. 2 Oregon State W 88-71  20-1
(9-0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 24, 1968
 No. 2 at Washington W 84-67  21-1
(10-0)		 Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
February 26, 1968
 No. 2 at Washington State W 101-70  22-1
(11-0)		 Bohler Gymnasium 
Pullman, WA
March 1, 1968
 No. 2 Stanford W 100-62  23-1
(12-0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
March 2, 1968
 No. 2 California W 115-71  24-1
(13-0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
March 9, 1968
 No. 2 at USC W 72-64  25-1
(14-0)		 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 15, 1968*
 No. 2 vs. New Mexico State
NCAA Regional Semifinal		 W 58-49  26-1
 University Arena 
Albuquerque, NM
March 16, 1968*
 No. 2 vs. Santa Clara
NCAA Regional Final		 W 87-66  27-1
 University Arena 
Albuquerque, NM
March 22, 1968*
 No. 2 vs. No. 1 Houston
NCAA National Semifinal		 W 101-69  28-1
 Los Angeles Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
March 23, 1968*
 No. 2 vs. No. 5 North Carolina
NCAA National Final		 W 78-55  29-1
 Los Angeles Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source[8]

Notes

  • The team opened the season as the No. 1 team in both the AP and UPI polls.
  • Second consecutive national championships, 4 in 5 years.
  • UCLA became the first school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year with Gary Beban winning the Heisman Trophy and Lew Alcindor winning the U.S. Basketball Writers Association player of the year award in 1968.
  • Jan. 20, 1968 – Three days after he was benched by Coach Wooden during the "Game of the Century," Edgar Lacey, who was a high school All-American at Jefferson High School and Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year in 1963, quit the Bruins team.[9]
  • Jan. 27, 2018 – On the 50th anniversary, the team was honored at halftime of UCLA's game against Stanford at Pauley Pavilion.

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA Team
4 45 Mike Lynn Chicago Bulls
4 49 Edgar Lacey San Francisco Warriors
14 180 Mike Warren Seattle SuperSonics

[11]

References

  1. ↑ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ↑ Official Collegiate Basketball Guide
  3. ↑ Esper, Dwain (March 25, 1968). "Bruins Hope Norman Stays". The Independent. Pasadena, California. p. 15. Retrieved July 22, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Gasaway, John (June 7, 2010). "John Wooden's Century". Basketball Prospectus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ Jeff Prugh – Bruins win again without Alcindor. Big Lew Sidelined By Eye Injury Suffered in Game against Bears. Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1968
  6. ↑ Prugh, Jeff (27 January 1968). "LEW PUTS ON SHOW FOR FOLKS AT 'HOMECOMING': Alcindor Demolishes Holy Cross' Man-to-Man Defense With 33 Points as Bruins Romp, 90-67, at the Garden UCLA WINS, 90-67". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ↑ Prugh, Jeff. "BRUINS HOLD OFF EAGLE SPURT, POST 84-77 WIN". Los Angeles Times (28 January 1968).
  8. ↑ "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
  9. ↑ Funeral in Downey today for UCLA player Edgar Lacey Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine., Long Beach Press Telegram, April 8, 2011
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-02-13. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
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