1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Pac-8 Champions
Conference Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 1
AP No. 1
1968–69 record 29–1 (13–1 Pac-8)
Head coach John R. Wooden (21st season)
Assistant coach Denny Crum
Assistant coach Gary Cunningham
MVP Lew Alcindor
Home arena Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California
1968–69 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
#1 UCLA13–1 .929  29–1  .967
Washington State11–3 .786  18–8  .692
USC8–6 .571  15–11  .577
Washington6–8 .429  13–13  .500
Oregon5–9 .357  13–13  .500
Oregon State5–9 .357  12–14  .462
California4–10 .286  12–13  .480
Stanford4–10 .286  8–17  .320
As of April 15, 1968[1]; Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won UCLA's fifth NCAA National Basketball Championship under head coach John R. Wooden with a win over Purdue, coach Wooden's alma mater.[2] The Bruins started the season with a 25–0 record.

At the West Regional, played in Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins defeated New Mexico State 53–38 and Santa Clara 90–52. Lew Alcindor had a total of 33 points in the two games on March 13 and 14.

On March 20, UCLA had a two-point lead over Drake, 41–39, at half time and then went on to defeat Drake by three points, 85–82, to advance to the championship game against Purdue. Wooden graduated from Purdue in 1932, after earning All-American honors as a guard on the school's basketball team that he captained during his junior and senior years. The Boilermakers won two Big Ten titles and the 1932 National Championship during his years there. Wooden also played baseball during his freshman year.

The "Money Man", John Vallely, scored 29 points and Alcindor had 25 points at the semi-final game. Alcindor scored 37 points with 20 rebounds in the championship game.[3]

Players

1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
C 33 Lew Alcindor 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)225 lb (102 kg) Sr New York, New York
F/C 52 John Ecker 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
 So Los Angeles, California
34 George Farmer
—
—
G 22 Kenny Heitz 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
 Sr Santa Monica, CA
F 34 Jim Nielsen
—
—
C 32 Steve Patterson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg) So Riverside, California
F 30 Curtis Rowe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg) So Bessemer, Alabama
G 25 Don Saffer 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
G 42 Terry Schofield 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
 So Los Angeles, California
F 54 Bill Seibert
—
—
F 53 Lynn Shackelford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) Sr Burbank, CA
G 45 Bill Sweek 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
 Sr Pasadena, CA
G 40 John Vallely 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) Jr Newport, California
44 Lee Walczuk
—
—
F 35 Sidney Wicks 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) So Los Angeles, California
Head coach

John Wooden (Purdue)

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

Roster

Schedule

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
November 30, 1968
 No. 1 No. 10 Purdue W 94–82  1–0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 6, 1968*
 No. 1 at No. 13 Ohio State W 84–73  2–0
 St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
December 7, 1968*
 No. 1 at No. 5 Notre Dame W 88–75  3–0
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, IN
December 20, 1968*
 No. 1 Minnesota W 90–51  4–0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 21, 1968*
 No. 1 West Virginia W 95–56  5–0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 27, 1968*
 No. 1 vs. Providence
ECAC Holiday Festival		 W 98–81  6–0
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
December 28, 1968*
 No. 1 vs. Princeton
ECAC Holiday Festival		 W 83–67  7–0
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
December 30, 1968*
 No. 1 at St. John's
ECAC Holiday Festival		 W 74–56  8–0
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
January 4, 1969*
 No. 1 Tulane W 96–64  9–0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 10, 1969
 No. 1 at Oregon W 93–64  10–0
(1-0)		 McArthur Court 
Eugene, OR
January 11, 1969
 No. 1 at Oregon State W 83–64  11–0
(2-0)		 Gill Coliseum 
Corvallis, OR
January 18, 1969*
 No. 1 Houston W 100–64  12–0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 24, 1969*
 No. 1 vs. Northwestern W 81–67  13–0
 Chicago Stadium 
Chicago, IL
January 25, 1969*
 No. 1 at Loyola–Chicago W 84–65  14–0
 Chicago Stadium 
Chicago, IL
January 31, 1969
 No. 1 California W 109–74  15–0
(3–0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 1, 1969
 No. 1 Stanford W 98–61  16–0
(4–0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 7, 1969
 No. 1 Washington W 62–51  17–0
(5–0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 8, 1969
 No. 1 Washington State W 108–80  18–0
(6–0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 15, 1969
 No. 1 at Washington State W 83–59  19–0
(7–0)		 Bohler Gymnasium 
Pullman, WA
February 17, 1969
 No. 1 at Washington W 53–44  20–0
(8–0)		 Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
February 21, 1969
 No. 1 Oregon State W 91–66  21–0
(9–0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 22, 1969
 No. 1 Oregon W 103–69  22–0
(10–0)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 28, 1969
 No. 1 at Stanford W 81–60  23–0
(11–0)		 Maples Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
March 1, 1969
 No. 1 at California W 84–77  24–0
(12–0)		 Harmon Gym 
Berkeley, CA
March 7, 1969
 No. 1 at USC W 61–55 2OT 25–0
(13–0)		 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
March 8, 1969
 No. 1 USC L 44–46  25–1
(13–1)		 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 13, 1969*
 No. 1 vs. No. 12 New Mexico State
Regional Semifinal		 W 53–38  26–1
 Pauley Pavilion (12,817[4])
Los Angeles, CA
March 15, 1969*
 No. 1 vs. No. 3 Santa Clara
Regional Final		 W 90–53  27–1
 Pauley Pavilion (12,812[5])
Los Angeles, CA
March 20, 1969*
 No. 1 vs. No. 11 Drake
National Semifinal		 W 85–82  28–1
 Freedom Hall (18,435[6])
Louisville, KY
March 22, 1969*
 No. 1 vs. No. 6 Purdue
National Final		 W 92–72  29–1
 Freedom Hall (18,669[7])
Louisville, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source[8]

Notes

  • Three consecutive national championships for the Bruins, five in six years.
  • This was the first year in which the Athletic Association of Western Universities officially adopted the name Pacific-8 Conference, although that name had been used unofficially since the 1964–65 season after Oregon and Oregon State joined the conference.
  • USC, after losing a 61–55 double-overtime game to UCLA at the Sports Arena the night before, defeated the Bruins, 46–44, at Pauley Pavilion with a slowdown game. The Trojans' win ended four extended winning streaks by the Bruins:[9]
    • 51 games in Pauley Pavilion.
    • 41 overall.
    • 45 in AAWU/Pac-8 play.
    • 17 over USC.
  • Last season for the 7-foot-1 and 1/2-inch center Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), who led the Bruins to an overall three-year record (1967-68-69) of 88–2, and is the only player in history to be named three-time NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. In 1969, Alcindor earned the first ever Naismith Trophy, given to the nation's top player.
  • On the 40th anniversary, the team was honored at halftime of UCLA's Senior Day game, March 7, 2009, at Pauley Pavilion.
  • Lew Alcindor's father played trombone with the UCLA band during the championship game.[10]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA Team
1 1 Lew Alcindor Milwaukee Bucks
1 3 Lucius Allen Seattle SuperSonics
5 48 Kenny Heitz Milwaukee Bucks
7 85 Bill Sweek Phoenix Suns
7 90 Lynn Shackelford San Diego Rockets

[12]

References

  1. ↑ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ↑ Official Collegiate Basketball Guide
  3. ↑ 1964 and 1965 NCAA Championship Teams to be Honored Archived 2009-01-30 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Prugh, Jeff (14 March 1969). "Bruins Break Through Stall, Beat New Mexico, 53-38". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ↑ Prugh, Jeff (16 March 1969). "It Was a Yawner for Lew, Bruins". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ↑ Prugh, Jeff (21 March 1969). "Bruins Outgunned but Not Outscored". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ↑ Prugh, Jeff (23 March 1969). "A DAY TO REMEMBER FOR LEW, BRUINS". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ↑ "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
  9. ↑ Jerry Crowe, "Mack Calvin waited it out with USC to beat UCLA", Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2009
  10. ↑ Jeff Borzello, Top 16 college basketball teams of all time, cbssports.com, March 21, 2012
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
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