1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament

The 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA University Division (now Division I, created later in 1973) college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 10, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 26, in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 29 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

1973 NCAA University Division
Basketball Tournament
NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979
Teams25
Finals siteSt. Louis Arena
St. Louis, Missouri
ChampionsUCLA Bruins (9th title, 9th title game,
10th Final Four)
Runner-upMemphis State Tigers (1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJohn Wooden (9th title)
MOPBill Walton (UCLA)
Attendance163,160
Top scorerErnie DiGregorio Providence
(128 points)
NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments
«1972 1974»

Led by longtime head coach John Wooden, the UCLA Bruins won their seventh consecutive national title with an 87–66 victory in the final game over Memphis State, coached by Gene Bartow, a future head coach at UCLA. Junior center Bill Walton of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

This was the first year that the championship game was held on a Monday night, with Saturday semifinals. Previously, the championship game was on Saturday, with the semifinals on either Thursday or Friday. Also, this was the first year matchups in the semifinals rotated; previously, it was East vs. Mideast and West vs. Midwest every year.

Tournament notes

The UCLA – Memphis State championship game made USA Today′s list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time at #18.[1] Bill Walton set a championship game record, hitting 21 of 22 shots and scoring 44 points.

This tournament marked the first appearance of Bob Knight as coach of Indiana University.

The participation for this tournament, as well as the previous tournament, for Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) was vacated on August 5, 1973, when the NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled the university guilty of over 100 violations, including impermissible benefits and doctoring high school transcripts of players. USL's program was shut down for the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons, all other Ragin Cajun' athletic programs were placed on three years' probation and banned from postseason participation, and the university was stripped of voting rights at the NCAA convention until 1977 (the NCAA originally planned to expel USL from the organization, but that sanction was downgraded in January 1974).

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1973 tournament:

First Round

Regional Semifinals, 3rd Place Games, and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National Semifinals, 3rd Place Game, and Championship (Final Four and Championship)

The city of St. Louis became the 12th host city, and the St. Louis Arena became the thirteenth host venue, of the Final Four. The arena, home to the St. Louis Blues of the NHL and, at the time, the St. Louis Billikens basketball team, was the first of five straight venues to host the Final Four for the first time, and it was the first time the tournament was held in the city of St. Louis as well. Besides the St. Louis Arena, only one other venue made its debut in the tournament. For the second straight year, the tournament opened a new city in the state of Tennessee; this time, it was the capital city of Nashville. Memorial Gym on the campus of Vanderbilt University would go on to host the tournament four times overall before tournament games in the city were moved to the downtown Bridgestone Arena in 2000. Additionally, only one venue saw its final games in the 1972 Tournament, with William & Mary Hall ending its usage in the tournament. The tournament has come back to the state of Virginia twice since, both times being at the Richmond Coliseum in the capital city of Richmond.

Teams
RegionTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
EastFurmanJoe WilliamsSouthernFirst roundSyracuseL 83–82
EastMarylandLefty DriesellAtlantic CoastRegional Runner-upProvidenceL 103–89
EastPennChuck DalyIvy LeagueRegional Fourth PlaceSyracuseL 69–68
EastProvidenceDave GavittIndependentFourth PlaceIndianaL 97–79
EastSt. John'sFrank MulzoffIndependentFirst roundPennL 62–61
EastSaint Joseph'sJack McKinneyMiddle AtlanticFirst roundProvidenceL 89–76
EastSyracuseRoy DanforthIndependentRegional Third PlacePennW 69–68
Mideast
MideastAustin PeayLake KellyOhio ValleyRegional Fourth PlaceMarquetteL 88–73
MideastIndianaBob KnightBig TenThird PlaceProvidenceW 97–79
MideastJacksonvilleTom WasdinIndependentFirst roundAustin PeayL 77–75
MideastKentuckyJoe B. HallSoutheasternRegional Runner-upIndianaL 72–65
MideastMarquetteAl McGuireIndependentRegional Third PlaceAustin PeayW 88–73
MideastMiami (OH)Darrell HedricMid-AmericanFirst roundMarquetteL 77–62
Midwest
MidwestHoustonGuy LewisIndependentFirst roundSouthwestern LouisianaL 102–89
MidwestKansas StateJack HartmanBig EightRegional Runner-upMemphis StateL 92–72
MidwestSouthwestern Louisiana (Vacated)Beryl ShipleySouthlandRegional Fourth PlaceSouth CarolinaL 90–85
MidwestMemphis StateGene BartowMissouri ValleyRunner UpUCLAL 87–66
MidwestSouth CarolinaFrank McGuireIndependentRegional Third PlaceSouthwestern LouisianaW 90–85
MidwestTexas TechGerald MyersSouthwestFirst roundSouth CarolinaL 78–70
West
WestArizona StateNed WulkWestern AthleticRegional Fourth PlaceLong Beach StateL 84–80
WestLong Beach StateJerry TarkanianPacific CoastRegional Third PlaceArizona StateW 84–80
WestOklahoma CityAbe LemonsIndependentFirst roundArizona StateL 103–78
WestSan FranciscoBob GaillardWest CoastRegional Runner-upUCLAL 54–39
WestUCLAJohn WoodenPacific-8ChampionMemphis StateW 87–66
WestWeber StateGene VisscherBig SkyFirst roundLong Beach StateL 88–75

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period


East region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Maryland 91
  Syracuse 75
  Syracuse 83
  Furman 82
  Maryland 89
  Providence 103
  Penn 62
  St. John's 61
  Penn 65
  Providence 87
  Providence 89
  Saint Joseph's 76
East Regional Third Place
   
Syracuse 69
Penn 68

Mideast region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Indiana 75
  Marquette 69
  Marquette 77
  Miami (OH) 62
  Indiana 72
  Kentucky 65
  Kentucky 106
  Austin Peay 100*
  Austin Peay 77
  Jacksonville 75
Mideast Regional Third Place
   
Marquette 88
Austin Peay 73

Midwest region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  Memphis State 90
  South Carolina 76
  South Carolina 78
  Texas Tech 70
  Memphis State 92
  Kansas State 72
  Kansas State 66
  Southwest Louisiana 63
  Southwestern Louisiana 102
  Houston 89
Midwest Regional Third Place
   
South Carolina 90
Southwestern Louisiana 85

West region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
  UCLA 98
  Arizona State 81
  Arizona State 103
  Oklahoma City 78
  UCLA 54
  San Francisco 39
  San Francisco 77
  Long Beach State 67
  Long Beach State 88
  Weber State 75
West Regional Third Place
   
Arizona State 80
Long Beach State 84

Final Four
UCLA won its seventh consecutive championship and ninth in ten seasons
  National Semifinals
Saturday, March 24		     National Championship Game
Monday, March 26
                 
  E Providence 85  
  MW Memphis State 98    
      MW Memphis State 66
      W UCLA 87
  ME Indiana 59    
  W UCLA 70   National Third Place Game
 
ME Indiana 97
  E Providence 79

Aftermath

The 1973 NC State Wolfpack team averaged 93 points per game (ppg), led the nation in win margin (21.8 ppg), and posted a 27–0 record, but was ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA probation. David Thompson, a two-time national Player of the Year, and All-America Tom Burleson, led NC State to a 30–1 record the following season, losing only to seven-time defending champion UCLA. The Wolfpack avenged its only loss during the two-year period by defeating UCLA in the 1974 Final Four and winning the title.

Gene Bartow, the Memphis State coach, would be John Wooden's successor at UCLA after the 1974–1975 season.

The tournament marked the last appearance of the Oklahoma City Chiefs, whose 11 tournament appearances are the most among teams no longer in Division I. The school would transition to the NAIA in 1985.

See also

References
  1. Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002
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