The 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1973, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1974 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 25, 1974, at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The North Carolina State Wolfpack won its first NCAA national championship with a 76–64 victory over the Marquette Warriors.
| 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Preseason AP No. 1 | UCLA[1][2] |
| NCAA Tournament | 1974 |
| Tournament dates | March 9 – 25, 1974 |
| National Championship | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| NCAA Champions | NC State |
| Helms National Champions | NC State |
| Other champions | Purdue (NIT) |
| Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden) | Bill Walton, UCLA (Naismith) |
| Player of the Year (Helms) | David Thompson, NC State & Bill Walton, UCLA |
Rule changes edit
Holding or grabbing an opposing player away from the ball became fouls, as did illegal screens.[3]
Season headlines edit
- Prior to the beginning of the season, NCAA Division I replaced the NCAA University Division as the subdivision of the NCAA made up of colleges and universities competing at the highest level of college sports. In addition, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III replaced the NCAA College Division for colleges and universities competing at a lower level, with Division II consisting of schools awarding limited athletic scholarships and Division III consisting of schools offering no athletic scholarships.[4]
- On August 5, 1973, the NCAA handed down a two-year death penalty to the University of Southwestern Louisiana (University of Louisiana at Lafayette; athletically branded "Louisiana" since 1999-2000) after discovering over 100 rules violations, the most egregious of which were payments to players and falsified high school transcripts. All other Ragin' Cajun teams were placed on four years' probation and banned from competing for national championships during that period. The NCAA also proposed expelling the university from the organization, but that penalty was reduced to forfeiture of voting rights at the annual convention for three years. Additionally, the Cajuns' participation in the 1972 and 1973 University Division tournaments was scrubbed from the record books, and the university was required to return all tournament revenue. USL became the first university to have a season cancelled by the NCAA since Kentucky in 1952-53.
- In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its eighth of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
Season outlook edit
Pre-season polls edit
The top 20 from the AP Poll and UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[5][6]
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Conference membership changes edit
| School | Former conference | New conference |
|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian Wildcats | Southland Conference | Lone Star Conference (NAIA) |
| Trinity Tigers | University Division independent | non-Division I |
Regular season edit
Conference winners and tournaments edit
Informal championships edit
| Conference | Regular season winner |
Conference player of the year |
Conference tournament |
Tournament venue (City) |
Tournament winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Big 5 | Penn | None selected | No Tournament | ||
Statistical leaders edit
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021) |
Post-season tournaments edit
NCAA tournament edit
Final Four edit
| National semifinals | National finals | ||||||||
| E | NC State | 80 | |||||||
| W | UCLA | 77 | |||||||
| E | NC State | 76 | |||||||
| ME | Marquette | 64 | |||||||
| ME | Marquette | 64 | |||||||
| MW | Kansas | 51 | |||||||
- Third Place – UCLA 78, Kansas 61
National Invitation tournament edit
Semifinals & finals edit
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| Jacksonville | 64 | ||||||||
| Purdue | 78 | ||||||||
| Purdue | 87 | ||||||||
| Utah | 81 | ||||||||
| Utah | 117 | ||||||||
| Boston College | 93 | ||||||||
- Third Place – Boston College 87, Jacksonville 77
Awards edit
Consensus All-American teams edit
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marvin Barnes | C | Senior | Providence |
| John Shumate | F | Junior | Notre Dame |
| David Thompson | G/F | Junior | North Carolina State |
| Bill Walton | C | Senior | UCLA |
| Keith Wilkes | G/F | Senior | UCLA |
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Len Elmore | C | Junior | Maryland |
| Larry Fogle | G | Sophomore | Canisius |
| Bobby Jones | F | Senior | North Carolina |
| Billy Knight | G/F | Senior | Pittsburgh |
| Campy Russell | F | Junior | Michigan |
Major player of the year awards edit
- Naismith Award: Bill Walton, UCLA
- Helms Player of the Year:[15] David Thompson, NC State & Bill Walton, UCLA
- Associated Press Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State
- UPI Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
- Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Bill Walton, UCLA
- Adolph Rupp Trophy: Bill Walton, UCLA
- Sporting News Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
Major coach of the year awards edit
- Associated Press Coach of the Year: Norm Sloan, NC State
- Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Norm Sloan, NC State
- NABC Coach of the Year: Al McGuire, Marquette
- UPI Coach of the Year: Digger Phelps, Notre Dame
- Sporting News Coach of the Year: Digger Phelps, Notre Dame
Other major awards edit
- Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Mike Robinson, Michigan State
- Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Ron Haigler, Penn
- NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Bill Campion, Manhattan
Coaching changes edit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021) |
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach |
Interim Coach |
New Coach |
Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Lanny Van Eman | Eddie Sutton | ||
| Creighton | Eddie Sutton | Tom Apke | ||
| Davidson | Terry Holland | Robert Brickels | ||
| Duke | Neill McGeachy | Bill Foster | ||
| Iowa | Dick Schultz | Lute Olson | ||
| Long Beach State | Lute Olson | Dwight Jones | ||
| Utah | Bill Foster | Jerry Pimm | ||
| Virginia | Bill Gibson | Terry Holland |
References edit
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
- ^ "Burnsed, Brian, "A Brief History of Men's College Basketball," Champion, Fall 2018 Accessed April 6, 2021". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
- ^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
- ^ Written at Los Angeles. "Thompson, Walton Honored by CSAF". The Times and Democrat. Orangeburg, South Carolina. Associated Press. April 3, 2023. p. 14A. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
David Thompson of North Carolina State and Bill Walton of UCLA were named college basketball Players of the Year Wednesday by the Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation. It was the third consecutive year Walton was cited.