Wikipedia

1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team


The 1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won an unprecedented third consecutive NCAA National Basketball Championship, the fifth in six years under head coach John Wooden with a win over Purdue, coach Wooden's alma mater.[2] The Bruins opened with 25 wins, on a 41-game winning streak, but lost the regular season finale to rival USC on March 8, which snapped a home winning streak of 85 games.[3][4]

1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
Pac-8 champions
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record29–1 (13–1 Pac-8)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPLew Alcindor
Home arenaPauley Pavilion,
Los Angeles, California
Seasons
1968–69 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 UCLA 13 – 1   .929 29 – 1   .967
Washington State 11 – 3   .786 18 – 8   .692
USC 8 – 6   .571 15 – 11   .577
Washington 6 – 8   .429 13 – 13   .500
Oregon 5 – 9   .357 13 – 13   .500
Oregon State 5 – 9   .357 12 – 14   .462
California 4 – 10   .286 12 – 13   .480
Stanford 4 – 10   .286 8 – 17   .320
As of April 15, 1969[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The West Regional was hosted by UCLA in Pauley Pavilion, and they defeated #12 New Mexico State 53–38 and third-ranked Santa Clara 90–52. Center Lew Alcindor had a total of 33 points in the two games.

In the Final Four at Louisville, Kentucky, UCLA had a two-point lead at halftime over #11 Drake and won 85–82 to advance to the championship game against sixth-ranked 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.[5]

Players

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1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
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

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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 No. 12 New Mexico State
Regional semifinal 		W 53–38  26–1
 Pauley Pavilion (12,817[6])
Los Angeles, CA
March 15, 1969*
3:05 pm 		No. 1 No. 3 Santa Clara
Regional Final 		W 90–53  27–1
 Pauley Pavilion (12,812[7])
Los Angeles, CA
March 20, 1969*
7:30 pm, NBC 		No. 1 vs. No. 11 Drake
National semifinal 		W 85–82  28–1
 Freedom Hall (18,435[8])
Louisville, KY
March 22, 1969*
1:15 pm, NBC 		No. 1 vs. No. 6 Purdue
National Final 		W 92–72  29–1
 Freedom Hall (18,669[9])
Louisville, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific time.
Source:[10]

Rankings

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Main article: 1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP11111111111111Not released
CoachesNot released11111111111111

Notes

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  • 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:[11]
    • 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 (1967–1969) 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.[12]
  • This team was honored at the January 26, 2019 game against Arizona on its 50th anniversary.

Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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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
Source:[14]

References

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  1. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ^ Official Collegiate Basketball Guide
  3. ^ "SC snaps Bruins' streak". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 9, 1969. p. 1B.
  4. ^ "Fresh hope rises after Bruin loss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 10, 1969. p. 15.
  5. ^ 1964 and 1965 NCAA Championship Teams to be Honored Archived 2009-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Prugh, Jeff (March 14, 1969). "Bruins Break Through Stall, Beat New Mexico, 53-38". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156219361.
  7. ^ Prugh, Jeff (March 16, 1969). "It Was a Yawner for Lew, Bruins". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156125484.
  8. ^ Prugh, Jeff (March 21, 1969). "Bruins Outgunned but Not Outscored". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156149520.
  9. ^ Prugh, Jeff (March 23, 1969). "A DAY TO REMEMBER FOR LEW, BRUINS". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156132169.
  10. ^ "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
  11. ^ Jerry Crowe, "Mack Calvin waited it out with USC to beat UCLA", Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2009
  12. ^ Jeff Borzello, Top 16 college basketball teams of all time, cbssports.com, March 21, 2012
  13. ^ "Naismith Awards - Naismith Trophy". Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  14. ^ "1969 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
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