| Year: | 1967 |
| Preseason Ap: | UCLA[1] [2] |
| Tourney Start: | March 8 |
| Nc Date: | 23, 1968 |
| Champ Stad: | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena |
| Champ City: | Los Angeles, California |
| Champ: | UCLA |
| Helmschamp: | UCLA |
| Nit Champ: | Dayton |
| Helmspoy: | Lew Alcindor, UCLA |
The 1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1967, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1968, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their fourth NCAA national championship with a 78–55 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The slam dunk — criticized as a move that rewards height rather than skill — is prohibited in NCAA basketball both during games and during pre-game warm-ups.[3] [4] [5] It will not become legal again until the 1976–77 season.[3] [4] [5]
See main article: 1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings.
The Top 10 from the AP Poll and Top 20 from the Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[8] [9]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Former conference | New conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA University Division independent | Missouri Valley Conference | ||
| Metropolitan Collegiate Conference | NCAA University Division independent |
| Conference | Regular season winner[10] | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| Larry Miller, North Carolina[11] | Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) | North Carolina | ||||
| Donald Smith, Iowa State[12] | No Tournament | |||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| Iowa & | None selected | No Tournament | ||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| No Tournament | ||||||
| Fred Foster, Miami (OH)[13] | No Tournament | |||||
| No Tournament | ||||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| Wayne Chapman, & | No Tournament | |||||
| Pete Maravich, LSU[14] | No Tournament | |||||
| Ron Williams, West Virginia[15] | Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) | Davidson[16] | ||||
| No Tournament | ||||||
| Rick Adelman, | No Tournament | |||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
A total of 53 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Houston (31–2) had both the best winning percentage (.939) and the most wins.[17]
See main article: 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1968 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game.
See main article: 1968 National Invitation Tournament.
See main article: 1968 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
| Player | Position | Class | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lew Alcindor | C | Junior | UCLA | |
| Elvin Hayes | F/C | Senior | Houston | |
| Pete Maravich | G/F | Sophomore | Louisiana State | |
| Larry Miller | F | Senior | North Carolina | |
| Wes Unseld | C | Senior | Louisville |
| Player | Position | Class | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucius Allen | G | Junior | UCLA | |
| Bob Lanier | C | Sophomore | St. Bonaventure | |
| Don May | G/F | Senior | Dayton | |
| Calvin Murphy | G | Sophomore | Niagara | |
| Jo Jo White | G | Junior | Kansas |
A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.
| Team | Former Coach | Interim Coach | New Coach | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green | Bill Fitch | Bob Conibear | ||
| Kansas State | Tex Winter | Cotton Fitzsimmons | ||
| Loyola (LA) | Ron Greene | Bob Luksta | ||
| Minnesota | John Kundla | Bill Fitch | ||
| Washington | Mac Duckworth | Tex Winter | ||