See also: 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game.
| Year: | 1968 |
| Teams: | 23 |
| Finalfourarena: | Sports Arena |
| Finalfourcity: | Los Angeles, California |
| Champions: | UCLA Bruins |
| Titlecount: | 4th |
| Champgamecount: | 4th |
| Champffcount: | 5th |
| Runnerup: | North Carolina Tar Heels |
| Gamecount: | 3rd |
| Runnerffcount: | 4th |
| Semifinal1: | Houston Cougars |
| Finalfourcount: | 2nd |
| Semifinal2: | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| Finalfourcount2: | 8th |
| Coach: | John Wooden |
| Coachcount: | 4th |
| Mop: | Lew Alcindor |
| Mopteam: | UCLA |
| Attendance: | 160,888 |
| Topscorer: | Elvin Hayes |
| Topscorerteam: | Houston |
| Points: | 167 |
The 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 9, 1968, and ended with the championship game on March 23 in Los Angeles, California. A total of 27 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won the national title with a 78–55 victory in the final game over North Carolina, coached by Dean Smith. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second of three consecutive years. This UCLA team, composed of three All-Americans, Player of the Year Alcindor, Lucius Allen, and Mike Warren, along with dead eye pure shooter Lynn Shackleford (most of his shots would be 3 pointers today) and burly senior power forward Mike Lynn is considered to be one of the greatest teams in college basketball history.
The NCAA semi-final match between the Houston Cougars and UCLA Bruins was a re-match of the college basketball Game of the Century held in January at the Astrodome, in the Cougars' home city. The match was historic, the first nationally syndicated college basketball game and the first to play in a domed stadium before more than 52,000 fans. It was UCLA's only loss in two years, a two-pointer, to the then-#2 Houston, but with UCLA's dominating center Alcindor playing with an eye injury that limited his effectiveness after being hospitalized the week before. The loss broke a 47-game winning streak for UCLA. In the March NCAA Tournament Final 4, the Bruins at full strength avenged that loss with a 101–69 drubbing of that same Houston team, now ranked #1, in UCLA's home city at the Memorial Sports Arena. UCLA limited Houston's Elvin Hayes, who was averaging 37.7 points per game but was held to only 10. Bruins coach John Wooden credited his assistant, Jerry Norman, for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes.[1] [2]
| Round | Region | Site | Venue | Host | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | East | College Park, Maryland | Cole Field House | Maryland | |
| East | Kingston, Rhode Island | Keaney Gymnasium | URI | ||
| Mideast | Kent, Ohio | Memorial Gymnasium | Kent State | ||
| Midwest & West | Salt Lake City, Utah | Nielsen Fieldhouse | Utah | ||
| Regionals | East | Raleigh, North Carolina | Reynolds Coliseum | North Carolina State | |
| Mideast | Lexington, Kentucky | Memorial Coliseum | Kentucky | ||
| Midwest | Wichita, Kansas | WSU Field House | Wichita State | ||
| West | Albuquerque, New Mexico | University Arena ("The Pit") | New Mexico | ||
| Final Four | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | USC | ||
| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | ||||||
| East | Independent | First round | St. Bonaventure | L 102–93 | ||
| East | Regional third place | St. Bonaventure | W 95–75 | |||
| East | Regional Runner-up | North Carolina | L 70–66 | |||
| East | First round | Columbia | L 83–69 | |||
| East | Runner Up | UCLA | L 78–55 | |||
| East | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | Columbia | L 95–75 | ||
| East | Independent | First round | Davidson | L 79–70 | ||
| Mideast | ||||||
| Mideast | First round | Marquette | L 72–71 | |||
| Mideast | Regional Fourth Place | Marquette | L 69–57 | |||
| Mideast | Independent | First round | East Tennessee State | L 79–69 | ||
| Mideast | Regional Runner-up | Ohio State | L 82–81 | |||
| Mideast | Independent | Regional third place | East Tennessee State | W 69–57 | ||
| Mideast | Third Place | Houston | W 89–85 | |||
| Midwest | ||||||
| Midwest | Independent | Fourth Place | Ohio State | L 89–85 | ||
| Midwest | Regional Fourth Place | Louisville | L 93–63 | |||
| Midwest | Regional third place | Kansas State | W 93–63 | |||
| Midwest | Independent | First round | Houston | L 94–76 | ||
| Midwest | Regional Runner-up | Houston | L 103–68 | |||
| West | ||||||
| West | Regional Fourth Place | New Mexico State | L 62–58 | |||
| West | Independent | Regional third place | New Mexico | W 62–58 | ||
| West | Regional Runner-up | UCLA | L 87–66 | |||
| West | Champion | North Carolina | W 78–55 | |||
| West | First round | New Mexico State | L 68–57 | |||
* – Denotes overtime period