1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season explained

Year:	1971
Preseason Ap:	UCLA^[1] ^[2]
Tourney Start:	March 11
Nc Date:	25, 1972
Champ Stad:	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Champ City:	Los Angeles, California
Champ:	UCLA
Helmschamp:	UCLA
Nit Champ:	Maryland
Playeroftheyear:	Bill Walton, UCLA (Naismith)
Helmspoy:	Bill Walton, UCLA

The 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1971, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1972, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their eighth NCAA national championship with an 81–76 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.

Season headlines

• At Illinois State, Will Robinson became the first African-American head coach at an NCAA University Division (now NCAA Division I) school.^[3]
• UCLA went undefeated (30–0) and won its sixth NCAA championship in a row, eighth overall, and eighth in nine seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its sixth of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
• The NCAA national championship game was played on Saturday for the last time. It moved to Monday night in 1973.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

See main article: 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings.

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^{[4] [5]}

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 North Carolina 3 USC 4 Marquette 5 Ohio State 6 Maryland 7 Houston 8 Long Beach State 9 Louisville 10 Kentucky 11 Jacksonville 12 South Carolina 13 Michigan 14 Kansas 15 Penn 16 New Mexico 17 St. John's 18 Villanova 19 BYU 20 Oklahoma

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 Marquette 3 USC 4 North Carolina 5 Ohio State 6 Houston 7 Maryland 8 Louisville 9 Long Beach State 10 Kentucky 11 Jacksonville 12 New Mexico State 13 South Carolina 14 BYU 15 St. John's 16 Kansas 17 Villanova 18 Michigan 19 Harvard 20 Pacific

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
	Gulf States Conference	Southland Conference
	University Division independent	No basketball program
	West Coast Athletic Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
	University Division independent	West Coast Athletic Conference
	Atlantic Coast Conference	University Division independent
	Gulf States Conference	Southland Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[6]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
		Barry Parkhill, Virginia^[7]		Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	North Carolina
		Isaac "Bud" Stallworth, Kansas^[8]	No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
		Tom Kozelko, Toledo^[9]	No Tournament
	Temple (East);		No Tournament
	Louisville &	Larry Finch,	No Tournament
			No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
		Ed Ratleff,	No Tournament
		Mike Edwards, Tennessee, &, Kentucky^[10]	No Tournament
		Russ Hunt, Furman^[11]		Greenville Memorial Auditorium (Greenville, South Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals)	East Carolina^[12]
		Dwight "Bo" Lamar, Southwest Louisiana^[13]	No Tournament
			No Tournament
		Mike Stewart,	No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament
		None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

University Division independents

A total of 67 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, (26–2) had the best winning percentage (.929) and Florida State (28–5) finished with the most wins.^[14]

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

See main article: 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1972 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game.

Final Four

• Third Place – North Carolina 105, Louisville 91

National Invitation tournament

See main article: 1972 National Invitation Tournament.

Semifinals & finals

• Third Place – Jacksonville 83, St. John's 80

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

See main article: 1972 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Henry Bibby	G	Senior	UCLA
Jim Chones	C	Junior	Marquette
Dwight Lamar	G	Junior	Southwestern Louisiana
Bob McAdoo	F	Junior	North Carolina
Ed Ratleff	F	Junior	Long Beach State
Tom Riker	F/C	Senior	South Carolina
Bill Walton	C	Sophomore	UCLA

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Rich Fuqua	G	Junior	Oral Roberts
Barry Parkhill	G	Junior	Virginia
Jim Price	G	Senior	Louisville
Bud Stallworth	F	Senior	Kansas
Henry Wilmore	G/F	Junior	Michigan

Major player of the year awards

• Naismith Award: Bill Walton, UCLA
• Helms Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
• 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

• Associated Press Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
• Henry Iba Award (USBWA): John Wooden, UCLA
• NABC Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
• UPI Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA

Other major awards

• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Scott Martin, Oklahoma
• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Corky Calhoun, Penn, & Chris Ford, Villanova
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Richie Garner, Manhattan, & Tom Sullivan, Fordham

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Georgetown	Jack Magee		John Thompson	McGee was fired at the end of the season after the 1971–72 Georgetown team finished with a record of 3–23.
Hardin–Simmons	Glen Whitis		Russell Berry
Kentucky	Adolph Rupp		Joe B. Hall	Rupp retired as the NCAA all-time leader in victories. He was replaced by lead assistant Hall.
LSU	Press Maravich		Dale Brown	Maravich, father of NCAA career scoring leader Pete Maravich, was fired after the Tigers finished 10–16. He was succeeded by Washington State assistant Brown, who remained at LSU for 25 seasons.
Marshall	Carl Tacy		Bob Daniels	Tacy left after the season to become the head coach at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest	Jack McCloskey		Carl Tacy	McCloskey left after the season to become the head coach for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

Notes and References

1. Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia . 978-0-345-51392-2 . . 2009 . 846.
2. Web site: 1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll. College Poll Archive. August 8, 2020.
3. Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 12.
4. Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia . 978-0-345-51392-2 . . 2009 . 836.
5. Web site: 1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll. College Poll Archive. August 8, 2020.
6. News: 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section. 2009. NCAA. 2009-02-14.
7. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/09mbkguide083112.pdf 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section
8. http://www.big12sports.com//pdf1/147025.pdf 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section
9. http://mac-sports.com/pdf5/153033.pdf?ATCLID=1620714&SPSID=42971&SPID=3803&DB_OEM_ID=9400 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section
10. http://secsports.com/doc_lib/bkc_record_book.pdf 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book
11. http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/honorsandawards.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section
12. http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/standingsandresults.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section
13. Web site: 2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide . . 2009-02-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110613101942/http://www.southland.org/pdf7/153625.pdf?ATCLID=1287496&SPSID=97316&SPID=10825&temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=18400 . Jun 13, 2011 .
14. Web site: 1971-72 Men's Independent Season Summary . . August 16, 2024.