| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 1971–72 |
| Team: | UCLA Bruins |
| Conference: | Pacific-8 Conference |
| Short Conf: | Pac-8 |
| Coachrank: | 1 |
| Aprank: | 1 |
| Record: | 30–0 |
| Conf Record: | 14–0 |
| Hc Year: | 24th |
| Champion: | NCAA tournament National champions Pac-8 champions Bruin Classic champions |
| Bowl Result: | W 81-76 vs. Florida State |
The 1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won the National Collegiate Championship on March 25, 1972, in the Los Angeles Sports Arena with an 81–76 victory over Florida State.[1] It was the sixth consecutive championship (and eighth in nine years) under John Wooden, in his 25th year as head coach at UCLA. This was the final year that the national championship game was played on Saturday.[2]
The 1971–72 Bruins had an undefeated record of 30–0, winning by an average margin of over thirty points. They won all 26 games in the regular season (fourteen in Pac-8 play), then four in the NCAA tournament. This was the 45th consecutive victory in a winning streak that reached 88 games, an NCAA record.
Sophomore Bill Walton lived up to his advance billing, leading the Bruins to a 30–0 record and the National Championship while averaging a double-double (21.1 PPG, 15.5 RPG). Greg Lee and Henry Bibby formed a solid back court, and forwards Keith Wilkes and Larry Farmer were double-digit scorers. Walton's backup, Swen Nater, could have been a star at other schools and went on to a lengthy pro career.
| Position | Player | Class | |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | Larry Farmer | Jr. | |
| F | Keith Wilkes | So. | |
| C | Bill Walton | So. | |
| G | Greg Lee | So. | |
| G | Henry Bibby | Sr. |
|-!colspan=9 style=|Regular Season|-!colspan=12 style="background:#;"| NCAA Tournament