1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team explained

Mode:	Basketball
Year:	1972–73
Team:	UCLA Bruins
Conference:	Pacific-8 Conference
Short Conf:	Pac-8
Coachrank:	1
Aprank:	1
Record:	30–0
Conf Record:	14–0
Hc Year:	25th
Champion:	NCAA tournament National champions Pac-8 champions
Bowl Result:	W 87-66 vs. Memphis State

The 1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team went undefeated again at and claimed a seventh consecutive national championship.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

In the title game of the NCAA tournament at St. Louis, junior center Bill Walton scored 44 points (21 of 22 field goal attempts) with thirteen rebounds as the top-ranked Bruins defeated #12 Memphis State, Some regard this as the greatest ever offensive performance in American college basketball.^[5] Tied at 39 at halftime, the Bruins dominated the second half and outscored the Tigers,

UCLA set a new NCAA record of 75 consecutive wins and a three-season composite record of .

Roster

Starting lineup

Position	Player	Class
F	Larry Farmer	Senior
F	Keith Wilkes	Junior
C	Bill Walton	Junior
G	Larry Hollyfield	Senior
G	Greg Lee	Junior

Schedule

|-!colspan=9 style=|

Regular Season|-!colspan=12 style="background:#;"| NCAA Tournament

Notes

• The 1972 team was ranked No. 1 by both AP and UPI pre-season polls
• Walton set a school record with 506 rebounds
• Larry Farmer and Larry Hollyfield became the only players to have the best winning record over a three-year period, 89–1.^[6]
• In the semifinal against #6 Indiana, the Hoosiers rallied in the second half to give the Bruins a scare. Curtis scored 22 points off the bench to help UCLA with the 70–59 victory.
• Walton and Keith Wilkes were consensus first team All-Americans.

Awards and honors

• Bill Walton, James E. Sullivan Award,^[7] which recognizes the top amateur athlete in the United States
• Bill Walton, USBWA College Player of the Year^[8]
• Bill Walton, Naismith College Player of the Year^[9]
• Bill Walton, Adolph Rupp Trophy^[10]

External links

• • 1972–73 UCLA Bruins at Sports-Reference.com

Notes and References

1. News: Walton's 44 KO Memphis State . Milwaukee Sentinel . Hofmann . Dale . March 27, 1973 . 1, part 2.
2. News: Walton may be $2 million bargain . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . Associated Press . March 27, 1973 . 1C.
3. UCLA media guide
4. News: Walton 'demolishes' Memphis State, 87–66 . Wilmington Morning Star . (North Carolina) . UPI . March 27, 1973 . 14.
5. A slight case of being superhuman . Sports Illustrated . Kirkpatrick . Curry . April 2, 1973 . 18.
6. http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2001/Div1.pdf NCAA Division 1 Record
7. Web site: AAU Sullivan Award .
8. Web site: USBWA > Awards > Oscar Robertson Trophy . 2007-01-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070213004535/http://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/awards/robertson/index.html . 2007-02-13 .
9. Web site: Naismith Awards - Naismith Trophy . 2009-03-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090302160347/http://www.naismithawards.com/History/NaismithTrophy/tabid/58/Default.aspx . 2009-03-02 .
10. Web site: About Us . 2009-04-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090107024610/http://www.ruppawards.com/index_files/Page356.htm . 2009-01-07 .