| Year: | 1973 |
| Teams: | 25 |
| Finalfourarena: | St. Louis Arena |
| Finalfourcity: | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Champions: | UCLA Bruins |
| Titlecount: | 9th |
| Champgamecount: | 9th |
| Champffcount: | 10th |
| Runnerup: | Memphis State Tigers |
| Gamecount: | 1st |
| Runnerffcount: | 1st |
| Semifinal1: | Indiana Hoosiers |
| Finalfourcount: | 3rd |
| Semifinal2: | Providence Friars |
| Finalfourcount2: | 1st |
| Coach: | John Wooden |
| Coachcount: | 9th |
| Mop: | Bill Walton |
| Mopteam: | UCLA |
| Attendance: | 163,160 |
| Topscorer: | Ernie DiGregorio |
| Topscorerteam: | Providence |
| Points: | 128 |
The 1973 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA University Division (now Division I, created later in 1973) college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 10, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 26, in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
Led by longtime head coach John Wooden, the UCLA Bruins won their seventh consecutive national title with an 87–66 victory in the final game over Memphis State, coached by Gene Bartow, a future head coach at UCLA. Junior center Bill Walton of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
This was the first year that the championship game was held on a Monday night, with Saturday semifinals. Previously, the championship game was on Saturday, with the semifinals on either Thursday or Friday. Also, this was the first year matchups in the semifinals rotated; previously, it was East vs. Mideast and West vs. Midwest every year.
The UCLA–Memphis State championship game made USA Today′s 2002 list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time at #18.[1] Bill Walton set a championship game record, hitting 21 of 22 shots and scoring 44 points.
This tournament marked the first appearance of Bob Knight as coach of Indiana University.
The participation for this tournament, as well as the previous tournament, for Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) was vacated on August 5, 1973, when the NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled the university guilty of over 100 violations, including impermissible benefits and doctoring high school transcripts of players. USL's program was shut down for the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons, all other Ragin Cajun' athletic programs were placed on three years' probation and banned from postseason participation, and the university was stripped of voting rights at the NCAA convention until 1977 (the NCAA originally planned to expel USL from the organization, but that sanction was downgraded in January 1974).
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1973 tournament:
First round
Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)
| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished ! | Final Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | |||||||
| East | Southern | First round | L 83–82 | ||||
| East | Atlantic Coast | Regional Runner-up | Providence | L 103–89 | |||
| East | Ivy League | Regional Fourth Place | L 69–68 | ||||
| East | Independent | Fourth Place | Indiana | L 97–79 | |||
| East | Independent | First round | L 62–61 | ||||
| East | Middle Atlantic | First round | Providence | L 89–76 | |||
| East | Independent | Regional third place | W 69–68 | ||||
| Mideast | |||||||
| Mideast | Ohio Valley | Regional Fourth Place | L 88–73 | ||||
| Mideast | Big Ten | Third Place | Providence | W 97–79 | |||
| Mideast | Independent | First round | L 77–75 | ||||
| Mideast | Southeastern | Regional Runner-up | Indiana | L 72–65 | |||
| Mideast | Independent | Regional third place | W 88–73 | ||||
| Mideast | Mid-American | First round | L 77–62 | ||||
| Midwest | |||||||
| Midwest | Independent | First round | L 102–89 | ||||
| Midwest | Big Eight | Regional Runner-up | Memphis State | L 92–72 | |||
| Midwest | (Vacated) | Southland | Regional Fourth Place | South Carolina | L 90–85 | ||
| Midwest | Missouri Valley | Runner Up | UCLA | L 87–66 | |||
| Midwest | Independent | Regional third place | W 90–85 | ||||
| Midwest | Southwest | First round | South Carolina | L 78–70 | |||
| West | |||||||
| West | Western Athletic | Regional Fourth Place | L 84–80 | ||||
| West | Pacific Coast | Regional third place | W 84–80 | ||||
| West | Independent | First round | L 103–78 | ||||
| West | West Coast | Regional Runner-up | UCLA | L 54–39 | |||
| West | Pacific-8 | Champion | Memphis State | W 87–66 | |||
| West | Big Sky | First round | L 88–75 | ||||
* – Denotes overtime period
The 1973 NC State Wolfpack team averaged 93 points per game (ppg), led the nation in win margin (21.8 ppg), and posted a 27–0 record, but was ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA probation. David Thompson, a two-time national Player of the Year, and All-America Tom Burleson, led NC State to a 30–1 record the following season, losing only to seven-time defending champion UCLA. The Wolfpack avenged its only loss during the two-year period by defeating UCLA in the 1974 Final Four and winning the title.
Gene Bartow, the Memphis State coach, would be John Wooden's successor at UCLA after the 1974–1975 season.
The tournament marked the last appearance of the Oklahoma City Chiefs, whose 11 tournament appearances are the most among teams no longer in Division I. The school would transition to the NAIA in 1985.
Curt Gowdy, Tom Hawkins, and Jim Simpson (Final Four only) - East Regional Final at Charlotte, North Carolina; Final Four at St. Louis, Missouri