1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball season explained
The 1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1974, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1975 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 31, 1975, at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The UCLA Bruins won their tenth NCAA national championship with a 92–85 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Season headlines
- The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament expanded from 25 to 32 teams.[3]
- For the first time, teams other than the conference champion could be chosen at large from the same conference for the NCAA tournament. No more than two teams from any one conference could be chosen for the tournament until 1980,[4] but the NCAA's decision to allow even as many as two teams per conference into the annual tournament threatened to greatly reduce or even eliminate the access of Division I independents — most of which were located in the Northeastern United States — to the tournament. This resulted in a steady decline in the number of independents in ensuing seasons as former independents formed conferences to ensure their access to an automatic tournament bid each year.[5]
- In a 1975 Cleveland Plain Dealer article, sportswriter Ed Chay used the term "final four" to refer to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, giving rise to a myth that this was the first such use of the term.[4] [6] In fact, the term "final four" already was in use in the 1960s.[7] [8]
- In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its ninth of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
See main article: 1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[9] [10]
Conference membership changes
Regular season
Conferences
Conference winners and tournaments
| Conference | Regular
season winner[11] | Conference
player of the year | Conference
tournament | Tournament
venue (City) | Tournament
winner |
|---|
| | David Thompson,
NC State[12] | | Greensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina) | North Carolina |
| | Alvan Adams, Oklahoma[13] | No Tournament |
| | None selected | No Tournament |
| | None Selected | No Tournament |
| American &
Lafayette (West) | Wilbur Thomas, American (East) &<br/>Henry Horne, Lafayette (West) | | Kirby Sports Center
(Easton, Pennsylvania) | La Salle |
Eastern College Athletic
Conference (ECAC) | Division I ECAC members
played as independents
during the regular season
(see note) | | 1975 ECAC Metro Region tournament | Madison Square Garden
(New York, New York) | Rutgers |
| 1975 ECAC New England Region tournament | Springfield Civic Center
(Springfield, Massachusetts) | Boston College |
| 1975 ECAC Southern Region tournament | WVU Coliseum
(Morgantown, West Virginia) | Georgetown |
| 1975 ECAC Upstate Region tournament | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
(Buffalo, New York) | Syracuse |
| | Ron Haigler, Penn[14] | No Tournament |
| | Dan Roundfield, Central Michigan[15] | No Tournament |
| | | No Tournament |
| | George Sorrell, | | Murphy Center
(Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
(Semifinals and Finals) | Middle Tennessee |
| | None Selected | No Tournament |
| | | No Tournament |
| | Kevin Grevey, Kentucky, &<br/> Bernard King, Tennessee[16] | No Tournament |
| | Clyde Mayes, Furman[17] | | Greenville Memorial Auditorium
(Greenville, South Carolina)
(Semifinals and Finals) | Furman[18] |
| | Henry Ray,
McNeese State[19] | No Tournament |
| | | No Tournament |
| | | No Tournament |
| | None Selected | No Tournament |
| | None Selected | No Tournament | |
NOTE: From 1975 to
1981, the
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the
Northeastern United States, organized Division I
ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1975 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the
1975 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional
athletic conferences did.
[20] Conference standings
Division I independents
A total of 83 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, (22–2) had the best winning percentage (.917) and Centenary (25–4) finished with the most wins.[21]
Informal championships
La Salle finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Statistical leaders
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
See main article: 1975 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament and 1975 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game.
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
See main article: 1975 National Invitation Tournament.
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
See main article: 1975 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
Major player of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
Notes and References
- Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia . 978-0-345-51392-2 . . 2009 . 846.
- Web site: 1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll. College Poll Archive. August 8, 2020.
- Web site: Burnsed, Brian, "A Brief History of Men's College Basketball," Champion, Fall 2018 Accessed April 6, 2021 . April 7, 2021 . April 13, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210413013611/https://www.ncaa.org/static/champion/a-brief-history-of-mens-college-basketball/ . dead .
- Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 12.
- Web site: The death of the independent in college basketball . Steinberg . Russell . June 22, 2015 . sbnation.com . SBNation . August 22, 2024.
- News: Lubinger. Bill. Interested in making some profit from the Final Four? That's just March Madness (for your lawyers). The Plain Dealer. March 14, 2011. March 9, 2016. Was a mere passing reference by Ed Chay, the late Plain Dealer sportswriter, in a story he wrote on page 5 of the 1975 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide. 'Outspoken Al McGuire of Marquette, whose team was one of the final four in Greensboro, was among several coaches who said it was good for college basketball that UCLA was finally beaten,' Chay wrote. Previously, it was erroneously reported that the first capitalized use of 'Final Four' was in the NCAA's 1978 basketball guide, when (as shown above) Final Four was in capitalized use at least by 1966..
- News: Terre Haute Tribune Star . Butler to Play Buckeye Cagers . March 27, 2022 . June 17, 1962.
- News: Mayer . Bill . Sport Talk . March 27, 2022 . Lawrence Daily Journal World . December 26, 1966.
- Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia . 978-0-345-51392-2 . . 2009 . 836.
- Web site: 1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll. College Poll Archive. August 8, 2020.
- News: 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section. 2009. NCAA. 2009-02-14.
- 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
- http://www.big12sports.com//pdf1/147025.pdf 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section
- http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/sports/alltime.asp?intSID=6 Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers
- 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
- http://secsports.com/doc_lib/bkc_record_book.pdf 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book
- 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
- 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
- http://www.southland.org/pdf7/153625.pdf?ATCLID=1287496&SPSID=97316&SPID=10825&temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=18400 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide
- http://jonfmorse.com/wiki/index.php?title=ECAC_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournaments Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
- Web site: 1974-75 Men's Independent Season Summary . . August 19, 2024.
