1975 NCAA Division I basketball tournament explained

Year:1975
Teams:32
Finalfourarena:San Diego Sports Arena
Finalfourcity:San Diego, CA
Champions:UCLA Bruins
Titlecount:10th
Champgamecount:10th
Champffcount:12th
Runnerup:Kentucky Wildcats
Gamecount:6th
Runnerffcount:7th
Semifinal1:Louisville Cardinals
Finalfourcount:3rd
Semifinal2:Syracuse Orangemen
Finalfourcount2:1st
Coach:John Wooden
Coachcount:10th
Mop:Richard Washington
Mopteam:UCLA
Attendance:183,857
Topscorer:Jim Lee
Topscorerteam:Syracuse
Points:119

The 1975 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 1975, and ended with the championship game on March 31 at the San Diego Sports Arena, now known as Pechanga Arena San Diego, in San Diego, California. A total of 36 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game. This was the first 32-team tournament.

UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won his 10th national title and last with a 92 - 85 victory in the final game over Kentucky, coached by Joe B. Hall. Richard Washington of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The Bruins again had an advantage by playing the Final Four in their home state. It was the last time a team won the national championship playing in its home state.

Tournament notes

Memorable games

There were two memorable games in the 1975 tournament. Number 2 ranked Kentucky upset previously unbeaten Indiana 92–90 in their regional final. The Hoosiers, coached by Bob Knight, were undefeated and the number one team in the nation, when leading scorer Scott May suffered a broken arm in a win over arch-rival Purdue. This was the only loss Indiana would suffer between March 1974 and December 1976. In the national semifinals, UCLA defeated Louisville, coached by former Wooden assistant Denny Crum, 75–74 in overtime, rallying late in regulation to force overtime and coming from behind in overtime to win on a last second shot by Richard Washington.

Both games made USA Todays 2002 list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time, with the former at #8 and the latter at #28.[7]

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1975 tournament:

First round

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)

Teams

Region Team Coach Conference Finished !Final Opponent Score
East
East Independent Regional Fourth PlaceNorth CarolinaL 110–90
East Southern Round of 32Boston CollegeL 82–76
East Big Eight Regional Runner-upSyracuseL 95–87
East East Coast Round of 32SyracuseL 87–83
East Missouri Valley Round of 32North CarolinaL 93–69
East Atlantic Coast Regional third placeBoston CollegeW 110–90
East Ivy League Round of 32Kansas StateL 69–62
East Independent Fourth PlaceLouisvilleL 96–88
Mideast
Mideast Mid-American Regional third placeOregon StateW 88–87
Mideast Independent Round of 32Central MichiganL 77–75
Mideast Big Ten Regional Runner-upKentuckyL 92–90
Mideast Southeastern Runner-upUCLAL 92–85
Mideast Independent Round of 32KentuckyL 76–54
Mideast Ohio Valley Round of 32Oregon StateL 78–67
Mideast Pacific-8 Regional Fourth PlaceCentral MichiganL 88–87
Mideast Western Athletic Round of 32IndianaL 78–53
Midwest
Midwest Independent Regional third placeNotre DameW 95–87
Midwest Independent Round of 32L 83–79
Midwest Big Eight Round of 32Notre DameL 77–71
Midwest Missouri Valley Third PlaceSyracuseW 96–88
Midwest Atlantic Coast Regional Runner-upLouisvilleL 96–82
Midwest Independent Regional Fourth PlaceCincinnatiL 95–87
Midwest Independent Round of 32LouisvilleL 91–78
Midwest Southwest Round of 32CincinnatiL 87–79
West
West Southeastern Round of 32Arizona StateL 97–94
West Western Athletic Regional Runner-upUCLAL 89–75
West Big Ten Round of 32UCLAL 103–91
West Big Sky Regional Fourth PlaceUNLVL 75–67
West West Coast Regional third placeMontanaW 75–67
West Pacific Coast Round of 32UNLVL 90–80
West Pacific-8 ChampionKentuckyW 92–85
West Independent Round of 32MontanaL 69–63

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Final Four

Announcers

Curt Gowdy, Billy Packer, Jim Simpson and Jerry Lucas (Final Four only) - First Round at Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Marquette-Kentucky); West Regional Final at Portland, Oregon; Final Four in San Diego, California

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: 'At large' spots set in NCAA cage playoffs . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho) . Associated Press . August 21, 1974 . 13.
  2. News: Both wire service polls agree-- UCLA is best club in country . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . Associated Press . March 16, 1971 . 2B.
  3. Bill Free – This Overtime Lasts 25 Years The 1974 team left it all out on the floor. Baltimore Sun, hosted at University of Maryland Terrapins athletic site, February 20, 1999
  4. http://jonfmorse.com/wiki/index.php?title=ECAC_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournaments Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
  5. Web site: The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Beginnings of the Big East . 2014-03-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217044717/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/history/hist15.htm . 2013-12-17 . dead .
  6. News: John . Maffei . . MLIM Holdings . Sports site No. 3: San Diego Sports Arena . July 6, 2013 . July 8, 2013.
  7. Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002