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1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

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1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
Pac-8 champions
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record30–0 (14–0 Pac-8)
Head coach
Assistant coachGary Cunningham
Home arenaPauley Pavilion
Seasons
1972–73 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 UCLA 14 0   1.000 30 0   1.000
USC 9 5   .643 18 10   .643
Oregon 8 6   .571 16 10   .615
Stanford 7 7   .500 14 11   .560
Washington 6 8   .429 16 11   .593
Oregon State 6 8   .429 15 11   .577
California 4 10   .286 11 15   .423
Washington State 2 12   .143 6 20   .231
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team went undefeated again at 30–0 and claimed a seventh consecutive national championship.[2][3][4][5]

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, 87–66.[2][3] Some regard this as the greatest ever offensive performance in American college basketball.[6] Tied at 39 at halftime, the Bruins dominated the second half and outscored the Tigers, 48–27.[2][3][5][4]

UCLA set a new NCAA record of 75 consecutive wins and a three-season composite record of 89–1 (.989).

Roster

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1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 30 Vince Carson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Jr
G 22 Tommy Curtis 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Tampa, Florida
F 54 Larry Farmer (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sr
F 50 Gary Franklin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Jr
F 53 Larry Hollyfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr
G 43 Greg Lee 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Jr Reseda, California
F 34 Dave Meyers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So San Diego, CA
C 31 Swen Nater 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Den Helder, Netherlands
G 25 Pete Trgovich 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
So East Chicago, Indiana
C 32 Bill Walton 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr La Mesa, California
F 52 Keith Wilkes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Berkeley, California
Head coach

John Wooden (Purdue)

Assistant coach(es)

Gary Cunningham (UCLA)


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Starting lineup

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

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
November 25, 1972*
No. 1 Wisconsin W 94–53  1–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 1, 1972*
No. 1 Bradley W 73–38  2–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 2, 1972*
No. 1 Pacific W 81–48  3–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 16, 1972*
No. 1 UCSB W 98–67  4–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 1972*
No. 1 Pittsburgh W 89–73  5–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 23, 1972*
No. 1 Notre Dame W 82–56  6–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 29, 1972*
No. 1 vs. Drake
Sugar Bowl Classic
W 85–72  7–0
Municipal Auditorium 
New Orleans, LA
December 30, 1972*
No. 1 vs. Illinois
Sugar Bowl Classic
W 71–64  8–0
Municipal Auditorium (7,123)
New Orleans, LA
January 5, 1973
No. 1 Oregon W 64–38  9–0
(1–0)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 6, 1973
No. 1 Oregon State W 87–61  10–0
(2–0)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 12, 1973
No. 1 at Stanford W 82–67  11–0
(3–0)
Maples Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
January 13, 1973
No. 1 at California W 69–50  12–0
(4–0)
Harmon Gym 
Berkeley, CA
January 19, 1973*
No. 1 No. 10 San Francisco W 92–64  13–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 20, 1973*
No. 1 No. 9 Providence W 101–77  14–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 25, 1973*
No. 1 at Loyola–Chicago W 87–73  15–0
Chicago Stadium[7] (15,817)
Chicago, IL
January 27, 1973*
No. 1 at Notre Dame W 82–63  16–0
Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, IN
February 3, 1973
No. 1 at No. 20 USC W 79–56  17–0
(5–0)
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
February 10, 1973
No. 1 at Washington State W 88–50  18–0
(6–0)
Bohler Gymnasium 
Pullman, WA
February 12, 1973
No. 1 at Washington W 76–67  19–0
(7–0)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
February 16, 1973
No. 1 Washington W 93–62  20–0
(8–0)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 17, 1973
No. 1 Washington State W 96–64  21–0
(9–0)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 22, 1973
No. 1 at Oregon W 72–61  22–0
(10–0)
McArthur Court 
Eugene, OR
February 24, 1973
No. 1 Oregon State W 73–67  23–0
(11–0)
Gill Coliseum 
Corvallis, OR
March 2, 1973
No. 1 California W 51–45  24–0
(12–0)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
March 3, 1973
No. 1 Stanford W 51–45  25–0
(13–0)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
March 9, 1973
No. 1 USC W 76–56  26–0
(14–0)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 15, 1973*
No. 1 vs. No. 16 Arizona State
Regional semifinal
W 98–81  27–0
Pauley Pavilion (12,671)
Los Angeles, CA
March 17, 1973*
No. 1 vs. No. 20 San Francisco
Regional Final
W 54–39  28–0
Pauley Pavilion (12,705)
Los Angeles, CA
March 24, 1973*
1:30 pm, NBC
No. 1 vs. No. 6 Indiana
National semifinal
W 70–59  29–0
St. Louis Arena (19,029)
St. Louis, MO
March 26, 1973*
6:10 pm, NBC
No. 1 vs. No. 12 Memphis State
National Final
W 87–66  30–0
St. Louis Arena (19,301)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific time.

Notes

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  • 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.[8]
  • 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

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References

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  1. ^ "2011-12 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 67. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dale (March 27, 1973). "Walton's 44 KO Memphis State". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  3. ^ a b c "Walton may be $2 million bargain". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 27, 1973. p. 1C.
  4. ^ a b UCLA media guide
  5. ^ a b "Walton 'demolishes' Memphis State, 87–66". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). UPI. March 27, 1973. p. 14.
  6. ^ Kirkpatrick, Curry (April 2, 1973). "A slight case of being superhuman". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  7. ^ Rapoport, Ron (January 26, 1973). "Bruins Tie All-Time Mark". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 157194780.
  8. ^ NCAA Division 1 Record, NCAA, 2002
  9. ^ "AAU Sullivan Award".
  10. ^ "USBWA > Awards > Oscar Robertson Trophy". Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  11. ^ "Naismith Awards - Naismith Trophy". Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  12. ^ "About Us". Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
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