The 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1971, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1972, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports ArenainLos Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their eighth NCAA national championship with an 81–76 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.
1971–72 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
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Preseason AP No. 1 | UCLA[1][2] |
NCAA Tournament | 1972 |
Tournament dates | March 11 – 25, 1972 |
National Championship | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
NCAA Champions | UCLA |
Helms National Champions | UCLA |
Other champions | Maryland (NIT) |
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden) | Bill Walton, UCLA (Naismith) |
Player of the Year (Helms) | Bill Walton, UCLA |
← 1970–71 1972–73 → |
The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[3][4]
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|
Conference | Regular season winner |
Conference player of the year |
Conference tournament |
Tournament venue (City) |
Tournament winner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Big 5 | Penn & Temple | None selected | No Tournament |
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021)
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National semifinals | National finals | ||||||||
E | North Carolina | 75 | |||||||
ME | Florida State | 79 | |||||||
ME | Florida State | 76 | |||||||
W | UCLA | 81 | |||||||
MW | Louisville | 77 | |||||||
MW | UCLA | 96 |
Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
Jacksonville | 77 | ||||||||
Maryland | 91 | ||||||||
Maryland | 100 | ||||||||
Niagara | 69 | ||||||||
St. John's | 67 | ||||||||
Niagara | 69 |
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Henry Bibby | G | Senior | UCLA |
Jim Chones | C | Junior | Marquette |
Dwight Lamar | G | Junior | Southwestern Louisiana |
Bob McAdoo | F | Junior | North Carolina |
Ed Ratleff | F | Junior | Long Beach State |
Tom Riker | F/C | Senior | South Carolina |
Bill Walton | C | Sophomore | UCLA |
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Rich Fuqua | G | Junior | Oral Roberts |
Barry Parkhill | G | Junior | Virginia |
Jim Price | G | Senior | Louisville |
Bud Stallworth | F | Senior | Kansas |
Henry Wilmore | G/F | Junior | Michigan |
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021)
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A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
Team | Former Coach |
Interim Coach |
New Coach |
Reason |
---|---|---|---|---|
Georgetown | Jack Magee | John Thompson | McGee was fired at the end of the season after the 1971–72 Georgetown team finished with a record of 3–23. | |
Hardin–Simmons | Glen Whitis | Russell Berry | ||
Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | Joe B. Hall | Rupp retired as the NCAA all-time leader in victories. He was replaced by lead assistant Hall. | |
LSU | Press Maravich | Dale Brown | Maravich, father of NCAA career scoring leader Pete Maravich, was fired after the Tigers finished 10–16. He was succeeded by Washington State assistant Brown, who remained at LSU for 25 seasons. | |
Marshall | Carl Tacy | Bob Daniels | Tacy left after the season to become the head coach at Wake Forest. | |
Wake Forest | Jack McCloskey | Carl Tacy | McCloskey left after the season to become the head coach for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. |