The 1971 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1970-71 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The game was played on March 27, 1971, at the AstrodomeinHouston, Texas and featured the four-time defending national champion UCLA Bruins of the Pacific-8 Conference, and the independent Villanova Wildcats.
| National championship game | |||||||||||||
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| Date | March 27, 1971[3] | ||||||||||||
| Venue | Astrodome, Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||
| MVP | Howard Porter, Villanova (vacated)[4] | ||||||||||||
| Favorite | UCLA | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 31,765[5] | ||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||
| Announcers | Curt Gowdy and Tom Hawkins | ||||||||||||
← 1970
1972 →
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The Bruins narrowly defeated the Wildcats to win their fifth consecutive national championship. However, the Wildcats would later vacate their appearance in the title game due to issues with the eligibility of Howard Porter.
Source:[6]
NBC |
March 27, 1971 |
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| #1 UCLA Bruins 68, #19 | ||
| Scoring by half: 45-37, 23-25 | ||
| Pts: Steve Patterson29 Rebs: Sidney Wicks9 Asts: Sidney Wicks 7 |
Pts: Howard Porter25 Rebs: Howard Porter 8 Asts: Chris Ford10 | |
Astrodome, Houston, Texas |
The NCAA vacated 23 of Villanova's wins in the 1970–71 season including its appearance in the 1971 NCAA Tournament due to issues with the eligibility of Howard Porter.[7]
This would be Villanova's last appearance in the title game until 1985, where they would go on a Cinderella run to the national title.