1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

UCLA Bruins men's basketball
1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Pacific-8 Championship; Bruin Classic Championship
NCAA National Championship Game; vs. Florida State, W, 81–76
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#1
AP	#1
1971–72 record	30–0 (14–0 Pac-8)
Head coach	John R. Wooden
Assistant coach	Gary Cunningham
« 1970–71	1972–73 »

The 1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won the National Collegiate Champion on March 25, 1972 in the Los Angeles Sports Arena with an 81–76 victory over Florida State. It became the eighth championship in nine years under head coach John Wooden, who was coaching his 25th year at UCLA. The 1971–72 UCLA basketball team had a record of 30–0, in the process winning its games by an average margin of more than 30 points. The season was also part of UCLA's NCAA record 88-game winning streak. The UCLA streak contributed to a personal winning streak that lasted almost five years. It began "The Walton Years" for Coach Wooden.

Season Summary

Sophomore Bill Walton lived up to his advance billing, leading the Bruins to a 30-0 record and the National Championship while averaging a double-double (21.1 PPG, 15.5 RPG). Greg Lee and Henry Bibby formed a solid back court, and forwards Keith Wilkes and Larry Farmer were double-digit scorers. Walton’s backup, 7-1 Swen Nater, could have been a star at other schools.

Starting lineup

Position	Player	Class
F	Larry Farmer	Jr.
F	Keith Wilkes	So.
C	Bill Walton	So.
G	Greg Lee	So.
G	Henry Bibby	Sr.

Players

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Results	Record
Dec. 3	The Citadel	W 105–49	1–0
Dec. 4	Iowa	W 106–72	2–0
Dec. 10	Iowa St.	W 110–81	3–0
Dec. 11	Texas A&M	W 117–53	4–0
Dec. 22	Notre Dame	W 114–56	5–0
Dec. 23	TCU	W 119–81	6–0
Dec. 29	Texas	W 115–65	7–0
Dec. 30	Ohio St.	W 79–53	8–0
Jan. 7	Oregon St.	W 78–72	9–0
Jan. 8	Oregon	W 93–68	10–0
Jan. 14	Stanford	W 118–79	11–0
Jan. 15	California	W 82–43	12–0
Jan. 21	Santa Clara	W 92–57	13–0
Jan. 22	Denver	W 108–61	14–0
Jan. 28	(n) Loyola (IL)	W 92–64	15–0
Jan. 29	at Notre Dame	W 57–32	16–0
Feb. 5	USC	W 81–56	17–0
Feb. 11	Wash. St.	W 89–58	18–0
Feb. 12	Washington	W 109–70	19–0
Feb. 19	at Washington	W 100–83	20–0
Feb. 21	at Wash. St.	W 85–55	21–0
Feb. 25	Oregon	W 92–70	22–0
Feb. 26	Oregon St.	W 91–72	23–0
Mar. 3	at California	W 85–71	24–0
Mar. 4	at Stanford	W 102–73	25–0
Mar. 10	at USC	W 79–66	26–0
Mar. 16 (Sweet 16)	Weber St.	W 90–58	27–0
Mar. 18 (Elite 8)	Long Beach St.	W 73–57	28–0
Mar. 23 (Final Four)	Louisville	W 96–77	29–0
Mar. 25 (Championship)	Florida State	W 81–76	30–0

Notes

The team opened the season as the No. 1 team in both the AP and UPI polls
Prior to joining the varsity team, Lee (17.9 ppg), Wilkes (20.0 ppg), and Walton (18.1, 68.6 per cent) were members of the 20–0 Frosh team^[1]
Bruins won the Bruin Classic in Pauley Pavilion
Bill Walton and Henry Bibby were named to the 1972 Consensus All-America first team

Awards and honors

Bill Walton, USBWA College Player of the Year ^[2]
Bill Walton, Naismith College Player of the Year ^[3]
Bill Walton, Adolph Rupp Trophy ^[4]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Henry Bibby, New York
Bill Walton, San Antonio (ABA)

References

↑ 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, College Athletics Publishing Service, 1971
↑ http://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/awards/robertson/index.html
↑ http://www.naismithawards.com/History/NaismithTrophy/tabid/58/Default.aspx
↑ http://www.ruppawards.com/index_files/Page356.htm

External links

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
1971–72 UCLA Bruins at Sports-Reference.com

[1] 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, College Athletics Publishing Service, 1971

[2] ttp://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/awards/robertson/index.html

[3] ttp://www.naismithawards.com/History/NaismithTrophy/tabid/58/Default.aspx

[4] ttp://www.ruppawards.com/index_files/Page356.htm

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Venues	Men's Gym (1932–1965) Pan-Pacific Auditorium (alternate; 1949–1959) Venice High School (1955–1956) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1959–1965; 2011–2012) Honda Center (2011–2012) Pauley Pavilion (1965–present)
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NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

Contents

Season Summary

Starting lineup

Players

Schedule and results

Notes

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

See also

References

External links

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