1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
	From the 1968 UCLA yearbook
NCAA tournament National champions; Pac-8 champions
National Championship Game, ; W 78-55 vs. North Carolina
Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	29–1 (14–0 Pac-8)
Head coach	John Wooden (20th season);
Assistant coaches	Jerry Norman; Denny Crum;
	Seasons ← 1966–67 1968–69 →

1967–68 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 UCLA	14	–	0	1.000	29	–	1	.967
USC	11	–	3	.786	18	–	8	.692
Washington State	8	–	6	.571	16	–	9	.640
California	7	–	7	.500	16	–	9	.640
Oregon State	5	–	9	.357	12	–	13	.480
Stanford	5	–	9	.357	11	–	15	.423
Washington	4	–	10	.286	12	–	14	.462
Oregon	2	–	12	.143	7	–	19	.269

Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

The 1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won a second consecutive NCAA national championship, the fourth in five years under head coach John Wooden, with a win over North Carolina.^[2]

UCLA's 47-game winning streak came to an end in January when they were beaten by Houston and All-American Elvin Hayes in the Astrodome 71–69; the game was known as the Game of the Century. The Bruins avenged the loss in a rematch with Houston in the NCAA Final Four, by beating the Cougars 101–69 to become the only team to win consecutive NCAA championships twice.

Season Summary

This team ushered in a new era of college hoops when it played and lost to Houston in a regular-season game at Houston Astrodome that was seen by a national television audience. The Bruins avenged the only loss in the Final Four, thrashing the Cougars behind Lew Alcindor's 19 points and 18 rebounds. "Big Lew" was even more dominant in the title game, with 34 points and 16 boards in a win over North Carolina. UCLA limited Houston's Elvin Hayes, who was averaging 37.7 points per game but was held to only 10. Bruins coach John Wooden credited his assistant, Jerry Norman, for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes.^[3]^[4]

Players

1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
C	33	Lew Alcindor	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	New York, New York
G	42	Lucius Allen	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Kansas City, KS
G	22	Kenny Heitz	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Jr	Santa Maria, CA
F	54	Edgar Lacey	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Sr	Los Angeles, California
F	35	Mike Lynn	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Sr	Covina, California
F	34	Jim Nielsen	—	—
C	30	Neville Saner	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—
F	53	Lynn Shackelford	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Burbank, CA
G	24	Gene Sutherland	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—
G	45	Bill Sweek	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Jr	Pasadena, CA
G	44	Michael Warren	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	—	Sr	South Bend, IN

Head coach

John Wooden (Purdue)

Assistant coach(es)

Jerry Norman

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Lew Alcindor would suffer the first major injury of his athletic career. He suffered a scratched left cornea on January 12, 1968, in a game against the California Golden Bears. He got struck by Ted Henderson of Cal in a rebound battle.^[5] He would miss the next two games against Stanford and Portland. This happened right before the game against the University of Houston.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
December 2, 1967*	No. 1	at Purdue	W 73-71	1-0	Purdue Arena West Lafayette, IN
December 8, 1967*	No. 1	Wichita State	W 120-86	2-0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
December 9, 1967* 8:00 pm, KTLA (delay)	No. 1	Iowa State	W 121-80	3-0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 1967*	No. 1	No. 10 Bradley	W 109-73	4-0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
December 23, 1967*	No. 1	Notre Dame	W 114-63	5-0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
December 27, 1967*	No. 1	Minnesota Los Angeles Classic	W 95-55	6-0	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
December 29, 1967*	No. 1	Saint Louis Los Angeles Classic	W 108-67	7-0	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
December 30, 1967*	No. 1	Wyoming Los Angeles Classic	W 104-71	8-0	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
January 5, 1968	No. 1	Washington State	W 97-69	9-0 (1-0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
January 6, 1968	No. 1	Washington	W 93-65	10-0 (2-0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
January 12, 1968	No. 1	at California	W 94-64	11-0 (3-0)	Harmon Gym Berkeley, CA
January 13, 1968	No. 1	at Stanford	W 73-63	12-0 (4-0)	Stanford Pavilion Stanford, CA
January 18, 1968*	No. 1	Portland	W 93-69	13-0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
January 20, 1968* TVS	No. 1	vs. No. 2 Houston Game of the Century	L 69-71	13-1	Houston Astrodome (52,693) Houston, TX
January 26, 1968*	No. 2	vs. Holy Cross	W 90-67	14-1	Madison Square Garden (18,106^[6]) New York, NY
January 27, 1968*	No. 2	vs. Boston College	W 84-77	15-1	Madison Square Garden (18,499^[7]) New York, NY
February 3, 1968	No. 2	USC	W 101-67	16-1 (5-0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 9, 1968	No. 2	at Oregon State	W 55-52	17-1 (6-0)	Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR
February 10, 1968	No. 2	at Oregon	W 104-63	18-1 (7-0)	McArthur Court Eugene, OR
February 16, 1968	No. 2	Oregon	W 119-78	19-1 (8-0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 17, 1968	No. 2	Oregon State	W 88-71	20-1 (9-0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 24, 1968	No. 2	at Washington	W 84-67	21-1 (10-0)	Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA
February 26, 1968	No. 2	at Washington State	W 101-70	22-1 (11-0)	Bohler Gymnasium Pullman, WA
March 1, 1968	No. 2	Stanford	W 100-62	23-1 (12-0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
March 2, 1968	No. 2	California	W 115-71	24-1 (13-0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
March 9, 1968	No. 2	at USC	W 72-64	25-1 (14-0)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 15, 1968*	No. 2	vs. New Mexico State Regional semifinal	W 58-49	26-1	University Arena Albuquerque, NM
March 16, 1968*	No. 2	vs. Santa Clara Regional Final	W 87-66	27-1	University Arena Albuquerque, NM
March 22, 1968*	No. 2	vs. No. 1 Houston National semifinal	W 101-69	28-1	Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
March 23, 1968*	No. 2	vs. No. 5 North Carolina National Final	W 78-55	29-1	Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific time.

Source:^[8]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Notes

The team opened the season as the No. 1 team in both the AP and UPI polls.
Second consecutive national championship; fourth in five years.
UCLA became the first school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year with quarterback Gary Beban winning the Heisman Trophy and Lew Alcindor winning the U.S. Basketball Writers Association player of the year award in 1968.
Three days after he was benched by Coach Wooden during the "Game of the Century" on January 20, Edgar Lacey, a high school All-American at Jefferson High School and Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year in 1963, quit the team.^[9]
On its 50th anniversary in 2018, the team was honored at halftime of the UCLA–Stanford game at Pauley Pavilion on January 27.

Awards and honors

Lew Alcindor, NCAA basketball tournament MOP (1968)
Lew Alcindor, USBWA College Player of the Year ^[10]
Lew Alcindor, Helms Foundation Player of the Year award
Lew Alcindor, First Team All-American; Lucius Allen, Second Team

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Team
4	45	Mike Lynn	Chicago Bulls
4	49	Edgar Lacey	San Francisco Warriors
14	180	Mike Warren	Seattle SuperSonics

Source:^[11]

References

^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ Official Collegiate Basketball Guide
^ Esper, Dwain (March 25, 1968). "Bruins Hope Norman Stays". The Independent. Pasadena, California. p. 15. Retrieved July 22, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Gasaway, John (June 7, 2010). "John Wooden's Century". Basketball Prospectus. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
^ Jeff Prugh – Bruins win again without Alcindor. Big Lew Sidelined By Eye Injury Suffered in Game against Bears. Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1968
^ Prugh, Jeff (January 27, 1968). "LEW PUTS ON SHOW FOR FOLKS AT 'HOMECOMING': Alcindor Demolishes Holy Cross' Man-to-Man Defense With 33 Points as Bruins Romp, 90-67, at the Garden UCLA WINS, 90-67". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 155784798.
^ Prugh, Jeff. "BRUINS HOLD OFF EAGLE SPURT, POST 84-77 WIN". Los Angeles Times. No. 28 January 1968. ProQuest 155770221.
^ "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
^ Funeral in Downey today for UCLA player Edgar Lacey Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine, Long Beach Press Telegram, April 8, 2011
^ "USBWA > Awards > Oscar Robertson Trophy". Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
^ "1968 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.

External links

1967–68 UCLA Bruins at Sports-Reference.com

[1] "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.

[2] Official Collegiate Basketball Guide

[3] Esper, Dwain (March 25, 1968). "Bruins Hope Norman Stays". The Independent. Pasadena, California. p. 15. Retrieved July 22, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] Gasaway, John (June 7, 2010). "John Wooden's Century". Basketball Prospectus. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.

[5] Jeff Prugh – Bruins win again without Alcindor. Big Lew Sidelined By Eye Injury Suffered in Game against Bears. Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1968

[6] Prugh, Jeff (January 27, 1968). "LEW PUTS ON SHOW FOR FOLKS AT 'HOMECOMING': Alcindor Demolishes Holy Cross' Man-to-Man Defense With 33 Points as Bruins Romp, 90-67, at the Garden UCLA WINS, 90-67". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 155784798.

[7] Prugh, Jeff. "BRUINS HOLD OFF EAGLE SPURT, POST 84-77 WIN". Los Angeles Times. No. 28 January 1968. ProQuest 155770221.

[8] "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.

[9] Funeral in Downey today for UCLA player Edgar Lacey Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine, Long Beach Press Telegram, April 8, 2011

[10] "USBWA > Awards > Oscar Robertson Trophy". Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007.

[11] "1968 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.

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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)
Rivalries	Arizona Notre Dame USC (Crosstown Cup)
Culture & lore	Blue blood status Game of the Century UCLA High Post Offense Joe Bruin
People	Head coaches Retired numbers NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics