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1972–73 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

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The 1972–73 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in November 1972, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1973 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 26, 1973, at St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The UCLA Bruins won their ninth NCAA national championship with an 87–66 victory over the Memphis State Tigers.

Rule changes

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  • Freshmen became eligible to play on varsity teams.[3] Previously, they had played on separate freshman teams.
  • The free throw on a common foul for the first six personal fouls in a half was eliminated. Instead, the team that was fouled threw the ball in from out of bounds after each such foul.[3]
  • A "flop" — an unnecessary fall to the floor to get a charging call against a player dribbling the ball — was deemed a form of unsportsmanlike conduct.[3]

Season headlines

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  • UCLA went undefeated (30–0) for the second straight season and won its seventh NCAA championship in a row, ninth overall, and ninth in 10 seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its seventh of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
  • This was the last season for the NCAA University Division as the subdivision of the NCAA made up of colleges and universities competing at the highest level of college sports, as well as for the NCAA College Division for colleges and universities competing at a lower level. After the season, the NCAA replaced the University Division with Division I and the College Division with Division II for schools awarding limited athletic scholarships and Division III for schools offering no athletic scholarships.[4]
  • The Final Four was played on Saturday and Monday for the first time.[5]
  • The NCAA title game was televised during prime time for the first time. NBC aired the game on March 26, 1973.[5]
  • For the first time, television broadcast rights fees for an NCAA tournament totaled more than $1 million.[5]

Season outlook

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Pre-season polls

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The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[6][7]

Associated Press
Ranking Team
1 UCLA
2 Florida State
3 Maryland
4 Minnesota
5 Marquette
6 Long Beach State
7 Southwestern Louisiana
8 NC State
9 Penn
10 Ohio State
11 Memphis State
12 BYU
13 Kentucky
14 Tennessee
15 Houston
16 South Carolina
17 Kansas State
18 Oral Roberts
19 Michigan
20
(tie)
Louisville
USC
UPI Coaches
Ranking Team
1 UCLA
2 Florida State
3 Maryland
4 Minnesota
5 Marquette
6 Ohio State
7 Kentucky
8 Long Beach State
9 Penn
10 NC State
11 Houston
12 North Carolina
13 Southwestern Louisiana
14 Memphis State
15
(tie)
BYU
Kansas State
17 USC
18 Providence
19 Oral Roberts
20 UTEP

Conference membership changes

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School Former conference New conference
Appalachian State Moutaineers non-University Division independent Southern Conference
Trinity Tigers Southland Conference University Division independent

Regular season

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Conferences

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Conference winners and tournaments

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Conference Regular
season winner[8]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Atlantic Coast Conference NC State David Thompson, NC State[9] 1973 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
NC State
Big Eight Conference Kansas State Lon Kruger, Kansas State[10] No Tournament
Big Sky Conference Weber State None selected No Tournament
Big Ten Conference Indiana None selected No Tournament
Ivy League Penn None selected No Tournament
Mid-American Conference Ohio Tom Kozelko, Toledo[11] No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference Saint Joseph's (East); Lafayette (West) Patrick McFarland, Saint Joseph's
& Walt Kocubinski, Lafayette
No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Memphis State Larry Kenon, Memphis State No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference Austin Peay State Les Taylor, Murray State No Tournament
Pacific 8 Conference UCLA None selected No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association Long Beach State Ed Ratleff, Long Beach State No Tournament
Southeastern Conference Kentucky Kevin Grevey, Kentucky,
& Wendell Hudson, Alabama[12]
No Tournament
Southern Conference Davidson Aron Stewart, Richmond[13] 1973 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Coliseum
(Richmond, Virginia)
(Semifinals and Finals)
Furman[14]
Southland Conference Louisiana Tech Mike Green, Louisiana Tech[15] No Tournament
Southwest Conference Texas Tech Martin Terry, Arkansas No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Bird Averitt, Pepperdine No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference Arizona State None selected No Tournament
Yankee Conference Massachusetts None selected No Tournament

Conference standings

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1972–73 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 NC State 12 0   1.000 27 0   1.000
No. 11 North Carolina 8 4   .667 25 8   .758
No. 8 Maryland 7 5   .583 23 7   .767
Duke 4 8   .333 12 14   .462
Virginia 4 8   .333 13 12   .520
Clemson 4 8   .333 12 14   .462
Wake Forest 3 9   .250 12 15   .444
1973 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1972–73 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 9 Kansas State 12 2   .857 23 5   .821
No. 15 Missouri 9 5   .643 21 6   .778
Colorado 9 5   .643 13 13   .500
Oklahoma 8 6   .571 18 8   .692
Iowa State 7 7   .500 16 10   .615
Nebraska 7 7   .500 9 17   .346
Kansas 4 10   .286 8 18   .308
Oklahoma State 3 11   .214 7 19   .269
Rankings from AP Poll[16]
1972–73 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Weber State 13 1   .929 20 7   .741
Idaho State 10 4   .714 18 8   .692
Montana State 9 5   .643 17 10   .630
Montana 7 7   .500 13 13   .500
Gonzaga 6 8   .429 14 12   .538
Boise State 5 9   .357 11 15   .423
Idaho 3 11   .214 7 19   .269
Northern Arizona 3 11   .214 6 20   .231
1972–73 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Indiana 11 3   .786 22 6   .786
No. 10 Minnesota 10 4   .714 21 5   .808
Purdue 8 6   .571 15 9   .625
Illinois 8 6   .571 14 10   .583
Ohio State 8 6   .571 14 10   .583
Iowa 6 8   .429 13 11   .542
Michigan 6 8   .429 13 11   .542
Michigan State 6 8   .429 13 11   .542
Wisconsin 5 9   .357 11 13   .458
Northwestern 2 12   .143 5 19   .208
Rankings from AP Poll
1972–73 Ivy League men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 18 Pennsylvania 12 2   .857 21 7   .750
Princeton 11 3   .786 16 9   .640
Brown 10 4   .714 14 12   .538
Harvard 7 7   .500 14 12   .538
Yale 6 8   .429 9 16   .360
Columbia 5 9   .357 7 18   .280
Dartmouth 4 10   .286 6 20   .231
Cornell 1 13   .071 4 22   .154
Rankings from AP Poll
1972–73 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Miami (Ohio) 9 2   .818 18 9   .667
Toledo 7 5   .583 15 11   .577
Bowling Green State 7 5   .583 13 13   .500
Ohio 6 5   .545 16 10   .615
Kent State 5 7   .417 10 16   .385
Central Michigan 4 6   .400 13 13   .500
Western Michigan 2 10   .167 8 18   .308
Rankings from AP Poll
1972–73 MAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
University–Eastern
Saint Joseph's 6 0   1.000 22 6   .786
Temple 5 1   .833 17 10   .630
American 4 2   .667 21 4   .840
La Salle 3 3   .500 15 10   .600
Drexel 2 4   .333 14 7   .667
Hofstra 1 5   .167 8 16   .333
West Chester 0 6   .000 5 21   .192
University–Western
Lafayette 7 3   .700 16 10   .615
Gettysburg 6 4   .600 14 11   .560
Delaware 6 4   .600 14 11   .560
Bucknell 6 4   .600 11 14   .440
Lehigh 3 7   .300 8 17   .320
Rider 2 8   .200 12 14   .462
1973 MAC men's basketball tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1972–73 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 12 Memphis State 12 2   .857 24 6   .800
Louisville 11 3   .786 23 7   .767
Saint Louis 10 4   .714 19 7   .731
Tulsa 10 4   .714 18 8   .692
New Mexico State 6 8   .429 12 14   .462
Wichita State 6 8   .429 10 16   .385
Drake 5 9   .357 14 12   .538
Bradley 4 10   .286 12 14   .462
North Texas State 4 10   .286 9 16   .360
West Texas State 2 12   .143 9 17   .346
Rankings from AP Poll
1972–73 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 19 Austin Peay State* 11 3   .786 22 7   .759
Murray State 9 5   .643 17 8   .680
Morehead State 9 5   .643 14 11   .560
Tennessee Tech 7 7   .500 14 11   .560
Eastern Kentucky 7 7   .500 12 13   .480
Western Kentucky 6 8   .429 10 16   .385
Middle Tennessee 5 9   .357 12 13   .480
East Tennessee State 2 12   .143 9 17   .346
* – Overall record adjusted to 21–5
Rankings from AP Poll
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[17]
1972–73 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Long Beach State* 10 2   .833 26 3   .897
UC Santa Barbara 8 4   .667 17 9   .654
San Diego State 7 5   .583 15 11   .577
Pacific 6 6   .500 14 12   .538
San Jose State 6 6   .500 11 14   .440
Cal State Los Angeles 4 8   .333 11 14   .440
Fresno State 1 11   .083 10 16   .385
* – Overall record adjusted to 24–2
Rankings from AP Poll[18]
1972–73 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 Kentucky 14 4   .778 20 8   .714
Vanderbilt 13 5   .722 20 6   .769
Alabama 13 5   .722 22 8   .733
Tennessee 13 5   .722 15 9   .625
LSU 9 9   .500 14 10   .583
Ole Miss 8 10   .444 14 12   .538
Florida 7 11   .389 11 15   .423
Georgia 5 13   .278 10 16   .385
Mississippi State 4 14   .222 11 15   .423
Auburn 4 14   .222 6 20   .231
Rankings from AP Poll
1972–73 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Davidson 9 1   .900 18 9   .667
Furman 11 2   .846 20 9   .690
East Carolina 7 7   .500 13 13   .500
The Citadel 6 7   .462 11 15   .423
William & Mary 5 6   .455 10 17   .370
Richmond 5 9   .357 8 16   .333
Appalachian State 3 8   .273 6 20   .231
VMI 3 9   .250 6 20   .231
Southern Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
1972–73 Southland Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Louisiana Tech†* 10 2   .833 20 6   .769
McNeese State** 10 2   .833 21 5   .808
Texas-Arlington*** 8 4   .667 13 13   .500
Lamar**** 6 6   .500 11 13   .458
Arkansas State***** 4 8   .333 7 17   .292
Abilene Christian****** 4 8   .333 6 20   .231
No. 7 Southwestern Louisiana******* 0 12   .000 23 3   .885
† Regular-season championship winner
* – Played as non-major program; conference record adjusted to 10–2.
** – Played as non-major program; conference record adjusted to 10–2.
*** – Disputed conference record 6–6.
**** – Disputed conference record 4–8.
***** – Disputed conference record 2–10.
****** – Disputed conference record 2–10.
******* – Disputed record 12–0 conference, 24–5 overall.
Rankings from AP Poll[19]
1972–73 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Texas Tech 12 2   .857 19 8   .704
Texas A&M 9 5   .643 17 9   .654
Arkansas 9 5   .643 16 10   .615
Baylor 8 6   .571 14 11   .560
Texas 7 7   .500 13 12   .520
SMU 7 7   .500 10 15   .400
Rice 2 12   .143 7 19   .269
TCU 2 12   .143 4 21   .160
Rankings from AP Poll
1972-73 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 20 San Francisco 12 2   .857 23 5   .821
Santa Clara 11 3   .786 19 7   .731
Pepperdine 7 7   .500 14 11   .560
Loyola (Calif.) 7 7   .500 10 16   .385
Seattle 6 8   .429 13 13   .500
UNLV 6 8   .429 13 15   .464
Nevada 5 9   .357 10 16   .385
Saint Mary's 2 12   .143 7 19   .269
Rankings from AP Poll[20]
1972–73 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 16 Arizona State 10 4   .714 19 9   .679
New Mexico 9 5   .643 21 6   .778
BYU 9 5   .643 19 7   .731
Arizona 9 5   .643 16 10   .615
UTEP 6 8   .429 16 10   .615
Colorado State 5 9   .357 13 15   .464
Wyoming 4 10   .286 9 17   .346
Utah 4 10   .286 8 19   .296
Rankings from AP Poll[21]
1972–73 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Massachusetts 10 2   .833 20 7   .741
Connecticut 9 3   .750 15 10   .600
Boston University 7 4   .636 15 10   .600
Maine 6 6   .500 13 10   .565
Rhode Island 5 6   .455 7 18   .280
New Hampshire 2 10   .167 11 15   .423
Vermont 2 10   .167 7 17   .292

University Division independents

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A total of 72 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Providence (27–4) and Marquette (27–4) had both the best winning percentage (.871) and the most wins.[22]

1972–73 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Providence   27 4   .871
No. 5 Marquette   27 4   .871
No. 13 Houston   23 4   .852
No. 14 Syracuse   24 5   .828
Virginia Tech   22 5   .815
Jacksonville   21 6   .778
Oklahoma City   21 6   .778
Oral Roberts   21 6   .778
South Carolina   22 7   .759
Marshall   20 7   .741
Northeastern   19 7   .731
St. John's   19 7   .731
Centenary   19 8   .704
Florida State   18 8   .692
Northern Illinois   17 8   .680
Duquesne   16 8   .667
Fairfield   18 9   .667
Cincinnati   17 9   .654
Denver   17 9   .654
George Washington   17 9   .654
Penn State   15 8   .652
Detroit   16 9   .640
Hardin–Simmons   16 9   .640
Indiana State   16 10   .615
Manhattan   16 10   .615
Utah State   16 10   .615
Notre Dame   18 12   .600
Air Force   14 10   .583
Creighton   15 11   .577
Hawaii   15 11   .577
Rutgers   15 11   .577
Stetson   15 11   .577
DePaul   14 11   .560
South Alabama   14 11   .560
Trinity (TX)   14 11   .560
Canisius   13 11   .542
Butler   14 12   .538
Charlotte   14 12   .538
Illinois State   13 12   .520
Long Island   13 12   .520
Navy   13 12   .520
Dayton   13 13   .500
Fairleigh Dickinson   13 13   .500
St. Bonaventure   13 13   .500
Portland State   12 12   .500
Georgetown   12 14   .462
Pittsburgh   12 14   .462
Tulane   12 14   .462
Army   11 13   .458
Boston College   11 14   .440
Colgate   11 14   .440
Villanova   11 14   .440
Fordham   12 16   .429
Southern Illinois   11 15   .423
West Virginia   10 15   .400
Cleveland State   9 14   .391
Ball State   9 15   .375
Niagara   9 16   .360
Loyola (IL)   8 15   .348
Holy Cross   9 17   .346
Southern Miss   8 16   .333
St. Francis (NY)   8 16   .333
Portland   9 19   .321
Seton Hall   8 17   .320
Georgia Southern   8 18   .308
Saint Peter's   8 18   .308
Georgia Tech   7 18   .280
Iona   6 16   .273
Samford   5 20   .200
Saint Francis (PA)   5 21   .192
Pan American   4 22   .154
Xavier   3 23   .115
Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

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Conference Regular
season winner
Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5 Penn Tom Ingelsby, Villanova

Penn finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

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Post-season tournaments

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NCAA tournament

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Final Four

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National semifinals National finals
      
E Providence 85
MW Memphis State 98
MW Memphis State 66
W UCLA 87
ME Indiana 59
W UCLA 70 Third place
E Providence 79
ME Indiana 97

National Invitation tournament

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Semifinals & finals

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Semifinals Finals
    
North Carolina 71
Notre Dame 78
Notre Dame 91
Virginia Tech 92
Virginia Tech 74
Alabama 73 Third place
North Carolina 88
Alabama 69

Awards

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Consensus All-American teams

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Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Doug Collins G Senior Illinois State
Ernie DiGregorio G Senior Providence
Dwight Lamar G Senior Southwestern Louisiana
Ed Ratleff F Senior Long Beach State
David Thompson G/F Sophomore North Carolina State
Bill Walton C Junior UCLA
Keith Wilkes G/F Junior UCLA


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Jim Brewer F/C Senior Minnesota
Tom Burleson C Junior North Carolina State
Larry Finch G Senior Memphis State
Kevin Joyce G Senior South Carolina
Tom McMillen F Junior Maryland
Kermit Washington C Senior American

Major player of the year awards

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Major coach of the year awards

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Other major awards

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Coaching changes

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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
Georgia Tech John Hyder Dwane Morrison
Long Beach State Jerry Tarkanian Lute Olson
Oklahoma City Abe Lemons Paul Hansen
Pan American Sam Williams Abe Lemons
Rhode Island Tom Carmody Jack Kraft
St. John's Frank Mulzoff Lou Carnesecca
Southwestern Louisiana Beryl Shipley None The NCAA shut down the Ragin' Cajun program for the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons due to over 100 rules violations.
Temple Harry Litwack Don Casey
UNLV John Bayer Jerry Tarkanian
Villanova Jack Kraft Rollie Massimino
West Texas State Dennis Walling Ron Ekker

References

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  1. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  2. ^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
  4. ^ "Burnsed, Brian, "A Brief History of Men's College Basketball," Champion, Fall 2018 Accessed April 6, 2021". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  6. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  7. ^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  9. ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
  10. ^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
  11. ^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
  12. ^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
  13. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  14. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  15. ^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
  16. ^ sports-reference.com 1972-73 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
  17. ^ "2011-12 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 67. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  18. ^ "1972-73 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  19. ^ "1972-73 Men's Southland Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  20. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/wcac/1973.html
  21. ^ sports-reference.com 1972-73 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  22. ^ "1972-73 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2024.