1971–72 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

1971–72 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
1971–72 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
NCAA Midwest Regional Champions; Missouri Valley Conference Champions
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament; National Third Place Game, L 105-91 v. North Carolina
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	26-5 (12-2 Missouri Valley Conference)
Head coach	Denny Crum (1st season);
Home arena	Freedom Hall
	Seasons ← 1970–71 1972–73 →

The 1971–72 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1971–72 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 59th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Missouri Valley Conference and were coached by Denny Crum, who was in his first season. The team played its home games at Freedom Hall.

Louisville defeated Memphis State 83–72 in the Missouri Valley Conference playoff to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They beat Kansas State to win the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional and advance to the Final Four (their 2nd) where they fell to eventual champion UCLA, 96–77. They finished fourth, falling to North Carolina in the third place game 105-91. The Cardinals finished with a 26–5 (12–2) record.^[1]

References

^ "Louisville Basketball Media Guide". Louisville Basketball Media Guide. University of Louisville Athletic Association. Retrieved 22 December 2012.

[1] "Louisville Basketball Media Guide". Louisville Basketball Media Guide. University of Louisville Athletic Association. Retrieved 22 December 2012.

[1]

v t e Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Venues	Belknap Gymnasium (1933–1944) Jefferson County Armory (1945–1956) Freedom Hall (1956–2010) KFC Yum! Center (2010–present)
Rivalries	Cincinnati Kentucky Memphis
Culture & lore	Billy Minardi Classic Cardinal Bird The Rivalry: Red v. Blue
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 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
NAIA and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics