1967–68 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
From the 1968 UCLA yearbook
NCAA tournament National champions
Pac-8 champions
ConferenceAthletic Association of Western Universities
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record29–1 (14–0 Pac-8)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
1967–68 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 2 UCLA140 1.000291  .967
USC113 .786188  .692
Washington State86 .571169  .640
California77 .500169  .640
Oregon State59 .3571213  .480
Stanford59 .3571115  .423
Washington410 .2861214  .462
Oregon212 .143719  .269
As of April 15, 1968[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
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 Monica, 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)

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

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
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP1111111122222222
Coaches1111111122222222

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

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

  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.Open access icon
  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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