1972–73 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1972–73 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1972–73 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA
NCAA Tournament	1973
Tournament dates	March 10 – 26, 1973
National Championship	St. Louis Arena; St. Louis, Missouri
NCAA Champions	UCLA
Helms National Champions	UCLA
Other champions	Virginia Tech (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Naismith, Wooden)	Bill Walton, UCLA (Naismith)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Bill Walton, UCLA

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

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

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]

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[5]^[6]

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
20 (tie)	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
15 (tie)	Kansas State
17	USC
18	Providence
19	Oral Roberts
20	UTEP

Conference membership changes

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

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner^[7]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	NC State	David Thompson, NC State^[8]	1973 ACC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Lon Kruger, Kansas State^[9]	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^[10]	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	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^[11]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Aron Stewart, Richmond^[12]	1973 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Richmond Coliseum (Richmond, Virginia) (Semifinals and Finals)	Furman^[13]
Southland Conference	Louisiana Tech	Mike Green, Louisiana Tech^[14]	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

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Philadelphia Big 5	Penn	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

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 – Indiana 97, Providence 79

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

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

Consensus All-American teams

**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

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	New Coach
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
Temple	Harry Litwack	Don Casey
UNLV	John Bayer	Jerry Tarkanian
Villanova	Jack Kraft	Rollie Massimino
West Texas State	Dennis Walling	Ron Ekker

References

↑ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
↑ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
1 2 3 orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
↑ "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.
↑ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
↑ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
↑ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
↑ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
↑ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
↑ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
↑ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
↑ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
↑ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
↑ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

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[preseason-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.

[rules-3] 1 2 3 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.

[ESPN-5] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[6] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[7] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[8] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14

[9] 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04

[10] 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14

[11] 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06

[12] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[13] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[14] 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

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NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 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
NCAA Tournament era	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