1974 NCAA Division I
basketball tournament
NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979
Season1973–74
Teams25
Finals siteGreensboro Coliseum
Greensboro, North Carolina
ChampionsNC State Wolfpack (1st title, 1st title game,
2nd Final Four)
Runner-upMarquette Warriors (1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachNorm Sloan (1st title)
MOPDavid Thompson (NC State)
Attendance154,112
Top scorerDavid Thompson (NC State)
(97 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1973 1975»

The 1974 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It was the first tournament to be designated as a Division I championship—previously, NCAA member schools had been divided into the "University Division" and "College Division". The NCAA created its current three-division setup, effective with the 1973–74 academic year, by moving all of its University Division schools to Division I and splitting the College Division members into Division II (fewer scholarships) and Division III (no athletic scholarships allowed). Previous tournaments would retroactively be considered Division I championships.

The tournament began on March 9, 1974, and ended with the championship game on March 25 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Until 2019, when Virginia defeated Texas Tech, it was the last tournament in which neither school had previously appeared in any national championship game (5 years later Michigan State would defeat Indiana St in each school's inaugural Division I National Finals, but Indiana State had previously contested and lost finals in the NAIA national championships and the NCAA Division II National Championships). A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.

North Carolina State, coached by Norm Sloan, won the national title with a 76–64 victory in the final game over Marquette, coached by Al McGuire. This result ended UCLA's record streak of seven consecutive titles. David Thompson of North Carolina State was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

This was the final year that only conference champions and independents could participate in the tournament. During the same time in 1974, the Collegiate Commissioners' Association held a tournament in St. Louis, Missouri. They invited the second-place teams from eight conferences to participate. In 1975, the NCAA would expand the field to include at-large bids for conference runners-up.

Tournament notes

The UCLA – North Carolina State semifinal game made USA Today's list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time at #13.[1] UCLA star Bill Walton calls that game the most disappointing outcome of his entire basketball career, given how UCLA lost a 5-point lead late in regulation and a 7-point lead in the 2nd overtime, before NC State rallied to win, 80–77. The game, played in Greensboro, was like a home game for the Wolfpack; UCLA had defeated NC State by 18 points in a neutral site game in St. Louis (where UCLA defeated Memphis State the previous March to win its seventh consecutive national championship) earlier in the season.

The Wolfpack became the fifth team in history to win the national championship playing in its home state. CCNY won the 1950 NCAA championship (as well as the NIT championship) at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Kentucky won the 1958 championship at Freedom Hall in Louisville, and UCLA won both the 1968 and 1972 championships at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. UCLA also would win the 1975 championship in its home state, at the San Diego Sports Arena. No team has accomplished the feat since then, although the Kansas Jayhawks won the 1988 championship in nearby Kansas City, Missouri, at Kemper Arena, which is closer to the KU campus in Lawrence, Kansas than Greensboro is to Raleigh.

This was the last Sweet Sixteen appearance for Creighton and Oral Roberts until the 2021 tournament, when both teams returned for the first time in 47 years.

Thanks in large part to the reclassification of Division I, the 1974 tournament is the last tournament to include a team no longer in Division I. The Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles spent one year in the modern Division I, winning the Pacific Coast Athletic Association before dropping to Division II.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1974 tournament:

First round

Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)

Teams

RegionTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
EastFurmanJoe WilliamsSouthernRegional Fourth PlaceProvidenceL 95–83
EastNC StateNorm SloanAtlantic CoastChampionMarquetteW 76–64
EastPennChuck DalyIvy LeagueFirst roundProvidenceL 84–69
EastPittsburghBuzz RidlIndependentRegional Runner-upNC StateL 100–72
EastProvidenceDave GavittIndependentRegional third placeFurmanW 95–83
EastSouth CarolinaFrank McGuireIndependentFirst roundFurmanL 75–67
EastSaint Joseph'sJack McKinneyMiddle AtlanticFirst roundPittsburghL 54–42
Mideast
MideastAustin PeayLake KellyOhio ValleyFirst roundNotre DameL 108–66
MideastMarquetteAl McGuireIndependentRunner UpNC StateL 76–64
MideastMichiganJohnny OrrBig TenRegional Runner-upMarquetteL 72–70
MideastNotre DameDigger PhelpsIndependentRegional third placeVanderbiltW 118–88
MideastOhioJames SnyderMid-AmericanFirst roundMarquetteL 85–59
MideastVanderbiltRoy SkinnerSoutheasternRegional Fourth PlaceNotre DameL 118–88
Midwest
MidwestCreightonEddie SuttonIndependentRegional third placeLouisvilleW 80–71
MidwestKansasTed OwensBig EightFourth PlaceUCLAL 78–61
MidwestLouisvilleDenny CrumMissouri ValleyRegional Fourth PlaceCreightonL 80–71
MidwestOral RobertsKen TrickeyIndependentRegional Runner-upKansasL 93–90
MidwestSyracuseRoy DanforthIndependentFirst roundOral RobertsL 86–82
MidwestTexasLeon BlackSouthwestFirst roundCreightonL 77–61
West
WestCal State Los AngelesBob MillerPacific CoastFirst roundDaytonL 88–80
WestDaytonDon DonoherIndependentRegional Fourth PlaceNew MexicoL 66–61
WestIdaho StateJim KillingsworthBig SkyFirst roundNew MexicoL 73–65
WestNew MexicoNorm EllenbergerWestern AthleticRegional third placeDaytonW 66–61
WestSan FranciscoBob GaillardWest CoastRegional Runner-upUCLAL 83–60
WestUCLAJohn WoodenPacific-8Third PlaceKansasW 78–61

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
NC State 92
Providence 78
Providence 84
Penn 69
NC State 100
Pittsburgh 72
Pittsburgh 54
Saint Joseph's 42
Pittsburgh 81 East Regional third place
Furman 78
Furman 75 Providence 95
South Carolina 67 Furman 83

Mideast region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Vanderbilt 61
Marquette 69
Marquette 85
Ohio 59
Marquette 72
Michigan 70
Michigan 77 Mideast Regional third place
Notre Dame 68
Notre Dame 108 Vanderbilt 88
Austin Peay 66 Notre Dame 118

Midwest region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Kansas 55
Creighton 54
Creighton 77
Texas 61
Kansas 93
Oral Roberts 90*
Louisville 93 Midwest Regional third place
Oral Roberts 96
Oral Roberts 86 Creighton 80
Syracuse 82* Louisville 71

West region

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
UCLA 111***
Dayton 100
Dayton 88
Cal State Los Angeles 80
UCLA 83
San Francisco 60
San Francisco 64 West Regional third place
New Mexico 61
New Mexico 73 Dayton 61
Idaho State 65 New Mexico 66

Final Four

National semifinals National Championship Game
      
E NC State 80**
W UCLA 77
E NC State 76
ME Marquette 64
ME Marquette 64
MW Kansas 51 National third-place game
W UCLA 78
MW Kansas 61

Announcers

Curt Gowdy, Tom Hawkins, Charlie Jones, and Ross Porter - First Round at Terre Haute, Indiana (Marquette-Ohio, Notre Dame-Austin Peay) Final Four at Greensboro, North Carolina; Jones was used as a sideline reporter for the first round and Porter was used for the Final Four.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002
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