1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Indiana Hoosiers
NCAA Tournament	1976
Tournament dates	March 13 – 29, 1976
National Championship	Spectrum; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA Champions	Indiana Hoosiers
Helms National Champions	Indiana Hoosiers
Other champions	Kentucky Wildcats (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Naismith, Wooden)	Scott May, Indiana
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Kent Benson, Indiana, & Scott May, Indiana

The 1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1975, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 29, 1976, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Indiana Hoosiers won their third NCAA national championship with a 86–68 victory over the Michigan Wolverines.

Season headlines

The Metro Conference began play, with six original members.
The last basketball season for the Yankee Conference, which dropped all sports except football at the end of the season.
Indiana went undefeated (32–0) during the season.
In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its 10th of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.^[3]^[4]

'Associated Press'
Ranking	Team
1	Indiana (30)
2	UCLA (13)
3	Maryland
4	Marquette
5	North Carolina
6	Kentucky (2)
7	Notre Dame
8	Louisville
9	Tennessee (1)
10	Cincinnati
11	Arizona
12	Alabama
13	NC State
14	Kansas State
15	San Francisco
16	Michigan
17	Providence
18	Arizona State
19 (tie)	Memphis State
19 (tie)	Auburn
20	Syracuse

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Indiana
2	Marquette
3	Maryland
4	North Carolina
5	UCLA
6	Tennessee
7	Louisville
8	Notre Dame
9	Arizona
10	Alabama
11	Cincinnati
12	UNLV
13	Washington
14	San Francisco
15	USC
16	Kentucky
17	Rutgers
18	NC State
19	Michigan
20	Kansas State

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Ball State Cardinals	Division I independent	Mid-American Conference
Cincinnati Bearcats	Division I independent	Metro Conference
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Division I independent	Metro Conference
Louisville Cardinals	Missouri Valley Conference	Metro Conference
Memphis State Tigers	Division I independent	Metro Conference
UNLV Runnin' Rebels	West Coast Athletic Conference	Division I independent
North Texas Mean Green	Missouri Valley Conference	NCAA Division I independent
Northern Illinois Huskies	Division I independent	Mid-American Conference
Saint Louis Billikens	Division I independent	Metro Conference
Southern Illinois Salukis	Division I independent	Missouri Valley Conference
Tulane Green Wave	Division I independent	Metro Conference

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of Northeastern colleges and universities, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1976 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.^[5]

Conference	Regular season winner^[6]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Mitch Kupchak, North Carolina^[7]	1976 ACC men's basketball tournament	Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland)	Virginia
Big Eight Conference	Missouri	Willie Smith, Missouri^[8]	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Boise State, Idaho State, & Weber State	None selected	1976 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament	Swenson Gym (Ogden, Utah)	Boise State
Big Ten Conference	Indiana	None Selected	No Tournament
East Coast Conference	Saint Joseph's (East) Lafayette (West)	Todd Tripucka, Lafayette	1976 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament	The Palestra (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)	Hofstra
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)	Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season		1976 ECAC Metro Region tournament	Jadwin Gymnasium (Princeton, New Jersey)	Rutgers
			1976 ECAC New England Region tournament	Springfield Civic Center (Springfield, Massachusetts)	Connecticut
			1976 ECAC Southern Region tournament	WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, West Virginia)	Georgetown
			1976 ECAC Upstate Region tournament	Manley Field House (Syracuse, New York)	Syracuse
Ivy League	Princeton	Armond Hill, Princeton^[9]	No Tournament
Metro Conference	Tulane	Gary Yoder, Cincinnati	1976 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament	Freedom Hall (Louisville, Kentucky)	Cincinnati
Mid-American Conference	Western Michigan	Jeff Tyson, Western Michigan^[10]	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Wichita State	Mike Glenn, Southern Illinois	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky	Johnny Britt, Western Kentucky, & Tom Sisneros, Middle Tennessee	1976 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	E.A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, Kentucky) (Semifinals and Finals)	Western Kentucky
Pacific-8 Conference	UCLA	Ron Lee, Oregon	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Long Beach State & Cal State Fullerton	Steve Copp, San Diego State, & Greg Bunch, Cal State Fullerton	1976 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament	Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium (Stockton, California)	San Diego State
Southeastern Conference	Alabama	Bernard King, Tennessee^[11]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	VMI	Rodney McKeever, The Citadel^[12]	1976 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Greenville Memorial Auditorium (Greenville, South Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals)	VMI^[13]
Southland Conference	Louisiana Tech	Mike McConathy, Louisiana Tech^[14]	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	Texas A&M	Ira Terrell, SMU^[15]	1976 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament	Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas)	Texas Tech
West Coast Athletic Conference	Pepperdine	Marcos Leite, Pepperdine	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	Arizona	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	St. Joseph's & Villanova	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

National semifinals			National finals

E	Rutgers	70

MW	Michigan	86
			MW	Michigan	68

			ME	Indiana	86
ME	Indiana	65

W	UCLA	51

Third Place – UNLV 106, Rutgers 92

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals			Finals

	UNC Charlotte	80

	NC State	79
				UNC Charlotte	67

				Kentucky	71
	Kentucky	79

	Providence	78

Third Place – NC State 74, Providence 69

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Kent Benson	C	Junior	Indiana
Adrian Dantley	F	Junior	Notre Dame
John Lucas	G	Senior	Maryland
Scott May	F	Senior	Indiana
Richard Washington	F/C	Junior	UCLA

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Phil Ford	G	Sophomore	North Carolina
Bernard King	F	Sophomore	Tennessee
Mitch Kupchak	F/C	Senior	North Carolina
Phil Sellers	G	Senior	Rutgers
Earl Tatum	G/F	Senior	Marquette

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	New Coach
Michigan State	Gus Ganakas	Jud Heathcote
Montana	Jud Heathcote	Jim Brandenburg
Ohio State	Fred Taylor	Eldon Miller
Syracuse	Roy Danforth	Jim Boeheim
Texas	Leon Black	Abe Lemons
Texas–Pan American	Abe Lemons	Bill White
Tulane	Charles Moir	Roy Danforth
Virginia Tech	Don DeVoe	Charles Moir
Wyoming	Moe Radovich	Don DeVoe

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.
↑ 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.
↑ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
↑ "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
↑ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01
↑ 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
↑ "SWC honors told". The Port Arthur News. March 7, 1976. p. 26. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

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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.

[ESPN-3] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[4] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[varsitypride-5] Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments

[6] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[7] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14

[8] 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04

[9] Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01

[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

[15] "SWC honors told". The Port Arthur News. March 7, 1976. p. 26. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

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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