1971–72 Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1971–72 Florida State Seminoles Basketball Florida State Seminoles alternate logo.svg Independent 10 10 27–6 (28–5 unadjusted) Hugh Durham 6th Bill Bolton Morris McHone Al Lawson Tully Gymnasium NCAA tournament, Runner-up National Championship Game L Lost 76-81 vs. UCLA The 1971–72 Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team represented Florida State University during the 1971–72 college basketball season. Led by head coach Hugh Durham, the Seminoles reached the championship game of the NCAA tournament before losing to unbeaten, 5-time defending national champion UCLA, 81–76. The team finished with an overall record of 28–5. Hawaii game forfeited Florida State traveled to Hawaii to play two games against The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball team. On December 18, and 22nd, 1971. Florida State lost both games, the first game wasn't decided on the court. Florida State lost its first game, a forfeiture-shortened 30–10 decision. Florida State coach Hugh Durham, spoke about how as result of his disagreement with the officials, the referee called a forfeit in the middle of the game. Durham said, "I go out there to do what coaches try to do and get a technical. I'm telling the official, 'These are two good teams, let 'em play, we came a long way, blah, blah, blah ...' and he tells me, 'Go sit down coach or I'm going to call a technical.' Well, that was what I went out there for, to get a technical, so I told him, 'Go ahead, call the son-of-a-bleep' and he tells me, 'Coach, you're out of the game.'" "I think he thought I swore at him," said Durham, who now laughs at the memories. When Durham refused to leave the court after the free throws had been shot, referee David Mahukona called the game and it went into the books as a forfeit. When FSU beat the Hawaii Marines a night later, Durham remembers, "the headline in the paper was, 'Florida State finishes game.' " Hawaii's 1971–72 team finished 24–3 and captured the program's first NCAA tournament bid behind scoring leader Bob Nash.https://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/14181/florida-state-hawaii-brings-back-memories Roster 1971 Florida State Seminoles y y Greg Samuel 3 G 5 8 150 SR Hollywood, Florida Key West Ron Harris 10 F 6 4 195 SR Key West, Florida Broward CC Otto Petty 11 G 5 7 150 JR Louisville, Kentucky Central John Amick 15 F 6 7 195 SO St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg Larry Gay 21 F 6 5 195 JR Winchester, Kentucky George Rogers Clark Otis Cole 22 G 6 2 175 SO Kings Mountain, North Carolina Kings Mountain Rowland Garrett 23 C 6 6 212 SR y Canton, Mississippi Rogers Reggie Royals 25 C 6 10 200 JR y Whiteville, North Carolina Whiteville Ron King basketball 33 SG 6 4 180 JR y Louisville, Kentucky Central Lawrence McCray 44 C 6 11 210 SO Pensacola, Florida Washington Hugh Durham (Florida State) Bill Bolton Morris McHone Al Lawson https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/florida-state/1972.html 1971-72 Florida State Seminoles Roster and Stats Sports Reference May 7, 2021 https://www.nolefan.org/summary/b1972.html Florida State Men's Basketball - 1971-72 Year In Review nolefan.org May 7, 2021 Schedule and results |- !colspan=9 style=Florida State Seminoles| Regular season |- Dec 1, 1971 yes Oglethorpe Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 112–69 1–0 Dec 4, 1971 yes 1971 men Eastern Kentucky Colonels Eastern Kentucky Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 96–83 2–0 Dec 6, 1971 yes yes 18 1971 men Stetson Hatters Stetson Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida Civitan Classic 90–54 3–0 Dec 7, 1971 yes yes 18 1971 men Jacksonville Dolphins Jacksonville 8 Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida Civitan Classic 90–83 4–0 Dec 11, 1971 yes 18 1971 men Valdosta State Blazers Valdosta State Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 134–65 5–0 Dec 18, 1971 yes yes 9 1971 men Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Hawaii Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii 10–30 5–1 Dec 22, 1971 yes yes 14 Hawaii Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii 76–81 5–2 Dec 27, 1971 yes yes 14 Washington Portland, Oregon Far West Classic 85–77 6–2 Dec 29, 1971 yes yes 1971 men Oregon State Beavers Oregon State Far West Classic 73–72 7–2 Dec 30, 1971 yes yes Washington State Far West Classic 85–61 8–2 Jan 3, 1972 yes yes 1971 men Denver Pioneers Denver Mobile, Alabama Senior Bowl 89–72 7–2 Jan 4, 1972 yes yes 20 1971 men Saint Louis Billikens Saint Louis Mobile, Alabama Senior Bowl 63–62 10–2 Jan 8, 1972 yes 20 1971 men East Tennessee State Buccaneers East Tennessee State Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 106–63 11–2 Jan 15, 1972 yes 12 1971 men Mercer Bears Mercer Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 96–78 12–2 Jan 16, 1972 yes 12 Houston Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 86–79 13–2 Jan 19, 1972 yes 11 1971 men South Alabama Jaguars South Alabama Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 105–72 14–2 Jan 22, 1972 yes yes 11 1971 men Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Georgia Tech Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia 71–69 15–2 Jan 26, 1972 yes 10 Jacksonville Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 82–84 15–3 Jan 26, 1972 yes 10 1971 men Florida Southern Moccasins Florida Southern Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 84–63 16–3 Jan 31, 1972 yes 10 1971 men Pan American Broncs Pan American Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 109–83 17–3 Feb 4, 1972 yes yes 12 Houston Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas 86–94 17–4 Feb 7, 1972 yes yes 12 South Alabama Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama 104–81 18–4 Feb 12, 1972 yes 14 1971 men Tulane Green Wave Tulane Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 94–84 19–4 Feb 19, 1972 yes 14 Georgia Tech Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 108–50 20–4 Feb 23, 1972 yes yes 11 Jacksonville Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida 70–61 21–4 Feb 26, 1972 yes yes 11 Stetson Winter Park, Florida 49–47 22–4 Feb 28, 1972 yes yes 11 1971 men St. Thomas University Bobcats Biscayne Miami Gardens, Florida 94–66 23–4 Mar 4, 1972 yes yes 10 1971 men Cincinnati Bearcats Cincinnati Armory Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio 64–88 23–5 |- !colspan=9 style=Florida State Seminoles| NCAA Tournament |- Mar 11, 1972 yes yes 14 Eastern Kentucky Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee Mideast Regional Quarterfinal 83–81 4,500 24–5 Mar 16, 1972 yes yes 10 1971 men Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota 11 University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio Mideast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen 70–56 13,458 25–5 Mar 18, 1972 yes yes 10 Kentucky 18 University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio Mideast Regional final – Elite Eight 73–54 13,458 26–5 Mar 23, 1972 yes yes 10 North Carolina 2 L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California National semifinal – Final Four 79–75 13,756 27–5 Mar 25, 1972 yes yes 10 UCLA 1 L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California National Championship 76–81FLA. STATE LOSES https://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/26/archives/fla-state-loses-bruins-take-ncaa-final-by-8176-as-walton-tallies-24.html The New York Times March 26, 1972 May 8, 2021 15,063 27–6 AP Poll Eastern ME Mideast https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/florida-state/1972-schedule.html 1971-72 Florida State Seminoles Schedule and Results Sports Reference May 7, 20212019-20 Florida State Men's Basketball Media Guide https://seminolesweb-8b76.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FSU.1902-MBB-Almanac-ALL-v1-web.pdf PDF Florida State University Athletics May 7, 2021 September 23, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200923153852/https://seminolesweb-8b76.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FSU.1902-MBB-Almanac-ALL-v1-web.pdf dead Rankings 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings NBA draft 1972 NBA draft Florida State Seminoles Round Pick Player NBA club 5 78 Rowland Garrett Chicago Bulls https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1972.html 1972 NBA Draft Basketball-reference.com May 8, 2021 References Category:Florida State Seminoles men's basketball seasons Florida State Florida State Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Category:1971 in sports in Florida Category:1972 in sports in Florida