1973 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

Edition of USA college basketball tournament August 2023 March 2026 January 2022 1973 NCAA 70s logo.svg NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979 25 St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri UCLA Bruins 9th 9th 10th Memphis State Tigers 1st 1st Indiana Hoosiers 3rd Providence Friars 1st John Wooden 9th Bill Walton UCLA 163,160 Ernie DiGregorio Providence 128 The 1973 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA University Division (now Division I, created later in 1973) college basketball. The 35th annual edition of the tournament began on Saturday, March 10, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 26, at St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game. Led by longtime head coach John Wooden, the UCLA Bruins won their seventh consecutive national title with an 87–66 victory in the final game over Memphis State, coached by Gene Bartow, a future head coach at UCLA. Junior center Bill Walton of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This was the first year that the championship game was held on a Monday night, with Saturday semifinals. Previously, the championship game was on Saturday, with the semifinals on either Thursday or Friday. Also, this was the first year matchups in the semifinals rotated; previously, it was East vs. Mideast and West vs. Midwest every year. Tournament notes The UCLA–Memphis State championship game made USA Today′s 2002 list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time at #18.Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002 Bill Walton set a championship game record, hitting 21 of 22 shots and scoring 44 points. This tournament marked the first appearance of Bob Knight as coach of Indiana University. The participation for this tournament, as well as the previous tournament, for Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) was vacated on August 5, 1973, when the NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled the university guilty of over 100 violations, including impermissible benefits and doctoring high school transcripts of players. USL's program was shut down for the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons, all other Ragin Cajun' athletic programs were placed on three years' probation and banned from postseason participation, and the university was stripped of voting rights at the NCAA convention until 1977 (the NCAA originally planned to expel USL from the organization, but that sanction was downgraded in January 1974). Schedule and venues The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1973 tournament: First round March 10 East Region Alumni Hall, Jamaica, New York (Host: St. John's University) The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League) William & Mary Hall, Williamsburg, Virginia (Host: The College of William & Mary) Mideast Region University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) Midwest Region Levitt Arena, Wichita, Kansas (Host: Wichita State University) West Region Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Logan, Utah (Host: Utah State University) Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 15 and 17 East Regional, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: Davidson College) Mideast Regional, Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University) Midwest Regional, Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas (Hosts: University of Houston, Southwest Conference) West Regional, Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: UCLA) National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship) March 24 and 26 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference) Teams Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score East East 1972 men Furman Paladins Furman Joe Williams Southern First round 1972 none Syracuse Orangemen SyracuseL 83–82 East Maryland Lefty Driesell Atlantic Coast Regional Runner-upProvidenceL 103–89 East 1972 men Penn Quakers Penn Chuck Daly Ivy League Regional Fourth Place1972 none Syracuse Orangemen SyracuseL 69–68 East Providence Dave Gavitt Independent Fourth PlaceIndianaL 97–79 East St. John's Frank Mulzoff Independent First round1972 men Penn Quakers PennL 62–61 East 1972 men Saint Joseph's Hawks Saint Joseph's Jack McKinney Middle Atlantic First roundProvidenceL 89–76 East 1972 none Syracuse Orangemen Syracuse Roy Danforth Independent Regional third place1972 men Penn Quakers PennW 69–68 Mideast Mideast 1972 none Austin Peay Governors Austin Peay Lake Kelly Ohio Valley Regional Fourth Place1972 men Marquette Golden Eagles MarquetteL 88–73 Mideast Indiana Bob Knight Big Ten Third PlaceProvidenceW 97–79 Mideast 1972 men Jacksonville Dolphins Jacksonville Tom Wasdin Independent First round1972 none Austin Peay Governors Austin PeayL 77–75 Mideast Kentucky Joe B. Hall Southeastern Regional Runner-upIndianaL 72–65 Mideast 1972 men Marquette Golden Eagles Marquette Al McGuire Independent Regional third place1972 none Austin Peay Governors Austin PeayW 88–73 Mideast 1972 men Miami Redskins Miami (OH) Darrell Hedric Mid-American First round1972 men Marquette Golden Eagles MarquetteL 77–62 Midwest Midwest Houston Guy Lewis Independent First round1972 men Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs Southwestern LouisianaL 102–89 Midwest 1972 men Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State Jack Hartman Big Eight Regional Runner-upMemphis StateL 92–72 Midwest 1972 men Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs Southwestern Louisiana (Vacated) Beryl Shipley Southland Regional Fourth PlaceSouth CarolinaL 90–85 Midwest Memphis State Gene Bartow Missouri Valley Runner UpUCLAL 87–66 Midwest South Carolina Frank McGuire Independent Regional third place1972 men Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs Southwestern LouisianaW 90–85 Midwest Texas Tech Gerald Myers Southwest First roundSouth CarolinaL 78–70 West West 1972 men Arizona State Sun Devils Arizona State Ned Wulk Western Athletic Regional Fourth Place1972 men Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach StateL 84–80 West 1972 men Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State Jerry Tarkanian Pacific Coast Regional third place1972 men Arizona State Sun Devils Arizona StateW 84–80 West 1972 men Oklahoma City Chiefs Oklahoma City Abe Lemons Independent First round1972 men Arizona State Sun Devils Arizona StateL 103–78 West 1972 men San Francisco Dons San Francisco Bob Gaillard West Coast Regional Runner-upUCLAL 54–39 West UCLA John Wooden Pacific-8 ChampionMemphis StateW 87–66 West Weber State Gene Visscher Big Sky First round1972 men Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach StateL 88–75 Bracket * – Denotes overtime period East region 1 y high no 1972 none Syracuse Orangemen Syracuse 83 1972 men Furman Paladins Furman 82 1972 men Penn Quakers Penn 62 St. John's 61 Providence 89 1972 men Saint Joseph's Hawks Saint Joseph's 76 Maryland 91 Syracuse 75 Penn 65 Providence 87 Maryland 89 Providence 103 East Regional third place Syracuse 69 Penn 68 Mideast region 1 y high no 1972 men Marquette Warriors Marquette 77 1972 men Miami Redskins Miami (OH) 62 1972 none Austin Peay Governors Austin Peay 77 1972 men Jacksonville Dolphins Jacksonville 75 Indiana 75 Marquette 69 Kentucky 106 Austin Peay 100* Indiana 72 Kentucky 65 Mideast Regional third place Marquette 88 Austin Peay 73 Midwest region 1 y high no South Carolina 78 Texas Tech 70 1972 men Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs Southwestern Louisiana 102 Houston 89 Memphis State 90 South Carolina 76 1972 men Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State 66 Southwestern Louisiana 63 Memphis State 92 Kansas State 72 Midwest Regional third place South Carolina 90 Southwestern Louisiana 85 West region 1 y no high 1972 men Arizona State Sun Devils Arizona State 103 1972 men Oklahoma City Chiefs Oklahoma City 78 1972 men Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State 88 Weber State 75 UCLA 98 Arizona State 81 1972 men San Francisco Dons San Francisco 77 Long Beach State 67 UCLA 54 San Francisco 39 West Regional third place Arizona State 80 Long Beach State 84 Final Four thumb|200px|UCLA won its seventh consecutive championship and ninth in ten seasons National SemifinalsSaturday, March 24 National Championship GameMonday, March 26 high E Providence 85 MW Memphis State 98 ME Indiana 59 W UCLA 70 MW Memphis State 66 W UCLA 87 National third-place game E Providence 79 ME Indiana 97 Aftermath The 1973 NC State Wolfpack team averaged 93 points per game (ppg), led the nation in win margin (21.8 ppg), and posted a 27–0 record, but was ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA probation. Gene Bartow, the Memphis State coach, would be John Wooden's successor at UCLA after the 1974–1975 season. The tournament marked the last appearance of the Oklahoma City Chiefs, whose 11 tournament appearances are the most among teams no longer in Division I. The school would transition to the NAIA in 1985. Announcers Curt Gowdy, Tom Hawkins, and Jim Simpson (Final Four only) - East Regional Final at Charlotte, North Carolina; Final Four at St. Louis, Missouri Jim Simpson and Tom Hawkins - First Round at Logan, Utah (Long Beach State-Weber State) Curt Gowdy and Bill Enis - First Round at Wichita, Kansas - (Louisiana-Houston) Jim Simpson and Bill Enis - Mideast Regional Final from Dayton, Ohio See also 1973 NCAA College Division basketball tournament 1973 National Invitation Tournament 1973 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 1973 National Women's Invitation Tournament References Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Ncaa Category:Basketball competitions in St. Louis NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Category:College basketball tournaments in Missouri Category:1970s in St. Louis