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1975 NCAA Division I basketball tournament

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1975 NCAA Division I
basketball tournament
NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979
Season1974–75
Teams32
Finals siteSan Diego Sports Arena
San Diego, CA
ChampionsUCLA Bruins (10th title, 10th title game,
12th Final Four)
Runner-upKentucky Wildcats (6th title game,
7th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJohn Wooden (10th title)
MOPRichard Washington (UCLA)
Attendance183,857
Top scorerJim Lee (Syracuse)
(119 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1974 1976»

The 1975 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 1975, and ended with the championship game on March 31 at the San Diego Sports Arena, now known as Pechanga Arena San Diego, in San Diego, California. A total of 36 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game. This was the first 32-team tournament.

UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won his 10th national title and last with a 92–85 victory in the final game over Kentucky, coached by Joe B. Hall. Richard Washington of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The Bruins again had an advantage by playing the Final Four in their home state. It was the last time a team won the national championship playing in its home state.

Tournament notes

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  • The bracket expanded to 32 teams;[1] the previous six editions had 25 teams, and had varied between 22 and 25 from 1953 through 1974.
  • With the expanded bracket, seven teams made their NCAA tournament debuts: Alabama, Central Michigan, Middle Tennessee, Montana, UNLV, Rutgers, and San Diego State. This was the most new teams since a then-record eleven new teams made the 25-team bracket in 1956.
  • Alabama had previously won the Southeastern Conference in 1956, but were deemed ineligible for the tournament due to their entire starting lineup having played as freshmen, which was not allowed at the time. They had also tied Vanderbilt for the 1974 SEC title, but lost the bid because Vanderbilt was ranked higher.
  • It was the last time until 2021 that Oregon State officially won an NCAA tournament game. (The Beavers won two tournament games in 1982, but those were later vacated by the NCAA.) Of the major conferences, only Nebraska, which has never won an NCAA tournament game, had a longer active winning drought.
  • This was the last tournament in which third-place games were contested in each regional; the national third-place game continued through 1981.
  • This was also the first NCAA tournament to allow more than one team per conference; previously, only one team from each conference was allowed.[1] This change was in response to a number of factors:
  • The new selection criteria threatened to exclude Northeastern teams, which did not belong to conferences. To address this problem, this was the first NCAA Tournament to grant automatic bids to the winners of ECAC regional tournaments for Northeastern Division I independents organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a loose sports federation of Northeastern colleges and universities; this practice continued through 1982.[4][5]
  • Finally, the national final was the last game for UCLA coaching legend John Wooden, who had announced his retirement at the press conference following the Saturday semifinal win over Louisville. Two days later, he won his tenth and final NCAA championship.[6]
  • Bob Wortman became the first person to officiate championship games in college basketball and the National Football League when he worked the UCLA-Kentucky final alongside Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame referee Hank Nichols. Wortman was the field judge for Super Bowl VI in January 1972, and later for Super Bowl XII at the same position.
    • The UCLA-Kentucky matchup was the first of six championship games officiated by Nichols (1979, '80, 82, '83, '86), who later became the NCAA's national coordinator of officiating.

Memorable games

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There were two memorable games in the 1975 tournament. Number 2 ranked Kentucky upset previously unbeaten Indiana 92–90 in their regional final. The Hoosiers, coached by Bob Knight, were undefeated and the number one team in the nation, when leading scorer Scott May suffered a broken arm in a win over arch-rival Purdue. This was the only loss Indiana would suffer between March 1974 and December 1976. In the national semifinals, UCLA defeated Louisville, coached by former Wooden assistant Denny Crum, 75–74 in overtime, rallying late in regulation to force overtime and coming from behind in overtime to win on a last second shot by Richard Washington.

Both games made USA Today's 2002 list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time, with the former at #8 and the latter at #28.[7]

Schedule and venues

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The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1975 tournament:

First round

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

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

Teams

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Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score
East
East Boston College Bob Zuffelato Independent Regional Fourth Place North Carolina L 110–90
East Furman Joe Williams Southern Round of 32 Boston College L 82–76
East Kansas State Jack Hartman Big Eight Regional Runner-up Syracuse L 95–87
East La Salle Paul Westhead East Coast Round of 32 Syracuse L 87–83
East New Mexico State Lou Henson Missouri Valley Round of 32 North Carolina L 93–69
East North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic Coast Regional third place Boston College W 110–90
East Penn Chuck Daly Ivy League Round of 32 Kansas State L 69–62
East Syracuse Roy Danforth Independent Fourth Place Louisville L 96–88
Mideast
Mideast Central Michigan Dick Parfitt Mid-American Regional third place Oregon State W 88–87
Mideast Georgetown John Thompson Independent Round of 32 Central Michigan L 77–75
Mideast Indiana Bob Knight Big Ten Regional Runner-up Kentucky L 92–90
Mideast Kentucky Joe B. Hall Southeastern Runner-up UCLA L 92–85
Mideast Marquette Al McGuire Independent Round of 32 Kentucky L 76–54
Mideast Middle Tennessee State Jimmy Earle Ohio Valley Round of 32 Oregon State L 78–67
Mideast Oregon State Ralph Miller Pacific-8 Regional Fourth Place Central Michigan L 88–87
Mideast UTEP Don Haskins Western Athletic Round of 32 Indiana L 78–53
Midwest
Midwest Cincinnati Gale Catlett Independent Regional third place Notre Dame W 95–87
Midwest Creighton Tom Apke Independent Round of 32 Maryland L 83–79
Midwest Kansas Ted Owens Big Eight Round of 32 Notre Dame L 77–71
Midwest Louisville Denny Crum Missouri Valley Third Place Syracuse W 96–88
Midwest Maryland Lefty Driesell Atlantic Coast Regional Runner-up Louisville L 96–82
Midwest Notre Dame Digger Phelps Independent Regional Fourth Place Cincinnati L 95–87
Midwest Rutgers Tom Young Independent Round of 32 Louisville L 91–78
Midwest Texas A&M Shelby Metcalf Southwest Round of 32 Cincinnati L 87–79
West
West Alabama C. M. Newton Southeastern Round of 32 Arizona State L 97–94
West Arizona State Ned Wulk Western Athletic Regional Runner-up UCLA L 89–75
West Michigan Johnny Orr Big Ten Round of 32 UCLA L 103–91
West Montana Jud Heathcote Big Sky Regional Fourth Place UNLV L 75–67
West UNLV Jerry Tarkanian West Coast Regional third place Montana W 75–67
West San Diego State Tim Vezie Pacific Coast Round of 32 UNLV L 90–80
West UCLA John Wooden Pacific-8 Champion Kentucky W 92–85
West Utah State Dutch Belnap Independent Round of 32 Montana L 69–63

Bracket

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* – Denotes overtime period

East region

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Syracuse 87
La Salle 83*
Syracuse 78
North Carolina 76
North Carolina 93
New Mexico State 69
Syracuse 95
Kansas State 87*
Kansas State 69
Penn 62
Kansas State 74 East Regional third place
Boston College 65
Boston College 82 North Carolina 110
Furman 76 Boston College 90

Mideast region

[edit]
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Indiana 78
UTEP 53
Indiana 81
Oregon State 71
Oregon State 78
Middle Tennessee 67
Indiana 90
Kentucky 92
Central Michigan 77
Georgetown 75
Central Michigan 73 Mideast Regional third place
Kentucky 90
Kentucky 76 Oregon State 87
Marquette 54 Central Michigan 88

Midwest region

[edit]
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
Maryland 83
Creighton 79
Maryland 83
Notre Dame 71
Notre Dame 77
Kansas 71
Maryland 82
Louisville 96
Cincinnati 87
Texas A&M 79
Cincinnati 63 Midwest Regional third place
Louisville 78
Louisville 91 Notre Dame 87
Rutgers 78 Cincinnati 95

West region

[edit]
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
      
UCLA 103
Michigan 91*
UCLA 67
Montana 64
Montana 69
Utah State 63
UCLA 89
Arizona State 75
Arizona State 97
Alabama 94
Arizona State 84 West Regional third place
UNLV 81
UNLV 90 Montana 67
San Diego State 80 UNLV 75

Final Four

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National semifinals
Saturday, March 29 		National Championship Game
Monday, March 31
      
E Syracuse 79
ME Kentucky 95
ME Kentucky 85
W UCLA 92
MW Louisville 74*
W UCLA 75 National third-place game
E Syracuse 88*
MW Louisville 96

Announcers

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Curt Gowdy, Billy Packer, Jim Simpson and Jerry Lucas (Final Four only) - First Round at Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Marquette-Kentucky); West Regional Final at Portland, Oregon; Final Four in San Diego, California

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "'At large' spots set in NCAA cage playoffs". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. August 21, 1974. p. 13.
  2. ^ "Both wire service polls agree-- UCLA is best club in country". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 16, 1971. p. 2B.
  3. ^ Bill Free – This Overtime Lasts 25 Years Archived 2008-09-12 at the Wayback Machine The 1974 team left it all out on the floor. Baltimore Sun, hosted at University of Maryland Terrapins athletic site, February 20, 1999
  4. ^ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
  5. ^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Beginnings of the Big East". Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  6. ^ Maffei, John (July 6, 2013). "Sports site No. 3: San Diego Sports Arena". U-T San Diego. MLIM Holdings. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  7. ^ Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002
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