1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1971, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1972, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their eighth NCAA national championship with an 81–76 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.

1971–72 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA
NCAA Tournament	1972
Tournament dates	March 11 – 25, 1972
National Championship	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California
NCAA Champions	UCLA
Helms National Champions	UCLA
Other champions	Maryland (NIT)
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden)	Bill Walton, UCLA (Naismith)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Bill Walton, UCLA

Season headlines

• At Illinois State, Will Robinson became the first African-American head coach at an NCAA University Division (now NCAA Division I) school.
• UCLA went undefeated (30–0) and won its sixth NCAA championship in a row, eighth overall, and eighth in nine seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its sixth of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
• The NCAA national championship game was played on Saturday for the last time. It moved to Monday night in 1973.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 North Carolina 3 USC 4 Marquette 5 Ohio State 6 Maryland 7 Houston 8 Long Beach State 9 Louisville 10 Kentucky 11 Jacksonville 12 South Carolina 13 Michigan 14 Kansas 15 Penn 16 New Mexico 17 St. John's 18 Villanova 19 BYU 20 Oklahoma

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 Marquette 3 USC 4 North Carolina 5 Ohio State 6 Houston 7 Maryland 8 Louisville 9 Long Beach State 10 Kentucky 11 Jacksonville 12 New Mexico State 13 South Carolina 14 BYU 15 St. John's 16 Kansas 17 Villanova 18 Michigan 19 Harvard 20 Pacific

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	Gulf States Conference	Southland Conference
Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes	University Division independent	Discontinued basketball program
NYU Violets	University Division independent	Discontinued basketball program
Pacific Tigers	West Coast Athletic Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Seattle Redhawks	University Division independent	West Coast Athletic Conference
South Carolina Gamecocks	Atlantic Coast Conference	University Division independent
Southwest Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns	Gulf States Conference	Southland Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Barry Parkhill, Virginia	1972 ACC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Isaac "Bud" Stallworth, Kansas	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Minnesota	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Penn	None selected	No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	Tom Kozelko, Toledo	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Temple (East); Rider (West)		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Louisville & Memphis State	Larry Finch, Memphis State	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, & Western Kentucky	Les Taylor, Murray State	No Tournament
Pacific 8 Conference	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Long Beach State	Ed Ratleff, Long Beach State	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky & Tennessee	Mike Edwards, Tennessee, & Tom Parker, Kentucky	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Russ Hunt, Furman	1972 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Greenville Memorial Auditorium (Greenville, South Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals)	East Carolina
Southland Conference	Louisiana Tech	Dwight "Bo" Lamar, Southwest Louisiana	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	SMU & Texas	Larry Robinson, Texas	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	San Francisco	Mike Stewart, Santa Clara	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	BYU	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Rhode Island	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1971–72 ACC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 North Carolina † 9 – 3   .750 26 – 5   .839 No. 14 Maryland 8 – 4   .667 27 – 5   .844 No. 20 Virginia 8 – 4   .667 21 – 7   .750 Duke 6 – 6   .500 14 – 12   .538 NC State 6 – 6   .500 16 – 10   .615 Wake Forest 3 – 9   .250 8 – 18   .308 Clemson 2 – 10   .167 10 – 16   .385 † 1972 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas State 12 – 2   .857 19 – 9   .679 Missouri 10 – 4   .714 21 – 6   .778 Oklahoma 9 – 5   .643 14 – 12   .538 Nebraska 7 – 7   .500 14 – 12   .538 Kansas 7 – 7   .500 11 – 15   .423 Iowa State 5 – 9   .357 12 – 14   .462 Colorado 4 – 10   .286 7 – 19   .269 Oklahoma State 2 – 12   .143 4 – 22   .154 Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Big Sky men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Weber State 10 – 4   .714 18 – 11   .621 Gonzaga 8 – 6   .571 14 – 12   .538 Northern Arizona 8 – 6   .571 13 – 10   .565 Idaho State 8 – 6   .571 14 – 12   .538 Montana 7 – 7   .500 14 – 11   .560 Boise State 7 – 7   .500 14 – 12   .538 Montana State 6 – 8   .429 9 – 16   .360 Idaho 2 – 12   .143 5 – 14   .263
1971–72 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 11 Minnesota 11 – 3   .786 17 – 6   .739 No. 19 Ohio State 10 – 4   .714 18 – 6   .750 No. 17 Indiana 9 – 5   .643 17 – 8   .680 Michigan 9 – 5   .643 14 – 10   .583 Michigan State 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542 Wisconsin 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542 Purdue 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 Illinois 5 – 9   .357 14 – 10   .583 Iowa 5 – 9   .357 11 – 13   .458 Northwestern 3 – 11   .214 5 – 18   .217 Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Ivy League men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Pennsylvania 13 – 1   .929 25 – 3   .893 Princeton 12 – 2   .857 20 – 7   .741 Harvard 8 – 6   .571 15 – 11   .577 Dartmouth 8 – 6   .571 14 – 12   .538 Brown 6 – 8   .429 10 – 16   .385 Yale 5 – 9   .357 7 – 17   .292 Columbia 3 – 11   .214 4 – 20   .167 Cornell 1 – 13   .071 5 – 19   .208 Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Ohio 7 – 3   .700 15 – 11   .577 Toledo 7 – 3   .700 18 – 7   .720 Kent State 6 – 4   .600 7 – 17   .292 Western Michigan 5 – 5   .500 10 – 14   .417 Miami (Ohio) 4 – 6   .400 12 – 12   .500 Bowling Green State 1 – 9   .100 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll
1971–72 MAC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT University–Eastern Temple † 6 – 0   1.000 23 – 8   .742 Saint Joseph's 5 – 1   .833 19 – 9   .679 American 3 – 3   .500 16 – 8   .667 Hofstra 2 – 4   .333 11 – 14   .440 Drexel 2 – 4   .333 11 – 14   .440 La Salle 2 – 4   .333 6 – 19   .240 West Chester 1 – 5   .167 9 – 16   .360 University–Western Rider 8 – 2   .800 15 – 11   .577 Lafayette 7 – 3   .700 20 – 5   .800 Delaware 7 – 3   .700 18 – 7   .720 Lehigh 3 – 7   .300 10 – 14   .417 Bucknell 3 – 7   .300 5 – 18   .217 Gettysburg 2 – 8   .200 11 – 12   .478 † 1972 MAC men's basketball tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Louisville 12 – 2   .857 26 – 5   .839 No. 13 Memphis State 12 – 2   .857 21 – 7   .750 Saint Louis 9 – 5   .643 18 – 8   .692 Bradley 8 – 6   .571 17 – 9   .654 Wichita State 6 – 8   .429 16 – 10   .615 Tulsa 5 – 9   .357 15 – 11   .577 North Texas State 2 – 12   .143 8 – 18   .308 Drake 2 – 12   .143 7 – 19   .269 New Mexico State –   – 19 – 6   .760 West Texas State –   – 14 – 11   .560 Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Morehead State 9 – 5   .643 16 – 11   .593 Eastern Kentucky 9 – 5   .643 15 – 11   .577 Western Kentucky 9 – 5   .643 15 – 11   .577 Tennessee Tech 7 – 7   .500 14 – 11   .560 Murray State 6 – 8   .429 15 – 11   .577 East Tennessee State 6 – 8   .429 11 – 14   .440 Middle Tennessee 5 – 9   .357 15 – 11   .577 Austin Peay State 5 – 9   .357 10 – 14   .417 Rankings from AP Poll
1971–72 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 UCLA 14 – 0   1.000 30 – 0   1.000 Washington 10 – 4   .714 20 – 6   .769 Oregon State 9 – 5   .643 18 – 10   .643 USC 9 – 5   .643 16 – 10   .615 California 6 – 8   .429 13 – 16   .448 Stanford 5 – 9   .357 10 – 15   .400 Washington State 3 – 11   .214 11 – 15   .423 Oregon 0 – 14   .000 6 – 20   .231 As of April 15, 1972 Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Long Beach State* 10 – 2   .833 25 – 4   .862 Pacific 8 – 4   .667 17 – 9   .654 San Diego State 7 – 5   .583 18 – 10   .643 UC Santa Barbara 5 – 7   .417 17 – 9   .654 Cal State Los Angeles 5 – 7   .417 14 – 12   .538 San Jose State 5 – 7   .417 11 – 15   .423 Fresno State 2 – 10   .167 9 – 17   .346 * – Overall record adjusted to 23–3 Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Tennessee 14 – 4   .778 19 – 6   .760 No. 18 Kentucky 14 – 4   .778 21 – 7   .750 Alabama 13 – 5   .722 18 – 8   .692 Vanderbilt 10 – 8   .556 16 – 10   .615 Georgia 9 – 9   .500 14 – 12   .538 Ole Miss 8 – 10   .444 13 – 12   .520 Mississippi State 6 – 12   .333 13 – 13   .500 Auburn 6 – 12   .333 10 – 16   .385 LSU 6 – 12   .333 10 – 16   .385 Florida 4 – 14   .222 10 – 15   .400 Rankings from AP Poll
1971–72 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Davidson 8 – 2   .800 19 – 9   .679 Furman 8 – 3   .727 17 – 11   .607 William & Mary 6 – 4   .600 10 – 17   .370 East Carolina † 7 – 5   .583 14 – 15   .483 The Citadel 5 – 6   .455 12 – 13   .480 Richmond 3 – 9   .250 6 – 19   .240 VMI 2 – 10   .167 6 – 19   .240 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Southland Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Louisiana Tech†* 8 – 0   1.000 23 – 3   .885 Lamar** 7 – 1   .875 13 – 13   .500 Texas-Arlington 5 – 3   .625 14 – 12   .538 Arkansas State*** 5 – 4   .556 12 – 14   .462 Abilene Christian 3 – 5   .375 17 – 8   .680 No. 8 Southwest Louisiana**** 0 – 8   .000 23 – 3   .885 Trinity (Tex.) 0 – 8   .000 6 – 18   .250 † Regular-season championship winner * – Played as non-major program; conference record adjusted to 8–0. ** – Dispute conference record 6–2. *** – Disputed conference record 4–4. **** – Disputed record 8–0 conference, 25–4 overall. Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas 10 – 4   .714 19 – 9   .679 SMU 10 – 4   .714 16 – 11   .593 TCU 9 – 5   .643 15 – 9   .625 Texas A&M 9 – 5   .643 16 – 10   .615 Texas Tech 8 – 6   .571 14 – 12   .538 Arkansas 5 – 9   .357 8 – 18   .308 Baylor 4 – 10   .286 14 – 12   .538 Rice 1 – 13   .071 6 – 20   .231 Rankings from AP Poll
1971-72 WCAC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT San Francisco 13 – 1   .929 20 – 8   .714 Santa Clara 11 – 3   .786 17 – 9   .654 Seattle 10 – 4   .714 17 – 9   .654 UNLV 8 – 6   .571 14 – 12   .538 Loyola (Calif.) 6 – 8   .429 11 – 15   .423 Pepperdine 5 – 9   .357 10 – 15   .400 Saint Mary's 3 – 11   .214 9 – 17   .346 Nevada 0 – 14   .000 2 – 24   .077 Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 WAC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 9 BYU 12 – 2   .857 21 – 5   .808 UTEP 9 – 5   .643 20 – 7   .741 Arizona State 9 – 5   .643 18 – 8   .692 Colorado State 7 – 7   .500 15 – 9   .625 New Mexico 7 – 7   .500 15 – 11   .577 Utah 5 – 9   .357 13 – 12   .520 Arizona 4 – 10   .286 6 – 20   .231 Wyoming 3 – 11   .214 12 – 14   .462 Rankings from AP Poll	1971–72 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rhode Island 8 – 2   .800 15 – 11   .577 Maine 6 – 4   .600 15 – 10   .600 Massachusetts 6 – 4   .600 14 – 12   .538 New Hampshire 5 – 5   .500 14 – 9   .609 Connecticut 5 – 5   .500 8 – 17   .320 Vermont 0 – 10   .000 5 – 19   .208

University Division independents

A total of 67 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Oral Roberts (26–2) had the best winning percentage (.929) and Florida State (28–5) finished with the most wins.

1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 16 Oral Roberts –   – 26 – 2   .929 No. 7 Marquette –   – 25 – 4   .862 Hawaii –   – 23 – 4   .852 No. 12 Marshall –   – 23 – 4   .852 No. 10 Florida State –   – 28 – 5   .848 Northern Illinois –   – 21 – 4   .840 No. 6 South Carolina –   – 24 – 5   .828 Duquesne –   – 20 – 5   .800 Syracuse –   – 22 – 6   .786 Providence –   – 21 – 6   .778 Detroit –   – 18 – 6   .750 Houston –   – 20 – 7   .741 Jacksonville –   – 20 – 8   .714 No. 15 Villanova –   – 20 – 8   .714 Pan American –   – 17 – 7   .708 Niagara –   – 21 – 9   .700 Penn State –   – 17 – 8   .680 Fordham –   – 18 – 9   .667 St. Bonaventure –   – 16 – 8   .667 Cincinnati –   – 17 – 9   .654 Georgia Southern –   – 17 – 9   .654 Colgate –   – 15 – 8   .652 St. John's –   – 19 – 11   .633 Fairleigh Dickinson –   – 15 – 9   .625 Illinois State –   – 16 – 10   .615 Virginia Tech –   – 16 – 10   .615 Canisius –   – 15 – 11   .577 Creighton –   – 15 – 11   .577 Holy Cross –   – 15 – 11   .577 Oklahoma City –   – 16 – 12   .571 Loyola (LA) –   – 14 – 11   .560 Rutgers –   – 14 – 11   .560 West Virginia –   – 13 – 11   .542 Hardin–Simmons –   – 14 – 12   .538 DePaul –   – 12 – 11   .522 Centenary –   – 13 – 12   .520 Long Island –   – 13 – 12   .520 Boston College –   – 13 – 13   .500 Dayton –   – 13 – 13   .500 Pittsburgh –   – 12 – 12   .500 Air Force –   – 12 – 13   .480 Fairfield –   – 12 – 13   .480 Saint Francis (PA) –   – 12 – 13   .480 Saint Peter's –   – 12 – 13   .480 Indiana State –   – 12 – 14   .462 St. Francis (NY) –   – 12 – 14   .462 Utah State –   – 12 – 14   .462 Xavier –   – 12 – 14   .462 Army –   – 11 – 13   .458 Manhattan –   – 11 – 13   .458 George Washington –   – 11 – 14   .440 Navy –   – 10 – 13   .435 Denver –   – 11 – 15   .423 Portland –   – 10 – 16   .385 Seton Hall –   – 10 – 16   .385 Southern Illinois –   – 10 – 16   .385 Ball State –   – 9 – 15   .375 Loyola (IL) –   – 8 – 14   .364 Tulane –   – 8 – 18   .308 Boston University –   – 7 – 16   .304 South Alabama –   – 7 – 17   .292 Iona –   – 6 – 17   .261 Butler –   – 6 – 20   .231 Georgia Tech –   – 6 – 20   .231 Notre Dame –   – 6 – 20   .231 Stetson –   – 6 – 20   .231 Georgetown –   – 3 – 23   .115 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Penn & Temple	Corky Calhoun, Penn, & Chris Ford, Villanova

Penn and Temple both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1972 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	North Carolina	75
	ME	Florida State	79
						ME	Florida State	76
						W	UCLA	81
	MW	Louisville	77
	MW	UCLA	96			Third place
						E	North Carolina	105
						MW	Louisville	91

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1972 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Jacksonville	77
	Maryland	91
					Maryland	100
					Niagara	69
	St. John's	67
	Niagara	69			Third place
					Jacksonville	83
					St. John's	80

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1972 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Henry Bibby	G	Senior	UCLA
Jim Chones	C	Junior	Marquette
Dwight Lamar	G	Junior	Southwestern Louisiana
Bob McAdoo	F	Junior	North Carolina
Ed Ratleff	F	Junior	Long Beach State
Tom Riker	F/C	Senior	South Carolina
Bill Walton	C	Sophomore	UCLA

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Rich Fuqua	G	Junior	Oral Roberts
Barry Parkhill	G	Junior	Virginia
Jim Price	G	Senior	Louisville
Bud Stallworth	F	Senior	Kansas
Henry Wilmore	G/F	Junior	Michigan

Major player of the year awards

• Naismith Award: Bill Walton, UCLA
• Helms Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
• UPI Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Bill Walton, UCLA
• Adolph Rupp Trophy: Bill Walton, UCLA
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA

Major coach of the year awards

• Associated Press Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
• Henry Iba Award (USBWA): John Wooden, UCLA
• NABC Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
• UPI Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA

Other major awards

• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Scott Martin, Oklahoma
• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Corky Calhoun, Penn, & Chris Ford, Villanova
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Richie Garner, Manhattan, & Tom Sullivan, Fordham

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Georgetown	Jack Magee		John Thompson	McGee was fired at the end of the season after the 1971–72 Georgetown team finished with a record of 3–23.
Hardin–Simmons	Glen Whitis		Russell Berry
Kentucky	Adolph Rupp		Joe B. Hall	Rupp retired as the NCAA all-time leader in victories. He was replaced by lead assistant Hall.
LSU	Press Maravich		Dale Brown	Maravich, father of NCAA career scoring leader Pete Maravich, was fired after the Tigers finished 10–16. He was succeeded by Washington State assistant Brown, who remained at LSU for 25 seasons.
Marshall	Carl Tacy		Bob Daniels	Tacy left after the season to become the head coach at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest	Jack McCloskey		Carl Tacy	McCloskey left after the season to become the head coach for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.