1975 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament

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.

1975 NCAA Division I
Basketball Tournament
NCAA logo from 1971 to 1979
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»

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
  • The bracket expanded to 32 teams; the previous six editions had 25 teams.
  • As of 2018, it is the last time Oregon State has officially won an NCAA tournament game. (The Beavers won two games in the 1982 tournament, but those wins were later vacated by the NCAA.) Of the major conferences, only Nebraska, which has never won an NCAA tournament game, has 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 would continue to be played through the 1981 tournament.
  • This was also the first NCAA tournament to allow (or indeed, have room for) more than one team per conference. Previously, only one team from each conference was allowed. This change was response to a number of factors:
    • The 1971 USC Trojans were ranked #5 with their only two losses being to conference rival and #1 ranked UCLA, but were excluded from the 1971 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament due to being second place in the conference to #1 UCLA.
    • The 1974 ACC tournament final pitted two of the 3 best teams in the country in NC State and Maryland.[1]
    • In 1974, the Collegiate Commissioners' Association held a tournament in St. Louis, Missouri. They invited the second-place teams from eight conferences to participate.
  • 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 would continue through the 1982 tournament.[2][3]
  • 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 semi-final game with Louisville. Wooden won his tenth and final NCAA Division I Men's Basketball championship.[4]

Memorable games

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 list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time, with the former at #8 and the latter at #28.[5]

Locations
RoundRegionSiteVenueHost
First Round East Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Coliseum UNC Charlotte
East Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Palestra Pennsylvania/Temple
Mideast Lexington, Kentucky Memorial Coliseum Kentucky
Mideast Tuscaloosa, Alabama Memorial Coliseum Alabama
Midwest Lubbock, Texas Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Texas Tech
Midwest Tulsa, Oklahoma Mabee Center Oral Roberts/Tulsa
West Pullman, Washington WSU Performing Arts Coliseum Washington State
West Tempe, Arizona ASU Activity Center Arizona State
Regionals East Providence, Rhode Island Providence Civic Center Providence
Mideast Dayton, Ohio University of Dayton Arena Dayton
Midwest Las Cruces, New Mexico Pan American Center New Mexico State/UTEP
West Portland, Oregon Memorial Coliseum Portland State
Final Four San Diego, California San Diego Sports Arena San Diego State/San Diego

The city of San Diego became the fourteenth host city, and the San Diego Sports Arena (known now as Pechanga Arena San Diego) the fifteenth host venue, for the Final Four. To date, this is not only the only time the city has hosted the Final Four (the second straight city to do so and fourth overall), but it was also the only time the venue itself ever hosted any tournament games. All games in the city since have been at the Viejas Arena on the campus of San Diego State University, whose Aztecs used the SDSA as their primary home venue from 1966 to 1997. Coincidentally, one of the other venues to only host one Final Four, the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, was the West Regional site this year. The tournament saw three new venues in three new cities. The tournament came to the city of Providence and the Providence Civic Center for the first time, the first of twelve appearances through 2021 for the downtown home of the Providence College Friars. The tournament also came to the Phoenix metropolitan area for the first time, with games played at Arizona State University in suburban Tempe at their brand-new Activity Center (known now as Wells Fargo Arena). And for the first time, the tournament came to the Palouse, with games played at Washington State University in Pullman at the then-two-year-old Performing Arts Coliseum. The tournament also saw the last games played at the Memorial Coliseums in Lexington and Portland, as well as the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum and the Pan-American Center in Las Cruces. Lexington and Portland have both hosted games since (at Rupp Arena and the Moda Center), but the tournament has not come back to Las Cruces or Lubbock since.

Teams
RegionTeamCoachFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
EastBoston CollegeBob ZuffelatoRegional Fourth PlaceNorth CarolinaL 110–90
EastFurmanJoe WilliamsRound of 32Boston CollegeL 82–76
EastKansas StateJack HartmanRegional Runner-upSyracuseL 95–87
EastLa SallePaul WestheadRound of 32SyracuseL 87–83
EastNew Mexico StateLou HensonRound of 32North CarolinaL 93–69
EastNorth CarolinaDean SmithRegional Third PlaceBoston CollegeW 110–90
EastPennChuck DalyRound of 32Kansas StateL 69–62
EastSyracuseRoy DanforthFourth PlaceLouisvilleL 96–88
Mideast
MideastCentral MichiganDick ParfittRegional Third PlaceOregon StateW 88–87
MideastGeorgetownJohn ThompsonRound of 32Central MichiganL 77–75
MideastIndianaBob KnightRegional Runner-upKentuckyL 92–90
MideastKentuckyJoe B. HallRunner-upUCLAL 92–85
MideastMarquetteAl McGuireRound of 32KentuckyL 76–54
MideastMiddle Tennessee StateJimmy EarleRound of 32Oregon StateL 78–67
MideastOregon StateRalph MillerRegional Fourth PlaceCentral MichiganL 88–87
MideastUTEPDon HaskinsRound of 32IndianaL 78–53
Midwest
MidwestCincinnatiGale CatlettRegional Third PlaceNotre DameW 95–87
MidwestCreightonTom ApkeRound of 32MarylandL 83–79
MidwestKansasTed OwensRound of 32Notre DameL 77–71
MidwestLouisvilleDenny CrumThird PlaceSyracuseW 96–88
MidwestMarylandLefty DriesellRegional Runner-upLouisvilleL 96–82
MidwestNotre DameDigger PhelpsRegional Fourth PlaceCincinnatiL 95–87
MidwestRutgersTom YoungRound of 32LouisvilleL 91–78
MidwestTexas A&MShelby MetcalfRound of 32CincinnatiL 87–79
West
WestAlabamaC. M. NewtonRound of 32Arizona StateL 97–94
WestArizona StateNed WulkRegional Runner-upUCLAL 89–75
WestMichiganJohnny OrrRound of 32UCLAL 103–91
WestMontanaJud HeathcoteRegional Fourth PlaceUNLVL 75–67
WestUNLVJerry TarkanianRegional Third PlaceMontanaW 75–67
WestSan Diego StateTim VezieRound of 32UNLVL 90–80
WestUCLAJohn WoodenChampionKentuckyW 92–85
WestUtah StateDutch BelnapRound of 32MontanaL 69–63

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region
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
Boston College 65
Boston College 82
Furman 76
East Regional Third Place
   
North Carolina 110
Boston College 90

Mideast region
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Indiana 78
UTEP 53
Indiana 81
Oregon State 71
Oregon State 78
Middle Tennessee State 67
Indiana 90
Kentucky 92
Central Michigan 77
Georgetown 75
Central Michigan 73
Kentucky 90
Kentucky 76
Marquette 54
Mideast Regional Third Place
   
Oregon State 87
Central Michigan 88

Midwest region
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
Louisville 78
Louisville 91
Rutgers 78
Midwest Regional Third Place
   
Notre Dame 87
Cincinnati 95

West region
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
UNLV 81
UNLV 90
San Diego State 80
West Regional Third Place
   
Montana 67
UNLV 75

Final Four
  National Semifinals     National Championship Game
                 
  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
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See also

References
  1. 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
  2. Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
  3. "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Beginnings of the Big East". Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  4. Maffei, John (July 6, 2013). "Sports site No. 3: San Diego Sports Arena". U-T San Diego. MLIM Holdings. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  5. Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002
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