1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA
NCAA Tournament	1969
Tournament dates	March 8 – 22, 1969
National Championship	Freedom Hall; Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Champions	UCLA
Helms National Champions	UCLA
Other champions	Temple (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Naismith, Wooden)	Lew Alcindor, UCLA (Naismith)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Lew Alcindor, UCLA
NCAA Division I basketball seasons
«1967–68	1969–70»

The 1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1968, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1969 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 22, 1969, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The UCLA Bruins won their fifth NCAA national championship with a 92–72 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers.

Season headlines[]

The Associated Press (AP) Poll returned to a Top 20 format, expanding from the Top 10 format it used from the 1961–62 season through the 1967–68 season. It previously had used a Top 20 format from its inception in the 1948–49 season through the 1960–61 season.^[3]
The NCAA Tournament expanded from 23 to 25 teams.
UCLA won its third NCAA championship in a row, fifth overall, and fifth in six seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its third of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
The Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), informally known as the "Pacific 8," formally renamed itself the Pacific 8 Conference. It became the Pacific 10 Conference in 1978 and the Pac-12 Conference in 2011.
The Southland Conference, founded in 1963, began NCAA University Division-level play.
The Metropolitan Collegiate Conference was dissolved at the end of the season.

Season outlook[]

Pre-season polls[]

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[4]^[5]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	UCLA
2	North Carolina
3	Kentucky
4	Notre Dame
5	Kansas
6	Davidson
7	St. Bonaventure
8	Houston
9	New Mexico
10	Purdue
11	Villanova
12	Ohio State
13	Vanderbilt
14	Cincinnati
15	Marquette
16	Western Kentucky
17	Duke
18	Detroit
19	Florida
20	Tennessee

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	UCLA
2	North Carolina
3	Kentucky
4	Notre Dame
5	Kansas
6	Houston
7	Davidson
8	New Mexico
9	Villanova
10	Cincinnati
11	Purdue
12	St. Bonaventure
13	New Mexico State
14	Ohio State
15 (tie)	Duke
15 (tie)	Western Kentucky
17	Santa Clara
18	USC
19	Florida
20	California

Conference membership changes[]

School	Former Conference	New Conference
St. Francis Terriers	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent
West Virginia Mountaineers	Southern Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season[]

Conference winners and tournaments[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner^[6]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	John Roche, South Carolina^[7]	1969 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Big Eight Conference	Colorado	Cliff Meely, Colorado^[8]	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Purdue	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	Manhattan & St. Peter's		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	Steve Mix, Toledo^[9]	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Temple		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Drake & Louisville	Bingo Smith, Tulsa	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Morehead State & Murray State	Claude Virden, Murray State	No Tournament
Pacific 8 Conference	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	Pete Maravich, LSU^[10]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Mike Maloy, Davidson^[11]	1969 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	Davidson^[12]
Southland Conference	Trinity	Larry Jeffries, Trinity^[13]	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	Texas A&M	, Texas A&M, Gene Phillips, SMU, & Greg Williams, Rice	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Santa Clara	Dennis Awtrey, Santa Clara	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	BYU, New Mexico, & Wyoming	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Massachusetts	None selected	No Tournament

Informal championships[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Philadelphia Big 5	La Salle	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders[]

Post-Season Tournaments[]

NCAA Tournament[]

Final Four[]

National Semifinals			National Finals

E	North Carolina	65

ME	Purdue	92
			ME	Purdue	72

			W	UCLA	92
MW	Drake	82

W	UCLA	85

Third Place – Drake 104, North Carolina 84

National Invitation Tournament[]

Semifinals & Finals[]

Semifinals			Finals

	Temple	63

	Tennessee	58
				Temple	89

				Boston College	76
	Army	61

	Boston College	73

Third Place – Tennessee 64, Army 52

Awards[]

Consensus All-American teams[]

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Lew Alcindor	C	Senior	UCLA
Spencer Haywood	F	Sophomore	Detroit
Pete Maravich	G/F	Junior	Louisiana State
Rick Mount	G/F	Junior	Purdue
Calvin Murphy	G	Junior	Niagara

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Dan Issel	F/C	Junior	Kentucky
Mike Maloy	F	Junior	Davidson
Bud Ogden	F	Senior	Santa Clara
Charlie Scott	F	Senior	North Carolina
Jo Jo White	G	Senior	Kansas

Major player of the year awards[]

Naismith Award: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
Helms Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
Associated Press Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
UPI Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Pete Maravich, LSU
Sporting News Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, 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): Billy Keller, Purdue
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Ken Durrett, La Salle, & Howard Porter, Villanova
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jim McMillian, Columbia

Coaching changes[]

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

Team	Former Coach	New Coach	Reason
Boston College	Bob Cousy	Chuck Daly
Creighton	Red McManus	Eddie Sutton
Davidson	Lefty Driesell	Terry Holland
Marshall	Ellis T. Johnson	Stewart Way	Johnson resigned at the end of the season. He was replaced by his assistant coach, Stewart Way.
Maryland	Frank Fellows	Lefty Driesell	Successful Davidson coach Driesell was hired and proclaimed his intention to turn Maryland into the “UCLA of the East.”

References[]

^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ sports-reference.com Matchup Finder
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

[preseason-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[3] sports-reference.com Matchup Finder

[ESPN-4] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[5] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[6] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.

[7] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14

[8] 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04

[9] 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14

[10] 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06

[11] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[12] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[13] 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

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v t NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
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