1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

1968–69 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings
	As of April 15, 1968; Rankings from AP Poll

1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Pac-8 Champions
NCAA Tournament, Champions
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1968–69 record	29–1 (13–1 Pac-8)
Head coach	John Wooden (21st season);
Assistant coaches	Denny Crum; Gary Cunningham;
MVP	Lew Alcindor
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion,; Los Angeles, California
	Seasons ← 1967–68 1969–70 →

The 1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won an unprecedented third consecutive NCAA National Basketball Championship, the fifth in six years under head coach John Wooden with a win over Purdue, coach Wooden's alma mater.^[2] The Bruins opened with 25 wins, on a 41-game winning streak, but lost the regular season finale to rival USC on March 8, which snapped a home winning streak of 85 games.^[3]^[4]

The West Regional was hosted by UCLA in Pauley Pavilion, and they defeated #12 New Mexico State 53–38 and third-ranked Santa Clara 90–52. Center Lew Alcindor had a total of 33 points in the two games.

In the Final Four at Louisville, Kentucky, UCLA had a two-point lead at halftime over #11 Drake and won 85–82 to advance to the championship game against sixth-ranked Purdue. Wooden graduated from Purdue in 1932, after earning All-American honors as a guard on the school's basketball team that he captained during his junior and senior years. The Boilermakers won two Big Ten titles and the 1932 national championship during his years there. Wooden also played baseball during his freshman year.

The "Money Man", John Vallely, scored 29 points and Alcindor had 25 points at the semi-final game. Alcindor scored 37 points with 20 rebounds in the championship game.^[5]

Players[]

1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
C	33	Lew Alcindor	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	New York, New York
F/C	52	John Ecker	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	So	Los Angeles, California
	34	George Farmer	—	—
G	22	Kenny Heitz	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Sr	Santa Monica, CA
F	34	Jim Nielsen	—	—
C	32	Steve Patterson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Riverside, California
F	30	Curtis Rowe	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Bessemer, Alabama
G	25	Don Saffer	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—
G	42	Terry Schofield	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	So	Los Angeles, California
F	54	Bill Seibert	—	—
F	53	Lynn Shackelford	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Burbank, CA
G	45	Bill Sweek	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Sr	Pasadena, CA
G	40	John Vallely	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Newport, California
	44	Lee Walczuk	—	—
F	35	Sidney Wicks	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Los Angeles, California

Head coach

John Wooden (Purdue)

Assistant coach(es)

Denny Crum (UCLA)
Gary Cunningham (UCLA)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule[]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
November 30, 1968	No. 1	No. 10 Purdue	W 94–82	1–0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
December 6, 1968*	No. 1	at No. 13 Ohio State	W 84–73	2–0	St. John Arena Columbus, OH
December 7, 1968*	No. 1	at No. 5 Notre Dame	W 88–75	3–0	Athletic & Convocation Center Notre Dame, IN
December 20, 1968*	No. 1	Minnesota	W 90–51	4–0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
December 21, 1968*	No. 1	West Virginia	W 95–56	5–0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
December 27, 1968*	No. 1	vs. Providence ECAC Holiday Festival	W 98–81	6–0	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
December 28, 1968*	No. 1	vs. Princeton ECAC Holiday Festival	W 83–67	7–0	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
December 30, 1968*	No. 1	at St. John's ECAC Holiday Festival	W 74–56	8–0	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
January 4, 1969*	No. 1	Tulane	W 96–64	9–0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
January 10, 1969	No. 1	at Oregon	W 93–64	10–0 (1-0)	McArthur Court Eugene, OR
January 11, 1969	No. 1	at Oregon State	W 83–64	11–0 (2-0)	Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR
January 18, 1969*	No. 1	Houston	W 100–64	12–0	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
January 24, 1969*	No. 1	vs. Northwestern	W 81–67	13–0	Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL
January 25, 1969*	No. 1	at Loyola–Chicago	W 84–65	14–0	Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL
January 31, 1969	No. 1	California	W 109–74	15–0 (3–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 1, 1969	No. 1	Stanford	W 98–61	16–0 (4–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 7, 1969	No. 1	Washington	W 62–51	17–0 (5–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 8, 1969	No. 1	Washington State	W 108–80	18–0 (6–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 15, 1969	No. 1	at Washington State	W 83–59	19–0 (7–0)	Bohler Gymnasium Pullman, WA
February 17, 1969	No. 1	at Washington	W 53–44	20–0 (8–0)	Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA
February 21, 1969	No. 1	Oregon State	W 91–66	21–0 (9–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 22, 1969	No. 1	Oregon	W 103–69	22–0 (10–0)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 28, 1969	No. 1	at Stanford	W 81–60	23–0 (11–0)	Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
March 1, 1969	No. 1	at California	W 84–77	24–0 (12–0)	Harmon Gym Berkeley, CA
March 7, 1969	No. 1	at USC	W 61–55 ^2OT	25–0 (13–0)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
March 8, 1969	No. 1	USC	L 44–46	25–1 (13–1)	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 13, 1969*	No. 1	No. 12 New Mexico State Regional Semifinal	W 53–38	26–1	Pauley Pavilion (12,817^[6]) Los Angeles, CA
March 15, 1969* 3:05 pm	No. 1	No. 3 Santa Clara Regional Final	W 90–53	27–1	Pauley Pavilion (12,812^[7]) Los Angeles, CA
March 20, 1969* 7:30 pm, NBC	No. 1	vs. No. 11 Drake National Semifinal	W 85–82	28–1	Freedom Hall (18,435^[8]) Louisville, KY
March 22, 1969* 1:15 pm, NBC	No. 1	vs. No. 6 Purdue National Final	W 92–72	29–1	Freedom Hall (18,669^[9]) Louisville, KY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific time.

Source:^[10]

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	Not released
Coaches	Not released	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Notes[]

Three consecutive national championships for the Bruins, five in six years.
This was the first year in which the Athletic Association of Western Universities officially adopted the name Pacific-8 Conference, although that name had been used unofficially since the 1964–65 season after Oregon and Oregon State joined the conference.
USC, after losing a 61–55 double-overtime game to UCLA at the Sports Arena the night before, defeated the Bruins, 46–44, at Pauley Pavilion with a slowdown game. The Trojans' win ended four extended winning streaks by the Bruins:^[11]
- 51 games in Pauley Pavilion.
- 41 overall.
- 45 in AAWU/Pac-8 play.
- 17 over USC.
Last season for the 7-foot-1 and 1/2-inch center Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), who led the Bruins to an overall three-year record (1967–1969) of 88–2, and is the only player in history to be named three-time NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. In 1969, Alcindor earned the first ever Naismith Trophy, given to the nation's top player.
On the 40th anniversary, the team was honored at halftime of UCLA's Senior Day game, March 7, 2009, at Pauley Pavilion.
Lew Alcindor's father played trombone with the UCLA band during the championship game.^[12]
This team was honored at the January 26, 2019 game against Arizona on its 50th anniversary.

Awards and honors[]

Lew Alcindor, NCAA Basketball Tournament MOP (1969)
Lew Alcindor, Naismith College Player of the Year^[13]
Lew Alcindor, Helms Foundation Player of the Year award
Lew Alcindor, First Team All-American

Team players drafted into the NBA[]

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Team
1	1	Lew Alcindor	Milwaukee Bucks
1	3	Lucius Allen	Seattle SuperSonics
5	48	Kenny Heitz	Milwaukee Bucks
7	85	Bill Sweek	Phoenix Suns
7	90	Lynn Shackelford	San Diego Rockets

Source:^[14]

References[]

^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ Official Collegiate Basketball Guide
^ "SC snaps Bruins' streak". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 9, 1969. p. 1B.
^ "Fresh hope rises after Bruin loss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 10, 1969. p. 15.
^ 1964 and 1965 NCAA Championship Teams to be Honored Archived 2009-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
^ Prugh, Jeff (14 March 1969). "Bruins Break Through Stall, Beat New Mexico, 53-38". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156219361.
^ Prugh, Jeff (16 March 1969). "It Was a Yawner for Lew, Bruins". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156125484.
^ Prugh, Jeff (21 March 1969). "Bruins Outgunned but Not Outscored". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156149520.
^ Prugh, Jeff (23 March 1969). "A DAY TO REMEMBER FOR LEW, BRUINS". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156132169.
^ "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
^ Jerry Crowe, "Mack Calvin waited it out with USC to beat UCLA", Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2009
^ Jeff Borzello, Top 16 college basketball teams of all time, cbssports.com, March 21, 2012
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2010-03-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

Media related to 1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball season at Wikimedia Commons
1968–69 UCLA Bruins at Sports-Reference.com

[1] "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.

[2] Official Collegiate Basketball Guide

[scsbst-3] "SC snaps Bruins' streak". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 9, 1969. p. 1B.

[fhrblos-4] "Fresh hope rises after Bruin loss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 10, 1969. p. 15.

[5] 1964 and 1965 NCAA Championship Teams to be Honored Archived 2009-01-30 at the Wayback Machine

[6] Prugh, Jeff (14 March 1969). "Bruins Break Through Stall, Beat New Mexico, 53-38". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156219361.

[7] Prugh, Jeff (16 March 1969). "It Was a Yawner for Lew, Bruins". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156125484.

[8] Prugh, Jeff (21 March 1969). "Bruins Outgunned but Not Outscored". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156149520.

[9] Prugh, Jeff (23 March 1969). "A DAY TO REMEMBER FOR LEW, BRUINS". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 156132169.

[10] "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.

[11] Jerry Crowe, "Mack Calvin waited it out with USC to beat UCLA", Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2009

[12] Jeff Borzello, Top 16 college basketball teams of all time, cbssports.com, March 21, 2012

[13] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[14] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2010-03-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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show v t UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Venues	Men's Gym (1932–1965) Pan-Pacific Auditorium (alternate; 1949–1959) Venice High School (1955–1956) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1959–1965; 2011–2012) Honda Center (2011–2012) Pauley Pavilion (1965–present)
Rivalries	Arizona Notre Dame USC (Crosstown Cup)
Culture & lore	Game of the Century UCLA High Post Offense Joe Bruin
People	Head coaches Retired numbers NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

1968–69 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 UCLA	13	–	1	.929	29	–	1	.967
Washington State	11	–	3	.786	18	–	8	.692
USC	8	–	6	.571	15	–	11	.577
Washington	6	–	8	.429	13	–	13	.500
Oregon	5	–	9	.357	13	–	13	.500
Oregon State	5	–	9	.357	12	–	14	.462
California	4	–	10	.286	12	–	13	.480
Stanford	4	–	10	.286	8	–	17	.320

As of April 15, 1968^[1]; Rankings from AP Poll