1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	South Carolina
NCAA Tournament	1970
Tournament dates	March 7 – 21, 1970
National Championship	Cole Field House; College Park, Maryland
NCAA Champions	UCLA
Helms National Champions	UCLA
Other champions	Marquette (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Naismith, Wooden)	Pete Maravich, LSU (Naismith)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Pete Maravich, LSU
NCAA Division I basketball seasons
«1968–69	1970–71»

The 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1969, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1970 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 21, 1970, at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland. The UCLA Bruins won their sixth NCAA national championship with an 80–69 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins.

Season headlines[]

UCLA won its fourth NCAA championship in a row, sixth overall, and sixth in seven seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its fourth of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
The Pacific Coast Athletic Association began play. It was renamed the Big West Conference in 1988.
LSU’s Pete Maravich established several NCAA records during his career. Two of the most notable came during this season — single-season scoring average (44.5, besting his 44.2 average from the prior season) and career scoring (3,667). In addition to leading the NCAA in scoring for the third consecutive season, Maravich was named a consensus first-team All-American and SEC Player of the Year for the third time.

Season outlook[]

Pre-season polls[]

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[3]^[4]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	South Carolina
2	Kentucky
3	Purdue
4	UCLA
5	Davidson
6	New Mexico State
7	North Carolina
8	Marquette
9	Villanova
10	Colorado
11	Duquesne
12	Santa Clara
13	Notre Dame
14	St. John's
15	Louisville
16	USC
17	St. Bonaventure
18	Ohio State
19	Drake
20	Houston

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	UCLA
2	South Carolina
3	Kentucky
4	Purdue
5	New Mexico State
6	Colorado
7	North Carolina
8	Davidson
9	USC
10	Duquesne
11	Santa Clara
12	Kansas
13	Marquette
14	St. John's
15	Villanova
16	St. Bonaventure
17 (tie)	Arizona
17 (tie)	New Mexico
19	Louisville
20	La Salle

Conference membership changes[]

School	Former Conference	New Conference
Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles	non-University Division	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Colorado State Rams	NCAA University Division independent	Western Athletic Conference
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Fresno Bulldogs	non-University Division	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Hofstra Flying Dutchmen	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	Middle Atlantic Conference
Iona Gaels	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Long Beach State 49ers	non-University Division	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Long Island Sharks	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Manhattan Jaspers	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Marshall Thundering Herd	Mid-American Conference	University Division independent
Nevada Wolfpack	non-University Division	West Coast Athletic Conference
UNLV Runnin' Rebels	non-University Division	West Coast Athletic Conference
Saint Peter's Peacocks	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent
San Diego State Aztecs	non-University Division	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
San Jose State Spartans	West Coast Athletic Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	West Coast Athletic Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Seton Hall Seton Hall	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent
UTEP Miners	NCAA University Division independent	Western Athletic Conference
Wagner Seahawks	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	non-NCAA University Division

Regular season[]

Conference winners and tournaments[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner^[5]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	South Carolina	John Roche, South Carolina^[6]	1970 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	NC State
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Dave Robisch, Kansas^[7]	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Iowa	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Penn	None selected	No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	, Bowling Green^[8]	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	St. Joseph's (East); Lafayette, Lehigh, & Rider (West)		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Drake	Jim Ard, Cincinnati	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky	Jim McDaniels, Western Kentucky	No Tournament
Pacific 8 Conference	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Long Beach State	George Trapp, Long Beach State	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	Pete Maravich, LSU^[9]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Mike Maloy, Davidson^[10]	1970 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	Davidson^[11]
Southland Conference	Lamar	Kenny Haynes, Lamar^[12]	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	Rice	Gene Phillips, SMU	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Santa Clara	Dennis Awtrey, Santa Clara	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	UTEP	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut & 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	Penn	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders[]

Post-Season Tournaments[]

NCAA Tournament[]

Final Four[]

National Semifinals			National Finals

E	St. Bonaventure	83

ME	Jacksonville	91
			ME	Jacksonville	69

			W	UCLA	80
MW	New Mexico State	77

W	UCLA	93

Third Place – New Mexico State 79, St. Bonaventure 73

National Invitation Tournament[]

Semifinals & Finals[]

Semifinals			Finals

	Army	59

	St. John's	60
				St. John's	53

				Marquette	65
	Marquette	101

	LSU	79

Third Place – Army 75, LSU 68

Awards[]

Consensus All-American teams[]

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Dan Issel	F/C	Senior	Kentucky
Bob Lanier	C	Senior	St. Bonaventure
Pete Maravich	G/F	Senior	Louisiana State
Rick Mount	G/F	Senior	Purdue
Calvin Murphy	G	Senior	Niagara

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Austin Carr	G	Junior	Notre Dame
Jim Collins	G	Senior	New Mexico State
John Roche	G	Junior	South Carolina
Charlie Scott	F	Senior	North Carolina
Sidney Wicks	F	Junior	UCLA

Major player of the year awards[]

Naismith Award: Pete Maravich, LSU
Helms Player of the Year: Pete Maravich, LSU
Associated Press Player of the Year: Pete Maravich, LSU
UPI Player of the Year: Pete Maravich, LSU
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Pete Maravich, LSU
Sporting News Player of the Year: Pete Maravich, LSU

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: Adolph Rupp, Kentucky

Other major awards[]

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): John Rinka, Kenyon
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Ken Durrett, La Salle
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
Hardin–Simmons	Paul Lambert
Kansas State	Cotton Fitzsimmons	Jack Hartman
Oklahoma State	Henry Iba	Sam Aubrey
St. John's	Lou Carnesecca
Southern Illinois	Jack Hartman	Paul Lambert

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.
^ 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.

[ESPN-3] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[4] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[5] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.

[6] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14

[7] 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04

[8] 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14

[9] 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06

[10] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

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

[12] 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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