1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
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Preseason AP No. 1 | NC State[1][2] |
NCAA Tournament | 1975 |
Tournament dates | March 15 – 31, 1975 |
National Championship | San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California |
NCAA Champions | UCLA |
Helms National Champions | UCLA |
Other champions | Princeton Tigers (NIT) |
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden) | David Thompson, NC State |
Player of the Year (Helms) | David Thompson, NC State |
The 1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1974, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1975 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 31, 1975, at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The UCLA Bruins won their tenth NCAA national championship with a 92–85 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Season headlines
[edit]- The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament expanded from 40 to 48 teams.[3]
- For the first time, teams other than the conference champion could be chosen at large from the same conference for the NCAA tournament. However, no more than two teams from any one conference could be chosen for the tournament until 1980.[4]
- In a 1975 Cleveland Plain Dealer article, sportswriter Ed Chay used the term "final four" to refer to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, giving rise to a myth that this was the first such use of the term.[4][5] In fact, the term "final four" already was in use in the 1960s.[6][7]
- In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its ninth of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
Season outlook
[edit]Pre-season polls
[edit]The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[8][9]
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Conference membership changes
[edit]Regular season
[edit]Conference winners and tournaments
[edit]From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1975 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1975 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.[10]
Informal championships
[edit]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
[edit]Post-season tournaments
[edit]NCAA tournament
[edit]Final Four
[edit]National semifinals | National finals | ||||||||
E | Syracuse | 79 | |||||||
ME | Kentucky | 95 | |||||||
ME | Kentucky | 85 | |||||||
W | UCLA | 92 | |||||||
ME | Louisville | 74 | |||||||
MW | UCLA | 75 |
- Third Place – Louisville 96, Syracuse 88
National Invitation tournament
[edit]Semifinals & finals
[edit]Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
Providence | 85 | ||||||||
St. John's | 72 | ||||||||
Providence | 69 | ||||||||
Princeton | 80 | ||||||||
Oregon | 79 | ||||||||
Princeton | 58 |
- Third Place – Oregon 80, St. John's 76
Awards
[edit]Consensus All-American teams
[edit]Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Adrian Dantley | F | Sophomore | Notre Dame |
John Lucas | G | Junior | Maryland |
Scott May | F | Junior | Indiana |
Dave Meyers | F | Senior | UCLA |
David Thompson | G/F | Senior | North Carolina State |
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Luther Burden | G | Junior | Utah |
Leon Douglas | F/C | Junior | Alabama |
Kevin Grevey | G | Senior | Kentucky |
Ron Lee | G | Junior | Oregon |
Gus Williams | G | Senior | Southern California |
Major player of the year awards
[edit]- Naismith Award: David Thompson, NC State
- Helms Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State
- Associated Press Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State
- UPI Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State
- NABC Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State
- Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): David Thompson, NC State
- Adolph Rupp Trophy: David Thompson, NC State
- Sporting News Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State
Major coach of the year awards
[edit]- Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana
- Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Bob Knight, Indiana
- NABC Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana
- UPI Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana
- Sporting News Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana
Other major awards
[edit]- Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Monte Towe, NC State
- Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Ron Haigler, Penn
- NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Phil Sellers, Rutgers
Coaching changes
[edit]A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
Team | Former Coach |
Interim Coach |
New Coach |
Reason |
---|---|---|---|---|
Army | Dan Dougherty | Mike Krzyzewski | ||
Hardin–Simmons | Russell Berry | Preston Vice | ||
Illinois | Gene Bartow | Lou Henson | Bartow left for UCLA and was replaced by New Mexico State coach Lou Henson. | |
New Mexico State | Lou Henson | Ken Hayes | ||
Tulsa | Ken Hayes | Jim King | ||
UCLA | John Wooden | Gene Bartow | Wooden announced his retirement during the 1975 Final Four, where he won his record tenth NCAA title. He was replaced by Illinois head coach Bartow. |
References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ "Burnsed, Brian, "A Brief History of Men's College Basketball," Champion, Fall 2018 Accessed April 6, 2021". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ a b "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ Lubinger, Bill (March 14, 2011). "Interested in making some profit from the Final Four? That's just March Madness (for your lawyers)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
Was a mere passing reference by Ed Chay, the late Plain Dealer sportswriter, in a story he wrote on page 5 of the 1975 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide. 'Outspoken Al McGuire of Marquette, whose team was one of the final four in Greensboro, was among several coaches who said it was good for college basketball that UCLA was finally beaten,' Chay wrote. Previously, it was erroneously reported that the first capitalized use of 'Final Four' was in the NCAA's 1978 basketball guide, when (as shown above) Final Four was in capitalized use at least by 1966.
- ^ Terre Haute Tribune Star (June 17, 1962). "Butler to Play Buckeye Cagers". Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ Mayer, Bill (December 26, 1966). "Sport Talk". Lawrence Daily Journal World. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
- ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
- ^ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01
- ^ 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