The 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in
single-elimination
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
play to determine the national champion of men's
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Division I college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
. It began on March 13, 1971, and ended with the championship game on March 27 in
Houston, Texas. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, coached by
John Wooden, won its fifth consecutive national title (its seventh all-time) with a 68–62 victory in the final game over
Villanova, coached by
Jack Kraft
John Jack Kraft (February 10, 1921 – August 28, 2014) was an American basketball coach who coached Villanova for 12 years, from 1961 through 1973. He compiled a 238–95 record (.715). Kraft led Villanova to the NCAA Tournament six times, ...
.
Howard Porter of Villanova was named the tournament's
Most Outstanding Player. However, Villanova's placement in the tournament was later vacated because it was found that Porter had signed with an agent prior to the competition. Having lost to undefeated, second-ranked Penn (coached by Dick Harter) twice before, Porter did not think they would make it past the regionals where third-ranked South Carolina was also in their path. However, Penn vanquished South Carolina by 15 points, then had their worst game of the year against Villanova in the East Regional final, losing 90–47. Villanova's first-place finish in the East Regional was relinquished to Penn, with the regional consolation game winner, Fordham (coached by
Digger Phelps
Richard Frederick "Digger" Phelps (born July 4, 1941) is an American former college basketball coach, most notably of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1971 to 1991. For 20 years, from 1993 to 2014, he served as an analyst on ESPN. He got the n ...
, a former Penn assistant coach), receiving second place.
Championship Game
UCLA was a heavy favorite over Villanova in the title game. But the Bruins did not cruise through the season in their accustomed fashion. They were severely threatened in their own conference (and backyard) by second-ranked USC, who lost only twice all season – both to UCLA. In addition, UCLA lost at Notre Dame and had several other close calls against Washington, Oregon, and Oregon State. In the West Regional final, the Bruins trailed Long Beach State by 11 points midway through the second half, and their star player
Sidney Wicks
Sidney Wicks (born September 19, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of California, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. Wicks was selected by the Portland ...
was on the bench with four personal fouls. But Wicks returned and avoided his fifth foul (and disqualification), and the Bruins rallied to take a 55–53 lead. With 20 seconds remaining, Wicks sank two clinching free throws and UCLA escaped 57–55.
In the national championship game, UCLA jumped out to an early lead, but star players
Sidney Wicks
Sidney Wicks (born September 19, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of California, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. Wicks was selected by the Portland ...
and
Curtis Rowe
Curtis Rowe, Jr. (born July 2, 1949) is an American retired basketball player.
A 6'7" forward from UCLA, Rowe was drafted by the Dallas Chaparrals in the 1971 ABA Draft and by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 1971 NBA Draft. Ro ...
struggled against Villanova's stingy zone defense. Only the outside shooting of
Henry Bibby
Charles Henry Bibby (born November 24, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Diego Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He a ...
and a career best 29 points from center
Steve Patterson kept the Bruins in the lead. In the meantime, Villanova stars
Howard Porter and
Chris Ford
Christopher Joseph Ford (born January 11, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He is known for making the first counted NBA three-point shot on October 12, 1979.
Amateur career
A 6-foot-5 (1.96 m) guard from ...
overcame early struggles to keep the Wildcats in the game. Midway through the second half, UCLA coach
John Wooden ordered the Bruins to go into a four-corner stall offense (there was no shot clock in college basketball in 1971), a tactic he rarely employed. Wooden said after the game he did so to bring Villanova out of their zone, and because he wanted to use the stage of the national championship game to show the NCAA that they should adopt a shot clock (something Wooden had long argued for). However, the tactic almost backfired as Villanova started forcing turnovers with an aggressive man-to-man defense. In addition, the stall took UCLA out of its offensive rhythm. Villanova closed the gap to 63–60 and had the ball with one minute to play. However, Porter missed a 15-foot off-balance jumper, Wicks grabbed the rebound, and UCLA made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to win 68–62.
In the national 3rd-place game, Western Kentucky defeated Kansas 77–75.
In a situation similar to Villanova's, Western Kentucky's placement in the tournament was vacated due to an NCAA investigation that showed Jim McDaniels had signed a professional contract and accepted money during the 1970–71 season. Western Kentucky would be found in violation twice more in the next 10 years, earning the school a "lack of institutional control" violation. This made the 1971 Final Four officially the first without a school from east of the Mississippi River. The 2021 Final Four is the first to actually have all four teams come from west of the Mississippi (Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA).
The total attendance for the tournament was 220,447, a new record. The crowd of 31,765 for the championship game was also a new record.
[Smith Barrier, "Unusual West Coast Watch Factory – They Don't Make Any, Just Win Them", ''1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide'', Published by College Athletics Publishing Service]
Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1971 tournament:
First round
*March 13
**East Region
***
Alumni Hall,
Jamaica, New York
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springf ...
***
WVU Coliseum
The WVU Coliseum is a 14,000-seat multi-purpose arena located on the Evansdale campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The circular arena features a poured concrete roof. It was built with state funds and replaced the W ...
,
Morgantown, West Virginia
***
The Palestra
The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 Sou ...
,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
**Mideast Region
***
Athletic & Convocation Center,
Notre Dame, Indiana
**Midwest Region
***
Hofheinz Pavilion
The Fertitta Center, formerly known as Hofheinz Pavilion, is a 7,100-seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston campus in Houston. Located at 3875 Holman Street, it is home to the Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams and ...
,
Houston, Texas
**West Region
***
USU Assembly Center,
Logan, Utah
Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
*March 18 and 20
**East Regional,
Reynolds Coliseum
William Neal Reynolds Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, on the campus of North Carolina State University. The arena was built to host a variety of events, including agricultural expositions and N ...
,
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...
**Mideast Regional,
Georgia Coliseum,
Athens, Georgia
Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...
**Midwest Regional,
Levitt Arena,
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
**West Regional,
Special Events Center,
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)
*March 25 and 27
**
Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
,
Houston, Texas
The city of Houston became the 10th host city, and the Astrodome the 11th host venue, to host the Final Four. It was the first time the Final Four was held in the state of Texas, and the first time the Final Four was held in a domed stadium (or, for that matter, in a baseball or football venue of any kind), though the trend would not take off until the usage of the
Louisiana Superdome
The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...
eleven years later. The tournament saw six new venues used besides the Astrodome. The Mideast regional brought the tournament to the state of Georgia for the first time, with games held at the Georgia Coliseum on the campus of the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
. For the second time, the tournament came to the campus of the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
, with the Special Events Center, a future Final Four venue, hosting games for the first time. The tournament came to West Virginia for the first time, with one of the three East sub-regional games held at the WVU Coliseum. In the Mideast sub-regional, the tournament came to its third new host city – South Bend, home of the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
and the Athletic & Convocation Center, just east of
Notre Dame Stadium
Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.
It was built in 1930 under the guidance of Knute Rockne, regarded as one of the greatest c ...
. In the Midwest sub-regional, the tournament began at the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...
's Hofheinz Pavilion, the on-campus home of the
Houston Cougars. To date, this marks the last time two different parts of the tournament were held in the same city. In the West sub-regional, the tournament came to Logan and the campus of
Utah State University
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...
for the first time, with games held at the USU Assembly Center (now known as the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum).
The tournament would mark the only time the Astrodome or the Georgia Coliseum were used. While Houston has continued to be a tournament host at various venues, this was the only time the tournament came to Athens. Houston would not host the Final Four again until
2011.
Teams
Bracket
* – Denotes overtime period
East region
Mideast region
Midwest region
West region
Final Four
Tournament notes
*
Jim McDaniels
James Ronald McDaniels (April 2, 1948 – September 6, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. McDaniels played collegiately for Western Kentucky University and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1971 American Basketball Associa ...
of Western Kentucky had 147 points, top scorer in the playoffs.
*
Austin Carr
Austin George Carr (born March 10, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and Washington Bullets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known by Cleveland ...
of Notre Dame scored 289 career tournament points in seven games.
* As a result of the Villanova’s forfeit to Penn, the 1971 Penn Quakers technically went undefeated but did not win the national championship. North Carolina State went undefeated in 1972–73 but did not win the national championship because they were on NCAA probation and were not eligible to participate in the NCAA tournament.
See also
*
1971 NCAA College Division basketball tournament
The 1971 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division college basketball as a culmination of the 1970-71 N ...
*
1971 National Invitation Tournament
The 1971 National Invitation Tournament was the 1971 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. 1971 was unique because it was the only time that major rivals Duke and North Carolina had played each other after the ACC tournament ...
*
1971 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 1971 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 34th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.
The championship game featured ...
*
1971 National Women's Invitation Tournament
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1971 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Ncaa
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Basketball in Houston
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 1971
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament