The 1963–64 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won its first NCAA National Basketball Championship under head coach John R. Wooden in his 16th year at UCLA. Assistant coach Jerry Norman convinced a reluctant Wooden to use the

zone press A full-court press is a basketball term for a defensive style in which the defense applies pressure to the offensive team the entire length of the court before and after the inbound pass. Pressure may be applied Man-to-man defense, man-to-man, or ...

, which the team had never utilized before. The press quickened the pace of the game and was influential in the first two national titles won by the Bruins, who were undersized. In the national title game, the Bruins defeated

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, coached by

Vic Bubas Victor Albert Bubas (January 28, 1927 – April 16, 2018) was an American college basketball coach for Duke University and the first commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference.

, by the score of 98–83.

Walt Hazzard Mahdi Abdul-Rahman (born Walter Raphael Hazzard Jr.; April 15, 1942 – November 18, 2011) was an American professional basketball player and college basketball coach. He played in college for the UCLA Bruins and was a member of their first natio ...

of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. It was the team's 30th consecutive win, played before 10,684 fans in Municipal Auditorium,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, March 21, 1964. High scorers were

Gail Goodrich Gail Charles Goodrich Jr. (born April 23, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is best known for scoring a then record 42 points for UCLA in the 1965 NCAA championship game vs ...

, 27 points; Kenny Washington, 26;

Jack Hirsch Jack Hirsch (born ) is an American former college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins. He was the starting forward on the Bruins' national championship team in 1964, when he served as co-captain along with Walt Hazzard. Hirsch also earned al ...

, 13; and Hazzard, 11. Hazzard, Keith Erickson and Duke's Jeff Mullins fouled out of the game. In the semi-final game, Erickson and Hazzard scored 28 and 19 points respectively to help UCLA to defeat

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

90–84 on March 20.

Roster

Schedule

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#;", NCAA Tournament Source

Notes

* In the Los Angeles Basketball Classic, UCLA defeated then third-ranked

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, 98–80 in front of 14,241 in the

Sports Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances or sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may ...

. * The half time National Championship game score was UCLA 50, Duke 38. * Duke's height was no advantage. Duke had two 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m) players — Hack Tison and Jay Buckley. * By winning the Championships, six Bruins automatically qualified for trials on the United States Olympic basketball team. * Hazzard received All-American honors for the second consecutive season, and was named the nation's Player of the Year by the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

. * Hazzard finished the season with 1,401 points, the all-time leading scorer. * Goodrich and Hirsch were named All-AAWU first team.1964 and 1965 NCAA Championship Teams to be Honored
* Wooden was the UPI's Coach of the Year for the first time. * The team will be inducted into the

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

as part of the Class of 2020 in 2021.

Draft list

was number 1 draft pick in the NBA draft of 1964 by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

References

External links

1963–64 UCLA Bruins
at Sports-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1963-64 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

Ucla Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

UCLA Bruins men's basketball seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

Ucla The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees