The 1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1968, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the

1969 NCAA University Division basketball tournament The 1969 NCAA University Division men's basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1969, and ended with the championship game on March ...

championship game on March 22, 1969, at

Freedom Hall Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Kentucky State Fair Board. It is best known for its use as a basketball arena, previously serving as the home ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. The

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 ...

won their fifth NCAA national championship with a 92–72 victory over the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

Season headlines

* The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP)

Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

returned to a Top 20 format, expanding from the Top 10 format it used from the 1961–62 season through the 1967–68 season. It previously had used a Top 20 format from its inception in the 1948–49 season through the 1960–61 season. * On December 7, 1968, Calvin Murphy of Niagara scored 68 points in a game against

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, setting the record for points scored by a single player against an

NCAA University Division The NCAA University Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at the highest level of college sports. The University Division was first established as a basis ...

(later

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

) opponent. His record stood until February 1970, when

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. He starred in college at Louisiana State University's Tigers basketball team; his father, Press Mar ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

scored 69 points in a game against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. * The NCAA tournament expanded from 23 to 25 teams. *

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 ...

won its third NCAA championship in a row, fifth overall, and fifth in six seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its third of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles. * The Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), informally known as the "Pacific 8," formally renamed itself the Pacific 8 Conference. It became the Pacific 10 Conference in 1978 and the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

in 2011. * The Southland Conference, founded in 1963, began

-level play. * The NCAA tournament's

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

games were played on Thursday and Saturday for the first time. * Lew Alcindor of

became the first three-time

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

. He previously had been the tournament's Most Outstanding Player in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

. * The Metropolitan Collegiate Conference was dissolved at the end of the season.

Pre-season polls

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and

Coaches Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has ...

during the pre-season.

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference standings

University Division independents

A total of 56 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, (24–4) had the best

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

(.857). Boston College, Marquette (24–5), and (24–5) finished with the most wins.

Informal championships

La Salle finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

* Naismith Award: Lew Alcindor,

* Helms Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA * Associated Press Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA * UPI Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA *

Oscar Robertson Trophy The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season, 19 ...

(

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 ...

* ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA

Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year:

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...

Henry Iba Award The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...

(

): John Wooden, UCLA *

NABC Coach of the Year The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. ...

: John Wooden, UCLA * UPI Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA * ''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA

Other major awards

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...

(Best player under 6'0): Billy Keller,

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

* Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in

Philadelphia Big 5 The Philadelphia Big 5, known simply as the "Big 5", is an association of six college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’ ...

): Ken Durrett, La Salle, & Howard Porter, Villanova * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

metro area):

Jim McMillian James M. McMillian (March 11, 1948 – May 16, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. After starring at Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, McMillian played college basketball for the Columbia Lions. He led Columbia to a t ...

, Columbia

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

References

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