The 1974–75 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represented the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

during the 1974–75 NCAA Division I basketball season. Charter members of the Big Sky Conference, the Grizzlies were led by fourth-year head coach

Jud Heathcote George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote (May 27, 1927 – August 28, 2017) was an American basketball player and coach. He was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at the Montana Grizzlies basketball, University of Montana and nineteen ...

and played their home games on campus at Adams Fieldhouse in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...

. They finished the regular season at 20–6, with a record in conference to win the title (by four games) and earned a berth in the expanded 32-team NCAA tournament. This season was the last for the Big Sky without a conference tournament; Montana's sole conference loss was on the road to defending champion

Idaho State Idaho State University (ISU) is a public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations in Meridian, Idaho ...

. In the opening round of the NCAA tournament at

Pullman, Washington Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

, Montana surprised Utah State and won by six points. It was a homecoming for Heathcote, an alumnus of

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

and former assistant coach, so the Griz had plenty of support in the arena among the locals and traveling Montana supporters. With the win, Montana advanced to the Sweet Sixteen at the West Regional in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, and met second-ranked

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 ...

. In a game that went down to the last seconds, the Bruins won by just three points; they went on to win the national championship in

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 ...

's final season as head coach. Montana lost the third-place game to

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

by eight points to finish the season at . Two seniors were on the all-conference team, center Ken McKenzie and

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term "swingman" (a.k.a. "wing" or "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positi ...

Eric Hays; freshman guard

Micheal Ray Richardson Michael Ray Richardson (born April 11, 1955), known as Micheal Ray Richardson, is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA dr ...

was honorable mention. Richardson was all-conference the next three years, the fourth overall selection of the

1978 NBA draft The 1978 NBA draft was the 32nd annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1978, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York, before the 1978–79 NBA season, 1978–79 season. In this dr ...

, and a four-time NBA All-Star.

Postseason results

, - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

References

External links

Sports Reference
– Montana Grizzlies: 1974–75 basketball season {{DEFAULTSORT:1974-75 Montana Grizzlies basketball team Montana Grizzlies basketball seasons

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...