1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

(Redirected from 1967–68 NCAA Division I men's basketball season) Men's collegiate basketball season

1967–68 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA
NCAA Tournament	1968
Tournament dates	March 8 – 23, 1968
National Championship	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California
NCAA Champions	UCLA
Helms National Champions	UCLA
Other champions	Dayton (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Lew Alcindor, UCLA
← 1966–67 1968–69 →

The 1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1967, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1968, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their fourth NCAA national championship with a 78–55 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Rule changes

The slam dunk — criticized as a move that rewards height rather than skill — is prohibited in NCAA basketball both during games and during pre-game warm-ups. It will not become legal again until the 1976–77 season.

Season headlines

Marketed as the "Game of the Century," a meeting of the Houston Cougars and the UCLA Bruins on January 20, 1968, was the first college basketball game televised nationwide in prime time in the United States. Syndicated by the TVS Television Network with Dick Enberg as play-by-play announcer and Bob Pettit providing color commentary, the broadcast established college basketball as a sports commodity on American television and paved the way for the television coverage of the NCAA tournament known today.
UCLA won its second NCAA championship in a row, fourth overall, and fourth in five seasons. In the Athletic Association of Western Universities, it also won its second of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
The National Invitation Tournament expanded from 14 to 16 teams.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and Top 20 from the Coaches Poll during the pre-season.

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	UCLA
2	Houston
3	Louisville
4	North Carolina
5	Kansas
6	Dayton
7	Boston College
8	Princeton
9	Vanderbilt
10	Davidson

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	UCLA
2	Houston
3	Kansas
4	Louisville
5	North Carolina
6	Dayton
7	Boston College
8	Princeton
9	Vanderbilt
10	Tennessee
11	Indiana
12	Davidson
13	Cincinnati
14	UTEP
15 (tie)	Loyola-Chicago
	St. John's
	Wyoming
18	Marquette
19 (tie)	Duke
19 (tie)	Niagara

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Memphis State Tigers	NCAA University Division independent	Missouri Valley Conference
NYU Violets	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conference

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Larry Miller, North Carolina	1968 ACC men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Donald Smith, Iowa State	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Iowa & Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Columbia	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	St. Peter's		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green State	Fred Foster, Miami (OH)	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	La Salle		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Drake & Louisville	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	East Tennessee State & Murray State	Wayne Chapman, Western Kentucky, & Skeeter Swift, East Tennessee State	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	Pete Maravich, LSU	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Ron Williams, West Virginia	1968 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	Davidson
Southwest Conference	TCU	Billy Arnold, Texas	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Santa Clara	Rick Adelman, Loyola (Calif.)	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	New Mexico	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Massachusetts & Rhode Island	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1967–68 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 UCLA	14	–	0	1.000	29	–	1	.967
USC	11	–	3	.786	18	–	8	.692
Washington State	8	–	6	.571	16	–	9	.640
California	7	–	7	.500	16	–	9	.640
Oregon State	5	–	9	.357	12	–	13	.480
Stanford	5	–	9	.357	11	–	15	.423
Washington	4	–	10	.286	12	–	14	.462
Oregon	2	–	12	.143	7	–	19	.269

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 North Carolina †	12	–	2	.857	28	–	4	.875
No. 10 Duke	11	–	3	.786	22	–	6	.786
NC State	9	–	5	.643	16	–	10	.615
South Carolina	9	–	5	.643	15	–	7	.682
Virginia	5	–	9	.357	9	–	16	.360
Maryland	4	–	10	.286	8	–	16	.333
Clemson	3	–	11	.214	4	–	20	.167
Wake Forest	3	–	11	.214	5	–	21	.192

† 1968 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Kansas State	11	–	3	.786	19	–	9	.679
Kansas	10	–	4	.714	22	–	8	.733
Nebraska	8	–	6	.571	15	–	10	.600
Oklahoma	8	–	6	.571	13	–	13	.500
Iowa State	8	–	6	.571	12	–	13	.480
Missouri	5	–	9	.357	10	–	16	.385
Oklahoma State	3	–	11	.214	10	–	16	.385
Colorado	3	–	11	.214	9	–	16	.360

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Big Sky men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Weber State	12	–	3	.800	21	–	6	.778
Idaho	9	–	3	.750	15	–	11	.577
Idaho State	7	–	8	.467	13	–	13	.500
Montana State	6	–	9	.400	10	–	15	.400
Gonzaga	6	–	9	.400	9	–	17	.346
Montana	5	–	10	.333	8	–	17	.320

1967–68 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Ohio State	10	–	4	.714	21	–	8	.724
Iowa	10	–	4	.714	16	–	9	.640
Purdue	9	–	5	.643	15	–	9	.625
Northwestern	8	–	6	.571	13	–	10	.565
Wisconsin	7	–	7	.500	13	–	11	.542
Michigan State	6	–	8	.429	12	–	12	.500
Illinois	6	–	8	.429	11	–	13	.458
Michigan	6	–	8	.429	11	–	13	.458
Indiana	4	–	10	.286	10	–	14	.417
Minnesota	4	–	10	.286	7	–	17	.292

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Ivy League men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 7 Columbia†	12	–	2	.857	23	–	5	.821
Princeton	12	–	2	.857	20	–	6	.769
Yale	8	–	6	.571	15	–	9	.625
Cornell	6	–	8	.429	14	–	11	.560
Dartmouth	6	–	8	.429	8	–	18	.308
Brown	4	–	10	.286	9	–	16	.360
Pennsylvania	4	–	10	.286	9	–	17	.346
Harvard	4	–	10	.286	7	–	14	.333

† Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Metropolitan Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Saint Peter's	8	–	0	1.000	24	–	4	.857
LIU	7	–	1	.875	22	–	2	.917
Wagner	5	–	3	.625	21	–	8	.724
Iona	4	–	4	.500	13	–	9	.591
Fairleigh Dickinson	4	–	4	.500	10	–	12	.455
Seton Hall	4	–	4	.500	9	–	15	.375
Manhattan	3	–	5	.375	8	–	14	.364
Hofstra	1	–	7	.125	13	–	12	.520
St. Francis (NY)	0	–	8	.000	7	–	16	.304


Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Bowling Green State	10	–	2	.833	18	–	7	.720
Marshall	9	–	3	.750	17	–	8	.680
Toledo	8	–	4	.667	16	–	8	.667
Western Michigan	5	–	7	.417	11	–	13	.458
Miami (Ohio)	4	–	8	.333	11	–	12	.478
Kent State	3	–	9	.250	9	–	15	.375
Ohio	3	–	9	.250	7	–	16	.304

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 MAC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
La Salle†	8	–	0	1.000	20	–	8	.714
Delaware	7	–	2	.778	16	–	7	.696
American	5	–	2	.714	14	–	12	.538
Temple	5	–	3	.625	19	–	9	.679
Saint Joseph's	2	–	2	.500	17	–	9	.654
Lehigh	5	–	5	.500	12	–	11	.522
Gettysburg	5	–	6	.455	14	–	11	.560
Bucknell	4	–	6	.400	12	–	11	.522
Rider	1	–	6	.143	9	–	15	.375
Lafayette	1	–	11	.083	5	–	19	.208

† Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 9 Louisville	14	–	2	.875	21	–	7	.750
Bradley	12	–	4	.750	19	–	9	.679
Cincinnati	11	–	5	.688	18	–	8	.692
Drake	9	–	7	.563	18	–	8	.692
Saint Louis	9	–	7	.563	15	–	11	.577
Wichita State	7	–	9	.438	12	–	14	.462
Tulsa	5	–	11	.313	11	–	12	.478
North Texas State	3	–	13	.188	8	–	18	.308
Memphis State	2	–	14	.125	8	–	17	.320

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East Tennessee State	10	–	4	.714	19	–	8	.704
Murray State	10	–	4	.714	16	–	8	.667
Western Kentucky	9	–	5	.643	18	–	7	.720
Morehead State	8	–	6	.571	12	–	9	.571
Middle Tennessee	7	–	7	.500	15	–	9	.625
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	8	.429	10	–	14	.417
Tennessee Tech	4	–	10	.286	10	–	16	.385
Austin Peay State	2	–	12	.143	8	–	16	.333

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 5 Kentucky	15	–	3	.833	22	–	5	.815
Tennessee	13	–	5	.722	20	–	6	.769
Vanderbilt	12	–	6	.667	20	–	6	.769
Georgia	11	–	7	.611	17	–	8	.680
Florida	11	–	7	.611	15	–	10	.600
LSU	8	–	10	.444	14	–	12	.538
Auburn	8	–	10	.444	13	–	13	.500
Mississippi State	5	–	13	.278	9	–	17	.346
Ole Miss	4	–	14	.222	7	–	17	.292
Alabama	3	–	15	.167	10	–	16	.385

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 8 Davidson †	9	–	1	.900	24	–	5	.828
West Virginia	9	–	2	.818	19	–	9	.679
The Citadel	6	–	5	.545	11	–	14	.440
VMI	8	–	7	.533	9	–	12	.429
Furman	6	–	6	.500	13	–	14	.481
Richmond	8	–	8	.500	12	–	13	.480
East Carolina	6	–	7	.462	9	–	16	.360
William & Mary	4	–	10	.286	6	–	18	.250
George Washington	2	–	12	.143	5	–	19	.208

† 1968 Southern Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
TCU	9	–	5	.643	15	–	11	.577
Baylor	8	–	6	.571	15	–	9	.625
Texas A&M	8	–	6	.571	14	–	10	.583
Texas	8	–	6	.571	11	–	13	.458
Arkansas	7	–	7	.500	10	–	14	.417
Rice	6	–	8	.429	8	–	16	.333
Texas Tech	5	–	9	.357	9	–	15	.375
SMU	5	–	9	.357	6	–	18	.250

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Santa Clara	11	–	1	.917	22	–	4	.846
Loyola (Calif.)	10	–	2	.833	19	–	6	.760
San Francisco	8	–	4	.667	16	–	10	.615
San Jose State		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Pacific	5	–	7	.417	17	–	9	.654
UC Santa Barbara	3	–	9	.250	9	–	17	.346
Saint Mary's	3	–	9	.250	4	–	20	.167
Pepperdine	2	–	10	.167	9	–	17	.346

Rankings from AP poll

1967–68 WAC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 6 New Mexico	8	–	2	.800	23	–	5	.821
Wyoming	5	–	5	.500	18	–	9	.667
Utah	5	–	5	.500	17	–	9	.654
BYU	4	–	6	.400	13	–	12	.520
Arizona	4	–	6	.400	11	–	13	.458
Arizona State	4	–	6	.400	11	–	17	.393

Rankings from AP Poll

1967–68 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Rhode Island	8	–	2	.800	15	–	11	.577
Massachusetts	8	–	2	.800	14	–	11	.560
Connecticut	7	–	3	.700	11	–	13	.458
Vermont	5	–	5	.500	12	–	12	.500
Maine	2	–	8	.200	7	–	17	.292
New Hampshire	0	–	10	.000	1	–	22	.043

University Division independents

A total of 53 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Houston (31–2) had both the best winning percentage (.939) and the most wins.

1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Houston		–		–	31	–	2	.939
No. 3 St. Bonaventure		–		–	23	–	2	.920
Army		–		–	20	–	5	.800
Marquette		–		–	23	–	6	.793
New Mexico State		–		–	23	–	6	.793
St. Francis (PA)		–		–	19	–	6	.760
Oklahoma City		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Duquesne		–		–	18	–	7	.720
Florida State		–		–	19	–	8	.704
Fordham		–		–	19	–	8	.704
St. John's		–		–	19	–	8	.704
Dayton		–		–	21	–	9	.700
Notre Dame		–		–	21	–	9	.700
Boston College		–		–	17	–	8	.680
Villanova		–		–	19	–	9	.679
Holy Cross		–		–	15	–	8	.652
Loyola Chicago		–		–	15	–	9	.625
Fairfield		–		–	16	–	10	.615
Texas Western		–		–	14	–	9	.609
Miami (FL)		–		–	17	–	11	.607
Rutgers		–		–	14	–	10	.583
Utah State		–		–	14	–	11	.560
VPI		–		–	14	–	11	.560
Southern Illinois		–		–	13	–	11	.542
DePaul		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Detroit		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Seattle		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Jacksonville		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Niagara		–		–	12	–	12	.500
Tulane		–		–	12	–	12	.500
Penn State		–		–	10	–	10	.500
Georgia Tech		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Georgetown		–		–	11	–	12	.478
West Texas State		–		–	10	–	11	.476
Colorado State		–		–	11	–	13	.458
Navy		–		–	9	–	11	.450
Butler		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Denver		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Loyola (LA)		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Providence		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Syracuse		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Boston University		–		–	10	–	14	.417
Northern Illinois		–		–	10	–	14	.417
Colgate		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Hardin–Simmons		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Xavier		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Air Force		–		–	9	–	15	.375
NYU		–		–	8	–	16	.333
Creighton		–		–	8	–	17	.320
Pittsburgh		–		–	7	–	15	.318
Canisius		–		–	7	–	17	.292
Portland		–		–	5	–	21	.192
Centenary		–		–	3	–	23	.115

Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Saint Joseph's	Johnny Jones, Villanova

Saint Joseph's finished with a 3–1 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021)

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1968 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

National semifinals			National finals

E	North Carolina	80

ME	Ohio State	66
			E	North Carolina	55

			W	UCLA	78
MW	Houston	69

W	UCLA	101	Third place


			ME	Ohio State	89

			MW	Houston	85

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1968 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals		Finals

Kansas	58

St. Peter's	46
		Kansas	48

		Dayton	61
Dayton	76

Notre Dame	74	Third place


		St. Peter's	78

		Notre Dame	81

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1968 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Lew Alcindor	C	Junior	UCLA
Elvin Hayes	F/C	Senior	Houston
Pete Maravich	G/F	Sophomore	Louisiana State
Larry Miller	F	Senior	North Carolina
Wes Unseld	C	Senior	Louisville

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Lucius Allen	G	Junior	UCLA
Bob Lanier	C	Sophomore	St. Bonaventure
Don May	G/F	Senior	Dayton
Calvin Murphy	G	Sophomore	Niagara
Jo Jo White	G	Junior	Kansas

Coaching changes

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021)

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

Team	Former Coach	New Coach
Bowling Green	Bill Fitch	Bob Conibear
Kansas State	Tex Winter	Cotton Fitzsimmons
Loyola (LA)	Ron Greene	Bob Luksta
Minnesota	John Kundla	Bill Fitch
Washington	Mac Duckworth	Tex Winter

References

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.
^ orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
^ Fitzpatrick, Frank, "When college basketball outlawed the dunk," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 2014 Accessed April 6, 2021
^ "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 26, 2021.
Nguyen, Thuc Nhi - UCLA-Houston ‘Game of the Century’ still leaves impression 50 years later. Los Angeles Daily News, January 20, 2018
Einhorn, Eddie; Ron Rapaport (2006). How March Became Madness: How the NCAA Tournament Became the Greatest Sporting Event in America. Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-809-6.
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.
"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
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
"2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
sports-reference.com 1967-68 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
sports-reference.com 1967-68 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
sports-reference.com 1967-68 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
"1967-68 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 15, 2024.

v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
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IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
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