1967–68 NCAA University Division 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 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

Informal championships※

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Philadelphia Big 5	St. Joseph's	None selected	No Tournament

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 – Ohio State 89, 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 – Notre Dame 81, St. Peter's 78

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

v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
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
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

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