1968 NCAA Basketball Tournament: A Season of Firsts, Lasts, and Dominance

The 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament was a significant event in the history of college basketball, showcasing exceptional talent and marking notable milestones. This 30th annual edition of the tournament featured 23 schools competing in a single-elimination format to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The tournament commenced on March 9, 1968, and culminated with the championship game on March 23, held at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California.

UCLA's Triumphant Run

Coached by the legendary John Wooden, UCLA emerged victorious, securing the national title with a commanding 78-55 win over North Carolina, led by coach Dean Smith. This victory further solidified UCLA's dominance in college basketball during that era. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second of three consecutive years, a testament to his exceptional skills and impact on the game. Alcindor would later change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and is the only player to couple three unanimous first-team All-American seasons with three NCAA titles. He is also the only player to hit better than 70 percent of his field-goal attempts in two different NCAA title games (1968 and 1969).

Game of the Century Rematch

A highly anticipated rematch took place in the NCAA semi-final between the Houston Cougars and UCLA Bruins, rekindling the rivalry from the "Game of the Century" held in January at the Astrodome. That first game was a watershed moment, being the first nationally syndicated college basketball game and played in a domed stadium before an audience of over 52,000 fans. The Houston Cougars won the first match against the UCLA Bruins. It was UCLA's only loss in two years, a two-pointer, to the then-#2 Houston, but with UCLA's dominating center Alcindor playing with an eye injury that limited his effectiveness after being hospitalized the week before. The loss broke a 47-game winning streak for UCLA. However, in the March NCAA Tournament Final 4, the Bruins, at full strength, avenged that loss with a resounding 101-69 victory over the same Houston team, now ranked #1, in UCLA's home city at the Memorial Sports Arena. UCLA successfully contained Houston's Elvin Hayes, who was averaging 37.7 points per game but was held to only 10.

First Time Appearances and Last Hurrahs

The 1968 tournament saw the debut appearances of four teams: East Tennessee State, Florida State, New Mexico, and Weber State. It also marked the most recent tournament appearances for Bowling Green and Columbia, adding a sense of nostalgia for these programs.

Other Notable Events

NIT Champion: Temple (22-8; coached by Harry Litwack/17th of 21 seasons with Owls).
Kentucky's Milestone: Kentucky became the first school to win 1,000 games.
Maravich's Scoring Prowess: LSU's Pete Maravich, averaging 44.2 points per game, won the national scoring championship by a larger margin than any player in history (10.9 points higher than Purdue guard Rick Mount).
Southern California ended UCLA's 41-game winning streak, 46-44: It was one of only two defeats for the Bruins during Lew Alcindor's three-year varsity career with both of the setbacks by two points.

Individual Brilliance and Records

Several players and coaches achieved remarkable feats during the 1968 season:

Pete Maravich's Scoring Records: Maravich had three consecutive games with at least 50 points against Division I opponents (66-50-54). His 66-point outburst at Tulane was not the season's single-game high.
Mount's ABA Move: Mount joined guard Bob Lloyd (Rutgers '67) and forward Larry Miller (North Carolina '68) in an odd category by becoming the third NCAA consensus first-team All-America in as many years to go straight to the ABA and never play in the NBA.
Tomjanovich's Rebounding Prowess: Michigan's Rudy Tomjanovich, who coached the Houston Rockets to NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, set a Chicago Stadium college record and school standard with 30 rebounds in a 112-100 overtime defeat to Loyola of Chicago.
Single-Game Scoring Marks: Maine's Jim Stephenson (54 points vs. Colby), Wake Forest's Charlie Davis (51 vs. American University), St. Bonaventure's Bob Lanier (51 vs. Seton Hall), Larry Lewis of St. Francis, Pa. (46 vs. St. Vincent), Western Michigan's Gene Ford (46 vs. Loyola of Chicago), Vanderbilt's Tom Hagan (44 at Mississippi State) and Pacific's Bill Stricker (44 vs. Portland) also set school single-game scoring marks.
Mix's and Zatezalo's Achievements: Toledo's Steve Mix established a school modern era single-game scoring standard with 47 points vs. Butler while Clemson's Butch Zatezalo tied a school modern era single-game scoring mark with 46 points at Wake Forest.
Haywood's Scoring Average: Detroit's Spencer Haywood (32.1 ppg), George Washington's Bob Tallent (28.9), Boston University's Jim Hayes (25.7), Tulane's Johnny Arthurs (25.6), John Conforti (24.3) of St. Francis (N.Y.), Vanderbilt's Hagan (23.4) and Middle Tennessee State's Willie Brown (23.3) set school records for highest scoring average in a single season.

Team Achievements and Milestones

Several teams achieved significant milestones during the 1968 season:

Purdue's Postseason Debut: Purdue, coached by George King, made its national postseason tournament debut after capturing its first Big Ten title in 29 years en route to its initial 20-win campaign.
Illinois's Winning Streak: Illinois, which didn't post a winning record in any of the previous three seasons, won its first nine contests under coach Harv Schmidt, including a 97-84 victory at Houston to snap the Cougars' 59-game homecourt winning streak.
Kent State's Turnaround: Kent State, coached by Frank Truitt, compiled a 14-10 record to end a streak of 16 consecutive losing seasons.
George Washington's Improvement: George Washington, coached by Wayne Dobbs, ended a streak of eight consecutive losing seasons by compiling a 14-11 record.
Santa Clara's Winning Season: Santa Clara (27-2/coached by Dick Garibaldi) had its winningest season in school history. Santa Clara, finishing in the Top 10 of a final wire-service poll for the only time in school history, won its first 21 games (all but one by double-digit margins) before the Broncos absorbed their lone regular-season defeat, a 73-69 decision in double overtime against San Jose State.
Weber State's Undefeated Run: Weber State (27-3/Phil Johnson) became the only Big Sky team ever to go undefeated in conference competition since the league's inception in 1964.
Iowa State's Overtime Success: Iowa State, coached by Glen Anderson, won five Big Eight Conference contests in overtime. It was part of a string over a three-year span where the Cyclones won nine league games in a row that required an extra session.
North Texas State's Winning Record: North Texas State (15-10 under coach Dan Spika) posted its first winning record in 12 years at the Division I level.
Wyoming's Top 20 Finish: Wyoming, coached by Bill Strannigan, finished in the Top 20 of a final wire-service poll for the only time in a 22-year span from 1958-59 through 1979-80.

Coaching Changes and Transitions

The 1968 season also saw significant changes in coaching personnel:

John Benington's Death: Michigan State coach John Benington died of a heart attack while jogging after the season.
Vic Bubas's Retirement: Duke's Vic Bubas retired after a 10-year coaching career with a 213-67 record.
Phil Woolpert's Retirement: San Diego's Phil Woolpert, who gained national acclaim as coach of San Francisco's back-to-back NCAA champions in the mid-1950s, retired after a 16-year coaching career with a 239-164 record.
Jerry Tarkanian's Major-College Start: Jerry Tarkanian embarked on his major-college coaching career with a 23-3 record (.885) at Long Beach State.

Future Stars and Notable Figures

Several players and coaches from the 1968 season went on to achieve further success in basketball and other fields:

Mike Krzyzewski: Mike Krzyzewski, captain of Army's fourth-place finisher in the NIT, went on to coach his alma mater before directing Duke to back-to-back NCAA Tournament championships in 1991 and 1992.
Tom Schneider: Tom Schneider, Bucknell's leading scorer with 18.3 points per game, eventually coached Lehigh (1985) and Pennsylvania (1987) in the NCAA Tournament.
Bob Leckie: St. Peter's Bob Leckie, a playmaker for three NIT teams that combined for a 63-17 record, later coached his alma mater.
Lou Goetz: Lou Goetz, who averaged 6.8 points and five rebounds per game for Rutgers' 21-4 NIT team, went on to coach Richmond for three seasons from 1978-79 through 1980-81 as Dick Tarrant's predecessor.
Butch Beard: Louisville guard Butch Beard, a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference first-team selection, went on to coach Howard University for four seasons from 1990-91 through 1993-94, including a trip to the 1992 NCAA playoffs. Beard also coached the NBA's New Jersey Nets for two seasons in 1994-95 and 1995-96.
Ron Taylor: Ron Taylor, who led USC with 9.2 rpg, went on to become an actor best known for his roles as Lothar in The Rocketeer (1991) and Roc in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).
Don Tomlinson: All-Big Eight first-team forward Don Tomlinson was Missouri's leading scorer and rebounder. His son, Trent, became a country music soloist who had two Top 20 songs in 2006 ("Drunker Than Me" and "One Wing in the Fire").
Willie McCarter: Drake senior guard Willie McCarter, an All-MVC first-team selection, went on to coach Detroit for three seasons from 1979-80 through 1981-82.
Jim Delany: Backup junior guard Jim Delany, playing in his second straight Final Four with North Carolina, went on to become Big Ten Conference commissioner.
Dave Chadwick: Teammate Dave Chadwick, a reserve forward, became a minister who presided over the wedding of former NBA guard Tony Bennett before Bennett coached Washington State and subsequently Virginia to the 2019 NCAA title.
Doug Howard: Brigham Young guard Doug Howard, the Cougars' leader in scoring average and an All-WAC second-team selection, tallied 12 points in a West Regional first-round defeat against New Mexico State before playing five years of major league baseball as a first baseman-outfielder with the California Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians.
John Hummer: Princeton's John Hummer, who scored a game-high 28 points in a first-round loss against St. John's, became a venture capitalist focusing on software companies.
Billy Bob Barnett: Texas A&M's Billy Bob Barnett, who grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds in loss against Drake, was founder of country and western nightclub Billy Bob's Texas (billed as the world's largest honky tonk in the spring of 1981 when opening in historic of the…

The 1968 NCAA College Division Tournament

The 1968 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 36 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division college basketball as a culmination of the 1967-68 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. It was won by Kentucky Wesleyan College, with Indiana State's Jerry Newsom named Most Outstanding Player.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

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