1973 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

Tournament notes

The UCLA–Memphis State championship game made USA Today′s 2002 list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time at #18. Bill Walton set a championship game record, hitting 21 of 22 shots and scoring 44 points.

This tournament marked the first appearance of Bob Knight as coach of Indiana University.

The participation for this tournament, as well as the previous tournament, for Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) was vacated on August 5, 1973, when the NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled the university guilty of over 100 violations, including impermissible benefits and doctoring high school transcripts of players. USL's program was shut down for the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons, all other Ragin Cajun' athletic programs were placed on three years' probation and banned from postseason participation, and the university was stripped of voting rights at the NCAA convention until 1977 (the NCAA originally planned to expel USL from the organization, but that sanction was downgraded in January 1974).

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1973 tournament:

First round

• March 10
  • East Region
    • Alumni Hall, Jamaica, New York (Host: St. John's University)
    • The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League)
    • William & Mary Hall, Williamsburg, Virginia (Host: The College of William & Mary)
  • Mideast Region
    • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
  • Midwest Region
    • Levitt Arena, Wichita, Kansas (Host: Wichita State University)
  • West Region
    • Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Logan, Utah (Host: Utah State University)

Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 15 and 17
  • East Regional, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: Davidson College)
  • Mideast Regional, Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University)
  • Midwest Regional, Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas (Hosts: University of Houston, Southwest Conference)
  • West Regional, Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: UCLA)

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)

• March 24 and 26
  • St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Teams

Bracket

• – Denotes overtime period

East region

| RD1-team3= | RD1-score3=83 | RD1-team4= | RD1-score4=82 | RD1-team5= | RD1-score5=62 | RD1-team6=St. John's | RD1-score6=61 | RD1-team7=Providence | RD1-score7=89 | RD1-team8= | RD1-score8=76 | RD2-team1=Maryland | RD2-score1=91 | RD2-team2=Syracuse | RD2-score2=75 | RD2-team3=Penn | RD2-score3=65 | RD2-team4=Providence | RD2-score4=87 | RD3-team1=Maryland | RD3-score1=89 | RD3-team2=Providence | RD3-score2=103 | RD3b-seed1= | RD3b-team1=Syracuse | RD3b-score1=69 | RD3b-seed2= | RD3b-team2=Penn | RD3b-score2=68

Mideast region

| RD1-team3= | RD1-score3=77 | RD1-team4= | RD1-score4=62 | RD1-team7= | RD1-score7=77 | RD1-team8= | RD1-score8=75 | RD2-team1=Indiana | RD2-score1=75 | RD2-team2=Marquette | RD2-score2=69 | RD2-team3=Kentucky | RD2-score3=106 | RD2-team4=Austin Peay | RD2-score4=100* | RD3-team1=Indiana | RD3-score1=72 | RD3-team2=Kentucky | RD3-score2=65 | RD3b-team1=Marquette | RD3b-score1=88 | RD3b-team2=Austin Peay | RD3b-score2=73

Midwest region

| RD1-team3=South Carolina | RD1-score3=78 | RD1-team4=Texas Tech | RD1-score4=70 | RD1-team7= | RD1-score7=102 | RD1-team8=Houston | RD1-score8=89 | RD2-team1=Memphis State | RD2-score1=90 | RD2-team2=South Carolina | RD2-score2=76 | RD2-team3= | RD2-score3=66 | RD2-team4=Southwestern Louisiana | RD2-score4=63 | RD3-team1=Memphis State | RD3-score1=92 | RD3-team2=Kansas State | RD3-score2=72 | RD3b-team1=South Carolina | RD3b-score1=90 | RD3b-team2=Southwestern Louisiana | RD3b-score2=85

West region

| RD1-team3= | RD1-score3=103 | RD1-team4= | RD1-score4=78 | RD1-team7= | RD1-score7=88 | RD1-team8=Weber State | RD1-score8=75 | RD2-team1=UCLA | RD2-score1=98 | RD2-team2=Arizona State | RD2-score2=81 | RD2-team3= | RD2-score3=77 | RD2-team4=Long Beach State | RD2-score4=67 | RD3-team1=UCLA | RD3-score1=54 | RD3-team2=San Francisco | RD3-score2=39 | RD3b-team1=Arizona State | RD3b-score1=80 | RD3b-team2=Long Beach State | RD3b-score2=84

Final Four

Saturday, March 24 Monday, March 26 | RD1-seed1 = E | RD1-team1 = Providence | RD1-score1 = 85 | RD1-seed2 = MW | RD1-team2 = Memphis State | RD1-score2 = 98 | RD1-seed3 = ME | RD1-team3 = Indiana | RD1-score3 = 59 | RD1-seed4 = W | RD1-team4 = UCLA | RD1-score4 = 70 | RD2-seed1 = MW | RD2-team1 = Memphis State | RD2-score1 = 66 | RD2-seed2 = W | RD2-team2 = UCLA | RD2-score2 = 87 | RD2b-seed2 = E | RD2b-team2 = Providence | RD2b-score2 = 79 | RD2b-seed1 = ME | RD2b-team1 = Indiana | RD2b-score1 = 97

Aftermath

The 1973 NC State Wolfpack team averaged 93 points per game (ppg), led the nation in win margin (21.8 ppg), and posted a 27–0 record, but was ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA probation. David Thompson, a two-time national Player of the Year, and All-America Tom Burleson, led NC State to a 30–1 record the following season, losing only to seven-time defending champion UCLA. The Wolfpack avenged its only loss during the two-year period by defeating UCLA in the 1974 Final Four and winning the title.

Gene Bartow, the Memphis State coach, would be John Wooden's successor at UCLA after the 1974–1975 season.

The tournament marked the last appearance of the Oklahoma City Chiefs, whose 11 tournament appearances are the most among teams no longer in Division I. The school would transition to the NAIA in 1985.

Announcers

Curt Gowdy, Tom Hawkins, and Jim Simpson (Final Four only) - East Regional Final at Charlotte, North Carolina; Final Four at St. Louis, Missouri

• Jim Simpson and Tom Hawkins - First Round at Logan, Utah (Long Beach State-Weber State)
• Curt Gowdy and Bill Enis - First Round at Wichita, Kansas - (Louisiana-Houston)
• Jim Simpson and Bill Enis - Mideast Regional Final from Dayton, Ohio

References

References

1. Mike Douchant – [https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/basketball/men/02tourney/greatest-games.htm Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history]. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002