# 1971–72 Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team

The 1971–72 Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team represented Florida State University during the 1971–72 college basketball season. Led by head coach Hugh Durham, the Seminoles reached the championship game of the NCAA tournament before losing to unbeaten, 5-time defending national champion UCLA, 81–76. The team finished with an overall record of 28–5.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1971* | | Oglethorpe | W 112–69 | 1–0 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Dec 4, 1971* | | Eastern Kentucky | W 96–83 | 2–0 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Dec 6, 1971* | No. 18 | vs. Stetson Civitan Classic | W 90–54 | 3–0 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Dec 7, 1971* | No. 18 | at No. 8 Jacksonville Civitan Classic | W 90–83 | 4–0 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Dec 11, 1971* | No. 18 | Valdosta State | W 134–65 | 5–0 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Dec 18, 1971* | No. 9 | at Hawaii | L 10–30 | 5–1 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 22, 1971* | No. 14 | at Hawaii | L 76–81 | 5–2 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 27, 1971* | No. 14 | vs. Washington Far West Classic | W 85–77 | 6–2 | Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 29, 1971* | | vs. Oregon State Far West Classic | W 73–72 | 7–2 | |
| Dec 30, 1971* | | vs. Washington State Far West Classic | W 85–61 | 8–2 | |
| Jan 3, 1972* | | vs. Denver Senior Bowl | W 89–72 | 7–2 | Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 4, 1972* | No. 20 | at Saint Louis Senior Bowl | W 63–62 | 10–2 | Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 8, 1972* | No. 20 | East Tennessee State | W 106–63 | 11–2 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Jan 15, 1972* | No. 12 | Mercer | W 96–78 | 12–2 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Jan 16, 1972* | No. 12 | Houston | W 86–79 | 13–2 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Jan 19, 1972* | No. 11 | South Alabama | W 105–72 | 14–2 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Jan 22, 1972* | No. 11 | at Georgia Tech | W 71–69 | 15–2 | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Jan 26, 1972* | No. 10 | Jacksonville | L 82–84 | 15–3 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Jan 26, 1972* | No. 10 | Florida Southern | W 84–63 | 16–3 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Jan 31, 1972* | No. 10 | Pan American | W 109–83 | 17–3 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Feb 4, 1972* | No. 12 | at Houston | L 86–94 | 17–4 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 7, 1972* | No. 12 | at South Alabama | W 104–81 | 18–4 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 12, 1972* | No. 14 | Tulane | W 94–84 | 19–4 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Feb 19, 1972* | No. 14 | Georgia Tech | W 108–50 | 20–4 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida |
| Feb 23, 1972* | No. 11 | at Jacksonville | W 70–61 | 21–4 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Feb 26, 1972* | No. 11 | vs. Stetson | W 49–47 | 22–4 | Winter Park, Florida |
| Feb 28, 1972* | No. 11 | at Biscayne | W 94–66 | 23–4 | Miami Gardens, Florida |
| Mar 4, 1972* | No. 10 | at Cincinnati | L 64–88 | 23–5 | Armory Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1972* | No. 14 | vs. Eastern Kentucky Mideast Regional Quarterfinal | W 83–81 | 24–5 | Stokely Athletic Center (4,500) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Mar 16, 1972* | No. 10 | vs. No. 11 Minnesota Mideast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 70–56 | 25–5 | University of Dayton Arena (13,458) Dayton, Ohio |
| Mar 18, 1972* | No. 10 | vs. No. 18 Kentucky Mideast Regional final – Elite Eight | W 73–54 | 26–5 | University of Dayton Arena (13,458) Dayton, Ohio |
| Mar 23, 1972* | No. 10 | vs. No. 2 North Carolina National semifinal – Final Four | W 79–75 | 27–5 | L.A. Sports Arena (13,756) Los Angeles, California |
| Mar 25, 1972* | No. 10 | vs. No. 1 UCLA National Championship | L 76–81 | 27–6 | L.A. Sports Arena (15,063) Los Angeles, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 5 | 78 | Rowland Garrett | Chicago Bulls |