# 1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament

The 1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1970, and ended with the championship game on March 21 in College Park, Maryland. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game. This tournament was notable for the number of small schools that reached the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4, and championship Game. Another notable aspect of the tournament was that Marquette became the first team to turn down an announced NCAA Tournament bid for the National Invitation Tournament. Coach Al McGuire took issue with being seeded in the Midwest regional instead of the geographically closer Mideast. They were replaced in the field by Dayton. As a result of this action, the NCAA now forbids its members from playing in other postseason tournaments if offered an NCAA bid.
There were three first-time participants in the Final Four: New Mexico State, St. Bonaventure, and Jacksonville, a feat not repeated until the 2023 tournament. UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won the national title with an 80–69 victory in the final game over Jacksonville, coached by Joe Williams. Sidney Wicks of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

## Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1970 tournament:
First round
* March 7
** East Region
*** Alumni Hall, Jamaica, New York (Host: St. John's University)
*** The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Host: University of Pennsylvania)
*** Jadwin Gymnasium, Princeton, New Jersey (Host: Princeton University)
** Mideast Region
*** University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
** Midwest Region
*** Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas (Host: Texas Christian University)
** West Region
*** Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young University)
Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
* March 12 and 14
** East Regional, Carolina Coliseum, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina)
** Mideast Regional, St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)
** Midwest Regional, Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas (Host: University of Kansas)
** West Regional, Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)
National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)
* March 19 and 21
** Cole Field House, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland, College Park)

## Teams

| Region | Team | Coach | Conference | Finished | Final opponent | Score |
| East |||||||
| East | Davidson | Terry Holland | Southern | First round | St. Bonaventure | L 85–72 |
| East | Niagara | Frank Layden | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | NC State | L 108–88 |
| East | NC State | Norm Sloan | Atlantic Coast | Regional third place | Niagara | W 108–88 |
| East | Penn | Dick Harter | Ivy League | First round | Niagara | L 79–69 |
| East | St. Bonaventure | Larry Weise | Independent | Fourth Place | New Mexico State | L 79–73 |
| East | Temple | Harry Litwack | Middle Atlantic | First round | Villanova | L 77–69 |
| East | Villanova | Jack Kraft | Independent | Regional Runner-up | St. Bonaventure | L 97–74 |
| Mideast |||||||
| Mideast | Iowa | Ralph Miller | Big Ten | Regional third place | Notre Dame | W 121–106 |
| Mideast | Jacksonville | Joe Williams | Independent | Runner Up | UCLA | L 80–69 |
| Mideast | Kentucky | Adolph Rupp | Southeastern | Regional Runner-up | Jacksonville | L 106–100 |
| Mideast | Notre Dame | John Dee | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | Iowa | L 121–106 |
| Mideast | Ohio | James Snyder | Mid-American | First round | Notre Dame | L 112–82 |
| Mideast | Western Kentucky | Johnny Oldham | Ohio Valley | First round | Jacksonville | L 109–96 |
| Midwest |||||||
| Midwest | Dayton | Don Donoher | Independent | First round | Houston | L 71–64 |
| Midwest | Drake | Maury John | Missouri Valley | Regional Runner-up | New Mexico State | L 87–78 |
| Midwest | Houston | Guy Lewis | Independent | Regional Fourth Place | Kansas State | L 107–98 |
| Midwest | Kansas State | Cotton Fitzsimmons | Big Eight | Regional third place | Houston | W 107–98 |
| Midwest | New Mexico State | Lou Henson | Independent | Third Place | St. Bonaventure | W 79–73 |
| Midwest | Rice | Don Knodel | Southwest | First round | New Mexico State | L 101–77 |
| West |||||||
| West | Long Beach State | Jerry Tarkanian | Pacific Coast | Regional Fourth Place | Santa Clara | L 89–86 |
| West | Santa Clara | Dick Garibaldi | West Coast | Regional third place | Long Beach State | W 89–86 |
| West | UTEP | Don Haskins | Western Athletic | First round | Utah State | L 91–81 |
| West | UCLA | John Wooden | Pacific-8 | Champion | Jacksonville | W 80–69 |
| West | Utah State | LaDell Andersen | Independent | Regional Runner-up | UCLA | L 101–79 |
| West | Weber State | Phil Johnson | Big Sky | First round | Long Beach State | L 92–73 |

## Bracket
### East region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | NC State | 68 | | |
| | | St. Bonaventure | 80 | | |
| St. Bonaventure | 85 | St. Bonaventure | 80 | | |
| Davidson | 72 | | | | |
| Davidson | 72 | | | St. Bonaventure | 97 |
| | | | | Villanova | 74 |
| Villanova | 77 | | | | | Villanova | 74 |
| Temple | 69 | | | | |
| Temple | 69 | Villanova | 98 | | |
| | | Niagara | 73 | | |
| Niagara | 79 | Niagara | 73 | | |
| Penn | 69 | | | | |
| East Regional third place | East Regional third place | East Regional third place |
| NC State | NC State | 108 |
| Niagara | Niagara | 88 |

### Mideast region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Iowa | 103 | | |
| | | Jacksonville | 104 | | |
| Jacksonville | 109 | Jacksonville | 104 | | |
| Western Kentucky | 96 | | | | |
| Western Kentucky | 96 | | | Jacksonville | 106 |
| | | | | Kentucky | 100 |
| | | Kentucky | 109 | | |
| | | Notre Dame | 99 | | |
| Notre Dame | 112 | Notre Dame | 99 | | |
| Ohio | 82 | | | | |
| Mideast Regional third place | Mideast Regional third place | Mideast Regional third place |
| Iowa | Iowa | 121 |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame | 106 |

### Midwest region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Kansas State | 66 | | |
| | | New Mexico State | 70 | | |
| New Mexico State | 101 | New Mexico State | 70 | | |
| Rice | 77 | | | | |
| Rice | 77 | | | New Mexico State | 87 |
| | | | | Drake | 78 |
| | | Drake | 92 | | |
| | | Houston | 87 | | |
| Houston | 71 | Houston | 87 | | |
| Dayton | 64 | | | | |
| Midwest Regional third place | Midwest Regional third place | Midwest Regional third place |
| Kansas State | Kansas State | 107 |
| Houston | Houston | 98 |

### West region

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | UCLA | 88 | | |
| | | Long Beach State | 65 | | |
| Long Beach State | 92 | Long Beach State | 65 | | |
| Weber State | 73 | | | | |
| Weber State | 73 | | | UCLA | 101 |
| | | | | Utah State | 79 |
| | | Santa Clara | 68 | | |
| | | Utah State | 69 | | |
| Utah State | 91 | Utah State | 69 | | |
| UTEP | 81 | | | | |
| West Regional third place | West Regional third place | West Regional third place |
| Long Beach State | Long Beach State | 86 |
| Santa Clara | Santa Clara | 89 |

### Final Four

| National semifinals | National semifinals | National semifinals | National Championship Game | National Championship Game | National Championship Game |
| E | St. Bonaventure | 83 | | | |
| ME | Jacksonville | 91 | | | |
| ME | Jacksonville | 91 | ME | Jacksonville | 69 |
| | | | W | UCLA | 80 |
| MW | New Mexico State | 77 | W | UCLA | 80 |
| W | UCLA | 93 | National third-place game | National third-place game | National third-place game |
| | | | E | St. Bonaventure | 73 |
| | | | MW | New Mexico State | 79 |