# 1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team

The 1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team represented Jacksonville University during the 1969–70 NCAA University Division basketball season. The independent Dolphins were led by sixth-year head coach Joe Williams and played their home games at the Jacksonville Coliseum.
The sixth-ranked Dolphins finished the regular season at 23–1 (.958) and were invited to the NCAA tournament. In the Mideast regional, they defeated Western Kentucky, No. 7 Iowa, and No. 1 Kentucky to advance to the Final Four; through 2021, it remains the program's only trip. The Dolphins defeated No. 3 St. Bonaventure to advance to the national championship game against second-ranked UCLA; the Bruins won their fourth straight NCAA title, and Jacksonville ended the season at 27–2 (.931) overall.

## Previous season

Jacksonville finished the 1968–69 season at 17–7 (.708).

## Season summary

The Dolphins were led by 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center Artis Gilmore. A two-time All-America honoree (in 1969–70 and 1970–71), Gilmore led the nation in rebounding both seasons. He finished his career with 1,312 points (24.3 average) and 1,224 rebounds (22.7).
The game against Georgetown on December 18 was stopped with 1:23 remaining in the first half following successive brawls between players from both teams and fans. Georgetown head coach Jack Magee pulled his team from the court and Jacksonville was awarded the win.
The Dolphins lost the national championship game to UCLA despite taking an early lead. UCLA narrowed the lead and took over with 1:20 left in the first half. The Bruins never trailed again as they pulled away for the 80–69 win.

## Roster

Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| December 1, 1969* | | East Tennessee State Sunshine Classic semifinal | W 92–74 | 1–0 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| December 2, 1969* | | Morehead State Sunshine Classic championship | W 117–63 | 2–0 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| December 9, 1969* | | Mercer | W 102–62 | 3–0 | – | 32 – Gilmore | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| December 13, 1969* | | St. Thomas (FL) Sunshine Classic championship | W 130–65 | 4–0 | – | 30 – Gilmore | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| December 18, 1969* | No. 18 | Georgetown | W 41–26 | 5–0 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| December 22, 1969* | No. 18 | Harvard | W 103–64 | 6–0 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| December 26, 1969* | No. 13 | vs. Arizona Evansville Invite semifinal | W 104–72 | 7–0 | – | – | – | Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN |
| December 27, 1969* | No. 13 | vs. Evansville Evansville Invite championship | W 100–70 | 8–0 | – | – | – | Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN |
| January 2, 1970* | No. 10 | at Hawaii | W 100–78 | 9–0 | – | – | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| January 5, 1970* | No. 10 | at Hawaii | W 63–58 | 10–0 | – | – | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| January 9, 1970* | No. 7 | Richmond | W 113–77 | 11–0 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| January 10, 1970* | No. 7 | Miami | W 121–87 | 12–0 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| January 16, 1970* | No. 6 | Virgin Islands | W 114–66 | 13–0 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| January 27, 1970* | No. 6 | at No. 18 Florida State | L 83–89 | 13–1 | – | – | – | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, FL |
| January 30, 1970* | No. 6 | Saint Peter's | W 121–101 | 14–1 | 46 – Gilmore | 30 – Gilmore | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| February 2, 1970* | No. 8 | Iona | W 110–75 | 15–1 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| February 5, 1970* | No. 8 | at East Carolina | W 111–94 | 16–1 | – | – | – | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Greenville, NC |
| February 6, 1970* | No. 8 | at Richmond | W 88–49 | 17–1 | – | – | – | Richmond Arena Richmond, VA |
| February 13, 1970* | No. 7 | at Oklahoma City | W 103–83 | 18–1 | – | – | – | Frederickson Fieldhouse Oklahoma City, OK |
| February 14, 1970* | No. 7 | at Loyola (LA) | W 96–75 | 19–1 | – | – | – | The Field House New Orleans, LA |
| February 18, 1970* | No. 6 | No. 18 Florida State | W 85–81 | 20–1 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| February 24, 1970* | No. 6 | Oklahoma City | W 77–75 | 21–1 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| February 26, 1970* | No. 6 | at Georgia Tech | W 86–81 | 22–1 | – | – | – | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, GA |
| March 2, 1970* | No. 6 | at Miami | W 108–97 | 23–1 | – | – | – | Miami Beach Convention Center Miami, FL |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 7, 1970* | No. 6 | vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky Regional Quarterfinal | W 109–96 | 24–1 | 30 – Gilmore | 19 – Gilmore | – | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH |
| March 12, 1970* | No. 4 | vs. No. 7 Iowa Regional semifinal | W 104–103 | 25–1 | 30 – Gilmore | 17 – Gilmore | – | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| March 14, 1970* | No. 4 | vs. No. 1 Kentucky Regional final | W 106–100 | 26–1 | 28 – Morgan | 20 – Gilmore | – | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| March 19, 1970* 7:40 pm | No. 4 | vs. No. 3 St. Bonaventure National semifinal | W 91–83 | 27–1 | 29 – Gilmore | 21 – Gilmore | – | Cole Fieldhouse (14,380) College Park, MD |
| March 21, 1970* 4:00 pm | No. 4 | vs. No. 2 UCLA National Championship Game | L 69–80 | 27–2 | 19 – Gilmore | 16 – Gilmore | – | Cole Fieldhouse (14,380) College Park, MD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Eastern time. |||||||||
    Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | — | 18 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Coaches | — | 20-т | 19 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |

## Awards and honors

* Artis Gilmore – Second-Team All-American, AP, NABC and UPI

## Team players in the 1970 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 21 | Rex Morgan | Boston Celtics |