# 1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1971–72 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won the National Collegiate Championship on March 25, 1972, in the Los Angeles Sports Arena with an 81–76 victory over Florida State. It was the sixth consecutive championship (and eighth in nine years) under John Wooden, in his 25th year as head coach at UCLA. This was the final year that the national championship game was played on Saturday.
The 1971–72 Bruins had an undefeated record of 30–0, winning by an average margin of over thirty points. They won all 26 games in the regular season (fourteen in Pac-8 play), then four in the NCAA tournament. This was the 45th consecutive victory in a winning streak that reached 88 games, an NCAA record.

## Season summary

Sophomore Bill Walton lived up to his advance billing, leading the Bruins to a 30–0 record and the National Championship while averaging a double-double (21.1 PPG, 15.5 RPG). Greg Lee and Henry Bibby formed a solid back court, and forwards Keith Wilkes and Larry Farmer were double-digit scorers. Walton's backup, Swen Nater, could have been a star at other schools and went on to a lengthy pro career.

## Starting lineup

    Position Player Class F Larry Farmer Jr. F Keith Wilkes So. C Bill Walton So. G Greg Lee So. G Henry Bibby Sr.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| December 3, 1971* | No. 1 | The Citadel | W 105–49 | 1–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| December 4, 1971* | No. 1 | Iowa | W 106–72 | 2–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| December 10, 1971* KTLA (delay) | No. 1 | Iowa State | W 110–81 | 3–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| December 11, 1971* | No. 1 | Texas A&M | W 117–53 | 4–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| December 22, 1971* | No. 1 | Notre Dame | W 114–56 | 5–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| December 23, 1971* | No. 1 | TCU | W 119–81 | 6–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| December 29, 1971* | No. 1 | Texas | W 115–65 | 7–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| December 30, 1971* | No. 1 | No. 6 Ohio State | W 79–53 | 8–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| January 7, 1972 | No. 1 | at Oregon State | W 78–72 | 9–0 (1–0) | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR |
| January 1972 | No. 1 | at Oregon | W 93–68 | 10–0 (2–0) | McArthur Court Eugene, OR |
| January 14, 1972 | No. 1 | Stanford | W 118–79 | 11–0 (3–0) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| January 15, 1972 | No. 1 | California | W 82–43 | 12–0 (4–0) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| January 21, 1972* | No. 1 | Santa Clara | W 92–57 | 13–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| January 22, 1972* | No. 1 | Denver | W 108–61 | 14–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| January 28, 1972 | No. 1 | at Loyola–Chicago | W 92–64 | 15–0 | Chicago Stadium (11,255) Chicago, IL |
| January 29, 1972* | No. 1 | at Notre Dame | W 57–32 | 16–0 | Athletic & Convocation Center (11,343) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 5, 1972 | No. 1 | USC | W 81–56 | 17–0 (5–0) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| February 11, 1972 | No. 1 | Washington State | W 89–58 | 18–0 (6–0) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| February 12, 1972 | No. 1 | Washington | W 109–70 | 19–0 (7–0) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| February 19, 1972 | No. 1 | at Washington | W 100–83 | 20–0 (8–0) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA |
| February 21, 1972 | No. 1 | at Washington State | W 85–55 | 21–0 (9–0) | Bohler Gymnasium Pullman, WA |
| February 25, 1972 | No. 1 | Oregon | W 92–70 | 22–0 (10–0) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| February 26, 1972 | No. 1 | Oregon State | W 91–72 | 23–0 (11–0) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| March 3, 1972 | No. 1 | at California | W 85–71 | 24–0 (12–0) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, CA |
| March 4, 1972 | No. 1 | at Stanford | W 102–73 | 25–0 (13–0) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| March 10, 1972 | No. 1 | at USC | W 79–66 | 26–0 (14–0) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 16, 1972* 6:00 pm | No. 1 | vs. Weber State Regional semifinal | W 90–58 | 27–0 | Marriott Center Provo, UT |
| March 18, 1972* 3:00 pm | No. 1 | vs. No. 5 Long Beach State Regional Final | W 73–57 | 28–0 | Marriott Center Provo, UT |
| March 23, 1972* 8:00 pm | No. 1 | vs. No. 4 Louisville National semifinal | W 96–77 | 29–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA |
| March 25, 1972* 2:00 pm | No. 1 | vs. No. 10 Florida State National Final | W 81–76 | 30–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
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