# 1972–73 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team

The 1972–73 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team represented Memphis State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1972–73 men's college basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Gene Bartow and played their home games at Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.
As MVC champions, the Tigers participated in the 1973 NCAA Tournament. They defeated South Carolina and Kansas State to reach the first Final Four in program history. After a win over Providence to reach the national championship game, Memphis State was defeated by unbeaten, 6-time defending National champion UCLA, 87–66. The team finished with a 24–6 record (12–2 MVC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 2, 1972* | No. 11 | Missouri Western | W 108–74 | 1–0 | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 5, 1972* | No. 11 | at Louisiana State | L 81–94 | 1–1 | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Dec 7, 1972* | No. 11 | South Florida | W 87–73 | 2–1 | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 9, 1972* | No. 11 | at No. 5 Marquette | L 69–72 | 2–2 | Milwaukee Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Dec 12, 1972* | No. 19 | Texas | L 79–80 | 2–3 | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 16, 1972* | No. 19 | Navy | W 80–51 | 3–3 | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 20, 1972* | | UC Santa Barbara | W 80–74 | 4–3 | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 23, 1972* | | at Arkansas | W 87–86 | 5–3 | Barton Coliseum Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Dec 26, 1972* | | Cornell | W 96–64 | 6–3 | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 30, 1972* | | at No. 10 Vanderbilt | W 74–71 | 7–3 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 4, 1973 | | at Drake | W 97–92 $^{2OT}$ | 8–3 (1–0) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Jan 6, 1973 | | at Bradley | W 76–74 | 9–3 (2–0) | Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, Illinois |
| Jan 13, 1973* | | Central Florida | W 124–75 | 10–3 | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 13, 1973 | | Saint Louis | W 72–60 | 11–3 (3–0) | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 20, 1973* | | Saint Joseph's (IN) | W 112–92 | 12–3 | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 25, 1973 | No. 17 | Louisville | W 81–76 | 13–3 (4–0) | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 27, 1973 | No. 17 | New Mexico State | W 75–61 | 14–3 (5–0) | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 1, 1973 | No. 17 | Drake | W 73–68 | 15–3 (6–0) | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 3, 1973* | No. 17 | Bradley | W 79–64 | 16–3 (7–0) | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 8, 1973 | No. 15 | at Louisville | L 69–83 | 16–4 (7–1) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Feb 10, 1973 | No. 15 | at Tulsa | W 91–87 $^{OT}$ | 17–4 (8–1) | Expo Square Pavilion Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Feb 15, 1973 | No. 16 | Wichita State | W 99–77 | 18–4 (9–1) | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 17, 1973 | No. 16 | West Texas A&M | W 116–79 | 19–4 (10–1) | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 22, 1973 | No. 14 | at North Texas | W 93–88 | 20–4 (11–1) | North Texas Men's Gym Denton, Texas |
| Feb 24, 1973 | No. 14 | at New Mexico State | W 54–53 | 21–4 (12–1) | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Mar 3, 1973 | No. 10 | at Saint Louis | L 56–70 | 21–5 (12–2) | Kiel Auditorium St. Louis, Missouri |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 1973* | No. 12 | vs. South Carolina Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 90–76 | 22–5 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Mar 17, 1973* | No. 12 | vs. No. 9 Kansas State Midwest Regional final – Elite Eight | W 92–72 | 23–5 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Mar 24, 1973* | No. 12 | vs. No. 4 Providence National semifinal – Final Four | W 98–85 | 24–5 | St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri |
| Mar 26, 1973* | No. 12 | vs. No. 1 UCLA National Championship | L 66–87 | 24–6 | St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Larry Kenon – Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 3 | 50 | Larry Kenon | Detroit Pistons |
| 4 | 60 | Ronnie Robinson | Phoenix Suns |
| 4 | 68 | Larry Kenon | Los Angeles Lakers |