page_title: 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game
section_title: Game summary
hierarchical_section_title: 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game / Game summary
caption_attribution_description: English: College basketball player Bill Walton playing for the UCLA Bruins
context_page_description: The 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game was the final of the 1973 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament and determined the national champion for the 1972–73 season. The game was held at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 26, 1973.
  The UCLA Bruins of the Pacific-8 Conference, who were seeking their seventh consecutive championship, were matched against the Memphis State Tigers, who were playing in the national title game for the first time. The Bruins won 87–66 behind a 44-point effort by Bill Walton, who scored on 21 of his 22 field goal attempts.
context_section_description: The game was held on March 26 at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, before a crowd of 19,301 fans. It was preceded by a contest between Indiana and Providence for third place. Behind a pair of 21-point efforts by Steve Downing and John Ritter, Indiana prevailed by 18 points, 97–79. The championship game was televised by NBC, which purchased the broadcasting rights to the 1973 NCAA Tournament for less than $1.2 million. Curt Gowdy provided play-by-play commentary for NBC, and Tom Hawkins worked alongside him as an analyst. Having been held on Saturdays in previous years, the 1973 title game was moved to Monday. It was the first basketball national championship game to appear in prime time, and received a 20.5 Nielsen rating; an estimated 39 million people watched the broadcast, the most ever for an NCAA Tournament game at the time. The telecast garnered a 36.0 rating in the Los Angeles market.
  Memphis State began the game in a man-to-man defense, in which Kenon was the primary defender covering Walton, playing behind him. The team's plan was to force Walton to play away from the basket, but his ability to use his strength to gain positioning rendered the strategy largely ineffective. Walton played a key role early on for the Bruins; of the team's first 10 points, he had six of them. Kenon led the Tigers in the first six minutes of the game, converting each of his first four field goal attempts. However, the Tigers' taller players were in the process of accumulating personal fouls. Kenon committed three fouls in the first 6:43 and was forced to the bench for an extended period. At this point, he had been responsible for 8 of Memphis State's 12 points. The Bruins built a lead as the first half progressed, taking a nine-point advantage at one time. Finch then helped the Tigers get back into the game with a stretch of eight consecutive points. Memphis State began utilizing a zone defense, and Kenon returned to the game; he was still positioned behind Walton defensively. The Tigers were helped by an accumulation of fouls by Walton, who picked up his third and came out of the game with 4:14 remaining in the first half as the Bruins retained a six-point lead. After his departure, the Tigers' offensive players found greater success, scoring eight of the next 10 points. After the first half, the teams were tied, 39–39.
  Finch opened the second half scoring for Memphis State with two free throws, which gave the Tigers the lead. Walton responded for the Bruins with three field goals in a row. UCLA frequently sought to take advantage of a size advantage Walton held over shorter Memphis State defenders by having Lee throw lob passes to him. Much of Walton's offense came from these lobs, which often led to tip-ins. His scoring, which primarily came from near the basket, also resulted from layups and short jumpers, including bank and hook shots. The Tigers further varied their defense against him, at times putting a defender in front of Walton or covering him with two players, but were unable to keep him in check. Walton continued to be the focal point of the Bruins' attack, scoring all but 4 of their first 18 points in the half. Although the teams were tied 45–45 at one time, UCLA gradually gained control of the game as the second half progressed. The Bruins were up by four points with under 13 minutes left in the game when Walton drove to the basket for a shot attempt. Westfall fouled Walton, but was unable to prevent his shot from falling. His foul was ruled intentional, giving Walton two free throws that he made to extend UCLA's advantage to eight points with 12:24 remaining. Eight minutes into the second half, the lead had increased to 57–47. With 9:27 left, and the Bruins up 61–55, Walton committed his fourth foul. Instead of pulling him from the game, Wooden elected to leave him on the court and the Bruins subsequently extended their lead to 10.
  With under eight minutes on the clock, and the Tigers' deficit at 65–57, Walton recorded three quick baskets to push the gap to 12 points. For the rest of the game, Memphis State 
caption: Bill Walton (pictured in 1974) made 21 of his 22 shots in the game.
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