The 1965–66 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team finished the season in second place, under head coach John R. Wooden. It won the Los Angeles Classic Championship and completed the year with an 18–8 overall record.
Preseason The 1965–1966 UCLA Bruin team was the ranked No. 1 in preseason polls. On November 27, 1965, the freshmen team, led by Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), defeated the varsity team 75–60 in the newly opened Pauley Pavilion.(I was there) Alcindor scored 31 points and had 21 rebounds in that game although the defeat had no effect on the varsity's national ranking. The Bruins were still number one the following week.
The game was not played in the ‘women’s gym’. It was actually the first game played at Pauley Pavilion.
Roster
Schedule
!colspan=9 style=|Regular Season
Source
Rankings
See also 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
Notes The team beat USC four times, winning 94–79 at home and 99–62 away the last two games. The Bruins lost to Duke twice.
Team players drafted into the NBA Round Pick Player NBA Team 8 66 Ken Washington San Francisco Warriors
References