The 1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1974, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1975 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 31, 1975, at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The UCLA Bruins won their tenth NCAA national championship with a 92–85 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Season headlines
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament expanded from 25 to 32 teams. For the first time, teams other than the conference champion could be chosen at large from the same conference for the NCAA tournament. No more than two teams from any one conference could be chosen for the tournament until 1980, but the NCAA's decision to allow even as many as two teams per conference into the annual tournament threatened to greatly reduce or even eliminate the access of Division I independents — most of which were located in the Northeastern United States — to the tournament. This resulted in a steady decline in the number of independents in ensuing seasons as former independents formed conferences to ensure their access to an automatic tournament bid each year. In a 1975 Cleveland Plain Dealer article, sportswriter Ed Chay used the term "final four" to refer to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, giving rise to a myth that this was the first such use of the term. In fact, the term "final four" already was in use in the 1960s. In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its ninth of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles. The National Commissioners Invitational Tournament (NCIT), a new postseason tournament created by the NCAA in 1974 as the Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament to compete with the National Invitation Tournament, was played for the second and final time in 1975.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.
'Associated Press'RankingTeam1NC State2UCLA3Indiana4Maryland5Marqette6Kansas7South Carolina8Louisville9Alabama10USC11North Carolina12Notre Dame13Purdue14Providence15Memphis State16Kentucky17Michigan18Minnesota19Arizona20Penn UPI CoachesRankingTeam1NC State2UCLA3Indiana4Louisville5North Carolina6USC7Marquette8Alabama9Kansas10Maryland11Notre Dame12South Carolina13Penn14Arizona State15Arizona16(tie)Oregon StatePurdue18Memphis State19(tie)MichiganOregon
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference non-Division I Division I independent Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Non-Division I Pacific Coast Athletic Association Pacific Coast Athletic Association Division I independent Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Division I independent Mid-American Conference Middle Atlantic Conference Non-Division I Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Missouri Valley Conference Division I independent Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference Pacific Coast Athletic Association Division I independent Middle Atlantic Conference East Coast Conference
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference Maryland David Thompson,NC State2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1975 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina) North CarolinaBig Eight Conference Kansas Alvan Adams, Oklahoma2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04 No TournamentBig Sky Conference Montana None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Indiana None Selected No TournamentEast Coast Conference American & Lafayette (West) Wilbur Thomas, American (East) &Henry Horne, Lafayette (West) 1975 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Kirby Sports Center(Easton, Pennsylvania) La Salle Eastern College AthleticConference (ECAC) Division I ECAC membersplayed as independentsduring the regular season(see note) 1975 ECAC Metro Region tournament Madison Square Garden(New York, New York) Rutgers 1975 ECAC New England Region tournament Springfield Civic Center(Springfield, Massachusetts) Boston College 1975 ECAC Southern Region tournament WVU Coliseum(Morgantown, West Virginia) Georgetown 1975 ECAC Upstate Region tournament Buffalo Memorial Auditorium(Buffalo, New York) SyracuseIvy League Penn Ron Haigler, PennMen's Ivy League Outstanding performers , Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01 No TournamentMid-American Conference Central Michigan Dan Roundfield, Central Michigan2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14 No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Louisville Junior Bridgeman, Louisville No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Middle Tennessee George Sorrell, 1975 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Murphy Center(Murfreesboro, Tennessee)(Semifinals and Finals) Middle TennesseePacific-8 Conference UCLA None Selected No TournamentPacific Coast Athletic Association Long Beach State Bob Gross, Long Beach State No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Alabama & Kentucky Kevin Grevey, Kentucky, & Bernard King, Tennessee2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 No TournamentSouthern Conference Furman Clyde Mayes, Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1975 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Greenville Memorial Auditorium(Greenville, South Carolina)(Semifinals and Finals) Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southland Conference McNeese State Henry Ray,McNeese State2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 No TournamentSouthwest Conference Texas A&M Rick Bullock, Texas Tech No TournamentWest Coast Athletic Conference UNLV Ricky Sobers, UNLV No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference Arizona State None Selected No TournamentYankee Conference Massachusetts None Selected No Tournament NOTE: From 1975 to 1981, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1975 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1975 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
Conference standings
Division I independents A total of 84 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, (22–2) had the best winning percentage (.917) and Centenary (25–4) finished with the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 La Salle Ron Haigler, Penn La Salle finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
National Commissioners Invitational Tournament
The Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament debuted the previous season as a new postseason tournament created by the NCAA to compete with the NIT. Renamed the National Commissioners Invitational Tournament, it was played for the second and last time in 1975.
Semifinals & final
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Adrian Dantley F Sophomore Notre Dame John Lucas G Junior Maryland Scott May F Junior Indiana Dave Meyers F Senior UCLA David Thompson G/F Senior North Carolina State
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Luther Burden G Junior Utah Leon Douglas F/C Junior Alabama Kevin Grevey G Senior Kentucky Ron Lee G Junior Oregon Gus Williams G Senior Southern California
Major player of the year awards
Naismith Award: David Thompson, NC State Helms Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State Associated Press Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State UPI Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State NABC Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): David Thompson, NC State Adolph Rupp Trophy: David Thompson, NC State Sporting News Player of the Year: David Thompson, NC State
Major coach of the year awards
Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Bob Knight, Indiana NABC Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana UPI Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana Sporting News Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana
Other major awards
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Monte Towe, NC State Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Ron Haigler, Penn NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Phil Sellers, Rutgers
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonAppalachian StatePress MaravichBobby CreminsArmyDan DoughertyMike Krzyzewski BaptistBilly HenryDanny MonkBucknellJim ValvanoCharlie WoollumBYUGlenn PotterFrank ArnoldClemsonTates LockeBill FosterDartmouthMarcus JacksonGary WaltersHardin–SimmonsRussell BerryPreston ViceIllinoisGene BartowLou HensonBartow left for UCLA and was replaced by New Mexico State coach Lou Henson.Illinois StateWill RobinsonGene SmithsonIonaGene RobertiJim Valvano Roberti stayed an continued to coach Iona's baseball team.Indiana StateGordon C. StaufferBob KingJacksonvilleBob GottliebDon Beasley Gottlieb left to coach Milwaukee.LehighTom PuglieseBrian HillLoyola–ChicagoGeorge IrelandJerry LyneMilwaukeeBill KlucasBob GottliebMinnesotaBill MusselmanJim DutcherNew Mexico StateLou HensonKen Hayes Henson left to coach Illinois.North Texas StateGene RobbinsBill BlakesleyOklahomaJoe RamseyDave BlissPittsburghCharles RidlTim GrgurichSamfordRon HarrisFred CrowellSMUBob PrewittSonny AllenSouth AlabamaJimmy TaylorCliff EllisSouth FloridaBill GibsonChip ConnorSt. Francis (NY)John M. PrendervilleLucio RossiniStanfordHowie DallmarDick DiBiasoTulsaKen HayesJim King Hayes left to coach New Mexico State.UCLAJohn WoodenGene BartowWooden announced his retirement during the 1975 Final Four, where he won his record tenth NCAA title. He was replaced by Illinois head coach Bartow.UNC CharlotteBill FosterLess Rose Foster left to coach Clemson.YaleJoseph VancisinRay Carazo
References