The 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1969, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 21, 1970, at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland. The UCLA Bruins won their sixth NCAA national championship with an 80–69 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins.
Season headlines
UCLA won its fourth NCAA championship in a row, sixth overall, and sixth in seven seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its fourth of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles. The Pacific Coast Athletic Association began play. It was renamed the Big West Conference in 1988. LSU’s Pete Maravich established several NCAA records during his career. Two of the most notable came during this season — single-season scoring average (44.5 in 1969–70, besting his 44.2 average from the prior season) and career scoring (3,667 points). In addition to leading the NCAA in scoring for the third consecutive season, Maravich was named a consensus first-team All-American and SEC Player of the Year for the third time. He was the first player to score 3,000 or more points in his career (1968–1970), and his career average of 44.2 points per game made him the first player to average more than 40 points a game for his career. In a game against Alabama on February 7, 1970, Maravich scored 69 points, setting a record for points scored by a single player in a game against an NCAA University Division (later NCAA Division I) opponent;"72-Point Performance Erases Maravich's Record," The New York Times, January 7, 1991. Maravich broke the record of 68 points set by Calvin Murphy of Niagara in December 1968, and no one outscored Maravich until Kevin Bradshaw scored 72 points in a game in January 1991.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated PressRankingTeam1South Carolina2Kentucky3Purdue4UCLA5Davidson6New Mexico State7North Carolina8Marquette9Villanova10Colorado11Duquesne12Santa Clara13Notre Dame14St. John's15Louisville16USC17St. Bonaventure18Ohio State19Drake20Houston UPI CoachesRankingTeam1UCLA2South Carolina3Kentucky4Purdue5New Mexico State6Colorado7North Carolina8Davidson9USC10Duquesne11Santa Clara12Kansas13Marquette14St. John's15Villanova16St. Bonaventure17(tie)ArizonaNew Mexico19Louisville20La Salle
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference non-University Division Pacific Coast Athletic Association NCAA University Division independent Western Athletic Conference Metropolitan Collegiate Conference NCAA University Division independent non-University Division Pacific Coast Athletic Association Metropolitan Collegiate Conference Middle Atlantic Conference Metropolitan Collegiate Conference NCAA University Division independent non-University Division Pacific Coast Athletic Association Metropolitan Collegiate Conference NCAA University Division independent Metropolitan Collegiate Conference NCAA University Division independent Mid-American Conference NCAA University Division independent non-University Division West Coast Athletic Conference non-University Division West Coast Athletic Conference Metropolitan Collegiate Conference NCAA University Division independent non-University Division Pacific Coast Athletic Association West Coast Athletic Conference Pacific Coast Athletic Association West Coast Athletic Conference Pacific Coast Athletic Association Metropolitan Collegiate Conference NCAA University Division independent NCAA University Division independent Western Athletic Conference Metropolitan Collegiate Conference non-NCAA University Division
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference South Carolina John Roche,South Carolina2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1970 ACC men's basketball tournament Charlotte Coliseum(Charlotte, North Carolina) NC StateBig Eight Conference Kansas State Dave Robisch, Kansas2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04 No TournamentBig Sky Conference Weber State None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Iowa None selected No TournamentIvy League Penn None selected No TournamentMid-American Conference Ohio Jim Penix, Bowling Green2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14 No TournamentMiddle Atlantic Conference St. Joseph's (East); Lafayette, Lehigh, & No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Drake Jim Ard, Cincinnati No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Western Kentucky Jim McDaniels, Western Kentucky No TournamentPacific 8 Conference UCLA None selected No TournamentPacific Coast Athletic Association Long Beach State George Trapp, Long Beach State No TournamentSoutheastern Conference Kentucky Pete Maravich, LSU2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 No TournamentSouthern Conference Davidson Mike Maloy, Davidson2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1970 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Charlotte Coliseum(Charlotte, North Carolina) Davidson2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southland Conference Lamar Kenny Haynes, Lamar2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 No TournamentSouthwest Conference Rice Gene Phillips, SMU No TournamentWest Coast Athletic Conference Santa Clara Dennis Awtrey, Santa Clara No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference UTEP None selected No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut & Massachusetts None selected No Tournament Conference standings
University Division independents A total of 61 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Jacksonville (27–2) had the best winning percentage (.931), and Jacksonville and New Mexico State (27–3) finished with the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Penn Ken Durrett, La Salle Penn 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
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Dan Issel F/C Senior Kentucky Bob Lanier C Senior St. Bonaventure Pete Maravich G/F Senior Louisiana State Rick Mount G/F Senior Purdue Calvin Murphy G Senior Niagara
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Austin Carr G Junior Notre Dame Jim Collins G Senior New Mexico State John Roche G Junior South Carolina Charlie Scott F Senior North Carolina Sidney Wicks F Junior UCLA
Major player of the year awards
Naismith Award: Pete Maravich, LSU Helms Player of the Year: Pete Maravich, LSU Associated Press Player of the Year: Pete Maravich, LSU UPI Player of the Year: Pete Maravich, LSU Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Pete Maravich, LSU Sporting News Player of the Year: Pete Maravich, LSU
Major coach of the year awards
Associated Press Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA Henry Iba Award (USBWA): John Wooden, UCLA NABC Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA UPI Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA Sporting News Coach of the Year: Adolph Rupp, Kentucky
Other major awards
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): John Rinka, Kenyon Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Ken Durrett, La Salle NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jim McMillian, Columbia
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonArkansasDuddy WallerLanny Van Eman ButlerTony HinkleGeorge Theofanis ClemsonBobby RobertsTates LockeDenverStan AlbeckJim Karabetsos FairfieldJim LynamFred Barakat FordhamEd ConlinDigger Phelps FurmanFrank SelvyJoe Williams George WashingtonWayne DobbsCarl Stone Hardin–SimmonsPaul LambertGlen Whitis Lambert left to coach Southern Illinois.IowaRalph MillerDick Schultz JacksonvilleJoe WilliamsTom Wasdin Williams left to coach Furman.Kansas StateCotton FitzsimmonsJack Hartman Fitzsimmons left to coach the Phoenix Suns.La SalleTom GolaPaul Westhead Memphis StateMoe IbaGene BartowMiami (Ohio)Tates LockeDarrell Hedric Locke left to coach Clemson.MinnesotaBill FitchGeorge Harrison Mississippi StateJoe Dan GoldKermit Davis Sr. MontanaBob CopeLou Rocheleau North Texas StateDan SpikaHarry Miller Oklahoma StateHenry IbaSam Aubrey Oregon StatePaul ValentiRalph Miller PortlandErnie SmithJoe EtzelJack Avina Saint Mary'sMike CiminoDruce Hale San FranciscoPhil VukicevichBob Baillard Santa ClaraDick GaribaldiCarroll Williams Seton HallRichie ReganBill Raftery St. John'sLou CarneseccaFrank Mulzoff Southern IllinoisJack HartmanPaul Lambert Hartman left to coach Kansas State.UNLVRolland ToddJohn Bayer Western MichiganSonny MeansEldon Miller
References