The 1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1966, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1967 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1967, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
The UCLA Bruins won their third NCAA national championship with a 79–64 victory over the Dayton Flyers.
Season headlines
The NCAA tournament expanded from 22 to 23 teams. UCLA went undefeated (30–0) and won its first of an eventual seven NCAA championships in a row, third overall, and third in four seasons. In the Athletic Association of Western Universities, it also won its first of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The Top 10 from the AP Poll and Top 20 from the Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated PressRankingTeam1UCLA2UTEP3Kentucky4Duke5Louisville6New Mexico7Houston8Western Kentucky9North Carolina10Cincinnati UPI CoachesRankingTeam1UCLA2UTEP3Kentucky4Duke5Michigan State6Houston7Louisville8BYU9Western Kentucky10Providence11Nebraska12Boston College13(tie)DaytonKansas15North Carolina16(tie)Loyola-ChicagoNew Mexico18Cincinnati19Colorado State20St. John's
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference non-NCAA University Division Middle Atlantic Conference non-NCAA University Division NCAA University Division independent non-NCAA University Division Middle Atlantic Conference Southeastern Conference NCAA University Division independent
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAthletic Association of Western Universities UCLA None selected No TournamentAtlantic Coast Conference North Carolina Larry Miller,North Carolina2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1967 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina) North CarolinaBig Eight Conference Kansas None selected No TournamentBig Sky Conference Gonzaga & None selected No TournamentBig Ten Conference Indiana & None selected No TournamentIvy League Princeton None selected No TournamentMetropolitan Collegiate Conference Manhattan, & No TournamentMid-American Conference Toledo None selected No TournamentMiddle Atlantic Conference Temple No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Louisville None selected No TournamentOhio Valley Conference Western Kentucky Clem Haskins, Western Kentucky 1967 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Jefferson County Armory(Louisville, Kentucky) Tennessee TechSoutheastern Conference Tennessee Ron Widby, Tennessee2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 No TournamentSouthern Conference West Virginia Johnny Moates, Richmond2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1967 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Charlotte Coliseum(Charlotte, North Carolina) West Virginia2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southwest Conference SMU Denny Holman, SMU No TournamentWest Coast Athletic Conference Pacific Keith Swagerty, Pacific No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference BYU & Wyoming None selected No TournamentYankee Conference Connecticut None selected No Tournament Conference standings
University Division independents A total of 51 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, (21–3) had the best winning percentage (.875) and Houston (27–4) finished with the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Villanova Cliff Anderson, Saint Joseph's Villanova 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 Lew Alcindor C Sophomore UCLA Clem Haskins G Senior Western Kentucky Elvin Hayes F/C Junior Houston Bob Lloyd G Senior Rutgers Wes Unseld C Senior Louisville Bob Verga G Senior Duke Jimmy Walker G Senior Providence
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Louie Dampier G Senior Kentucky Mel Daniels C Senior New Mexico Sonny Dove F Senior St. John's Don May G/F Junior Dayton Larry Miller F Junior North Carolina
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA Associated Press Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA UPI Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Lew Alcindor, UCLA Sporting News Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
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: Jack Hartman, Southern Illinois
Other major awards
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Cliff Anderson, St. Joseph's NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Sonny Dove, St. John's
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonBowling GreenWarren SchollerBill Fitch DartmouthDoggie JulianDave Gavitt LehighPete CarrilRoy Heckman MissouriBob VanattaNorm StewartPrincetonButch van Breda KolffPete Carril West Texas A&MJimmy ViramontesDennis Walling
References