The 1969 NCAA University Division men's basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 31st annual edition of the tournament began on March 8, 1969, and ended with the championship game on March 22, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. Including consolation games in each of the regions and an overall consolation game, a total of 29 games were played.
UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won the national title with a 92–72 victory in the final game over Purdue, coached by George King. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
In the game, Alcindor led the Bruins with 37 points and 20 rebounds, and John Vallely, the "Money Man", added 15 points in UCLA's win over Purdue, Wooden's alma mater. Purdue was hampered due to injuries to starting point guard Billy Keller and forward Herm Gilliam; Purdue had also lost 7'0" center Chuck Bavis to a broken collarbone during the Mideast Regionals against Miami, (OH). In earlier matchups, Bavis had provided an ample challenge to Alcindor. Wooden was an All-American guard for the Boilermakers from 1928 to 1932.
Schedule and venues The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1969 tournament, and their host(s):
First round March 8 East Region Keaney Gymnasium, Kingston, Rhode Island (Host: University of Rhode Island) Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University) Mideast Region SIU Arena, Carbondale, Illinois (Host: Southern Illinois University Carbondale) Midwest Region Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas (Host: Texas Christian University) West Region Pan American Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico (Host: New Mexico State University)
Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 13 and 15 East Regional, Cole Field House, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland, College Park) Mideast Regional, Wisconsin Field House, Madison, Wisconsin (Host: University of Wisconsin-Madison) Midwest Regional, Ahearn Field House, Manhattan, Kansas (Host: Kansas State University) West Regional, Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: UCLA)
National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship) March 20 and 22 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville)
Teams Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score East East Davidson Lefty Driesell Southern Regional Runner-upNorth CarolinaL 87–85 East Duquesne John Manning Independent Regional third placeSt. John'sW 75–72 East North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic Coast Fourth PlaceDrakeL 104–84 East Princeton Pete Carril Ivy League First roundSt. John'sL 72–63 East St. John's Lou Carnesecca Independent Regional Fourth PlaceDuquesneL 75–72 East Saint Joseph's Jack McKinney Middle Atlantic First roundDuquesneL 74–52 East Villanova Jack Kraft Independent First roundDavidsonL 75–61 Mideast Mideast Kentucky Adolph Rupp Southeastern Regional third placeMiami (OH)W 72–71 Mideast Marquette Al McGuire Independent Regional Runner-upPurdueL 75–73 Mideast Miami (OH) Tates Locke Mid-American Regional Fourth PlaceKentuckyL 72–71 Mideast Murray State Cal Luther Ohio Valley First roundMarquetteL 82–62 Mideast Notre Dame John Dee Independent First roundMiami (OH)L 63–60 Mideast Purdue George King Big Ten Runner UpUCLAL 92–72 Midwest Midwest Colorado Sox Walseth Big Eight Regional third placeTexas A&MW 97–82 Midwest Colorado State Jim Williams Independent Regional Runner-upDrakeL 84–77 Midwest Dayton Don Donoher Independent First roundColorado StateL 52–50 Midwest Drake Maury John Missouri Valley Third PlaceNorth CarolinaW 104–84 Midwest Texas A&M Shelby Metcalf Southwest Regional Fourth PlaceColoradoL 97–82 Midwest Trinity (TX) Bob Polk Southland First roundTexas A&ML 81–66 West West BYU Stan Watts Western Athletic First roundNew Mexico StateL 74–62 West New Mexico State Lou Henson Independent Regional Fourth PlaceWeber StateL 58–56 West Santa Clara Dick Garibaldi West Coast Regional Runner-upUCLAL 90–52 West Seattle Morris Buckwalter Independent First roundWeber StateL 75–73 West UCLA John Wooden Pac-8 ChampionPurdueW 92–72 West Weber State Phil Johnson Big Sky Regional third placeNew Mexico StateW 58–56
Bracket * – Denotes overtime period
East region
Mideast region
Midwest region
West region
Final Four
National third-place game
Regional third-place games
See also 1969 NCAA College Division basketball tournament 1969 National Invitation Tournament 1969 NAIA basketball tournament 1969 National Women's Invitation Tournament
Notes Three teams - Drake, Purdue and Trinity University - made their tournament debuts. While Drake and Purdue made the Final Four in their first appearances, Trinity, an independent school from San Antonio, did not win their regional quarterfinal game against Texas A&M. This would be Trinity's only appearance in the tournament, as they would drop down to Division II when the NCAA realigned its divisions in 1973. This tournament also marked the last tournament appearance of Seattle University. The team would leave the NCAA in 1980 due to budgetary cuts, joining the NAIA at that time. However, they would rejoin the NCAA in 2001 and, finally, rejoin Division I in 2009. The Redhawks, as they are now known, have not returned to the tournament since.
Announcers Curt Gowdy, Charlie Jones, Pat Hernon and Jim Simpson - First Round at Raleigh, North Carolina (Davidson-Villanova, St John's-Princeton); Mideast Regional Final at Madison, Wisconsin; Final Four at Louisville, Kentucky; Jones was used at the sideline reporter for the first round, Hernon was used for the Regional Final, and Simpson was used for the Final Four. Jim Simpson and Pat Hernon - First Round at Carbondale, Illinois (Miami Ohio-Notre Dame) Jim Simpson and Kyle Rote - East Regional Final at College Park, Maryland Jay Randolph and Bill Enis - Midwest Regional Final at Manhattan, Kansas Charlie Jones and Ross Porter - West Regional Final at Los Angeles, California
References