The 1972 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA University Division (now Division I) college basketball. The 34th annual edition of the tournament began on Saturday, March 11, and ended with the championship game at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 25. A total of 29 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.

Led by longtime head coach John Wooden, the undefeated UCLA Bruins won the national title with an 81–76 victory in the final game over Florida State, coached by Hugh Durham. Sophomore center Bill Walton of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player; the first of two consecutive.

On a historically significant note, the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns made the tournament in their first season of eligibility for postseason play; the next to achieve this feat was North Dakota State in 2009. SW Louisiana (renamed the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1999; the school's athletic teams have been referred to as "Louisiana" since then) also made the tournament in 1973, but due to major infractions that resulted in the basketball program receiving the NCAA death penalty (and very nearly expelled from the NCAA altogether), both appearances have since been vacated and the records expunged.

This was the last year in which the championship game was played on Saturday; it moved to Monday night in 1973. This was also the last year the national semifinals were televised regionally on a Thursday or Friday night (The first game was televised to the Eastern and Central time zones and the second to the Mountain and Pacific time zones. Markets of participating teams were permitted to televise both games if the team of local interest was playing in the opposite window; in 1972, Louisville NBC affiliate WAVE broadcast both games live, as the Cardinals' semifinal vs. UCLA tipped off at 11:15 p.m. Eastern.).

Schedule and venues The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1972 tournament:

First round March 11 East Region Alumni Hall, Jamaica, New York (Host: St. John's University) Jadwin Gymnasium, Princeton, New Jersey (Host: Princeton University) William & Mary Hall, Williamsburg, Virginia (Host: The College of William & Mary) Mideast Region Stokely Athletic Center, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee) Midwest Region Pan American Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico (Host: New Mexico State University) West Region ASISU Minidome, Pocatello, Idaho (Hosts: Idaho State University, Big Sky Conference)

Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 16 and 18 East Regional, WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia (Host: West Virginia University) Mideast Regional, University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) Midwest Regional, Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa (Host: Iowa State University) West Regional, Marriott Center, Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young University)

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship) March 23 and 25 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California (Hosts: University of Southern California, Pacific-8 Conference)

Teams Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score East East East Carolina Tom Quinn Southern First roundVillanovaL 85–70 East North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic Coast Third PlaceLouisvilleW 105–91 East Penn Chuck Daly Ivy League Regional Runner-upNorth CarolinaL 73–59 East Providence Dave Gavitt Independent First roundPennL 76–60 East South Carolina Frank McGuire Independent Regional third placeVillanovaW 90–78 East Temple Harry Litwack Middle Atlantic First roundSouth CarolinaL 53–51 East Villanova Jack Kraft Independent Regional Fourth PlaceSouth CarolinaL 90–78 Mideast Mideast Eastern Kentucky Guy Strong Ohio Valley First roundFlorida StateL 83–81 Mideast Florida State Hugh Durham Independent Runner UpUCLAL 81–76 Mideast Kentucky Adolph Rupp Southeastern Regional Runner-upFlorida StateL 73–54 Mideast Marquette Al McGuire Independent Regional Fourth PlaceMinnesotaL 77–72 Mideast Minnesota Bill Musselman Big Ten Regional third placeMarquetteW 77–72 Mideast Ohio James Snyder Mid-American First roundMarquetteL 73–49 Midwest Midwest Houston Guy Lewis Independent First roundTexasL 85–74 Midwest Kansas State Jack Hartman Big Eight Regional Runner-upLouisvilleL 72–65 Midwest Southwestern Louisiana (Vacated) Beryl Shipley Southland Regional third placeTexasW 100–70 Midwest Louisville Denny Crum Missouri Valley Fourth PlaceNorth CarolinaL 105–91 Midwest Marshall Carl Tacy Independent First roundSouthwestern LouisianaL 112–101 Midwest Texas Leon Black Southwest Regional Fourth PlaceSouthwestern LouisianaL 100–70 West West BYU Stan Watts Western Athletic First roundLong Beach StateL 95–90 West Hawaii Red Rocha Independent First roundWeber StateL 91–64 West Long Beach State Jerry Tarkanian Pacific Coast Regional Runner-upUCLAL 73–57 West San Francisco Bob Gaillard West Coast Regional third placeWeber StateW 74–64 West UCLA John Wooden Pacific-8 ChampionFlorida StateW 81–76 West Weber State Gene Visscher Big Sky Regional Fourth PlaceSan FranciscoL 74–64

Bracket * – Denotes overtime period

East region

Mideast region

# - Minnesota vacated its appearance in the 1972 tournament.

Midwest region

West region

Final Four

Announcers Curt Gowdy, Tom Hawkins, and Jim Simpson (Final Four only) - First Round at Pocatello, Idaho (Long Beach State-BYU); East Regional Final at Morgantown, West Virginia; Final Four at Los Angeles, California Jim Simpson and Bill Enis - First Round at Knoxville, Tennessee (Marquette-Ohio) Jay Randolph and Pat Hernon - Mideast Regional Final at Dayton, Ohio Bill Enis and Frank Dill - Midwest Regional Final at Ames, Iowa Charlie Jones and Elgin Baylor - West Regional Final at Provo, Utah

See also 1972 NCAA College Division basketball tournament 1972 National Invitation Tournament 1972 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 1972 National Women's Invitation Tournament

References