The 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1973, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1974 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 25, 1974, at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The North Carolina State Wolfpack won its first NCAA national championship with a 76–64 victory over the Marquette Warriors.
Rule changes
Holding or grabbing an opposing player away from the ball became fouls, as did illegal screens.[3]
Season headlines
- Prior to the beginning of the season, NCAA Division I replaced the NCAA University Division as the subdivision of the NCAA made up of colleges and universities competing at the highest level of college sports. In addition, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III replaced the NCAA College Division for colleges and universities competing at a lower level, with Division II consisting of schools awarding limited athletic scholarships and Division III consisting of schools offering no athletic scholarships.[4]
- On August 5, 1973, the NCAA handed down a two-year "death penalty" (i.e., ban on competing) to the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; athletically branded "Louisiana" since the 1999–2000 season) after discovering over 100 rules violations, the most egregious of which were payments to players and falsified high school transcripts. All other Ragin' Cajun teams were placed on four years' probation and banned from competing for national championships during that period. The NCAA also proposed expelling the university from the organization, but that penalty was reduced to forfeiture of voting rights at the annual convention for three years. Additionally, the Ragin' Cajuns' participation in the 1972 and 1973 University Division tournaments was scrubbed from the record books, and the university was required to return all tournament revenue. Southwestern Louisiana became the first university to have a season cancelled by the NCAA since Kentucky in the 1952–53 season.
- In 1973, the first public draw for tickets to the NCAA tournament's Final Four games took place. The tickets were for the 1974 Final Four.[5]
- In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its eighth of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
- To compete with the National Invitation Tournament, the NCAA created the Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament as a new postseason tournament which debuted in 1974. Renamed the National Commissioners Invitational Tournament the following season, it lasted only two years.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll and UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[6][7]
Conference membership changes
Regular season
Conferences
Conference winners and tournaments
Conference
|
Regular season winner[8]
|
Conference player of the year
|
Conference tournament
|
Tournament venue (City)
|
Tournament winner
|
Atlantic Coast Conference |
NC State |
David Thompson, NC State[9] |
1974 ACC men's basketball tournament |
Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina) |
NC State
|
Big Eight Conference |
Kansas |
Lon Kruger, Kansas State[10] |
No Tournament
|
Big Sky Conference |
Idaho State & Montana |
None selected |
No Tournament
|
Big Ten Conference |
Indiana & Michigan |
None selected |
No Tournament
|
Ivy League |
Penn |
None selected |
No Tournament
|
Mid-American Conference |
Ohio |
Walter Luckett, Ohio[11] |
No Tournament
|
Middle Atlantic Conference |
La Salle & Saint Joseph's (East); Rider (West) |
Bill Taylor, La Salle, & Earl Brown, Lafayette |
No Tournament
|
Missouri Valley Conference |
Louisville |
Junior Bridgeman, Louisville |
No Tournament
|
Ohio Valley Conference |
Austin Peay & Morehead State |
Fly Williams, Austin Peay |
No Tournament
|
Pacific 8 Conference |
UCLA |
None selected |
No Tournament
|
Pacific Coast Athletic Association |
Long Beach State |
Leonard Gray, Long Beach State |
No Tournament
|
Southeastern Conference |
Alabama & Vanderbilt |
Jan van Breda Kolff, Vanderbilt[12] |
No Tournament
|
Southern Conference |
Furman |
Clyde Mayes, Furman[13] |
1974 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament |
Richmond Coliseum (Richmond, Virginia) (Semifinals and Finals) |
Furman[14]
|
Southland Conference |
Arkansas State |
Steve Brooks, Arkansas State[15] |
No Tournament
|
Southwest Conference |
Texas |
Larry Robinson, Texas |
No Tournament
|
West Coast Athletic Conference |
San Francisco |
Frank Oleynick, Seattle |
No Tournament
|
Western Athletic Conference |
New Mexico |
None selected |
No Tournament
|
Yankee Conference |
Massachusetts |
None selected |
No Tournament
|
Conference standings
|
|
|
|
1973–74 Ivy League men's basketball standings
|
Conf. |
|
|
Overall
|
Team |
W |
|
L |
|
PCT |
|
|
W |
|
L |
|
PCT
|
Pennsylvania |
13 |
– |
1 |
|
.929 |
|
|
21 |
– |
6
|
|
.778
|
Brown |
11 |
– |
3 |
|
.786 |
|
|
17 |
– |
9
|
|
.654
|
Princeton |
11 |
– |
3 |
|
.786 |
|
|
16 |
– |
10
|
|
.615
|
Harvard |
9 |
– |
5 |
|
.643 |
|
|
11 |
– |
13
|
|
.458
|
Yale |
5 |
– |
9 |
|
.357 |
|
|
8 |
– |
16
|
|
.333
|
Columbia |
4 |
– |
10 |
|
.286 |
|
|
5 |
– |
20
|
|
.200
|
Dartmouth |
2 |
– |
12 |
|
.143 |
|
|
4 |
– |
22
|
|
.154
|
Cornell |
1 |
– |
13 |
|
.071 |
|
|
3 |
– |
23
|
|
.115
|
|
Rankings from AP Poll
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1973–74 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
|
Conf. |
|
|
Overall
|
Team |
W |
|
L |
|
PCT |
|
|
W |
|
L |
|
PCT
|
No. 14 Alabama |
15 |
– |
3 |
|
.833 |
|
|
22 |
– |
4
|
|
.846
|
No. 13 Vanderbilt |
15 |
– |
3 |
|
.833 |
|
|
23 |
– |
5
|
|
.821
|
Tennessee |
12 |
– |
6 |
|
.667 |
|
|
17 |
– |
9
|
|
.654
|
Ole Miss |
9 |
– |
9 |
|
.500 |
|
|
15 |
– |
10
|
|
.600
|
Florida |
9 |
– |
9 |
|
.500 |
|
|
15 |
– |
11
|
|
.577
|
Kentucky |
9 |
– |
9 |
|
.500 |
|
|
13 |
– |
13
|
|
.500
|
Mississippi State |
8 |
– |
10 |
|
.444 |
|
|
16 |
– |
10
|
|
.615
|
LSU |
6 |
– |
12 |
|
.333 |
|
|
12 |
– |
14
|
|
.462
|
Auburn |
5 |
– |
13 |
|
.278 |
|
|
10 |
– |
16
|
|
.385
|
Georgia |
2 |
– |
16 |
|
.111 |
|
|
6 |
– |
20
|
|
.231
|
|
Rankings from AP Poll
|
|
|
|
1973–74 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
|
Conf. |
|
|
Overall
|
Team |
W |
|
L |
|
PCT |
|
|
W |
|
L |
|
PCT
|
Texas |
11 |
– |
3 |
|
.786 |
|
|
12 |
– |
15
|
|
.444
|
Texas Tech |
10 |
– |
4 |
|
.714 |
|
|
17 |
– |
9
|
|
.654
|
SMU |
10 |
– |
4 |
|
.714 |
|
|
15 |
– |
12
|
|
.556
|
Texas A&M |
7 |
– |
7 |
|
.500 |
|
|
15 |
– |
11
|
|
.577
|
Arkansas |
6 |
– |
8 |
|
.429 |
|
|
10 |
– |
16
|
|
.385
|
Baylor |
5 |
– |
9 |
|
.357 |
|
|
12 |
– |
13
|
|
.480
|
Rice |
5 |
– |
9 |
|
.357 |
|
|
11 |
– |
17
|
|
.393
|
TCU |
2 |
– |
12 |
|
.143 |
|
|
8 |
– |
17
|
|
.320
|
|
Rankings from AP Poll
|
|
|
|
|
Division I independents
A total of 81 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, Notre Dame (26–3) had the best winning percentage (.897) and Providence (28–4) finished with the most wins.[23]
Penn finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Statistical leaders
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
| National semifinals
| | | National finals
| |
| | | | | | | | | |
| E
| NC State
| 80
| | |
|
| W
| UCLA
| 77
| |
| | E
| NC State
| 76
| |
|
| |
| | | ME
| Marquette
| 64
| |
| ME
| Marquette
| 64
| |
|
| MW
| Kansas
| 51
| | | Third place
|
|
|
| | W
| UCLA
| 78
|
|
| | MW
| Kansas
| 61
|
National Invitation Tournament
Semifinals & finals
Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament
The Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament debuted this season as a new postseason tournament created by the NCAA to compete with the NIT. It was renamed the National Commissioners Invitational Tournament the following year.
Semifinals & final
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
Major player of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
References
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ orangehoops.org History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes
- ^ "Burnsed, Brian, "A Brief History of Men's College Basketball," Champion, Fall 2018 Accessed April 6, 2021". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
- ^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
- ^ sports-reference.com 1973-74 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
- ^ sports-reference.com 1973-74 Men's Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
- ^ "2011-12 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 67. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
- ^ "1973-74 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ "1973-74 Men's Southland Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/wcac/1974.html
- ^ sports-reference.com 1973-74 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
- ^ "1973-74 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ Written at Los Angeles. "Thompson, Walton Honored by CSAF". The Times and Democrat. Orangeburg, South Carolina. Associated Press. April 3, 2023. p. 14A. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
David Thompson of North Carolina State and Bill Walton of UCLA were named college basketball Players of the Year Wednesday by the Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation. It was the third consecutive year Walton was cited.