1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1967–68 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA
NCAA Tournament	1968
Tournament dates	March 8 – 23, 1968
National Championship	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California
NCAA Champions	UCLA
Helms National Champions	UCLA
Other champions	Dayton (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Lew Alcindor, UCLA

The 1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1967, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 23, 1968, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their fourth NCAA national championship with a 78–55 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Rule changes

The slam dunk — criticized as a move that rewards height rather than skill — is prohibited in NCAA basketball both during games and during pre-game warm-ups. It will not become legal again until the 1976–77 season.

Season headlines

• Marketed as the "Game of the Century," a meeting of the Houston Cougars and the UCLA Bruins on January 20, 1968, was the first college basketball game televised nationwide in prime time in the United States. Syndicated by the TVS Television Network with Dick Enberg as play-by-play announcer and Bob Pettit providing color commentary, the broadcast established college basketball as a sports commodity on American television and paved the way for the television coverage of the NCAA tournament known today.
• UCLA won its second NCAA championship in a row, fourth overall, and fourth in five seasons. In the Athletic Association of Western Universities, it also won its second of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
• The National Invitation Tournament expanded from 14 to 16 teams.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and Top 20 from the Coaches Poll during the pre-season.

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 Houston 3 Louisville 4 North Carolina 5 Kansas 6 Dayton 7 Boston College 8 Princeton 9 Vanderbilt 10 Davidson

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 Houston 3 Kansas 4 Louisville 5 North Carolina 6 Dayton 7 Boston College 8 Princeton 9 Vanderbilt 10 Tennessee 11 Indiana 12 Davidson 13 Cincinnati 14 UTEP 15 (tie) Loyola-Chicago St. John's Wyoming 18 Marquette 19 (tie) Duke Niagara

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Memphis State Tigers	NCAA University Division independent	Missouri Valley Conference
NYU Violets	Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	NCAA University Division independent

Regular season

Conference

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Athletic Association of Western Universities	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Larry Miller, North Carolina	1968 ACC men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Donald Smith, Iowa State	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Iowa & Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Columbia	None selected	No Tournament
Metropolitan Collegiate Conference	St. Peter's		No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green State	Fred Foster, Miami (OH)	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	La Salle		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Drake & Louisville	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	East Tennessee State & Murray State	Wayne Chapman, Western Kentucky, & Skeeter Swift, East Tennessee State	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	Pete Maravich, LSU	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Ron Williams, West Virginia	1968 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	Davidson
Southwest Conference	TCU	Billy Arnold, Texas	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Santa Clara	Rick Adelman, Loyola (Calif.)	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	New Mexico	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Massachusetts & Rhode Island	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1967–68 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 UCLA 14 – 0   1.000 29 – 1   .967 USC 11 – 3   .786 18 – 8   .692 Washington State 8 – 6   .571 16 – 9   .640 California 7 – 7   .500 16 – 9   .640 Oregon State 5 – 9   .357 12 – 13   .480 Stanford 5 – 9   .357 11 – 15   .423 Washington 4 – 10   .286 12 – 14   .462 Oregon 2 – 12   .143 7 – 19   .269 Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 ACC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 North Carolina † 12 – 2   .857 28 – 4   .875 No. 10 Duke 11 – 3   .786 22 – 6   .786 NC State 9 – 5   .643 16 – 10   .615 South Carolina 9 – 5   .643 15 – 7   .682 Virginia 5 – 9   .357 9 – 16   .360 Maryland 4 – 10   .286 8 – 16   .333 Clemson 3 – 11   .214 4 – 20   .167 Wake Forest 3 – 11   .214 5 – 21   .192 † 1968 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas State 11 – 3   .786 19 – 9   .679 Kansas 10 – 4   .714 22 – 8   .733 Nebraska 8 – 6   .571 15 – 10   .600 Oklahoma 8 – 6   .571 13 – 13   .500 Iowa State 8 – 6   .571 12 – 13   .480 Missouri 5 – 9   .357 10 – 16   .385 Oklahoma State 3 – 11   .214 10 – 16   .385 Colorado 3 – 11   .214 9 – 16   .360 Rankings from AP Poll
1967–68 Big Sky men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Weber State 12 – 3   .800 21 – 6   .778 Idaho 9 – 3   .750 15 – 11   .577 Idaho State 7 – 8   .467 13 – 13   .500 Montana State 6 – 9   .400 10 – 15   .400 Gonzaga 6 – 9   .400 9 – 17   .346 Montana 5 – 10   .333 8 – 17   .320	1967–68 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Ohio State 10 – 4   .714 21 – 8   .724 Iowa 10 – 4   .714 16 – 9   .640 Purdue 9 – 5   .643 15 – 9   .625 Northwestern 8 – 6   .571 13 – 10   .565 Wisconsin 7 – 7   .500 13 – 11   .542 Michigan State 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 Illinois 6 – 8   .429 11 – 13   .458 Michigan 6 – 8   .429 11 – 13   .458 Indiana 4 – 10   .286 10 – 14   .417 Minnesota 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 Ivy League men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 7 Columbia† 12 – 2   .857 23 – 5   .821 Princeton 12 – 2   .857 20 – 6   .769 Yale 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625 Cornell 6 – 8   .429 14 – 11   .560 Dartmouth 6 – 8   .429 8 – 18   .308 Brown 4 – 10   .286 9 – 16   .360 Pennsylvania 4 – 10   .286 9 – 17   .346 Harvard 4 – 10   .286 7 – 14   .333 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll
1967–68 Metropolitan Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Saint Peter's 8 – 0   1.000 24 – 4   .857 LIU 7 – 1   .875 22 – 2   .917 Wagner 5 – 3   .625 21 – 8   .724 Iona 4 – 4   .500 13 – 9   .591 Fairleigh Dickinson 4 – 4   .500 10 – 12   .455 Seton Hall 4 – 4   .500 9 – 15   .375 Manhattan 3 – 5   .375 8 – 14   .364 Hofstra 1 – 7   .125 13 – 12   .520 St. Francis (NY) 0 – 8   .000 7 – 16   .304 Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Bowling Green State 10 – 2   .833 18 – 7   .720 Marshall 9 – 3   .750 17 – 8   .680 Toledo 8 – 4   .667 16 – 8   .667 Western Michigan 5 – 7   .417 11 – 13   .458 Miami (Ohio) 4 – 8   .333 11 – 12   .478 Kent State 3 – 9   .250 9 – 15   .375 Ohio 3 – 9   .250 7 – 16   .304 Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 MAC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT La Salle† 8 – 0   1.000 20 – 8   .714 Delaware 7 – 2   .778 16 – 7   .696 American 5 – 2   .714 14 – 12   .538 Temple 5 – 3   .625 19 – 9   .679 Saint Joseph's 2 – 2   .500 17 – 9   .654 Lehigh 5 – 5   .500 12 – 11   .522 Gettysburg 5 – 6   .455 14 – 11   .560 Bucknell 4 – 6   .400 12 – 11   .522 Rider 1 – 6   .143 9 – 15   .375 Lafayette 1 – 11   .083 5 – 19   .208 † Regular-season championship winner Rankings from AP Poll
1967–68 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 9 Louisville 14 – 2   .875 21 – 7   .750 Bradley 12 – 4   .750 19 – 9   .679 Cincinnati 11 – 5   .688 18 – 8   .692 Drake 9 – 7   .563 18 – 8   .692 Saint Louis 9 – 7   .563 15 – 11   .577 Wichita State 7 – 9   .438 12 – 14   .462 Tulsa 5 – 11   .313 11 – 12   .478 North Texas State 3 – 13   .188 8 – 18   .308 Memphis State 2 – 14   .125 8 – 17   .320 Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East Tennessee State 10 – 4   .714 19 – 8   .704 Murray State 10 – 4   .714 16 – 8   .667 Western Kentucky 9 – 5   .643 18 – 7   .720 Morehead State 8 – 6   .571 12 – 9   .571 Middle Tennessee 7 – 7   .500 15 – 9   .625 Eastern Kentucky 6 – 8   .429 10 – 14   .417 Tennessee Tech 4 – 10   .286 10 – 16   .385 Austin Peay State 2 – 12   .143 8 – 16   .333 Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Kentucky 15 – 3   .833 22 – 5   .815 Tennessee 13 – 5   .722 20 – 6   .769 Vanderbilt 12 – 6   .667 20 – 6   .769 Georgia 11 – 7   .611 17 – 8   .680 Florida 11 – 7   .611 15 – 10   .600 LSU 8 – 10   .444 14 – 12   .538 Auburn 8 – 10   .444 13 – 13   .500 Mississippi State 5 – 13   .278 9 – 17   .346 Ole Miss 4 – 14   .222 7 – 17   .292 Alabama 3 – 15   .167 10 – 16   .385 Rankings from AP Poll
1967–68 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 Davidson † 9 – 1   .900 24 – 5   .828 West Virginia 9 – 2   .818 19 – 9   .679 The Citadel 6 – 5   .545 11 – 14   .440 VMI 8 – 7   .533 9 – 12   .429 Furman 6 – 6   .500 13 – 14   .481 Richmond 8 – 8   .500 12 – 13   .480 East Carolina 6 – 7   .462 9 – 16   .360 William & Mary 4 – 10   .286 6 – 18   .250 George Washington 2 – 12   .143 5 – 19   .208 † 1968 Southern Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT TCU 9 – 5   .643 15 – 11   .577 Baylor 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625 Texas A&M 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583 Texas 8 – 6   .571 11 – 13   .458 Arkansas 7 – 7   .500 10 – 14   .417 Rice 6 – 8   .429 8 – 16   .333 Texas Tech 5 – 9   .357 9 – 15   .375 SMU 5 – 9   .357 6 – 18   .250 Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Santa Clara 11 – 1   .917 22 – 4   .846 Loyola (Calif.) 10 – 2   .833 19 – 6   .760 San Francisco 8 – 4   .667 16 – 10   .615 San Jose State –   – 13 – 12   .520 Pacific 5 – 7   .417 17 – 9   .654 UC Santa Barbara 3 – 9   .250 9 – 17   .346 Saint Mary's 3 – 9   .250 4 – 20   .167 Pepperdine 2 – 10   .167 9 – 17   .346 Rankings from AP poll
1967–68 WAC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 6 New Mexico 8 – 2   .800 23 – 5   .821 Wyoming 5 – 5   .500 18 – 9   .667 Utah 5 – 5   .500 17 – 9   .654 BYU 4 – 6   .400 13 – 12   .520 Arizona 4 – 6   .400 11 – 13   .458 Arizona State 4 – 6   .400 11 – 17   .393 Rankings from AP Poll	1967–68 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rhode Island 8 – 2   .800 15 – 11   .577 Massachusetts 8 – 2   .800 14 – 11   .560 Connecticut 7 – 3   .700 11 – 13   .458 Vermont 5 – 5   .500 12 – 12   .500 Maine 2 – 8   .200 7 – 17   .292 New Hampshire 0 – 10   .000 1 – 22   .043

University Division independents

A total of 53 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Houston (31–2) had both the best winning percentage (.939) and the most wins.

1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Houston –   – 31 – 2   .939 No. 3 St. Bonaventure –   – 23 – 2   .920 Army –   – 20 – 5   .800 Marquette –   – 23 – 6   .793 New Mexico State –   – 23 – 6   .793 St. Francis (PA) –   – 19 – 6   .760 Oklahoma City –   – 20 – 7   .741 Duquesne –   – 18 – 7   .720 Florida State –   – 19 – 8   .704 Fordham –   – 19 – 8   .704 St. John's –   – 19 – 8   .704 Dayton –   – 21 – 9   .700 Notre Dame –   – 21 – 9   .700 Boston College –   – 17 – 8   .680 Villanova –   – 19 – 9   .679 Holy Cross –   – 15 – 8   .652 Loyola Chicago –   – 15 – 9   .625 Fairfield –   – 16 – 10   .615 Texas Western –   – 14 – 9   .609 Miami (FL) –   – 17 – 11   .607 Rutgers –   – 14 – 10   .583 Utah State –   – 14 – 11   .560 VPI –   – 14 – 11   .560 Southern Illinois –   – 13 – 11   .542 DePaul –   – 13 – 12   .520 Detroit –   – 13 – 12   .520 Seattle –   – 14 – 13   .519 Jacksonville –   – 13 – 13   .500 Niagara –   – 12 – 12   .500 Tulane –   – 12 – 12   .500 Penn State –   – 10 – 10   .500 Georgia Tech –   – 12 – 13   .480 Georgetown –   – 11 – 12   .478 West Texas State –   – 10 – 11   .476 Colorado State –   – 11 – 13   .458 Navy –   – 9 – 11   .450 Butler –   – 11 – 14   .440 Denver –   – 11 – 14   .440 Loyola (LA) –   – 11 – 14   .440 Providence –   – 11 – 14   .440 Syracuse –   – 11 – 14   .440 Boston University –   – 10 – 14   .417 Northern Illinois –   – 10 – 14   .417 Colgate –   – 10 – 16   .385 Hardin–Simmons –   – 10 – 16   .385 Xavier –   – 10 – 16   .385 Air Force –   – 9 – 15   .375 NYU –   – 8 – 16   .333 Creighton –   – 8 – 17   .320 Pittsburgh –   – 7 – 15   .318 Canisius –   – 7 – 17   .292 Portland –   – 5 – 21   .192 Centenary –   – 3 – 23   .115 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Philadelphia Big 5	St. Joseph's	None selected	No Tournament

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1968 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	North Carolina	80
	ME	Ohio State	66
						E	North Carolina	55
						W	UCLA	78
	MW	Houston	69
	W	UCLA	101

• Third Place – Ohio State 89, Houston 85

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1968 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals					Finals
		Kansas	58
		St. Peter's	46
							Kansas	48
							Dayton	61
		Dayton	76
		Notre Dame	74

• Third Place – Notre Dame 81, St. Peter's 78

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1968 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Lew Alcindor	C	Junior	UCLA
Elvin Hayes	F/C	Senior	Houston
Pete Maravich	G/F	Sophomore	Louisiana State
Larry Miller	F	Senior	North Carolina
Wes Unseld	C	Senior	Louisville

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Lucius Allen	G	Junior	UCLA
Bob Lanier	C	Sophomore	St. Bonaventure
Don May	G/F	Senior	Dayton
Calvin Murphy	G	Sophomore	Niagara
Jo Jo White	G	Junior	Kansas

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Elvin Hayes, Houston
• UPI Player of the Year: Elvin Hayes, Houston
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Lew Alcindor, UCLA
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Elvin Hayes, Houston

Major coach of the year awards

• Associated Press Coach of the Year: Guy Lewis, Houston
• Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Guy Lewis, Houston
• NABC Coach of the Year: Guy Lewis, Houston
• UPI Coach of the Year: Guy Lewis, Houston
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: Guy Lewis, Houston

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Johnny Jones, Villanova
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jim McMillian, Columbia

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Bowling Green	Bill Fitch		Bob Conibear
Kansas State	Tex Winter		Cotton Fitzsimmons
Loyola (LA)	Ron Greene		Bob Luksta
Minnesota	John Kundla		Bill Fitch
Washington	Mac Duckworth		Tex Winter