Wooden Championships
| Year | Record | Final Opponent | Final Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 30–0 | Duke | 98–83 | John Wooden wins his first national title in his sixteenth season at UCLA. Senior Walt Hazzard stars for UCLA as the Bruins make a 16–0 run late in the first half to beat Duke and their All-American Jeff Mullins. |
| 1965 | 28–2 | Michigan | 91–80 | The Bruins are led by senior All-American guard Gail Goodrich and their zone press. Goodrich scores 42 points in the final against Michigan and Cazzie Russell. |
| 1967 | 30–0 | Dayton | 79–64 | The Bruins start a junior and four sophomores, including Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). UCLA defeats unranked Dayton and Don May in the title game. |
| 1968 | 29–1 | North Carolina | 78–55 | UCLA's 47-game winning streak comes to an end on January 20 when the Bruins are beaten by Houston and All-American Elvin Hayes in the Astrodome 71–69 in front of the biggest college basketball crowd in NCAA history (52,693) in the nation's first nationally televised regular season college basketball game. The game was known as the Game of the Century. Lew Alcindor was limited from having been hospitalized the week before with a scratched cornea. The Bruins, at full strength, avenged the loss in a rematch with Houston in the NCAA semi-finals, beat the Cougars 101–69. UCLA then defeated North Carolina in the title game to become the only team to win consecutive NCAA championships twice. |
| 1969 | 29–1 | Purdue | 92–72 | UCLA defeats Wooden's alma mater Purdue and their All-America Rick Mount in the championship game. UCLA becomes the only school to win three NCAA Basketball Championships in a row and Wooden becomes the first coach to win five NCAA championships. Lew Alcindor finishes his career at UCLA with an 88–2 record. |
| 1970 | 28–2 | Jacksonville | 80–69 | Even with the graduation of Alcindor (Abdul-Jabbar), UCLA wins its fourth in a row. The Bruins come back from a nine-point first half deficit as junior Sidney Wicks outshines Artis Gilmore in the title game. |
| 1971 | 29–1 | Villanova | 68–62 | Senior Steve Patterson scores 29 points in the championship game against Villanova and tourney MVP Howard Porter as UCLA wins their fifth in a row. In their regional final, UCLA overcomes an 11-point deficit to defeat Long Beach State, 57–55. |
| 1972 | 30–0 | Florida State | 81–76 | Sophomore Bill Walton leads the Bruins to their sixth championship in a row. The Bruins have a rough time with Florida State and their great ball handler, Otto Petty, in the closest game of all their title wins, but their margin of victory in the NCAA tournament is a record 30.3 points. They become the first team to post three 30–0 seasons. |
| 1973 | 30–0 | Memphis State | 87–66 | The Bruins become the only team in history with back-to-back undefeated seasons as they win their seventh straight. In the championship game, junior Bill Walton hits 21 of 22 field goal attempts and scores 44 points in one of the greatest offensive performances in the history of the NCAA tournament. |
| 1975 | 28–3 | Kentucky | 92–85 | Coach Wooden ends his 27-year UCLA coaching career by winning his tenth national championship in 12 years. He announces his retirement during the post-game press conference of the semi-final win against Louisville, and the UCLA players give him a going away present with a win over Kentucky and their captain, Jimmy Dan Conner. For the Bruins, Richard Washington and Dave Meyers score 28 and 24 points respectively to offset Kevin Grevey's game-high 34. |
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Famous quotes containing the word wooden:
“Hard labor and spare diet they had, and off wooden trenchers, but they had peace and freedom, and the wailing of the tempest in the woods sounded kindlier in their ear than the smooth voice of the prelates, at home, in England.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)