1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1963, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1964 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 21, 1964, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The UCLA Bruins won their first NCAA national championship with a 98–83 victory over the Duke Blue Devils.

1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Loyola Ramblers[1][2]
NCAA Tournament	1964
Tournament dates	March 9 – 21, 1964
National Championship	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Champions	UCLA Bruins
Helms National Champions	UCLA Bruins
Other champions	Bradley Braves (NIT)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Walt Hazzard, UCLA Bruins
← 1962–63 1964–65 →

Season headlines

• The Big Sky Conference began play, with six members.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and the Top 20 from the UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[3][4]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 Loyola-Chicago 2 NYU 3 Cincinnati 4 Duke 5 Wichita 6 Arizona State 7 Ohio State 8 Michigan 9 Kentucky 10 Oregon State

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Loyola-Chicago 2 Cincinnati 3 (tie) Duke NYU 5 Wichita 6 Arizona State 7 Ohio State 8 Michigan 9 Oregon State 10 Texas 11 Kentucky 12 Providence 13 (tie) San Francisco UCLA 15 Villanova 16 (tie) Kansas State Stanford 18 Minnesota 19 Oklahoma State 20 Bradley

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Austin Peay Governors	non-NCAA University Division	Ohio Valley Conference
Fordham Rams	Metropolitan New York Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Gonzaga Bulldogs	NCAA University Division independent	Big Sky Conference
Idaho Vandals	NCAA University Division independent	Big Sky Conference
Idaho State Bengals	NCAA University Division independent	Big Sky Conference
Manhattan Jaspers	Metropolitan New York Conference	NCAA University Division independent
Montana Grizzlies	NCAA University Division independent	Big Sky Conference
Montana State Bobcats	NCAA University Division independent	Big Sky Conference
NYU Violets	Metropolitan New York Conference	NCAA University Division independent
St. Francis Terriers	Metropolitan New York Conference	NCAA University Division independent
St. John's Redmen	Metropolitan New York Conference	NCAA University Division independent
UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos	non-NCAA University Division	West Coast Athletic Conference
Washington State Cougars	NCAA University Division independent	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Weber State Wildcats	non-NCAA University Division	Big Sky Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[5]	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	Duke	Jeff Mullins, Duke[6]	1964 ACC men's basketball tournament	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, North Carolina)	Duke
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Montana State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Michigan & Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Princeton	None selected	No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	None selected	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Temple		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Drake & Wichita	None selected	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Murray State	Jim Jennings, Murray State	1964 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky)	Murray State
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	None selected	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Fred Hetzel, Davidson[7]	1964 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	VMI[8]
Southwest Conference	Texas A&M	Bennie Lenox, Texas A&M	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	San Francisco	Ollie Johnson, San Francisco	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	Arizona State & New Mexico	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Connecticut & Rhode Island	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1963–64 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 UCLA 15 – 0   1.000 30 – 0   1.000 Stanford 9 – 6   .600 15 – 10   .600 California 8 – 7   .533 13 – 14   .481 USC 6 – 9   .400 10 – 16   .385 Washington 5 – 10   .333 9 – 17   .346 Washington State 2 – 13   .133 5 – 21   .192 Rankings from AP Poll[9]	1963–64 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Duke † 13 – 1   .929 26 – 5   .839 Wake Forest 9 – 5   .643 16 – 11   .593 Clemson 8 – 6   .571 13 – 12   .520 South Carolina 7 – 7   .500 10 – 14   .417 North Carolina 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 Maryland 5 – 9   .357 9 – 17   .346 Virginia 4 – 10   .286 8 – 16   .333 NC State 4 – 10   .286 8 – 11   .421 † 1964 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[10]	1963–64 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Kansas State 12 – 2   .857 22 – 7   .759 Colorado 9 – 5   .643 15 – 10   .600 Kansas 8 – 6   .571 13 – 12   .520 Oklahoma State 7 – 7   .500 15 – 10   .600 Missouri 7 – 7   .500 13 – 11   .542 Iowa State 5 – 9   .357 9 – 16   .360 Nebraska 5 – 9   .357 7 – 18   .280 Oklahoma 3 – 11   .214 7 – 18   .280 Rankings from AP Poll[11]
1963–64 Big Sky men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Montana State 8 – 2   .800 16 – 9   .640 Weber State 7 – 3   .700 17 – 8   .680 Idaho State 5 – 5   .500 10 – 15   .400 Gonzaga 5 – 5   .500 11 – 13   .458 Idaho 4 – 6   .400 7 – 19   .269 Montana 1 – 9   .100 6 – 17   .261	1963–64 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Michigan 11 – 3   .786 23 – 5   .821 Ohio State 11 – 3   .786 16 – 8   .667 Minnesota 10 – 4   .714 17 – 7   .708 Michigan State 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583 Purdue 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Illinois 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542 Northwestern 6 – 8   .429 8 – 13   .381 Indiana 5 – 9   .357 9 – 15   .375 Iowa 3 – 11   .214 8 – 15   .348 Wisconsin 2 – 12   .143 8 – 16   .333 Rankings from AP Poll	1963–64 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Princeton 12 – 2   .857 20 – 9   .690 Yale 11 – 3   .786 16 – 8   .667 Pennsylvania 10 – 4   .714 14 – 10   .583 Cornell 9 – 5   .643 15 – 10   .600 Harvard 6 – 8   .429 12 – 10   .545 Columbia 6 – 8   .429 11 – 12   .478 Brown 2 – 12   .143 6 – 19   .240 Dartmouth 0 – 14   .000 2 – 23   .080 Rankings from AP Poll
1963–64 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Ohio 10 – 2   .833 21 – 6   .778 Miami (Ohio) 9 – 3   .750 17 – 7   .708 Bowling Green State 7 – 5   .583 14 – 9   .609 Western Michigan 6 – 6   .500 10 – 14   .417 Kent State 5 – 7   .417 11 – 13   .458 Toledo 4 – 8   .333 13 – 11   .542 Marshall 1 – 11   .083 6 – 17   .261 Rankings from AP Poll	1963–64 MAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Temple 6 – 1   .857 17 – 8   .680 Saint Joseph's 5 – 1   .833 18 – 10   .643 La Salle 5 – 1   .833 16 – 9   .640 Delaware 4 – 3   .571 13 – 10   .565 Lafayette 4 – 4   .500 15 – 8   .652 Gettysburg 4 – 5   .444 15 – 9   .625 Bucknell 3 – 7   .300 8 – 13   .381 Lehigh 1 – 10   .091 5 – 17   .227 Rankings from AP Poll	1963–64 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Wichita Municipal 10 – 2   .833 23 – 6   .793 Drake 10 – 2   .833 21 – 7   .750 Bradley 7 – 5   .583 23 – 6   .793 Cincinnati 6 – 6   .500 17 – 9   .654 Saint Louis 6 – 6   .500 13 – 12   .520 Tulsa 2 – 10   .167 10 – 15   .400 North Texas State 1 – 11   .083 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll[12]
1963–64 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Murray State 11 – 3   .786 16 – 9   .640 Eastern Kentucky State 9 – 5   .643 15 – 9   .625 East Tennessee State 8 – 6   .571 12 – 10   .545 Austin Peay State 7 – 7   .500 14 – 9   .609 Tennessee Tech 7 – 7   .500 11 – 11   .500 Morehead State 6 – 8   .429 10 – 11   .476 Middle Tennessee 5 – 9   .357 11 – 10   .524 Western Kentucky State 3 – 11   .214 5 – 16   .238 Rankings from AP Poll	1963–64 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Kentucky 11 – 3   .786 21 – 6   .778 Tennessee 9 – 5   .643 16 – 8   .667 Georgia Tech 9 – 5   .643 17 – 9   .654 Vanderbilt 8 – 6   .571 19 – 6   .760 LSU 8 – 6   .571 12 – 13   .480 Georgia 8 – 6   .571 12 – 14   .462 Alabama 7 – 7   .500 14 – 12   .538 Ole Miss 7 – 7   .500 10 – 12   .455 Florida 6 – 8   .429 12 – 10   .545 Auburn 6 – 8   .429 11 – 12   .478 Mississippi State 4 – 10   .286 9 – 17   .346 Tulane 1 – 13   .071 1 – 22   .043 Rankings from AP Poll[13]	1963–64 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 Davidson 9 – 2   .818 22 – 4   .846 West Virginia 11 – 3   .786 18 – 10   .643 Virginia Tech 7 – 3   .700 16 – 7   .696 VMI † 7 – 7   .500 12 – 12   .500 Furman 7 – 8   .467 11 – 15   .423 George Washington 5 – 7   .417 11 – 15   .423 William & Mary 5 – 9   .357 9 – 13   .409 The Citadel 4 – 8   .333 11 – 10   .524 Richmond 4 – 12   .250 6 – 16   .273 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll
1963–64 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas A&M 13 – 1   .929 18 – 7   .720 Texas Tech 11 – 3   .786 16 – 7   .696 Rice 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625 Texas 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625 SMU 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Arkansas 6 – 8   .429 9 – 14   .391 Baylor 2 – 12   .143 7 – 17   .292 TCU 0 – 14   .000 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll	1963–64 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT San Francisco 12 – 0   1.000 23 – 5   .821 Pacific 7 – 5   .583 15 – 11   .577 Loyola (Calif.) 6 – 6   .500 12 – 13   .480 San Jose State –   – 14 – 10   .583 Saint Mary's 5 – 7   .417 7 – 19   .269 Pepperdine 3 – 9   .250 6 – 19   .240 Santa Clara 3 – 9   .250 6 – 20   .231 UC Santa Barbara –   – 18 – 11   .621 Rankings from AP Poll[14]
1963–64 WAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT New Mexico 7 – 3   .700 23 – 6   .793 Arizona State 7 – 3   .700 16 – 11   .593 BYU 5 – 5   .500 13 – 12   .520 Utah 4 – 6   .400 19 – 9   .679 Arizona 4 – 6   .400 15 – 11   .577 Wyoming 3 – 7   .300 12 – 14   .462 Rankings from AP Poll[15]	1963–64 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Rhode Island 8 – 2   .800 19 – 8   .704 Connecticut 8 – 2   .800 16 – 11   .593 Massachusetts 5 – 5   .500 15 – 9   .625 Vermont 4 – 6   .400 11 – 10   .524 Maine 3 – 7   .300 12 – 11   .522 New Hampshire 2 – 8   .200 8 – 15   .348

University Division independents

A total of 54 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Texas Western (25–3) had the best winning percentage (.893), and Texas Western and Oregon State (25–4) finished with the most wins.^[16]

1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas Western –   – 25 – 3   .893 No. 6 Oregon State –   – 25 – 4   .862 No. 7 Villanova –   – 24 – 4   .857 No. 9 DePaul –   – 21 – 4   .840 No. 8 Loyola Chicago –   – 22 – 6   .786 Seattle –   – 22 – 6   .786 Providence –   – 20 – 6   .769 Creighton –   – 22 – 7   .759 Iona –   – 15 – 5   .750 Miami (FL) –   – 20 – 7   .741 Army –   – 19 – 7   .731 Utah State –   – 21 – 8   .724 Boston University –   – 16 – 7   .696 Duquesne –   – 16 – 7   .696 Penn State –   – 16 – 7   .696 Pittsburgh –   – 17 – 8   .680 Syracuse –   – 17 – 8   .680 Centenary –   – 16 – 8   .667 St. Bonaventure –   – 16 – 8   .667 Portland –   – 17 – 9   .654 Holy Cross –   – 15 – 8   .652 Colorado State –   – 16 – 9   .640 NYU –   – 17 – 10   .630 Houston –   – 16 – 10   .615 Xavier –   – 16 – 10   .615 Dayton –   – 15 – 10   .600 Georgetown –   – 15 – 10   .600 Louisville –   – 15 – 10   .600 West Texas State –   – 13 – 9   .591 Oklahoma City –   – 15 – 11   .577 Regis –   – 12 – 9   .571 Detroit –   – 14 – 11   .560 Memphis State –   – 14 – 11   .560 St. John's –   – 14 – 11   .560 Oregon –   – 14 – 11   .560 Seton Hall –   – 13 – 12   .520 Butler –   – 13 – 13   .500 Loyola (LA) –   – 12 – 12   .500 Manhattan –   – 11 – 11   .500 Air Force –   – 11 – 12   .478 Boston College –   – 10 – 11   .476 Navy –   – 10 – 12   .455 Fordham –   – 9 – 11   .450 Florida State –   – 11 – 14   .440 Canisius –   – 10 – 14   .417 Notre Dame –   – 10 – 14   .417 Saint Francis (PA) –   – 10 – 14   .417 Niagara –   – 8 – 12   .400 St. Francis (NY) –   – 10 – 16   .385 New Mexico State –   – 8 – 15   .348 Colgate –   – 7 – 16   .304 Denver –   – 6 – 20   .231 Rutgers –   – 5 – 17   .227 Marquette –   – 5 – 21   .192 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	La Salle	Steve Courtin, Saint Joseph's, & Wali Jones, Villanova

La Salle finished with a 3–1 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1964 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1964 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	Duke	91
	ME	Michigan	80
						E	Duke	83
						W	UCLA	98
	MW	Kansas State	84
	W	UCLA	90			Third place
						ME	Michigan	100
						MW	Kansas State	90

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1964 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Bradley	67
	Army	52
					Bradley	86
					New Mexico	54
	New Mexico	72
	NYU	65			Third place
					Army	60
					NYU	59

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1964 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Gary Bradds	F	Senior	Ohio State
Bill Bradley	F	Junior	Princeton
Walt Hazzard	G	Senior	UCLA
Cotton Nash	F	Senior	Kentucky
Dave Stallworth	F	Junior	Wichita

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Ron Bonham	F	Senior	Cincinnati
Mel Counts	C	Senior	Oregon State
Fred Hetzel	F	Junior	Davidson
Jeff Mullins	G	Senior	Duke
Cazzie Russell	F	Sophomore	Michigan

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Walt Hazzard, UCLA
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Gary Bradds, Ohio State
• UPI Player of the Year: Gary Bradds, Ohio State
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Walt Hazzard, UCLA
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Bill Bradley, Princeton

Major coach of the year awards

• Henry Iba Award: John Wooden, UCLA
• NABC Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
• UPI Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA

Other major awards

• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Steve Courtin, Saint Joseph's, & Wali Jones, Villanova
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Nick Werkman, Seton Hall

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Dayton	Tom Blackburn		Don Donoher
Iowa	Sharm Scheuerman		Ralph Miller
Marquette	Eddie Hickey		Al McGuire
NC State	Everett Case		Press Maravich
Oregon State	Slats Gill		Paul Valenti
South Carolina	Chuck Noe	Dwane Morrison	Frank McGuire
Western Kentucky State	Edgar Diddle		John Oldham
Wichita State	Ralph Miller		Gary Thompson