1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1970, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 27, 1971, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The UCLA Bruins won their seventh NCAA national championship with a 68–62 victory over the Villanova Wildcats.

1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA Bruins[1][2]
NCAA Tournament	1971
Tournament dates	March 13 – 27, 1971
National Championship	Astrodome Houston, Texas
NCAA Champions	UCLA Bruins
Helms National Champions	UCLA Bruins
Other champions	North Carolina Tar Heels (NIT)
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden)	Austin Carr, Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Naismith)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Austin Carr, Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sidney Wicks, UCLA Bruins
← 1969–70 1971–72 →

Season headlines

• The NCAA introduced a new rule prohibiting any team which turned down an invitation to the NCAA tournament from playing in any other postseason tournament. The effect of the rule is to prevent NCAA Tournament invitees from accepting a National Invitation Tournament instead, diminishing the quality of the pool of teams eligible to play in the NIT.^[3]
• UCLA won its fifth NCAA championship in a row, seventh overall, and seventh in eight seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its fifth of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[4][5]

Associated Press Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 South Carolina 3 Kentucky 4 Jacksonville 5 Notre Dame 6 Marquette 7 USC 8 Villanova 9 Western Kentucky 10 Drake 11 Penn 12 Utah State 13 Duke 14 Kansas 15 New Mexico State 16 Indiana 17 Houston 18 Long Beach State 19 NC State 20 St. Bonaventure

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 UCLA 2 South Carolina 3 Jacksonville 4 Kentucky 5 Marquette 6 Notre Dame 7 Penn 8 Western Kentucky 9 Utah State 10 USC 11 Kansas 12 Indiana 13 Villanova 14 Florida State 15 Long Beach State 16 (tie) Drake Utah 18 Kansas State 19 Duke 20 Illinois

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Cincinnati Bearcats	Missouri Valley Conference	University Division independent
George Washington Colonials	Southern Conference	University Division independent
New Mexico State Aggies	University Division independent	Missouri Valley Conference
West Texas State Buffaloes	University Division independent	Missouri Valley Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner[6]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Charlie Davis, Wake Forest[7]	1971 ACC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	South Carolina
Big Eight Conference	Kansas	Cliff Meely, Colorado, & Dave Robisch, Kansas[8]	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Ohio State	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Penn	None selected	No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	Ken Kowall, Ohio[9]	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Saint Joseph's (East); Lafayette (West)		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Drake, Louisville, & Saint Louis	Jeff Halliburton, Drake	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky	Jim McDaniels, Western Kentucky	No Tournament
Pacific 8 Conference	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Long Beach State	George Trapp, Long Beach State	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	Johnny Neumann, Mississippi[10]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Jim Gregory, East Carolina, & Tom Jasper, William & Mary[11]	1971 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)	East Carolina[12]
Southland Conference	Arkansas State	Luke Adams, Lamar, & Allan Pruett, Arkansas State[13]	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	TCU	Goo Kennedy, TCU	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	Pacific	John Gianelli, Pacific	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	BYU	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Massachusetts	None selected	No Tournament

Conference standings

1970–71 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 13 North Carolina 11 – 3   .786 26 – 6   .813 No. 6 South Carolina † 10 – 4   .714 23 – 6   .793 Duke 9 – 5   .643 20 – 10   .667 Wake Forest 7 – 7   .500 16 – 10   .615 Virginia 6 – 8   .429 15 – 11   .577 NC State 5 – 9   .357 13 – 14   .481 Maryland 5 – 9   .357 14 – 12   .538 Clemson 3 – 11   .214 9 – 17   .346 † 1971 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1970–71 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Kansas 14 – 0   1.000 27 – 3   .900 Oklahoma 9 – 5   .643 19 – 8   .704 Missouri 9 – 5   .643 17 – 9   .654 Nebraska 8 – 6   .571 18 – 8   .692 Colorado 6 – 8   .429 14 – 12   .538 Kansas State 6 – 8   .429 11 – 15   .423 Oklahoma State 2 – 12   .143 7 – 19   .269 Iowa State 2 – 12   .143 5 – 21   .192 Rankings from AP Poll[14]	1970–71 Big Sky men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Weber State 12 – 2   .857 21 – 6   .778 Idaho 8 – 6   .571 14 – 11   .560 Montana State 8 – 6   .571 10 – 13   .435 Idaho State 7 – 7   .500 9 – 15   .375 Gonzaga 6 – 8   .429 12 – 13   .480 Montana 6 – 8   .429 8 – 16   .333 Boise State 5 – 9   .357 10 – 16   .385 Northern Arizona 4 – 10   .286 6 – 19   .240
1970–71 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 Ohio State 13 – 1   .929 20 – 6   .769 Michigan 12 – 2   .857 19 – 7   .731 Purdue 11 – 3   .786 18 – 7   .720 Indiana 9 – 5   .643 17 – 7   .708 Illinois 5 – 9   .357 11 – 12   .478 Minnesota 5 – 9   .357 11 – 13   .458 Michigan State 4 – 10   .286 10 – 14   .417 Iowa 4 – 10   .286 9 – 15   .375 Wisconsin 4 – 10   .286 9 – 15   .375 Northwestern 3 – 11   .214 7 – 17   .292 Rankings from AP Poll	1970–71 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Pennsylvania 14 – 0   1.000 28 – 1   .966 Harvard 11 – 3   .786 16 – 10   .615 Columbia 9 – 5   .643 15 – 9   .625 Princeton 9 – 5   .643 14 – 11   .560 Brown 5 – 9   .357 10 – 15   .400 Dartmouth 5 – 9   .357 10 – 16   .385 Yale 2 – 12   .143 4 – 20   .167 Cornell 1 – 13   .071 5 – 21   .192 Rankings from AP Poll	1970–71 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Miami (Ohio) 9 – 1   .900 20 – 5   .800 Ohio 6 – 4   .600 17 – 7   .708 Western Michigan 5 – 5   .500 14 – 10   .583 Kent State 4 – 6   .400 13 – 11   .542 Toledo 4 – 6   .400 13 – 11   .542 Bowling Green State 2 – 8   .200 7 – 18   .280 Rankings from AP Poll
1970–71 MAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT University–Eastern Saint Joseph's† 6 – 0   1.000 19 – 9   .679 La Salle 5 – 1   .833 20 – 7   .741 Hofstra 4 – 2   .667 16 – 8   .667 Temple 3 – 3   .500 13 – 12   .520 American 2 – 4   .333 13 – 12   .520 West Chester 1 – 5   .167 7 – 18   .280 Drexel 0 – 6   .000 7 – 17   .292 University–Western Lafayette 9 – 1   .900 17 – 9   .654 Rider 8 – 2   .800 20 – 6   .769 Delaware 5 – 5   .500 11 – 14   .440 Bucknell 4 – 6   .400 9 – 14   .391 Lehigh 4 – 6   .400 10 – 16   .385 Gettysburg 0 – 10   .000 4 – 21   .160 † 1971 MAC men's basketball tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1970–71 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 18 Drake 9 – 5   .643 21 – 8   .724 Louisville 9 – 5   .643 20 – 9   .690 Saint Louis 9 – 5   .643 17 – 12   .586 Memphis State 8 – 6   .571 18 – 8   .692 Tulsa 8 – 6   .571 17 – 9   .654 Bradley 6 – 8   .429 13 – 12   .520 North Texas State 4 – 10   .286 10 – 15   .400 Wichita State 3 – 11   .214 10 – 16   .385 West Texas State –   – 19 – 7   .731 New Mexico State –   – 19 – 8   .704 Rankings from AP Poll[15]	1970–71 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 7 Western Kentucky 12 – 2   .857 24 – 6   .800 Murray State 10 – 4   .714 19 – 5   .792 Eastern Kentucky 10 – 4   .714 16 – 8   .667 East Tennessee State 8 – 6   .571 12 – 12   .500 Austin Peay State 5 – 9   .357 10 – 14   .417 Morehead State 4 – 10   .286 8 – 17   .320 Tennessee Tech 4 – 10   .286 7 – 17   .292 Middle Tennessee 3 – 11   .214 11 – 15   .423 Rankings from AP Poll
1970–71 Pacific-8 Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 UCLA 14 – 0   1.000 29 – 1   .967 No. 5 USC 12 – 2   .857 24 – 2   .923 Oregon 8 – 6   .571 17 – 9   .654 California 8 – 6   .571 16 – 9   .640 Washington 6 – 8   .429 15 – 13   .536 Oregon State 4 – 10   .286 12 – 14   .462 Washington State 2 – 12   .143 12 – 14   .462 Stanford 2 – 12   .143 6 – 20   .231 As of 1971[16][17] Rankings from AP Poll[18]	1970–71 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 16 Long Beach State* 10 – 0   1.000 24 – 5   .828 UC Santa Barbara 8 – 2   .800 20 – 6   .769 Cal State Los Angeles 5 – 5   .500 15 – 11   .577 Fresno State 4 – 6   .400 15 – 11   .577 San Diego State 3 – 7   .300 12 – 14   .462 San Jose State 0 – 10   .000 2 – 24   .077 * – Overall record adjusted to 22–4 Rankings from AP Poll[19]	1970–71 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 Kentucky 16 – 2   .889 22 – 6   .786 No. 17 Tennessee 13 – 5   .722 21 – 7   .750 LSU 10 – 8   .556 14 – 12   .538 Mississippi State 9 – 9   .500 15 – 10   .600 Vanderbilt 9 – 9   .500 13 – 13   .500 Auburn 8 – 10   .444 11 – 15   .423 Florida 8 – 10   .444 11 – 15   .423 Ole Miss 6 – 12   .333 11 – 15   .423 Alabama 6 – 12   .333 10 – 16   .385 Georgia 5 – 13   .278 6 – 19   .240 Rankings from AP Poll
1970–71 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Davidson 9 – 1   .900 15 – 11   .577 William & Mary 7 – 3   .700 11 – 16   .407 East Carolina 7 – 4   .636 13 – 12   .520 The Citadel 6 – 5   .545 13 – 12   .520 Furman † 5 – 5   .500 15 – 12   .556 Richmond 3 – 9   .250 7 – 21   .250 VMI 1 – 11   .083 1 – 25   .038 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1970–71 Southland Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Arkansas State 6 – 2   .750 15 – 9   .625 Abilene Christian 5 – 3   .625 15 – 9   .625 Lamar 5 – 3   .625 11 – 13   .458 Texas-Arlington 3 – 5   .375 8 – 18   .308 Trinity (Tex.) 1 – 7   .125 5 – 16   .238 Rankings from AP Poll[20]	1970–71 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT TCU 11 – 3   .786 15 – 12   .556 Baylor 10 – 4   .714 18 – 8   .692 Texas Tech 9 – 5   .643 16 – 10   .615 SMU 8 – 6   .571 16 – 10   .615 Rice 6 – 8   .429 14 – 12   .538 Texas 6 – 8   .429 12 – 12   .500 Texas A&M 5 – 9   .357 9 – 17   .346 Arkansas 1 – 13   .071 5 – 21   .192 Rankings from AP Poll
1970-71 WCAC men's basketball standings Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Pacific 12 – 2   .857 22 – 6   .786 Loyola (Calif.) 10 – 4   .714 15 – 10   .600 UNLV 9 – 5   .643 16 – 10   .615 Santa Clara 8 – 6   .571 11 – 15   .423 San Francisco 8 – 6   .571 10 – 16   .385 Pepperdine 4 – 10   .286 12 – 13   .480 Saint Mary's 4 – 10   .286 10 – 16   .385 Nevada 1 – 13   .071 3 – 23   .115 Rankings from AP Poll[21]	1970–71 WAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT BYU 10 – 4   .714 18 – 11   .621 UTEP 9 – 5   .643 15 – 10   .600 Utah 9 – 5   .643 15 – 11   .577 Arizona State 8 – 6   .571 16 – 10   .615 Colorado State 7 – 7   .500 15 – 10   .600 Wyoming 6 – 8   .429 10 – 15   .400 New Mexico 4 – 10   .286 14 – 12   .538 Arizona 3 – 11   .214 10 – 16   .385 Rankings from AP Poll	1970–71 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Massachusetts 10 – 0   1.000 23 – 4   .852 Rhode Island 8 – 2   .800 10 – 17   .370 Connecticut 5 – 5   .500 10 – 14   .417 New Hampshire 3 – 7   .300 11 – 12   .478 Maine 3 – 7   .300 8 – 16   .333 Vermont 1 – 9   .100 9 – 15   .375

University Division independents

A total of 62 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Marquette (28–1) had both the best winning percentage (.966) and the most wins.^[22]

1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Marquette –   – 28 – 1   .966 No. 9 Fordham –   – 26 – 3   .897 No. 11 Jacksonville –   – 22 – 4   .846 No. 15 Duquesne –   – 21 – 4   .840 Hawaii –   – 23 – 5   .821 No. 19 Villanova –   – 27 – 7   .794 St. Bonaventure –   – 21 – 6   .778 No. 14 Houston –   – 22 – 7   .759 Utah State –   – 20 – 7   .741 Syracuse –   – 19 – 7   .731 Georgia Tech –   – 23 – 9   .719 Providence –   – 20 – 8   .714 Fairleigh Dickinson –   – 16 – 7   .696 Rutgers –   – 16 – 7   .696 Holy Cross –   – 18 – 8   .692 No. 12 Notre Dame –   – 20 – 9   .690 Dayton –   – 18 – 9   .667 St. John's (NY) –   – 18 – 9   .667 Denver –   – 17 – 9   .654 Florida State –   – 17 – 9   .654 Loyola (LA) –   – 16 – 10   .615 Marshall –   – 16 – 10   .615 Colgate –   – 15 – 10   .600 Saint Francis (PA) –   – 15 – 10   .600 Pittsburgh –   – 14 – 10   .583 Boston College –   – 15 – 11   .577 Northern Illinois –   – 13 – 10   .565 Southern Illinois –   – 13 – 10   .565 Creighton –   – 14 – 11   .560 Virginia Tech –   – 14 – 11   .560 Manhattan –   – 13 – 11   .542 Cincinnati –   – 14 – 12   .538 Detroit –   – 14 – 12   .538 Niagara –   – 14 – 12   .538 West Virginia –   – 13 – 12   .520 Centenary –   – 13 – 13   .500 Pan American –   – 13 – 13   .500 Navy –   – 12 – 12   .500 Air Force –   – 12 – 14   .462 Georgetown –   – 12 – 14   .462 Seattle –   – 12 – 14   .462 Army –   – 11 – 13   .458 Saint Peter's –   – 11 – 13   .458 Iona –   – 10 – 12   .455 Penn State –   – 10 – 12   .455 George Washington –   – 11 – 14   .440 Seton Hall –   – 11 – 15   .423 Long Island –   – 10 – 15   .400 Butler –   – 10 – 16   .385 Canisius –   – 8 – 13   .381 Fairfield –   – 9 – 15   .375 Hardin–Simmons –   – 9 – 16   .360 Oklahoma City –   – 9 – 16   .360 Xavier –   – 9 – 17   .346 DePaul –   – 8 – 17   .320 St. Francis (NY) –   – 8 – 17   .320 Tulane –   – 8 – 18   .308 Boston University –   – 7 – 18   .280 Miami (FL) –   – 7 – 19   .269 NYU –   – 5 – 20   .200 Portland –   – 5 – 21   .192 Loyola (IL) –   – 4 – 20   .167 Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Penn	Ken Durrett, La Salle

Penn finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Postseason tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and 1971 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E	Villanova	92
	ME	Western Kentucky	89
						E	Villanova	62
						W	UCLA	68
	MW	Kansas	60
	W	UCLA	68			Third place
						ME	Western Kentucky	77
						MW	Kansas	75

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1971 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	North Carolina	73
	Duke	69
					North Carolina	84
					Georgia Tech	66
	Georgia Tech	76
	St. Bonaventure	71			Third place
					Duke	88
					St. Bonaventure	92

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1971 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Austin Carr	G	Senior	Notre Dame
Artis Gilmore	C	Senior	Jacksonville
Jim McDaniels	C	Senior	Western Kentucky
Dean Meminger	G	Senior	Marquette
Sidney Wicks	F	Senior	UCLA

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Ken Durrett	F	Senior	La Salle
Johnny Neumann	F	Sophomore	Mississippi
Howard Porter	F	Senior	Villanova
John Roche	G	Senior	South Carolina
Curtis Rowe	F	Senior	UCLA

Major player of the year awards

• Naismith Award: Austin Carr, Notre Dame
• Helms Player of the Year: Austin Carr, Notre Dame, & Sidney Wicks, UCLA
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Austin Carr, Notre Dame
• UPI Player of the Year: Austin Carr, Notre Dame
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Sidney Wicks, UCLA
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Sidney Wicks, UCLA

Major coach of the year awards

• Associated Press Coach of the Year: Al McGuire, Marquette
• Henry Iba Award (USBWA): John Wooden, UCLA
• NABC Coach of the Year: Jack Kraft, Villanova
• UPI Coach of the Year: Al McGuire, Marquette
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: Al McGuire, Marquette

Other major awards

• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Charles Johnson, California
• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Ken Durrett, La Salle
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Charlie Yelverton, Fordham

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Army	Bob Knight		Dan Dougherty
Boston College	Chuck Daly		Bob Zuffelato
Indiana	Lou Watson		Bob Knight
Louisville	John Dromo	Howard Stacey	Denny Crum
Marshall	Stewart Way		Carl Tacy
Oregon	Steve Belko		Dick Harter
Penn	Dick Harter		Chuck Daly
Rutgers	Bill Foster		Dick Lloyd
Utah	Jack Gardner		Bill Foster
Washington	Tex Winter		Marv Harshman
Washington State	Marv Harshman		Bob Greenwood