1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

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

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.

Season headlines[edit]

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[edit]

Pre-season polls[edit]

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
16 (tie)	Utah
18	Kansas State
19	Duke
20	Illinois

Conference membership changes[edit]

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[edit]

Conference winners and tournaments[edit]

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

Informal championships[edit]

Affiliation	Regular season winner	Big 5 MVP	Affiliation Tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Philadelphia Big 5	Penn (4–0)	Ken Durrett, La Salle	No official tournament

Statistical leaders[edit]

Postseason tournaments[edit]

NCAA tournament[edit]

Final Four[edit]

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 – Western Kentucky 77, Kansas 75

National Invitation tournament[edit]

Semifinals & finals[edit]

Semifinals			Finals

	North Carolina	73

	Duke	69
				North Carolina	84

				Georgia Tech	66
	Georgia Tech	76

	St. Bonaventure	71

Third Place – St. Bonaventure 92, Duke 88

Awards[edit]

Consensus All-American teams[edit]

**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

Coaching changes[edit]

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach
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

References[edit]

^ 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.
^ John Feinstein (February 1, 2016). "Kryzyzewski, Knight coached at Army. It still lacks an NCAA tournament appearance". The Washington Post.
^ 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

[preseason-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[3] John Feinstein (February 1, 2016). "Kryzyzewski, Knight coached at Army. It still lacks an NCAA tournament appearance". The Washington Post.

[ESPN-4] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[5] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[6] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[7] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14

[8] 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04

[9] 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14

[10] 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06

[11] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[12] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[13] 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

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v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24