UCLA Bruins Win NCAA Championship

On March 26, 1973, the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship is decided as UCLA beats Memphis 81-76.

The win over Memphis in the NCAA Tournament marked the seventh straight National Championship the Bruins had won dating back to 1967, and the end of back-to-back perfect seasons.

The 1973 Championship also marked another highlight in the dynasty that John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins had amassed.

The win also came during UCLA’s record breaking winning streak, which started in 1971 and went through 1974 where the Bruins won 88 consecutive games.

Since the 1973 Championship, UCLA has gone on to win two more NCAA Championships in 1975 and 1995.

They were the NCAA Tournament runner up in 1980 and 2006. They reached the Final Four 18 times, including a 10-year span where they went every year; 1967-1976. Their last appearance came in 2008, when they were making their third consecutive appearance from 2006-2008.

The Bruins have reached the NCAA Tournament 45 times from 1950, including 20 straight years from 1962-1981.

The Bruins made the NCAA Tournament this year adding onto their historic legacy of basketball excellence in Westwood, and are facing the No. 1 overall seed Florida Gators at 6:40 p.m. on CBS.

UCLA Bruins End Perfect Season

On March 21, 1964, the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team beat Duke by a score of 98-83 to win the NCAA Division I championship, and complete their perfect 30-0 season.

John Wooden (center) with the 1964 NCAA Champions UCLA Bruins.

At the time, the Bruins became only the forth team in NCAA men’s basketball history to record a perfect season.  The other three were the 1953-54 Kentucky Wildcats, the 1955-56 San Francisco Dons and the 1956-57 North Carolina Tar Heels.  The win was just the start of head coach John Wooden’s wonderful run at UCLA that would see him win 10 NCAA championships over the next 12 years, and earn the nickname as “The Wizard at Westwood.”

Since the Bruins’ perfect 1963-64 season, five more teams have record undefeated seasons, however, three of those were UCLA teams from Wooden’s era.  The other two were recorded by North Carolina State in 1972-73 and Indiana in 1975-76.

UCLA has since gone on to win 10 more NCAA Tournaments including eight straight from 1967-1973, with their last win coming in 1995.

They were the NCAA Tournament runner up in 1980 and 2006. They reached the Final Four 18 times, including a 10-year span where they went every year; 1967-1976. Their last appearance came in 2011, when they were making their first appearance since consecutive appearances from 2006-2008. However, the UCLA Bruins are in the back in the mix again this year as they take on Tulsa tonight.

The Bruins have reached the NCAA Tournament 46 times since 1950, including 20 straight years from 1962-1981.

UCLA Men's Basketball Sets Record

On Jan. 27, 1973, John Wooden and his UCLA Bruins men's basketball team broke the consecutive victories record in NCAA basketball Jan. 27, 1973.

Their 61st consecutive win was an 82-63 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame figured prominently into the eventual 88-game winning streak of the Bruins. Notre Dame was the last team to beat UCLA as the streak started.

They were also the next team to defeat Wooden's squad to end the streak at 88 games.

The 88 game win streak was the longest in history in any major North American professional sport or collegiate sport.

He would also coach four undefeated teams in 1964, 1967, 1972 and 1973. The 1972-1973 teams continued their unbeaten streak into 1974, which was 88 game win streak team.

John Wooden, nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—seven in a row  – as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat.

Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games. Wooden was named national coach of the year six times.

Wooden would win 664 games in his career as a head coach and only lose 162, to have a winning percentage of .802 (just over 80 percent).

As a player, Wooden was the first to be named basketball All-American three times and he won a national championship at Purdue. Wooden was named a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (inducted in 1961) and as a coach (in 1973), the first person ever enshrined in both categories.

Only Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman have since had the same honor.

He was one of the most revered coaches and was beloved by his former players, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.

Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players, including his "Pyramid of Success". These often were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball.

In 2006 Wooden was part of the founding class for the College Basketball Hall of Fame, which is located in Kansas City, Mo.