1973 NCAA Championship UCLA vs Memphis St

[@manofstele]

RIP Bill Walton. I came here today to rewatch the best individual game performance in NCAA tournament history. What a legend.

[@GBeret83]

The five highest-scoring individual performances in NCAA Championship game history: #1-Bill Walton-(UCLA) 44 points in this game against Memphis St. in 1973. #2-Gail Goodrich-(UCLA) 42 points against Michigan in 1965. #3-Jack Givens-(Kentucky) 41 points against Duke in 1978. #4-Lou Alcindor/Kareem Abdul Jabbar-(UCLA) 37 points against Purdue in 1969. #5-John Morton-(Seton Hall) 35 points against Michigan in 1989.

[@megatonesilva6546]

I'm here for the first time.....been a fan of Luke for years and just now finding out how great his dad was. WTF!

[@ChadBest-ug8uo]

@@megatonesilva6546 He was before my time, but had heard he dominated at UCLA and later for the Blazers in the NBA. Due to leg issues, his numbers and playing time decreased.

[@bobdorr3142]

I attended the game, still have the program. So much talent in that final four.

[@NoName-ge6wc]

RIP Bill. The goat performance by a center in Ncaa history.

[@bestpossibleworld2091]

By the way, what a great scene at the end with three Memphis players helping Bill Walton hobble off the court. That was terrific sportsmanship--a rarity today.

[@fallendonald]

Class at its best

[@forumcelebritypodcast]

Wow; what a dynasty. 144-2. Never see that again.

[@XMAN4708]

NEVER!!! 💙💛💙💛💙

[@tomgardner8825]

i was fortunate to attend many games at Pauley Pavilion in my earky teens thanks to the generosity of my neighbor Bob Koenig. pre alcindor and the alcindor and walton years 10 NCAA championships in 12 years every gane was on television in Socal this was the greatest performance by any Bruin durinf thise years.

[@blitztim6416]

R.I.P. Bill Walton. Best college player ever. Man they called traveling and 3 seconds tight back then. And I noticed that no one could dribble between their legs then. That no duck rule was stupid. And it was only because the powers that be hated Kareem dunking.

[@miri9885]

Bill Walton 21 of 22 for the game.. People just dont realize just how good " A Healthy" Bill Walton really was... Respect to the MS players helping Walton off the court...

[@rackmasterh]

And the one he missed was a tip in! And the MSU center ended up being a good NBA player.

[@Mark-sj3xb]

Not sure he was even fully healthy here. Both knees are heavily wrapped

[@EloisPowell-jg3io]

What a deep UCLA team. Tommy Curtis and Dave Meyers coming off the bench. Wow.

[@tomsanchez3733]

Walton was such a complete player. My dad was a huge UCLA basketball fan. I was fortunate enough to see the Wicks and Rowe years prior to the Walton gang era. All Wooden teams were talented and fundamentally sound. This is a great watch! Would love to see the UCLA vs Jacksonville final 3 years before.

[@debbiehenson1096]

Walton was an unstoppable force.

[@eddiesimms9301]

I was a young lad of 14 yrs old and I remember watching this game in the Spring of 1973 on a black n' white TV. Bill Walton was VERY GOOD and damn near IMPOSSIBLE to STOP!!

[@evanstewart6162]

That’s so awesome! I wish I was alive for this I’m only 16 though! I’m coming back here because my grandpa actually played for Memphis he was number 11 Jerry Teztlaff! So neat you remember watching thins!

[@hansgordy]

Notice the small amount of dribbling on offense. Everyone knew their spots on the floor and where everyone else would be. A piece of art.

[@warpath58]

Rip Bill Walton. You were a true dominanator! I have never seen someone perform under pressure the way you did. Rest easy big red.

[@forumcelebritypodcast]

There was nothing Bill Walton couldn't do. Pass, shoot, rebound, block shots, play defense, lead, clutch play. People forget how great he was before his injury.

[@XMAN4708]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥TRUTH!!!

[@douglascarlson9006]

OMFG were those UCLA uniforms ever beautiful! ... These guys were true basketball royalty and those cobalt blue and gold uniforms were awesome!

[@carlom.3737]

Bill had tendinitis in his knees (and back problems) throughout most of his career at UCLA. There's an interview of him from 1971 where he is talking about tendinitis and icing his knees at the beginning of his sophomore year. Can you imagine what else he could have accomplished if his body hadn't betrayed him at so young an age?

[@mreppen1]

Big man have a low life expectancy. Proven fact.

[@manuginobilisbaldspot2]

Gene Bartow, who would later coach at UCLA himself, one of the many who couldn't escape the shadow of John Wooden, actually has the 2nd highest winning percentage in Bruins history.

[@eternal1blue]

No one can

[@jim72068]

UCLA in the 70's after Wooden was crazy! My mother worked in the Veterinary Clinic there at the time and went to all the games. They were always ranked in the top 5 and went to the final 4 a several times but she and all the fans were crushed if they did not win it all. Bartow and Cunningham were fine coaches.... but UCLA lost just a bit of an edge and mystic without Wooden. The expectations went on into the 80's and to this day UCLA old timers still are that hard on coaches.

[@catsailor8621]

For UCLA’s Greg Lee…Rest In Eternal Peace, Happiness and the Absence of Any Further Pain! Two Time City Player of the Year for Reseda HS, Recruited by John Wooden to be the Steady Hand at the Controls of his National Championship Teams, You were the Consummate Unselfish Guard with your Jaw-Dropping Laser Passes to teammates…or the Mortar-like Lobs to your Pal, Bill Walton! You will be Sorely Missed, Greg!!

[@stevehyman259]

I remember watching this. He got off in this game. It was unbelievable!!

[@johnmanier7968]

First NCAA basketball championship game played on Monday night.

[@yttv9408]

RIP Legend 😢

[@tomgardner8825]

i saw many games in person and the rest on tv during this period. he had great players who learned to win through teamwork

[@harryfrezza1931]

Loved coach Finch’s game. Using that backboard!

[@clarencebeeks2787]

RIP Bill Walton🙏🏻

[@hansgordy]

Best college basketball team ever... by a long shot.

[@jamesthomas788]

I believe this was the first championship played in primetime. Also future NBA stars Bill Walton,Keith Wilkes, Larry Kenon, Larry Finch.

[@robertsprouse9282]

Finch did not star in the NBA, rather he only played in the ABA with the Memphis TAMs(Tennesseeans, Arkansans and Missourians) and the "Sounds" in the same city. The most interesting story surrounded MSU's Bill Laurie..a billionaire marrying into the James "Bud" Walton/Kroenke clan and becoming filthy rich.

[@caesarfiorini1728]

Walton early and often

[@UConnNation12]

Keith Wilkes....when did he change his name later on?

[@robertnelson3018]

Between the 75-76 NBA seasons. He was still Keith Wilkes as a rookie on the 1975 Golden State Warriors championship team that upset the heavily favored Washington Bullets. Rick Barry was the Finals MVP that year.

[@calvinbealer7264]

One of my All time Great 😃👍 NCAA basketball championship games.

[@choward5430]

I remember watching this game. I loved UCLA!

[@evanstewart6162]

Noooo! 😂 I’m a huge Memphis fan my grandpa Jerry teztlaff for the tigers actually played in this game!

[@chipgriffiths3655]

I was amazed as a 4th grader being taken to a UCLA practice with the Wicks, Rowe, Patterson, et. al. group and sitting way back from the court, among a handful of fans, being able to hear every word that Coach spoke. He never shouted. When he spoke, all could listen because all was silent.

[@johnderfler5183]

I watched this game live in 73. Watching it again I realize now how terrible the officials were in this game.

[@ronflatter1235]

1:21:43 Larry Finch helps Bill Walton off the floor.

[@Tommygolf1558]

The refs in this game are beyond atrocious. And Bill Walton is beyond spectacular!

[@Jiltedin2007]

The last of the 7 straight National Championships UCLA has won from 1967 to 1973. Two years later UCLA would beat Kentucky in the NCAA Finals giving Coach John Wooden his 10th and final National Championship with UCLA before retiring.

[@markkness8829]

And Gene Bartow of Memphis State would succeed John Wooden as head coach at UCLA for the 1975-1976 season.

[@Jiltedin2007]

@@markkness8829 And Bartow would take UCLA to the Final Four before their defeat to Indiana.

[@RaiderRSupastar]

On the news today I heard this story even though Larry Finch and Bill Walton were the opponents that night they became friends

[@PhillipLewis-w5i]

No one could guard Larry Fitch...the greatest Tiger of them of all!

[@jacknewman9256]

And, Bill Walton called for "dunking"! This was originally the "Lew Alcindor" (Kareem, of course) rule because he kept dunking the ball.

[@paulsonj72]

I believe this is the oldest full NCAA title game in existence. Also interesting to see Curt Gowdy introducing the starting lineups

[@brianarbenz7206]

I like it, but... 7 and 1/2 minutes missing, and a crucial part of the game for that matter. "Full" game?

[@ajk]

@@brianarbenz7206 ESPN Classic always did that shit.....hated it.....to this day still do. I liked Classic Sports better before ESPN got their grubby hands on it. You got full games always. Just without network logos.

[@ciesaro]

One record what will (trust me I assure you) NEVER be broken. UCLA winning 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games

[@baxterscruggs1716]

How about being 10-0 in championship games

[@markkness8829]

...or 88 consecutive games overall. The UConn women broke that record, but no men's team did, or has.

[@XMAN4708]

TRUTH!!!!!

[@stevenmccart5455]

I was such a huge UCLA fan. I stayed up late on school nights to watch replays of regular season games on UHF. Always went to school sleepy the day after game days. Fortunately I was a junior in high school for this season. I was usually up most of the night all week anyway.

[@toastnjam7384]

I never missed a single one of the late-night replays since the Alcindor days.

[@williamlevalley3745]

Cool story but the Pac 8 games in those days were always scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights, they didn't play on school nights...

[@jacknewman9256]

Damn this is fun to watch

[@stugabe33]

In 1973 the NCAA had a no-dunking rule, otherwise it would have been 25-of-26 for Bill Walton and 52 points. People forget that Walton had 4 baskets nullified for offensive goaltending and thus "settled" for 44 points on 21-of-22 shots. Walton's 44 was, AND STILL IS, a championship game record.

[@CapAnson12345]

Walton actually shot 25 out of 26 and scored 52 points but four shots were DQed under the stupid no dunking rule.

[@chipgriffiths3655]

Hey, he missed one! I remember one final against Jacksonville when Sidney Wicks dunked (DQed also) over Artis Gilmore or the other 7 footer they had. Wow on both.

[@strangerintown3676]

Maryland had a great team in this era, they were half a step behind UCLA & NC State.

[@barrymiller99]

What was Wooden’s highest salary? Around $35,000 per year? He was a phenomenal coach and role model, and the greatest coaching bargain ever.

[@ciesaro]

John Wooden supposedly shared a small office on campus with an assistant coach, probably Gary Cunningham.

[@chipgriffiths3655]

This comment makes me barf at what some of the UCLA coaches are making now.

[@beedub93]

Nobody shoots bank shots anymore. I’ve always told my kids that the backboard is your friend.

[@bradtaylor4765]

I was a kid when this happened, but I almost worshipped these guys and especially Walton. He was my hero, I just never grew past 6-6 and I sucked at basketball. Wonder what he said to his teammates? Maybe something about the Grateful Dead? Dropping acid? Is he for anything that keeps Charlie Ward out of the game? He's mainstream and always has been?

[@thomaschristopher8593]

first final i ever watched. and rarely missed it afterwards until 10,15 years ago i was all set to watch the monday night finals when i realized it had fucken moved to cable!!!

[@readytogo99]

Bill was " 6' 12" " 🙃

[@joshmillarich4916]

One of the most underrated players of all time . If it wasn't for the mismanagement of his foot and then feet . He would be prolly a top 5 center of all time . He could do it all . Score, rebound, DEFEND , PASS !! He also ran the floor like Karl Malone. Still with all the injuries he is in H.O.F. even a old hobbled Walton made all the difference in 86' for Celtics . Also only player I seen block the skyhook !

[@zigguratofur7298]

agree on many of your pts. this memphis st game symbolized his whole career--bad knees, grew too fast, ice every game and he went down at the end but what a performance, 44pts and boards, passes, blocks, assists. when his legs were healthy he had amazing quick feet for a big man. had moves, could score in paint or outside shots, even did a dr j under basket flipping it back off board, swish! i kinda recall his first round of trouble in pros, bone spurs, refused surgery, wanted natural health cure. plenty of other injuries, but he showed great flashes - too bad all those seasons lost, but he had the magic 1977 run with the blazers, and yes, a tough veteran role player w/celts. today i enjoy his pointed sometimes grating commentary but he calls it like he sees it. go big red, even if he is white haired now. zig is out, atop the wooden pyramid...

[@Seattle-2017]

Well, if you consider a guy who was healthy for less than half his seasons in the NBA and yet is still in the Hall of Fame, underrated, then yeah. He was great when he was healthy, which was pretty rare.

[@zigguratofur7298]

@@Seattle-2017 valid pt on his inury riddled career, but when he was on he was on, nba champ, finals mvp, later a 6th Man award proving he was team player, accepted his role on celts. plus the ncaa titles, college player of yr, etc. It is incredible to think, if only he'd stayed healthy, what more he would have done. to do football comparison, i find nfl fans who think namath is overrated and if he'd lost to colts he would have been known as a pretty good qb, flashy image. but not a champ. yet namath's 1st 5 yrs, 1965-69, he passed for 4000 yds and won super bowl. after that he had 2 healthy seasons on .500 jet teams. so how do you judge him? seems walton, namath made most of their careers while they could, i give em credit for guts at any rate, coming back from crippling injuries for one more day on the field.

[@codyvarn1824]

He could have been the greatest player ever period

[@Seattle-2017]

@@codyvarn1824 "Could have been", right. A lot of "could have been" players can make that claim. And then you have Michael Jorden, who broke his foot on his 2nd year in the NBA, practiced then played against the advice of team doctors late that same season, then knocked down 63 points against the NBA champion Celtics. Then played another 12 record setting years, winning NBA titles in half of them. That's not "could have been", it's reality - it all happened.

[@dogstar8871]

amazing seeing a game called so tightly by the refs - violator's hand goes right up - any challenge, immediate T - no drama - no BS - pure athletes - spectator sports today are so pathetic

[@craigkleber9316]

Walton the greatest college center (not overall player but center) ever!

[@SY_Says]

He was great, but not better than Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) who also went to UCLA.

[@nohisocitutampoc2789]

Walton and Wilkes together🎉!

[@bestpossibleworld2091]

Ah, those were the "Golden" days in California with John Wooden at the helm of UCLA putting the best talent in the NCAA on the boards. Walton was a force of nature.

[@markkness8829]

I will hear criticism for this...but I wish high school athletics and college athletics would ban the dunk again...it would force players to concentrate on fundamentals more, in my opinion. Now the focus seems on who can make the nightly highlight films on ESPN. No one will duplicate what UCLA teams did in the Sixties and Seventies.

[@BBartelotti]

Man, those refs really love blowing their whistles! Enough already! 🙄

[@JohnWilliams-mt6fx]

Agreed - called fouls should have been play-continues, a couple of goal tending were not, traveling calls were bad calls!

[@randallmadison9910]

Amazing how this program slipped so much from its heyday. Not consistently excellent like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan State. Most consistent programs on the West are Gonzaga and Arizona. Don't understand it, but new coach, Cronin, is off to an excellent start.

[@markkness8829]

Parity came to college basketball (and to college football, for that matter). Witness what happened to Nebraska football.

[@marcussuperbus7006]

Three reasons: One. Wooden was amazing. That's hard to duplicate. Two. The tournament stopped grouping all the west coast teams in the same bracket so UCLA only played the scrub teams from the west for a round or two. Three. UCLA was no longer able to pay players insane amounts of money to play for 4 years, including sitting on the bench behind other allstars.

[@bigles9083]

Wooden was all about fundamentals. He would have team together on how to properly tie your shoes.

[@nysaxman]

If North Carolina State was allowed to play in the tournament they would have beaten both of them. Their undefeated (27-0) 1972-73 team was better than their National Championship team of 1973-74.

[@johnm8096]

You’re saying that the core group of Thompson, Burleson, and Towe were better the year before their championship is ridiculous. UCLA crushed them in December of 73 and then blew two leads late in the semifinals of 74.

[@nysaxman]

@@johnm8096 the year before NC State was UNDEFEATED, 27-0. The championship year UCLA blew them out at a neutral site. Ever heard of a team having a bad game? Think hard because I know you'll recall some of your favorite teams doing just that. The semi-final game wasn't UCLA blowing leads. It was about a better team finding a way to win. If you don't think NC State was a great team, ask Bill Walton what HE thinks about David Thompson the next time you run into him.

[@justingolden21]

26:35 was this Walton's only "miss"

[@halfwaydecent6842]

Announcer: "Memphis St. is not double-teaming Walton, we'll see if it works." Ron Howard Narrator Voice: "It didn't."

[@justingolden21]

1:29:08 "and UCLA has won another national championship" he sounds so unenthused lmao

[@thomasrichmond2413]

You just don’t realize how this game has changed until you watch these old games. They actually called traveling, 3 seconds and charging.

[@dethray1000]

Bill admitted being a vegatarian destroyed his health--need animal protein to fight injury--ran into him a few years ago,he is my age-our hi school football players went to ucla back then--Bill has 27 fused bones in his body now--he hurts like hell but could still ride a bike!

[@MarkFloyd7451]

Bill Walton had congenital defects in the skeletal construction of his feet. No one else in his family had that problem. Jumping and running put tremendous pressure on his foot bones and their attached ligaments, in particular the navicular bone. His foot bones were fractured by the constant pounding they took. His vertical jump was better when he was a sophmore than when he was a senior at UCLA. Then tendinitis in his knees didn't help but it was the undiagnosed foot problems that did him in. The doctors back then didn't discover his problem till his second season in the NBA. In those days they didn't know how to fix it. Today they could have. Too bad. He could have had a great NBA career.

[@CapeFear1]

Is that Kurt Gowdy announcing?

[@williamdunphy352]

Commentators: Curt Gowdy & Tom Hawkins

[@karlc2869]

Who is Curt Gowdy's color man for this college basketball game on NBC?

[@milart12]

I think that it is Tom Hawkins

[@karlc2869]

@@milart12 Former Laker, right?

[@milart12]

@@karlc2869 Right

[@karlc2869]

Ok. BTW here's hoping NBC will air the Final Four again and enter the NCAA men's college hoops title game in the yearly rotation with CBS and TBS.

[@johnday5519]

WHAT IS THIS THING TRAVELLING THEY KEEP CALLING. HA HA

[@pmcclaren1]

Today you can travel, palm, double dribble & can not hand-check. This is BASKETBALL. Today the sport is "Ballet-ball", a game for wussies.

[@bigkahunaburger5185]

How many of the Wilkes family went to UCLA? I didn’t even know there was a Keith Wilkes.

[@radar0412]

Keith Wilkes would later change his name to Jamaal Wilkes and go on to win a few NBA Championships playing with notables Rick Barry, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Magic Johnson. In case you weren't aware.

[@bigkahunaburger5185]

radar0412 I am familiar with Jamaal, but I didn’t know his name was Keith. Who can forget Jamaal’s unique jump shot! Thanks for the info!

[@radar0412]

@@bigkahunaburger5185 Also Jamaal had an uncanny ability to get himself open around the Basket for an easy layup. 1/2 of Magic's career assists must've come from finding Wilkes around the Basket! LOL!

[@thomaswrausmann8368]

Keith and Jamaal are the same guy. He switched to his middle name for some reason.

[@rackmasterh]

Reason was he converted to Islam.

[@lopezmt5]

Walton was a much better player, then he was a commentator...

[@stevenmccart5455]

This was the ultimate Bill Walton game. He was a man among boys that night. Every facet of his game was on display. Scoring , rebounding , passing , post play , the glass. He was already a star but, he really shined bright that night. What a tragic end...

[@rtmhrj]

it's sad he never reached his potential in the pros but that was due to injury not tragedy. He still won 2 championships and had a 13 year career, not bad for guy who played on one leg most of the time.

[@Roadie_342]

It's a shame the quality of the video of these historic games are so POOR !

[@PhillipLewis-w5i]

They've aged well as far as I'm concerned. We're talking 50 years ago.

[@Roadie_342]

@@PhillipLewis-w5i Remember this game well. I was a senior in High School

[@dape8993]

No shot clock, no dunking, no 3 point line. How could they possibly play? Bwahahahahahaha!

[@ProfRage]

UCLA was SO GOOD..my goodness! and the anti-dunking rule has to go down as one of the dumbest rules in Amrican history! Its right up there with Prohibition!

[@isaiahevans4930]

UCLA has been so bad since the mid 90s at best. It’s crazy

[@MegaBillyball]

This final would have been UCLA vs Providence if Marvin Barnes was not injured in the semi-finals up 16 pts over Memphis State....Ernie D. was killing and dominating the Tigers.....I think PC would have given UCLA all they could handle. It would have been a great game....certainly better than what the final was.

[@bemore1134]

We'll never know, it might've been a better game...........but UCLA played Providence during the regular season and won by 24. Game was at Pauly, but still....

[@tigerbay1000]

Loved watching Ernie D play

[@MegaBillyball]

@@bemore1134 That game UCLA played Providence was in December….We are talking March and Providence was on fire and they were not afraid of UCLA it would’ve been a much better game I have no doubt about that and I think Ernie was playing unstoppable basketball at that time just like Walton but I don’t think Walton would’ve had the game he had if he was playing against Marvin Barnes

[@PhillipLewis-w5i]

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. What do you know about basketball? Memphis deserved to be in the finals. I saw the Tigers' dominant Providence. Marvin Barnes was an average player at his best.

[@debbiehenson1096]

Finch was a bit chubby.

[@troylee5273]

chubbier later as coach lol

[@PhillipLewis-w5i]

And the best guard in college basketball. How frigging trim are you?

[@debbiehenson1096]

Refs cheated Walton out of 8 points cause the game was getting out of hand.

[@darronbrown8590]

cheated Memphis mane

[@debbiehenson1096]

HAHAHA....😂😂 WALTON destroyed those boys. Larry Kennon was helpless against him.

[@RZLAND]

@@debbiehenson1096 This game put Memphis on the map. Tough not being in a "Power 5" conference. Don't get the same players. But we manage. Oh and that guard for Memphis, Bill Laurie, he now runs a little 5 and dime store. I believe they call it Walmart.

[@PhillipLewis-w5i]

Walton tipped most of his "dunks" when the ball was in the cylinder. In 72 that was illegal. If Kenon hadn't got in foul trouble his ass would be grass.

[@PhillipLewis-w5i]

You guys know NOTHING about basketball!