1969 NCAA University Division basketball tournament


The 1969 NCAA University Division men's basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 31st annual edition of the tournament began on March 8, 1969, and ended with the championship game on March 22, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. Including consolation games in each of the regions and an overall consolation game, a total of 29 games were played.
UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won the national title with a 92–72 victory in the final game over Purdue, coached by George King. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
In the game, Alcindor led the Bruins with 37 points and 20 rebounds, and John Vallely, the "Money Man", added 15 points in UCLA's win over Purdue, Wooden's alma mater. Purdue was hampered due to injuries to starting point guard Billy Keller and forward Herm Gilliam; Purdue had also lost 7'0" center Chuck Bavis to a broken collarbone during the Mideast Regionals against Miami,. In earlier matchups, Bavis had provided an ample challenge to Alcindor. Wooden was an All-American guard for the Boilermakers from 1928 to 1932.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1969 tournament, and their host:
First round
Regional semifinals, 3rd-place games, and finals
National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Announcers

Curt Gowdy, Charlie Jones, Pat Hernon and Jim Simpson - First Round at Raleigh, North Carolina ; Mideast Regional Final at Madison, Wisconsin; Final Four at Louisville, Kentucky; Jones was used at the sideline reporter for the first round, Hernon was used for the Regional Final, and Simpson was used for the Final Four.