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. It began on March 8, 1969, and ended with the championship game on March 22 in Louisville, Kentucky. Including consolation games in each of the regions and an overall consolation game, a total of 29 games were played.
| Season | 1968–69 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 25 | ||||
| Finals site | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky | ||||
| Champions | UCLA Bruins (5th title, 5th title game, 6th Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Purdue Boilermakers (1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | John Wooden (5th title) | ||||
| MOP | Lew Alcindor (UCLA) | ||||
| Attendance | 165,712 | ||||
| Top scorer | Rick Mount (Purdue) (122 points) | ||||
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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, John Vallely, the "Money Man", scored 22 points and Alcindor had 37 points, to give UCLA a win over Purdue, which is 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, (OH). In earlier matchups, Bavis had provided an ample challenge to Alcindor. Wooden was an All-American guard for the Boilermakers from 1928 to 1932.