The 1968 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 30th annual edition of the tournament began on March 9, 1968, and ended with the championship game on March 23, at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. A total of 27 games were played, including a third-place game in each region and a national third-place game.

UCLA, coached by John Wooden, won the national title with a 78–55 victory in the final game over North Carolina, coached by Dean Smith. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second of three consecutive years. This UCLA team, led by All-Americans Lew Alcindor and Lucius Allen, was named the greatest college basketball team of all time by The Sporting News.

The NCAA semi-final match between the Houston Cougars and UCLA Bruins was a re-match of the college basketball Game of the Century held in January at the Astrodome, in the Cougars' home city. The match was historic, the first nationally syndicated college basketball game and the first to play in a domed stadium before more than 52,000 fans. It was UCLA's only loss in two years, a two-pointer, to the then-#2 Houston, but with UCLA's dominating center Alcindor playing with an eye injury that limited his effectiveness after being hospitalized the week before. The loss broke a 47-game winning streak for UCLA. In the March NCAA Tournament Final 4, the Bruins at full strength avenged that loss with a 101–69 drubbing of that same Houston team, now ranked #1, in UCLA's home city at the Memorial Sports Arena. UCLA limited Houston's Elvin Hayes, who was averaging 37.7 points per game but was held to only 10. Bruins coach John Wooden credited his assistant, Jerry Norman, for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes.

Locations Round Region Site Venue Host First RoundEastCollege Park, MarylandCole Field HouseMaryland East Kingston, Rhode Island Keaney Gymnasium Rhode Island MideastKent, OhioMemorial GymnasiumKent State Midwest& WestSalt Lake City, UtahNielsen FieldhouseUtah Regionals EastRaleigh, North CarolinaReynolds ColiseumNorth Carolina State MideastLexington, KentuckyMemorial ColiseumKentucky MidwestWichita, KansasWSU Field HouseWichita State WestAlbuquerque, New MexicoUniversity Arena ("The Pit")New Mexico Final FourLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles Memorial Sports ArenaSouthern California

Teams Region Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score East East Boston College Bob Cousy Independent First roundSt. BonaventureL 102–93 East Columbia John Rohan Ivy League Regional third placeSt. BonaventureW 95–75 East Davidson Lefty Driesell Southern Regional Runner-upNorth CarolinaL 70–66 East La Salle Jim Harding Middle Atlantic First roundColumbiaL 83–69 East North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic Coast Runner UpUCLAL 78–55 East St. Bonaventure Larry Weise Independent Regional Fourth PlaceColumbiaL 95–75 East St. John's Lou Carnesecca Independent First roundDavidsonL 79–70 Mideast Mideast Bowling Green Bill Fitch Mid-American First roundMarquetteL 72–71 Mideast East Tennessee State J. Madison Brooks Ohio Valley Regional Fourth PlaceMarquetteL 69–57 Mideast Florida State Hugh Durham Independent First roundEast Tennessee StateL 79–69 Mideast Kentucky Adolph Rupp Southeastern Regional Runner-upOhio StateL 82–81 Mideast Marquette Al McGuire Independent Regional third placeEast Tennessee StateW 69–57 Mideast Ohio State Fred Taylor Big Ten Third PlaceHoustonW 89–85 Midwest Midwest Houston Guy Lewis Independent Fourth PlaceOhio StateL 89–85 Midwest Kansas State Tex Winter Big Eight Regional Fourth Place Louisville L 93–63 Midwest Louisville John Dromo Missouri Valley Regional third placeKansas StateW 93–63 Midwest Loyola–Chicago George Ireland Independent First roundHoustonL 94–76 Midwest TCU Johnny Swaim Southwest Regional Runner-upHoustonL 103–68 West West New Mexico Bob King Western Athletic Regional Fourth PlaceNew Mexico StateL 62–58 West New Mexico State Lou Henson Independent Regional third placeNew MexicoW 62–58 West Santa Clara Dick Garibaldi West Coast Athletic Regional Runner-upUCLAL 87–66 West UCLA John Wooden AAWU ChampionNorth CarolinaW 78–55 West Weber State Dick Motta Big Sky First roundNew Mexico StateL 68–57

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

Mideast region

Midwest region

West region

Final Four

National third-place game

Regional third-place games

See also 1968 NCAA College Division basketball tournament 1968 National Invitation Tournament 1968 NAIA basketball tournament

Notes This would be the last year of the 23 team field, as the field would stay at 25 teams for the next six seasons until the expansion of the field to 32 teams in the 1975 tournament. Four teams - East Tennessee State, Florida State, New Mexico and Weber State - made their tournament debuts. Weber State would return to the tournament for five consecutive seasons; Florida State and New Mexico would not return until 1972 and 1974, respectively; and East Tennessee State would not return for 21 seasons, until 1989. Two teams - Bowling Green and Columbia - made their most recent tournament appearances in this tournament. They are tied for the third longest active drought behind Tennessee Tech (1963) and Dartmouth (1959), and are currently tied for the fourth longest drought all-time, after Tennessee Tech, Dartmouth and Harvard (1946–2012, 66 years).

References