1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Basketball season
The 1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1975, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 29, 1976, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The Indiana Hoosiers won their third NCAA national championship with a 86–68 victory over the Michigan Wolverines .
Season headlines
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[5] [6]
Conference membership changes
Regular season
Conference winners and tournaments
From 1975 to 1982 , the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States , organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1976 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.[7]
Conference
Regular season winner[8]
Conference player of the year
Conference tournament
Tournament venue (City)
Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference
North Carolina
Mitch Kupchak , North Carolina [9]
1976 ACC men's basketball tournament
Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland )
Virginia
Big Eight Conference
Missouri
Willie Smith , Missouri [10]
No Tournament
Big Sky Conference
Boise State , Idaho State , & Weber State
None selected
1976 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
Swenson Gym (Ogden, Utah )
Boise State
Big Ten Conference
Indiana
None Selected
No Tournament
East Coast Conference
Saint Joseph's (East)Lafayette (West)
Todd Tripucka , Lafayette
1976 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament
The Palestra (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania )
Hofstra
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)
Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season
1976 ECAC Metro Region tournament
Jadwin Gymnasium (Princeton, New Jersey )
Rutgers
1976 ECAC New England Region tournament
Springfield Civic Center (Springfield, Massachusetts )
Connecticut
1976 ECAC Southern Region tournament
WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, West Virginia )
Georgetown
1976 ECAC Upstate Region tournament
Manley Field House (Syracuse, New York )
Syracuse
Ivy League
Princeton
Armond Hill , Princeton [11]
No Tournament
Metro Conference
Tulane
Gary Yoder , Cincinnati
1976 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament
Freedom Hall (Louisville, Kentucky )
Cincinnati
Mid-American Conference
Western Michigan
Jeff Tyson , Western Michigan [12]
No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference
Wichita State
Mike Glenn , Southern Illinois
No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference
Western Kentucky
Johnny Britt , Western Kentucky , & Tom Sisneros , Middle Tennessee
1976 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament
E.A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, Kentucky ) (Semifinals and Finals)
Western Kentucky
Pacific-8 Conference
UCLA
Ron Lee , Oregon
No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Long Beach State & Cal State Fullerton
Steve Copp , San Diego State , & Greg Bunch , Cal State Fullerton
1976 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament
Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium (Stockton, California )
San Diego State
Southeastern Conference
Alabama
Bernard King , Tennessee [13]
No Tournament
Southern Conference
VMI
Rodney McKeever ,The Citadel [14]
1976 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Greenville Memorial Auditorium (Greenville, South Carolina ) (Semifinals and Finals)
VMI [15]
Southland Conference
Louisiana Tech
Mike McConathy , Louisiana Tech [16]
No Tournament
Southwest Conference
Texas A&M
Ira Terrell , SMU [17]
1976 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas )
Texas Tech
West Coast Athletic Conference
Pepperdine
Marcos Leite , Pepperdine
No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference
Arizona
None Selected
No Tournament
Yankee Conference
Massachusetts
None Selected
No Tournament
Statistical leaders
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(April 2021 )
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
Third Place – UCLA 106, Rutgers 92
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Third Place – NC State 74, Providence 69
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
Major player of the year awards
Naismith Award : Scott May , Indiana
Helms Player of the Year : Kent Benson , Indiana , & Scott May , Indiana
Associated Press Player of the Year : Scott May , Indiana
UPI Player of the Year : Scott May , Indiana
NABC Player of the Year : Scott May , Indiana
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA ): Adrian Dantley , Notre Dame
Adolph Rupp Trophy : Scott May , Indiana
Sporting News Player of the Year : Scott May , Indiana
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
Coaching changes
This section
needs expansion . You can help by
adding to it .
(May 2021 )
A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.
References
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia . Random House . 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2 .
^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll" . College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020 .
^ a b "Playing Rules History" (PDF) . ncaa.org . NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024 .
^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF) . ncaa.org . NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 25, 2024 .
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia . Random House . 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2 .
^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll" . College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020 .
^ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF) . NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009 .
^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine , retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section , Big 12 Conference , retrieved 2009-02-04
^ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine , Ivy League , retrieved 2009-02-01
^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section , Mid-American Conference , retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book , Southeastern Conference , retrieved 2009-02-06
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference , retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference , retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide , Southland Conference , retrieved 2009-02-07
^ "SWC honors told" . The Port Arthur News . March 7, 1976. p. 26. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .