The 1968–69 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team won UCLA's fifth NCAA National Basketball Championship

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 under head coach John R. Wooden with a win over Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball

The Purdue Boilermakers basketball team is a college basketball program that competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the Big Ten Conference. Purdue basketball holds the record for most Big Ten Championships with 22, along with being the only program in the conference to boast winning records...

, coach Wooden's alma mater. The Bruins started the season with a 25–0 record.

At the West Regional, played in Pauley Pavilion

Pauley Pavilion

Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams...

, the Bruins defeated New Mexico State 53–38 and Santa Clara 90–52. Lew Alcindor had a total of 33 points in the two games on March 13 and 14.

On March 20, UCLA had a two-point lead over Drake, 41–39, at half time and then went on to defeat Drake by three points, 85–82, to advance to the championship game against Purdue. Wooden graduated from Purdue in 1932, after earning All-American honors as a guard on the school's basketball team that he captained during his junior and senior years. The Boilermakers won two Big Ten titles and the 1932 National Championship during his years there. Wooden also played baseball during his freshman year.

The "Money Man", John Vallely, scored 29 points and Alcindor had 25 points at the semi-final game. Alcindor scored 37 points with 20 rebounds in the championship game.

Players

• Lew Alcindor, now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#33, 24.0 ppg/14.6 rpg)
• John Ecker (#52)
• George Farmer (#34)
• Kenny Heitz (#22, 6.5 ppg/2.3 rpg)
• Jim Nielsen (#34)
• Steve Patterson
  Steve Patterson (basketball)
  Steven J. Patterson , of Santa Maria, California, was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association for five seasons...
  
   (#32)
• Curtis Rowe
  Curtis Rowe
  Curtis Rowe, Jr. is a retired American basketball player.A 6'7" forward from UCLA, Rowe was drafted by the Dallas Chaparrals in the 1971 ABA Draft and by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 1971 NBA Draft...
  
   (#30, 12.9 ppg/7.6 rpg)
• Don Saffer (#25)
• Terry Schofield (#42)
• Bill Seibert (#54)
• Lynn Shackleford (#53, 7.0 ppg/4.0 rpg)
• Bill Sweek (#45)
• John Vallely
  John Vallely
  John Vallely is a retired American basketball player from Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California. He played for the UCLA Bruins and in the National Basketball Association....
  
   (#40, 11.0 ppg/3.2 rpg)
• Lee Walczuk (#44)
• Sidney Wicks
  Sidney Wicks
  Sidney Wicks is a retired American basketball player. A native of California, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and played professionally in the National Basketball Association from 1971 to 1981...
  
   (#35)

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	AP/Rk	Site	Score, W/L
11/30	Purdue	1/10	H	94–82 W
12/6	Ohio State	1/13	A	84–73 W
12/7	Notre Dame	1/5	A	88–75 W
12/20	Minnesota	1/-	H	90–51 W
12/21	West Virginia	1/-	H	95–56 W
12/27	Providence	1/-	N	98–81 W
12/28	Princeton	1/-	N	83–67 W
12/30	St. John’s	1/-	A	74–56 W
1/4	Tulane	1/-	H	96–64 W
1/10	Oregon	1/-	A	93–64 W
1/11	Oregon State	1/-	A	83–64 W
1/18	Houston	1/-	H	100–64 W
1/24	Northwestern	1/-	N	81–67 W
1/25	Loyola-Chicago	1/-	A	84–65 W
1/31	California	1/-	H	109–74 W
2/1	Stanford	1/-	H	98–61 W
2/7	Washington	1 1/-	H	62–51 W
2/8	Washington State	1 1/-	H	108–80 W
2/15	Washington State	1 1/-	A	83–59 W
2/17	Washington	1/-	A	53–44 W
2/21	Oregon State	1/-	H	91–66 W
2/22	Oregon	1/-	H	103–69 W
2/28	Stanford	1/-	A	81–60 W
3/1	California	1/-	A	84–77 W
3/7	USC	1/-	A	61–55 W
3/8	USC	1/-	H	44–46 L
3/13	New Mexico State	1/12	H	53–38 W
3/15	Santa Clara	1/3	H	90–52 W
3/20	Drake	1/11	N	85–82 W
3/22	Purdue	1/6	N	92–72 W

Awards and honors

• Lew Alcindor, NCAA Basketball Tournament MOP
  NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
  At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships , the Associated Press selects a Most Outstanding Player. The MOP need not be, but almost always is a member of the Championship team, especially since the third place game was eliminated after 1981...
  
   (1969
  1969 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
  The 1969 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play 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...
  
  )
• Lew Alcindor, Naismith College Player of the Year
  Naismith College Player of the Year
  The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball , Dr. James Naismith....
  
  
• Lew Alcindor, Helms Foundation Player of the Year
  Helms Foundation Player of the Year
  The Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year was an annual basketball award given to the most outstanding intercollegiate men's basketball player in the United States. The award was first given following the 1904–05 season and ceased being awarded after the 1978–79 season...
  
   award
• Lew Alcindor, First Team All-American

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Team
1	1	Lew Alcindor	Milwaukee Bucks
1	3	Lucius Allen Lucius Allen Lucius Oliver Allen, Jr. is a former professional basketball player. Prior to his NBA career, he became an All-American as part of two of legendary coach John Wooden's UCLA NCAA Championship teams, 1967 and 1968...	Seattle SuperSonics
5	48	Ken Heitz	Milwaukee Bucks
7	85	Bill Sweet	Phoenix Suns
7	90	Lynn Shackelford	San Diego Rockets

External links

• UCLA Bruins men's basketball official website