On this day in sports history

BY COLIN “BIG C” MACGUIRE

The Greenville Standard

 

Today, I will talk about the 1968 NCAA Basketball Tournament. 23 teams played that year.

The tournament started on March 8 and ended March 23, 1968. Today is March 23, exactly 51 years to the day and date.

Today, this year’s tournament is entering the second round. The championship game was played at The Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles California. The First Round games were played at College Park, Md. (East); Kingston, R.I. (East); Kent, Ohio (Midwest); Salt Lake City, Utah (Midwest & West).

Regional Finals were played at Raleigh, N.C. (East); Lexington, Ky. (Mideast), Wichita, Kan. (Midwest); Albuquerque, N.M. (West).

The Final Four Teams in the tournament were North Carolina who a 1st Round-Bye. In the Semi, North Carolina beat St. Bonaventure 91-72. In the Regional Final, North Carolina beat Davisdson 70-66.

Ohio State had a First Round-Bye. In the Semi, Ohio State beat East Tennessee State 79-72. In the Regional Final, Ohio State beat Kentucky 82-81.

In the Midwest, Houston had a First Round-Bye. In the Semi, Houston beat Louisville 91-75. In the Regional Final, Houston beat TCU 103-68.

In the West Regional, UCLA beat New Mexico State 58-49.

In the Final Four Semi-Final, North Carolina beat Ohio State 80-66. Third place Ohio State beat Houston 89-85.

In the Championship game UCLA beat North Caroline 78-55.

This was UCLA’s fourth national championship in five years. John Wooden was the head coach. Kareem Abdul Jabbar was named Most Outstanding Player.