| 1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
Active and Former (20+ games)
| Rank | Coach, Schools (*=not active) | Yrs. | W-L | Pct. | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | John Wooden, UCLA | 26 | 35-9 | .795 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| 2 | Hank Iba*, Oklahoma State | 41 | 15-7 | .682 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Adolph Rupp, Kentucky | 42 | 30-18 | .625 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| 4 | Guy Lewis, Houston | 16 | 14-12 | .538 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Jack Gardner*, (Kansas State, Utah) | 28 | 12-12 | .500 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| National Champs: | UCLA | John Wooden |
| Second place: | Florida State | Hugh Durham |
| Third place: | North Carolina | Dean Smith |
| Fourth place: | Louisville | Denny Crum |
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With Bill Walton at center now, UCLA continues its tournament domination as John Wooden separates himself further from the pack with six titles in a row (three times as many as his nearest competitors), and eight tournament championships all together (twice as many as Adolph Rupp). |
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Adolph Rupp drops a bit to .625 when his Kentucky team only manages one win and one loss. |
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Jack Gardner retired after last season after 28 years coaching Kansas State and Utah. He becomes the second coach to retire with twenty or more tournament games to his credit. |
