[Cracked Sidewalks] UCLA Preview

[naginiF]

We never played each other because few people wanted a home/home with Marquette. In the 1970s, we rarely lost at home (1977 excluded).

I'm sure there are a number of reasons the two teams didn't play each other but we should keep as far away from "UCLA was afraid to play at Marquette in the '70's" as possible. Again, I'm sure there are many reasons but that ain't in the top 20.

[Galway Eagle]

I'm sure there are a number of reasons the two teams didn't play each other but we should keep as far away from "UCLA was afraid to play at Marquette in the '70's" as possible. Again, I'm sure there are many reasons but that ain't in the top 20.

Yeahhh... I mean we had some great players and one HoF basketball player while they had some of the greatest players in history so fear doesn't seem right.

[Silent Verbal]

Our schedule in the Al period was very competitive especially in comparison to the other top teams of the day. The conferences were not that strong top to bottom as they are today. Part of the reason was that recruiting was very inefficient in those days. A lot was done on word of mouth. For example, many Big Ten schools  had their rosters littered with what were effectively D-2 or even D-3 level players. Some of the schools that today we would call low or mid major had players who became All Time greats in the NBA. Calvin Murphy at Niagra, Bob Lanier and St . Bonnie,  many players at HBCU's. Part of UCLA's success was due to their conference being extremely weak so they made the tournament easily every year. In those days the conference winners got invites and a handful of independents got at large bids.

Didn't see this when it was originally posted, but I appreciate this analysis.  Seems like the CBB landscape was vastly different back then and it can be confusing for people who weren't there (like me) to really get a handle on what it was like back then.

[brewcity77]

I'm sure there are a number of reasons the two teams didn't play each other but we should keep as far away from "UCLA was afraid to play at Marquette in the '70's" as possible. Again, I'm sure there are many reasons but that ain't in the top 20.

Worth reading this excerpt from warriorjoe:

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=61056.0

At the end, it looks like the reason they never played again was because UCLA wouldn't commit to a home-and-home. Which could be interpreted as fear of playing in Milwaukee. I'm sure part of the reason 1970s UCLA had the greatest winning percentage of any program in any decade was being prudent about not just who but where they played.

[Dawson Rental]

Out of curiosity did we bring in any legit teams during those years? Loyola and Dayton had fallen off, WI was trash, Xavier was trash, ND had some punch and Depaul really didn't takeoff till after McGuire.

I'm not too familiar with who would've been good teams we were playing on the regular.

Mu played Minnesota regularly during this time and it was a very good period for Minnesota's program.