this from the great kareem abdul jabbar (the greatest college basketball player of all time, and a bruin):
But there was widespread interest in this game. It was played in front of 50,000 fans in the Astrodome and was a ratings smash. Hayes had an incredible game and led his team to a 71-69 victory. It was dramatic proof of the nationwide interest in college basketball. From that day forward, more and more broadcasters saw college basketball as a game worth televising. It wasn't too long before the NCAA expanded the field to 32 teams and, eventually, 64.
I took a Sports Illustrated cover showing Elvin shooting a jump shot in the Astrodome game and hung it in my locker. It provided a daily incentive for me to be at my best the next time that we met. Coach Wooden told us that we might get another shot at Houston, especially if we did what we needed to do in closing out our season. I felt we lost that game only because an eye injury had me seeing double and had kept me from practicing with the team for over a week. It turned out to be the only game of my UCLA varsity career where I shot less than 50% from the field.
Still, the media people who had liked UCLA as No. 1 quickly jumped off that bandwagon and were touting Houston as the team to beat. Elvin was eventually voted player of the year. My teammates and I were determined to change people's opinions if we got a second chance to play Houston.
That chance came in the 1968 semifinals at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, when we probably played our most effective game while I was on the team. We ran Houston off the court, winning by 32 points and silencing all of our critics. We went on to defeat North Carolina for the championship -- the second of what would become seven in a row.
well, as there is a chance that UCLA will meet UNC during the championship game on the first monday of april, i am hoping it will be deja vu.
GO BRUINS!
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