1969-70 College Basketball Season

Originally written by Jeff Haggar

Regular Seaason

Sat 1/3/70, #13 Notre Dame @ #2 UCLA, TVS, 11:30 pm, Dick Enberg, Rod Hundley

Sat 2/21/70, #2 Kentucky @ LSU, TVS, 3:30 pm, John Ferguson, Joe Dean

- The LSU game was the first time Pete Maravich appeared on national TV.

NCAA Tournament

Sat 3/7 (first round) - doubleheader (national)

Notre Dame-Ohio (at Dayton), NBC, 2 pm, Curt Gowdy, Charlie Jones

Jacksonville-Western Ky (at Dayton), NBC, 4 pm, Curt Gowdy, Charlie Jones

Thu 3/12 (regional semis) - local

Villanova-Niagara (at Columbia), TVS, 7 pm, Jim Simpson, Bill O'Donnell

St Bonaventure-NC State (at Columbia), TVS, 9 pm, Jim Simpson, Bill O'Donnell

Kentucky-Notre Dame (at Columbus), TVS, 7 pm, John Ferguson, Joe Dean

Jacksonville-Iowa (at Columbus), TVS, 9 pm, John Ferguson, Joe Dean

Drake-Houston (at Lawrence), TVS, 8 pm, Max Falkenstein, Ed Macauley

New Mexico St-Kansas St (at Lawrence), TVS, 10 pm, Max Falkenstein, Ed Macauley

Utah St-Santa Clara (at Seattle), TVS, 10 pm, Connie Alexander, Dick Enberg

UCLA-Long Beach (at Seattle), TVS, midnight, Dick Enberg, Connie Alexander

Sat 3/14 (regional finals) - doubleheader (all regionalized)

* St Bonaventure-Villanova (at Columbia), NBC, 2 pm, Jim Simpson, ??

* Jacksonville-Kentucky (at Columbus), NBC, 4 pm, Curt Gowdy, ??

* New Mexico St-Drake (at Lawrence), NBC, 4 pm, ??, ??

* UCLA-Utah St (at Seattle), NBC, 6 pm, ??, ??

Thu 3/19 (Final Four) - single game (regionalized)

Jacksonville-St Bonaventure (at College Park), NBC, 7:30 pm, Curt Gowdy, Jim Simpson

UCLA-New Mexico St (at College Park), NBC, 9:30 pm, Curt Gowdy, Jim Simpson

Sat 3/21 (consolation/championship)

New Mexico St-St Bonaventure (at College Park), NBC, 2 pm, Jim Simpson, Curt Gowdy

UCLA-Jacksonville (at College Park), NBC, 4 pm, Curt Gowdy, Jim Simpson

* any help on missing announcers appreciated

- Here is an interesting note on 1970 which illustrates how different things were in this era. Marquette was ranked 8th and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The NCAA slotted Marquette into the Midwest regional rather than the closer Mideast regional. Al McGuire was so displeased about this that Marquette actually turned down the NCAA bid and chose to instead play in the NIT (which they won). The NCAA no longer allows a school to turn down a bid to the NCAA tournament in order to play in another postseason tournament.

NIT

Sun 3/15 - first round

LSU-Georgetown, CBS, 1 pm, Don Criqui, Pat Summerall

Sat 3/21 - championship

Marquette-St John's, CBS, 1 pm, Don Criqui, Pat Summerall

- The LSU game featured Pete Maravich.

- Marquette actually turned down an NCAA at-large bid to play in the NIT (and went on to win the tournament).