North Carolina State University Athletics
Bruins, Big Red Still Rule College Basketball
12/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 1973
BY TIM PEELER
ST. LOUIS Even without Big Red on the floor for more than half the game, UCLA’s well-oiled machine was all but invincible.
The top-ranked Bruins, in this long awaited “Game of the Century,” patiently bided its time while red-haired center Bill Walton sat on the bench, after picking up his fourth foul just 10 minutes into the nationally televised contest at St. Louis Arena.
Second-ranked NC State could not take advantage of Walton’s absence, in large part because of UCLA junior forward Keith Wilkes, who scored liberally and hounded Wolfpack superstar David Thompson on defense.
The 86-68 outcome the 79th consecutive victory for a UCLA program that has won seven consecutive and nine of the last 10 NCAA Championships leaves little doubt that the Bruins still rule the college game.
It also taught Norm Sloan and his second-ranked Wolfpack, which was undefeated all last season and in two games this year, that they still have much work to do if they ever hope to unseat John Wooden’s dynasty.
Thompson, the Wolfpack’s marvelously gifted 6-foot-4 forward, never really lifted off in this game. Guarded by Wilkes throughout the game, he made only seven of his 20 shots and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Tommy Burleson, the Wolfpack’s 7-foot-4 senior center, scored 11 points and had 15 rebounds, but it was tiny Monte Towe who was his team’s most consistent and effective scorer, getting 14 points on seven-of-nine shooting. The Pack shot poorly from the field (43.7 percent) and from the foul line (40 percent) for the game.
“I hope we are better than this,” Sloan said afterwards. “We’ll just have to wait and see. The defeat can be traced back to me. Back when we played our Red & White (intrasquad) games, I didn’t feel good about our team. We were too slow. We were waiting for something to happen. We didn’t have enough motion.
“I was reluctant to make any major changes, though, because of the fact that we finished unbeaten last year. I just didn’t have enough courage to do it. I now view it as a mistake on my part.”
Walton, the 6-foot-11 All-America, was the focus of the Wolfpack’s attention prior to the game and it goaded him into early foul trouble. He picked up his fourth infraction with nearly 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
But Sloan and his charges had no answer for Wilkes, who kept his team in the game until Walton’s return.
“It was tough for a long time,” UCLA coach John Wooden said. “I’m happy to see this young man (Wilkes) do so well. He’s been overshadowed in the minds of a lot of people.
“But the main thing is that the team did well. I though we were a little cautious at first. Later, however, I knew I could bring Walton back any time from the bench. They (State) knew it, and that’s something to think about.
“I told our players if we could stay close until mid-way through the second half without Bill, I thought we’d be all right.”
Walton, who sat anxiously on the bench waiting for his coach to put him back in the game, finally returned with 9:54 remaining in the game, with his team leading 54-52. The Pack tied the contest immediately after his return, but Walton led the Bruins on scoring runs of 10 and nine points, with a lone NC State bucket sandwiched between.
That three-minute, 19-2 outburst doomed the Pack, which arrived here for this neutral-site, made-for-television contest hoping to extend its school-record 29-game winning streak. That looked possible early in the game, when Walton was out of the lineup.
But the Wolfpack, which owned a 33-32 halftime advantage, could never establish more than a modest lead.
“We didn’t get the good start in the second half and I think that determined the game,” Thompson said. “They played a good second half. They seemed to want it more.”
Now, the Wolfpack will return home to prepare for a good team from Georgia, then travel to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl Tournament.
Sloan will also have to go back to the drawing board and think about what he needs to do to help his team prepare for the rugged ACC regular season, the conference tournament and a potential bid to the NCAA.
Otherwise, the Wolfpack won’t have a chance for a possible rematch with the Bruins when the National Finals head to Greensboro in March.
And that’s when the question of who is the best team in college basketball will really be answered.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
