1966 NCAA University Division basketball championship game: Difference between revisions

|Namename=1966 NCAA Tournamenttournament Championshipchampionship Gamegame

|Typetype=ncg

|Imageimage=

|Datedate=March 19, 1966

|Yearyear=1965–66

|Visitor Schoolvisitor_school=Texas Western College

|Visitor Name Shortvisitor_name_short=Texas Western

|Visitor Nicknamevisitor_nickname=Miners

|Visitor Recordvisitor_record=27–1

The '''1966 NCAA University Division Basketballbasketball Championshipchampionship Gamegame''' was the final of the [[1966 NCAA University Division Basketballbasketball Tournamenttournament]] and determined the national champion in the 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball season.{{efn|The University Division is the historic predecessor to the grouping of colleges and universities now known as [[NCAA Division I]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wong|first=Glenn M.|title=The Comprehensive Guide to Careers in Sports|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|year=2012|edition=2|page=200|isbn=9781449602031}}</ref> The NCAA first divided member schools into the University Division and College Division in 1956;<ref>{{cite news|title=NCAA Splits Basketball Tournament|work=The Washington Post and Times-Herald|agency=Associated Press|date=January 12, 1956|page=35}}</ref> in 1973, the NCAA adopted a three-division setup in which major college programs were placed in Division I.<ref>{{cite news|title=NCAA Votes to Split Into Three Divisions|work=Los Angeles Times|agency=Associated Press|date=August 7, 1973|page=B5}}</ref> Additionally, the NCAA did not sponsor championships in women's sports until the 1981–82 school year.<ref>{{cite news|last=Barnes|first=Bart|title=With Gains Come Growing Pains|worknewspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 16, 1982|pages=D1–D2}}</ref>}} The game was held on March 19, 1966, at [[Cole Field House]] in [[College Park, Maryland]]. The [[1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team|Kentucky Wildcats]], the number one ranked team in men's college basketball, faced the [[1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team|Texas Western Miners]], who were ranked third in the nation. Texas Western's starting lineup of five African Americans was the first all-black lineup in an NCAA title game; their opponents, by contrast, fielded an all-white squad. The Miners won 72–65, claiming the school's first national championship in men's college basketball. Their victory challenged assumptions widely held about black players at the time, and major college programs intensified their recruiting efforts towards African-American players in the years following the game.

Kentucky received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament and was placed in the Mideast region. The team did not play in the first round; its first appearance in the tournament came in the regional semifinals against [[Dayton Flyers men's basketball|Dayton]]. With an 86–79 victory, the Wildcats moved on to the regional final. Playing against [[Michigan Wolverines men's basketball|Michigan]], Kentucky reached the Final Four with a second straight seven-point win. The Wildcats' opponent in the Final Four was [[Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke]], the champion of the East region. The Blue Devils held a one-point lead at halftime, but the Wildcats earned an 83–79 victory. Dampier led Kentucky with 23 points, while Riley added 19.<ref name="tournament">{{cite web|title=1966 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament|publisherwork=CBS Sports|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/ncaa-tournament/history/yearbyyear/1966|accessdate=September 26, 2016}}</ref>

Coached by [[Don Haskins]],<ref name="down"/> the Miners' first game was on December 4, 1965, against [[Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds|Eastern New Mexico]]. Texas Western won by an 89–38 score, and added eight victories over the next 25 days.<ref name="66stats"/> On December 30, the Miners faced [[Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball|Iowa]], the fourth-ranked team in the country at the time. An 86–68 win, along with a nine-point victory over [[Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball|Tulsa]], saw the Miners enter the January 4 rankings at number nine. Texas Western won three more games in January by double-digit margins. After defeating [[New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball|New Mexico State]] on February 1, the Miners played at [[Colorado State Rams men's basketball|Colorado State]], prevailing by two points.<ref name="66Miners">{{cite web|title=1965–66 UTEP Miners Schedule and Results|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/texas-el-paso/1966-schedule.html|accessdate=September 26, 2016}}</ref> An 81–72 win over [[Arizona Wildcats men's basketball|Arizona]] moved the Miners to 17–0 for the season, and five further victories left them undefeated entering March. Their winning streak reached 23 games, with a second win against New Mexico State.<ref name="66stats"/> In their last regular season game, the Miners suffered their first loss, against [[seattle Redhawks men's basketball|Seattle]], 74–72, leaving them at 23–1. The team ended the regular season third in the AP Poll, having reached a peak position of second.<ref name="66Miners"/> [[Bobby Joe Hill]] had a team-high 15.0 points per game, while [[Dave Lattin]] had an average of 14.0 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game. [[Orsten Artis]] and [[Nevil Shed]] also averaged more than 10.0 points per game, and [[Harry Flournoy]] led the Miners with 10.7 rebounds per game.<ref name="66stats">{{cite web|title=1965–66 Statistics and Results|publisher=University of Texas at El Paso|url=http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/041607aah.html|accessdate=September 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026174142/http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/041607aah.html|archive-date=October 26, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In contrast to Kentucky, who sportswriter [[Michael Wilbon]] later called "as white as milk", the Miners' entire starting lineup consisted of African-Americans.<ref name="win">{{cite news|last=Wilbon|first=Michael|title=A Win for Texas Western, A Triumph for Equality|worknewspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 13, 2006|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/12/AR2006011202357.html|accessdate=September 21, 2016}}</ref>

The game took place on March 19 at [[Cole Field House]], on the campus of the [[University of Maryland, College Park]], in front of an announced crowd of 14,253 fans. It was preceded by a third-place contest between the losing teams in the Final Four, Duke and Utah; the Blue Devils won 79–77.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last=White Jr.|first=Gordon S.|title=Miners Win, 72–65|work=The New York Times|date=March 20, 1966|page=223}}</ref> The championship game, which started at 10 p.m., was not broadcast on a major American station, instead airing on tape delay in certain cities.<ref name="legacy"/> [[Hughes Television Network|Sports Network Incorporated]] handled the original broadcast, and the full-length telecast appeared on [[ESPN]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|title=A Game Changed History, but It's Hardly Been Seen Since|work=The New York Times|date=March 28, 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/sports/ncaabasketball/a-game-changed-history-but-its-hardly-been-seen-since.html?_r=0|accessdate=September 22, 2016}}</ref> The Miners fielded an all-black starting lineup for the championship game, becoming the first team ever to do so in an NCAA Men's Division I Basketballmen's basketball Tournamenttournament final.<ref name="legacy"/> Haskins motivated his team by telling them about a promise made by Rupp that his white Kentucky team would not be defeated by an all-African-American lineup.<ref name="legacy">{{cite web|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Frank|title=Texas Western's 1966 title left lasting legacy|publisher=ESPN Classic|date=November 19, 2003|url=https://www.espn.go.com/classic/s/013101_texas_western_fitzpatrick.html|accessdateaccess-date=September 22, 2016}}</ref> The rotation employed by Haskins in the final consisted exclusively of black players, with two African-American bench players used along with the five starters. Haskins said of his roster choices that he had "played [his] best players, who happened to be black."<ref name="down"/>

Riley won the opening tip for Kentucky, but the referee ruled that he had illegally jumped too early and awarded possession to Texas Western. On the Wildcats' first possession, Lattin committed a foul on Riley while trying to block his shot. Twice in the early stages of the game, Lattin scored on slam dunks; this came after Haskins had told him to dunk as early as possible, in an attempt to "send a message" to Kentucky.<ref name="down">{{cite magazine|last=Kirkpatrick|first=Curry|title=The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=April 1, 1991|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1991/04/01/123894/the-night-they-drove-old-dixie-down-in-1966-an-all-black-lineup-from-texas-western-beat-all-white-kentucky-for-the-ncaa-title-college-hoops-hasnt-been-the-same-since|accessdate=September 26, 2016}}</ref> Defensively, the Wildcats utilized a [[1–3–1 defense and offense|1–3–1]] [[Zone defense|zone]]; in response to their move, Haskins opted to start three guards in the Miners' lineup, as Worsley joined Hill and Artis. The teams were tied at 9–9 before a Miners free throw which put them in front.<ref name="go">{{cite magazine|last=Deford|first=Frank|title=Go-Go with Bobby Joe|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=March 28, 1966|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1966/03/28/607905/gogo-with-bobby-joe|accessdate=September 26, 2016}}</ref> Hill had steals on two straight Wildcats possessions around midway through the first half, and scored following each turnover.<ref name="down"/> The sequence gave the Miners a larger lead, and was described by writer [[Frank Deford]] as a turning point in the game.<ref name="go"/> The second dunk by Lattin followed, which gave the Miners a 16–11 advantage. Writer Curry Kirkpatrick described the game as "slow, tedious, [and] almost flat."<ref name="down"/> Future college basketball coach [[Gary Williams]], who was in attendance, later complimented the Miners' ball movement, recalling that "There were possessions where Texas Western passed it 10 times before taking a shot".<ref name="win"/> At halftime, Texas Western led by three points, 34–31.<ref>{{cite news|title=AP Was There: Texas Western beats Kentucky for 1966 title|newspaper=USA Today|agency=Associated Press|date=March 18, 2016|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2016/03/18/ap-was-there-texas-western-beats-kentucky-for-1966-title/81966834/|accessdate=March 27, 2019}}</ref>

Kentucky rallied to within a point of Texas Western in the opening three minutes of the second half,<ref name="NYT"/> but could not catch them even when they had three shots in a row to achieve a tie.<ref name="down"/> Behind scores by Artis and Hill, the Miners recorded six consecutive points to extend their lead.<ref name="NYT"/> Texas Western maintained their lead with effective free throw shooting; over a 37-minute period, the Miners attempted 27 free throws, making all but one.<ref name="go"/> Texas Western ultimately took a nine-point advantage and was able to control the pace; Gordon S. White Jr. of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that their margin was "safe enough for the fancy ball-handlers to slow the game during the last three minutes.<ref name="NYT"/> Dribbles by Cager took the final few seconds off of the clock, as the Miners won 72–65 to earn the NCAA University Division title.<ref name="down"/> It was the school's first men's college basketball championship, and remains their only one as of the 2019-202021–22 season.<ref name="UTEP"/> Texas Western was the first school from Texas to win a men's national championship, and remained the only one until [[Baylor Bears men's basketball|Baylor]] in [[2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2021]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Texas Western's Streak Is Over|publisher=National Public Radio|date=April 6, 2021|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/04/06/984829880/texas-westerns-streak-is-over|access-date=April 29, 2021}}</ref>

The 1966 NCAA University Division Championship Game is primarily remembered for Texas Western's victory with its entirely African-American starting lineup, which challenged stereotypes of the era. At the time, it was commonly believed that teams with all-black lineups would not play with self-control; [[Perry Wallace]], the first black basketball player to compete in the SEC, said, "There was a certain style of play whites expected from blacks."<ref name="legacy"/> Before the game, the Miners were portrayed in the media as a team with weak defending and an up-tempo offense, when their actual playing style was vastly different. Worsely said that "We were more white-oriented than any of the other teams in the Final Four," in terms of playing with discipline.<ref name="legacy"/> ButAfter even after seeingleading Texas Western play, some still refused to acknowledgethe theirchampionship, superiorHaskins discipline.received Latemany inracist the gameletters, strugglingalong towith explainsome whyclaiming that Kentuckyhe was losing,exploiting legendaryblack Wildcatsplayers. announcerAccording Claudeto SullivanHaskins, felldeath backthreats onwere themade racial stereotype, callingagainst the TexasMiners Westernbefore teama “sogame almostagainst disorganized[[SMU thatMustangs theymen's arebasketball|SMU]] almostthe impossiblefollowing to play againstseason.”<ref>{{cite web|titlename=Texas Western vs. Kentucky: 1966 National Championship FULL GAME|url=https:"down"//www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9vqNL4dXBY|accessdate=July 10, 2020}} Comment made at 52:15.</ref>

The 1966–67 Wildcats finished with a 13–13 record, following a back injury suffered by Riley in the offseason that limited his effectiveness. A victory over [[Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball|Alabama]] in the last game of the season was required to prevent Rupp from having more losses than wins for the first time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wallace|first=Tom|title=Kentucky Basketball Encyclopedia|publisher=Sports Publishing LLC|year=2002|pages=162–163|isbn=9781582615691}}</ref> Rupp coached Kentucky for five more seasons, through 1971–72. His teams made the NCAA Tournament in each of the five seasons, but were unable to reach the Final Four.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kentucky Wildcats|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/kentucky/|accessdate=September 23, 2016}}</ref> Texas Western entered 1966–67 ranked second in the country, and remained in the top 10 throughout the season. The Miners were defeated by [[Pacific Tigers men's basketball|Pacific]] in their second [[1967 NCAA University Division Basketballbasketball Tournamenttournament|NCAA Tournamenttournament]] game and finished at 22–6.<ref>{{cite web|title=1966–67 UTEP Miners Schedule and Results|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/texas-el-paso/1967-schedule.html|accessdate=September 23, 2016}}</ref> That year, the school was renamed to the University of Texas at El Paso, its current name.<ref name="down"/> It took three seasons for UTEP to return to the NCAA Tournament; Haskins coached the Miners through the 1998–99 season.<ref name="UTEP">{{cite web|title=Texas-El PasoUTEP Miners School History|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/texas-el-paso/|accessdate=AugustDecember 136, 20202022}}</ref>

[[Category:BasketballCollege basketball tournaments in Maryland]]

[[Category:Events in College Park, Maryland]]

[[Category:March 1966 sports events in the United States|NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game]]

[[Category:NCAA Division I Menmen's Basketballbasketball Championshipchampionship Gamesgames]]

[[Category:Sports competitions in College Park, Maryland]]