Shatterproof: Loud and Proud NCAA Marks Likely Never to Be Matched (#5)
What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched, let along exceeded? In ensuing blogs, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #5 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:
5. Bill Walton's NCAA Tournament championship game field-goal accuracy of 95.5% (21 of 22 for UCLA vs. Memphis State in 1973).
Walton, aided by Greg Lee's tourney-high 14 assists, erupted for a championship game-record 44 points in an 87-66 triumph over Memphis State in the 1973 NCAA Tournament final at St. Louis. Walton's 21 baskets were two more by himself than what Connecticut managed en route to winning the 2011 NCAA final against Butler. Walton had been outscored by fellow center Steve Downing, 26-14, in UCLA's 70-59 victory against Indiana in the national semifinals. Walton may have missed the mark in his subsequent relationship with radical Jack Scott, but he did only once in the following title game box score:
| UCLA (87) | Min. | FG-A | FT-A | Reb. | A. | PF | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Wilkes | 39 | 8-14 | 0-0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| Larry Farmer | 33 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bill Walton | 33 | 21-22 | 2-5 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 44 |
| Greg Lee | 34 | 1-1 | 3-3 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 5 |
| Larry Hollyfield | 30 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 8 |
| Tommy Curtis | 11 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Dave Meyers | 10 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Swen Nater | 7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Gary Franklin | 1 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Vince Carson | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Webb | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 40-62 | 7-11 | 40 | 26 | 18 | 87 |
FG% - .645. FT% - .636. Blocks - 5. Turnovers - 17 (Walton 6, Wilkes 4). Steals - 2. Team Rebounds - 2.
| Memphis State (66) | Min. | FG-A | FT-A | Reb. | A. | PF | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Buford | 38 | 3-7 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Larry Kenon | 34 | 8-16 | 4-4 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| Ronnie Robinson | 33 | 3-6 | 0-1 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Bill Laurie | 21 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Finch | 38 | 9-21 | 11-13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 29 |
| Wes Westfall | 10 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Bill Cook | 18 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Doug McKinney | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clarence Jones | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry Tetzlaff | 1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jim Liss | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Andrews | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 24-57 | 18-24 | 21 | 11 | 17 | 66 |
FG% - .421. FT% - .750. Blocks - 1. Turnovers - 8. Steals - 0. Team Rebounds - 2.
Halftime: Tied 39-39.
6. UCLA's streak of 13 consecutive undisputed conference championships in a power league (from 1967 through
1979 in Pacific-8/Pacific-10).
7. Artis Gilmore's career rebounding average of 22.7 per game (for Jacksonville in 1969-70 and 1970-71).
8. Centenary's Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.
9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955).
10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953).