1972–73 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team

1972–73 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, runner-up
Missouri Valley Conference Champions
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 12
Record24–6 (12–2 MVC)
Head coach
Home arenaMid-South Coliseum
Seasons
← 1971–72
1973–74 →
1972–73 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 12 Memphis State 12 2   .857 24 6   .800
Louisville 11 3   .786 23 7   .767
Saint Louis 10 4   .714 19 7   .731
Tulsa 10 4   .714 18 8   .692
New Mexico State 6 8   .429 12 14   .462
Wichita State 6 8   .429 10 16   .385
Drake 5 9   .357 14 12   .538
Bradley 4 10   .286 12 14   .462
North Texas State 4 10   .286 9 16   .360
West Texas State 2 12   .143 9 17   .346
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972–73 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team represented Memphis State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1972–73 men's college basketball season.[1] The team was led by third-year head coach Gene Bartow and played their home games at Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.

As MVC champions, the Tigers participated in the 1973 NCAA Tournament. They defeated South Carolina and Kansas State to reach the first Final Four in program history. After a win over Providence to reach the national championship game, Memphis State was defeated by unbeaten, 6-time defending National champion UCLA, 87–66. The team finished with a 24–6 record (12–2 MVC).

Roster

1972–73 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 10 Bill Laurie 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Versailles, Missouri
G 11 Jerry Tetzlaff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr South Bend, Indiana
G 12 Shannon Kennedy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Muncie, Indiana
G 15 Jim Liss 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Crown Point, Indiana
F 20 Billy Buford 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Glasgow, Kentucky
G 21 Larry Finch 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Memphis, Tennessee
F 23 Larry Trosper 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Ripley, Tennessee
F 24 Ken Andrews 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Puxico, Missouri
F 33 Ronnie Robinson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Memphis, Tennessee
F/C 34 Ed Wilson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Memphis, Tennessee
F/C 35 Larry Kenon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Birmingham, Alabama
G 40 Doug McKinney 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Fairfield, Ohio
F 42 Wes Westfall 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr St. Louis, Missouri
G/F 43 Bill Cook 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Memphis, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[2] [3]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 2, 1972*
No. 11 Missouri Western W 108–74  1–0
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 5, 1972*
No. 11 at Louisiana State L 81–94  1–1
Maravich Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 7, 1972*
No. 11 South Florida W 87–73  2–1
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 9, 1972*
No. 11 at No. 5 Marquette L 69–72  2–2
Milwaukee Arena 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 12, 1972*
No. 19 Texas L 79–80  2–3
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 16, 1972*
No. 19 Navy W 80–51  3–3
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 20, 1972*
UC Santa Barbara W 80–74  4–3
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 23, 1972*
at Arkansas W 87–86  5–3
Barton Coliseum 
Little Rock, Arkansas
Dec 26, 1972*
Cornell W 96–64  6–3
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 30, 1972*
at No. 10 Vanderbilt W 74–71  7–3
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 4, 1973
at Drake W 97–92 2 OT 8–3
(1–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 6, 1973
at Bradley W 76–74  9–3
(2–0)
Robertson Memorial Field House 
Peoria, Illinois
Jan 13, 1973*
Central Florida W 124–75  10–3
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 13, 1973
Saint Louis W 72–60  11–3
(3–0)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 20, 1973*
Saint Joseph's (IN) W 112–92  12–3
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 25, 1973
No. 17 Louisville W 81–76  13–3
(4–0)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 27, 1973
No. 17 New Mexico State W 75–61  14–3
(5–0)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 1, 1973
No. 17 Drake W 73–68  15–3
(6–0)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 3, 1973*
No. 17 Bradley W 79–64  16–3
(7–0)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 8, 1973
No. 15 at Louisville L 69–83  16–4
(7–1)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 10, 1973
No. 15 at Tulsa W 91–87 OT 17–4
(8–1)
Expo Square Pavilion 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Feb 15, 1973
No. 16 Wichita State W 99–77  18–4
(9–1)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 17, 1973
No. 16 West Texas A&M W 116–79  19–4
(10–1)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 22, 1973
No. 14 at North Texas W 93–88  20–4
(11–1)
North Texas Men's Gym 
Denton, Texas
Feb 24, 1973
No. 14 at New Mexico State W 54–53  21–4
(12–1)
Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Mar 3, 1973
No. 10 at Saint Louis L 56–70  21–5
(12–2)
Kiel Auditorium 
St. Louis, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1973*
No. 12 vs. South Carolina
Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 90–76  22–5
Hofheinz Pavilion 
Houston, Texas
Mar 17, 1973*
No. 12 vs. No. 9 Kansas State
Midwest Regional final – Elite Eight
W 92–72  23–5
Hofheinz Pavilion 
Houston, Texas
Mar 24, 1973*
No. 12 vs. No. 4 Providence
National semifinal – Final Four
W 98–85  24–5
St. Louis Arena 
St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 26, 1973*
No. 12 vs. No. 1 UCLA
National Championship
L 66–87  24–6
St. Louis Arena 
St. Louis, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest region.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[4]

Rankings

Awards and honors

NBA draft

Round Pick Player NBA Club
3 50 Larry Kenon Detroit Pistons
4 60 Ronnie Robinson Phoenix Suns
4 68 Larry Kenon Los Angeles Lakers

[5]

References

  1. ^ "1972-73 Memphis Tigers Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "1973 NCAA Final Four program". March 1973. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. ^ "1972-73 Men's Basketball Roster". University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  4. ^ "2019–20 Memphis Tigers Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "1973 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.