1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team

The 1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team represented Jacksonville University during the 1969–70 NCAA University Division basketball season. The independent Dolphins were led by sixth-year head coach Joe Williams and played their home games at the Jacksonville Coliseum.

1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball
Mideast Regional Champions
NCAA tournament, runner-up
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 4
Record27–2
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Tom Wasdin (4th season)
  • Bill Coulthart (1st season)
Home arenaJacksonville Coliseum
Seasons
← 1968–69
1970–71 →
1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 4 Jacksonville 272 .931
No. 5 New Mexico State 273 .900
No. 8 Marquette 263 .897
No. 3 St. Bonaventure 253 .893
No. 11 Florida State 233 .885
No. 12 Houston 255 .833
Army 226 .786
No. 17 Niagara 227 .759
No. 16 Utah State 227 .759
Villanova 227 .759
No. 9 Notre Dame 218 .724
St. John's 218 .724
Georgetown 187 .720
Duquesne 177 .708
Dayton 198 .704
Manhattan 188 .692
Hardin–Simmons 179 .654
Holy Cross 169 .640
Long Island 169 .640
Georgia Tech 1710 .630
Creighton 1510 .600
Seattle 1510 .600
Boston University 1410 .583
Butler 1511 .577
Oklahoma City 1713 .567
Fairleigh Dickinson 1310 .565
Southern Illinois 1310 .565
Colgate 1411 .560
Providence 1411 .560
Denver 1311 .542
Loyola (IL) 1311 .542
Penn State 1311 .542
Rutgers 1311 .542
Saint Peter's 1311 .542
Northern Illinois 1312 .520
Air Force 1212 .500
Fairfield 1212 .500
Iona 1212 .500
NYU 1212 .500
Pittsburgh 1212 .500
Saint Francis (PA) 1212 .500
Syracuse 1212 .500
DePaul 1213 .480
West Texas State 1213 .480
Loyola (LA) 1214 .462
Boston College 1113 .458
Virginia Tech 1012 .455
St. Francis (NY) 912 .429
West Virginia 1115 .423
Canisius 913 .409
Fordham 1015 .400
Seton Hall 1015 .400
Marshall 914 .391
Miami (FL) 917 .346
Centenary 816 .333
Pan American 816 .333
Detroit 718 .280
Tulane 518 .217
Xavier 520 .200
Navy 419 .174
Portland 422 .154
Rankings from AP Poll

The sixth-ranked Dolphins finished the regular season at 23–1 (.958) and were invited to the NCAA tournament. In the Mideast regional, they defeated Western Kentucky, No. 7 Iowa, and No. 1 Kentucky to advance to the Final Four; through 2021, it remains the program's only trip. The Dolphins defeated No. 3 St. Bonaventure to advance to the national championship game against second-ranked UCLA; the Bruins won their fourth straight NCAA title, and Jacksonville ended the season at 27–2 (.931) overall.[1]

Previous season edit

Jacksonville finished the 1968–69 season at 17–7 (.708).[2]

Season summary edit

The Dolphins were led by 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center Artis Gilmore. A two-time All-America honoree (in 1969–70 and 1970–71), Gilmore led the nation in rebounding both seasons. He finished his career with 1,312 points (24.3 average) and 1,224 rebounds (22.7).[3][4][5]

The game against Georgetown on December 18 was stopped with 1:23 remaining in the first half following successive brawls between players from both teams and fans.[6][7] Georgetown head coach Jack Magee pulled his team from the court and Jacksonville was awarded the win.[6][8]

The Dolphins lost the national championship game to UCLA despite taking an early lead.[9][10] UCLA narrowed the lead and took over with 1:20 left in the first half. The Bruins never trailed again as they pulled away for the 80–69 win.[9]

Roster edit

1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
GRusty Baldwin5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
So
FMike Blevins6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
PF42Pembrook Burrows7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Jr
Chip Dublin
Jr
C53Artis Gilmore7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)240 lb (109 kg)JrChipley, Florida
GDan Hawkins6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sr
FCurtis Kruer6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
So
GRod McIntyre6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Sr
G24Rex Morgan6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg)SrCharleston, Illinois
FGregg Nelson6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Jr
Ken Selke
Sr
GVaughn Wedeking5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Jr
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Source[11]

Schedule and results edit

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsSite (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
December 1, 1969*
East Tennessee State
Sunshine Classic semifinal
W 92–74 1–0
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
December 2, 1969*
Morehead State
Sunshine Classic championship
W 117–63 2–0
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
December 9, 1969*
MercerW 102–62 3–0
      32  Gilmore      Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
December 13, 1969*
St. Thomas (FL)
Sunshine Classic championship
W 130–65 4–0
      30  Gilmore      Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
December 18, 1969*
No. 18 GeorgetownW 41–26 5–0
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
December 22, 1969*
No. 18 HarvardW 103–64 6–0
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
December 26, 1969*
No. 13 vs. Arizona
Evansville Invite semifinal
W 104–72 7–0
               Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, IN
December 27, 1969*
No. 13 vs. Evansville
Evansville Invite championship
W 100–70 8–0
               Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, IN
January 2, 1970*
No. 10 at HawaiiW 100–78 9–0
               Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
January 5, 1970*
No. 10 at HawaiiW 63–58 10–0
               Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
January 9, 1970*
No. 7 RichmondW 113–77 11–0
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
January 10, 1970*
No. 7 MiamiW 121–87 12–0
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
January 16, 1970*
No. 6 Virgin IslandsW 114–66 13–0
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
January 27, 1970*
No. 6 at No. 18 Florida StateL 83–89 13–1
               Tully Gymnasium 
Tallahassee, FL
January 30, 1970*
No. 6 Saint Peter'sW 121–101 14–1
 46  Gilmore  30  Gilmore      Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
February 2, 1970*
No. 8 IonaW 110–75 15–1
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
February 5, 1970*
No. 8 at East CarolinaW 111–94 16–1
               Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum 
Greenville, NC
February 6, 1970*
No. 8 at RichmondW 88–49 17–1
               Richmond Arena 
Richmond, VA
February 13, 1970*
No. 7 at Oklahoma CityW 103–83 18–1
               Frederickson Fieldhouse 
Oklahoma City, OK
February 14, 1970*
No. 7 at Loyola (LA)W 96–75 19–1
               The Field House 
New Orleans, LA
February 18, 1970*
No. 6 No. 18 Florida StateW 85–81 20–1
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
February 24, 1970*
No. 6 Oklahoma CityW 77–75 21–1
               Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
February 26, 1970*
No. 6 at Georgia TechW 86–81 22–1
               Alexander Memorial Coliseum 
Atlanta, GA
March 2, 1970*
No. 6 at MiamiW 108–97 23–1
               Miami Beach Convention Center 
Miami, FL
NCAA Tournament
March 7, 1970*
No. 6 vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky
Regional Quarterfinal
W 109–96 24–1
 30  Gilmore  19  Gilmore      University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, OH
March 12, 1970*
No. 4 vs. No. 7 Iowa
Regional semifinal
W 104–103 25–1
 30  Gilmore  17  Gilmore      St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
March 14, 1970*
No. 4 vs. No. 1 Kentucky
Regional final
W 106–100 26–1
 28  Morgan  20  Gilmore      St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
March 19, 1970*
7:40 pm
No. 4 vs. No. 3 St. Bonaventure
National semifinal
W 91–83 27–1
 29  Gilmore  21  Gilmore      Cole Fieldhouse (14,380)
College Park, MD
March 21, 1970*
4:00 pm
No. 4 vs. No. 2 UCLA
National Championship Game
L 69–80 27–2
 19  Gilmore  16  Gilmore      Cole Fieldhouse (14,380)
College Park, MD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
ME=Mideast.
All times are in Eastern time.
Source:[12][13]

Rankings edit

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP181813107666876664
Coaches20-т1919107766876665

Awards and honors edit

Team players in the 1970 NBA draft edit

RoundPickPlayerNBA Club
221Rex MorganBoston Celtics

[14]

References edit

  1. ^ "Fourth straight for Bruins". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 22, 1970. p. 1, sports.
  2. ^ "1968-69 Jacksonville Dolphins Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Jacksonville University". Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  4. ^ "1969-70 Jacksonville Dolphins Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  5. ^ "Jacksonville Dolphins Men's Basketball Stat Sheet" (PDF). Jacksonville University. 1970. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Desert Sun 19 December 1969 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  7. ^ "Georgetown Five Forfeits Game as Fight Halts Play (Published 1969)". The New York Times. December 19, 1969. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  8. ^ "Georgetown flees cage 'battle'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 19, 1969. p. 3B.
  9. ^ a b "4TH CROWN IN ROW". The New York Times. March 22, 1970. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  10. ^ Jares, Joe (March 30, 1970). "Victory by mystique". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  11. ^ "1969-70 Jacksonville Dolphins Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  12. ^ "1969-70 Jacksonville Dolphins Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "1969-70 Men's Basketball Schedule". Jacksonville University. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  14. ^ "1970 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.