1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team

1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Runner-up
Mideast Regional Champions
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
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Jacksonville   27 2   .931
No. 5 New Mexico State   27 3   .900
No. 8 Marquette   26 3   .897
No. 3 St. Bonaventure   25 3   .893
No. 11 Florida State   23 3   .885
No. 12 Houston   25 5   .833
Army   22 6   .786
No. 17 Niagara   22 7   .759
No. 16 Utah State   22 7   .759
Villanova   22 7   .759
No. 9 Notre Dame   21 8   .724
St. John's   21 8   .724
Georgetown   18 7   .720
Duquesne   17 7   .708
Dayton   19 8   .704
Manhattan   18 8   .692
Hardin–Simmons   17 9   .654
Holy Cross   16 9   .640
Long Island   16 9   .640
Georgia Tech   17 10   .630
Creighton   15 10   .600
Seattle   15 10   .600
Boston University   14 10   .583
Butler   15 11   .577
Oklahoma City   17 13   .567
Fairleigh Dickinson   13 10   .565
Southern Illinois   13 10   .565
Colgate   14 11   .560
Providence   14 11   .560
Denver   13 11   .542
Loyola (IL)   13 11   .542
Penn State   13 11   .542
Rutgers   13 11   .542
Saint Peter's   13 11   .542
Northern Illinois   13 12   .520
Air Force   12 12   .500
Fairfield   12 12   .500
Iona   12 12   .500
NYU   12 12   .500
Pittsburgh   12 12   .500
Saint Francis (PA)   12 12   .500
Syracuse   12 12   .500
DePaul   12 13   .480
West Texas State   12 13   .480
Loyola (LA)   12 14   .462
Boston College   11 13   .458
Virginia Tech   10 12   .455
St. Francis (NY)   9 12   .429
West Virginia   11 15   .423
Canisius   9 13   .409
Fordham   10 15   .400
Seton Hall   10 15   .400
Marshall   9 14   .391
Miami (FL)   9 17   .346
Centenary   8 16   .333
Pan American   8 16   .333
Detroit   7 18   .280
Tulane   5 18   .217
Xavier   5 20   .200
Navy   4 19   .174
Portland   4 22   .154
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

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
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G Rusty Baldwin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
So
F Mike Blevins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
PF 42 Pembrook Burrows 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Jr
Chip Dublin
Jr
C 53 Artis Gilmore 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Chipley, Florida
G Dan Hawkins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sr
F Curtis Kruer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
So
G Rod McIntyre 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Sr
G 24 Rex Morgan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Charleston, Illinois
F Gregg Nelson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Jr
Ken Selke
Sr
G Vaughn Wedeking 5 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# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (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*
Mercer W 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 Georgetown W 41–26  5–0
                  Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
December 22, 1969*
No. 18 Harvard W 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 Hawaii W 100–78  9–0
                  Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
January 5, 1970*
No. 10 at Hawaii W 63–58  10–0
                  Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
January 9, 1970*
No. 7 Richmond W 113–77  11–0
                  Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
January 10, 1970*
No. 7 Miami W 121–87  12–0
                  Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
January 16, 1970*
No. 6 Virgin Islands W 114–66  13–0
                  Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
January 27, 1970*
No. 6 at No. 18 Florida State L 83–89  13–1
                  Tully Gymnasium 
Tallahassee, FL
January 30, 1970*
No. 6 Saint Peter's W 121–101  14–1
 46  Gilmore   30  Gilmore        Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
February 2, 1970*
No. 8 Iona W 110–75  15–1
                  Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
February 5, 1970*
No. 8 at East Carolina W 111–94  16–1
                  Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum 
Greenville, NC
February 6, 1970*
No. 8 at Richmond W 88–49  17–1
                  Richmond Arena 
Richmond, VA
February 13, 1970*
No. 7 at Oklahoma City W 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 State W 85–81  20–1
                  Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
February 24, 1970*
No. 6 Oklahoma City W 77–75  21–1
                  Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 
Jacksonville, FL
February 26, 1970*
No. 6 at Georgia Tech W 86–81  22–1
                  Alexander Memorial Coliseum 
Atlanta, GA
March 2, 1970*
No. 6 at Miami W 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]
Round Pick Player NBA Club
2 21 Rex Morgan Boston 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.