On March 21, 1964 Final Four Claims Title
1964: The dynasty begins. Unbeaten UCLA, which has no starter taller than 6-foot-5, harasses Duke into committing 24 turnovers in the NCAA final. The Bruins score 16 consecutive points late in the first half to take a 43-30 lead on the way to a stunningly easy 98-83 victory before 10,864 fans in Kansas City.
Sharp-shooting guard Gail Goodrich leads the offense with a game-high 27 points and Ken Washington comes off the bench to score 26 and grab a game-high 12 rebounds. Their fast-break attack and pressing defense is led by guard Walt Hazzard, who is voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
At 30-0, UCLA is only the third team to go through a season undefeated and win the national title. (San Francisco in 1956 and North Carolina in 1957 were the first two.) This is the first of 10 titles in 12 seasons for coach John Wooden’s Bruins.