On This Date in Sports January 19, 1974: Streak Stoppers

UCLA’s 88-game winning streak ends as they are stunned by Notre Dame 71-70 in South Bend. Notre Dame won the game with a stunning 12-0 run in the last three and a half minutes. It is the first loss for the Bruins in nearly three full years, including three tournament runs. Notre Dame was also the last team to beat UCLA on January 23, 1971.

UCLA Basketball under Coach John Wooden was the greatest dynasty in collegiate sports history. Beginning the 1964 team, the Bruins won the NCAA Tournament nine times in ten years, including seven in a row heading into the 1974 season. Even more impressive than their excellence in March was that the Bruins rarely lost. The dynasty started with a 30-0 record in 1964. Except for a one-year absence from the tournament in 1966, UCLA never lost more than two games in any one season. This included unbeaten seasons in 1964, 1967, 1972 and 1973.

Notre Dame looked to get physical early in the game, as Adrian Dantley elbowed Walton to the nose, drawing blood on the first play of the game. That did not help the Irish as Walton and the Bruins took control of the game early, making six of his first seven shots as UCLA held a 33-16 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half. Notre Dame would, however, end the half strong, cutting the deficit nine points as they trailed at the half 43-34. Notre Dame continued the momentum into the second half with a 9-2 run led by Gary Brokaw. The Bruins would eventually settle things down and regain control with nine straight points. The Irish would put up a good fight, but UCLA appeared to have every time the game got close.

With 3:32 left, it appeared they had the game all but won, leading 70-59 following a jump by Tommy Curtis. Looking for one last run, Digger Phelps called timeout and began to have the Irish run an aggressive full-court press. The move worked as the Irish quickly scored six points to bring the crowd back into the game. UCLA, now just trying to run out the clock, began to run to dribble around, looking to stem the tide, but momentum had lifted the Irish like a tidal wave as they continued to chip away, with a shot from the corner by Brokaw. UCLA was suddenly discombobulated and rushing shots, as Notre Dame cut the deficit to 70-69 with one minute to go.

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Looking for answers and not used to the press, Bill Walton, who had not lost since High School, looked toward coach John Wooden, asking for a timeout, but the Bruins coach thought timeouts showed your opponent's weakness, and he shook his star player off. The Bruins would again turn the ball over as Notre Dame had a chance to take the lead. Much of the Irish comeback was due to the shooting of Gary Brokaw, so when the Bruins went to double the Notre Dame star, the ball ended up in the hands of Dwight Clay, who gave the Irish a 71-70 lead with 29 seconds on the clock. 

Stunned and bewildered, Bill Walton did not bother to ask his coach this time and singled for the timeout. Notre Dame kept up the defensive pressure but blew a chance at a steal as Tommy Curtis got off a long-distance shot that hit the rim. After the Irish fumbled the rebound, UCLA had another opportunity to extend their streak with six seconds left. UCLA managed to get the inbound to Walton, who had made 12 of 13 shots up to that point. However, he could not get off a clean shot hitting the rim. The Bruins had two more chances for a tap-in but missed as John Shumate got the last rebound as the buzzer sounded, and the crowd rushed the floor to celebrate a stunning 71-70 win by Notre Dame.

UCLA would avenge the loss a week later by beating Norte Dame 94-75 at the Pauley Pavilion. However, the bloom was off the rise for UCLA, as they suffered two more losses in February and were knocked off by NC State 80-77 in the NCAA Semifinals, ending their seven-year reign. UCLA would bounce back to win another NCAA Tournament in 1975, in what would be John Wooden’s swan song, as he retired after ten championships in 12 years.