| 1972-1973 NCAA Tournament |
| Perhaps the most remembered season in Tiger basketball history, the one that put Memphis State on the map permanently, was the 1972-1973 campaign led by Larry Finch, Ronnie Robinson, Bill Laurie, and newcomers Larry Kenon, Billy Buford, Wes Westfall, and Bill Cook. The Tigers reeled off 14 straight wins during one stretch, captured the Missouri Valley title, and received the school's first bid to the NCAA tournament since the 1962 season. |
| After compiling a 21-5 regular season mark, the Tigers received a first-round bye and had to face South Carolina. The Gamecocks were led that year by Mike Dunleavy and Alex English. But it was the one-two combination of the Tigers' Kenon and Finch that led the Tigers to a convincing 90-76 win in Houston, TX. The Tigers also recorded a phenomenonal 60 rebounds with Kenon leading the way with 20. |
| Memphis would go on to defeat a Lon Kruger-led Kansas State team in the Midwest Regional Final 92-72 to advance to the Final Four. The Tigers would defeat Providence 98-85 to earn a spot in the title game against the powerful UCLA Bruins, led by Bill Walton. |
| The Tigers battled the mighty Bruins to a 39-39 halftime tie, but Walton was too much in the second half as UCLA defeated the Tigers 87-66. Walton hit a record 21-22 shots and scored 44 points to pace the Bruins. Finch and Kenon were the only Tigers to score in double figures. Finch netted 29 and Kenon tallied 20. |
| Also that season, head coach Gene Bartow was named the NABC National Coach of the Year. |
| Season Record: 24-6 Head Coach: Gene Bartow |
| Date | Opponent | Location | W/L | Score |
| 03/15/73 | South Carolina | Houston, TX | W | 90-76 |
| 03/17/73 | Kansas State | Houston, TX | W | 92-72 |
| 03/24/73 | Providence | St. Louis, MO | W | 98-85 |
| 03/26/73 | UCLA (#1) | St. Louis, MO | L | 66-87 |
| Box Score Memphis 90, South Carolina 76 March 15, 1973 - Houston, TX Midwest Region, Regional Semifinals |
| MEMPHIS | MIN | FG-A | FT-A | REB | AST | PF | TP |
| Bill Laurie | 0-1 | 6-7 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| Billy Buford | 5-7 | 0-0 | 10 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Larry Finch | 8-17 | 9-10 | 1 | 4 | 25 | ||
| Ronnie Robinson | 5-16 | 1-4 | 17 | 2 | 11 | ||
| Larry Kenon | 16-30 | 2-6 | 20 | 4 | 34 | ||
| Jim Liss | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Doug McKinney | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Wes Westfall | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bill Cook | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| TOTALS | 36-77 | 18-27 | 60 | 19 | 90 |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | MIN | FG-A | FT-A | REB | AST | PF | TP |
| Mike Dunleavy | 4-10 | 4-4 | 0 | 3 | 12 | ||
| Alex English | 9-15 | 1-1 | 8 | 5 | 19 | ||
| Brian Winters | 5-11 | 4-4 | 8 | 5 | 14 | ||
| Dan Traylor | 5-12 | 0-4 | 6 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Kevin Joyce | 8-21 | 2-2 | 2 | 2 | 18 | ||
| Jim Walsh | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bob Mathias | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Casey Manning | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Mark Greiner | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Tom Cox | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| TOTALS | 32-70 | 12-17 | 33 | 22 | 76 |
| Halftime: Memphis 39, South Carolina 24 Officials: Grossman & Hernjak |
Attendance: 10,060 |
| Box Score Memphis 92, Kansas State 72 March 17, 1973 - Houston, TX Midwest Region, Regional Finals |
| MEMPHIS | MIN | FG-A | FT-A | REB | AST | PF | TP |
| Bill Laurie | 2-4 | 4-4 | 3 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Billy Buford | 2-5 | 0-0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Larry Finch | 10-16 | 12-12 | 2 | 2 | 32 | ||
| Ronnie Robinson | 7-10 | 0-0 | 16 | 3 | 14 | ||
| Larry Kenon | 7-12 | 0-0 | 7 | 4 | 14 | ||
| Jerry Tetzlaff | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Jim Liss | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Ken Andrews | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Doug McKinney | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Wes Westfall | 5-6 | 0-0 | 6 | 5 | 10 | ||
| Bill Cook | 3-6 | 2-2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| Clarence Jones | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| TOTALS | 37-62 | 18-20 | 47 | 22 | 92 |
| KANSAS STATE | MIN | FG-A | FT-A | REB | AST | PF | TP |
| Lon Kruger | 6-12 | 3-3 | 5 | 3 | 15 | ||
| Bob Chipman | 1-4 | 1-2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Larry Williams | 2-8 | 0-0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Ernie Kusnyer | 8-19 | 5-10 | 5 | 4 | 21 | ||
| Steve Mitchell | 6-14 | 0-1 | 6 | 3 | 12 | ||
| Danny Beard | 0-3 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Doug Snider | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Jerry Thurston | 2-3 | 0-2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Gene McVey | 4-7 | 4-4 | 4 | 1 | 12 | ||
| TOTALS | 29-73 | 14-24 | 29 | 19 | 72 |
| Halftime: Memphis 44, Kansas State 34 Officials: Howell & Moreau |
Attendance: 10,060 |
| Box Score Memphis 98, Providence 85 March 24, 1973 - St. Louis, MO Final Four, National Semifinals |
| MEMPHIS | MIN | FG-A | FT-A | REB | AST | PF | TP |
| Billy Buford | 3-7 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Larry Kenon | 14-27 | 0-4 | 22 | 1 | 28 | ||
| Ronnie Robinson | 11-17 | 2-3 | 16 | 2 | 24 | ||
| Bill Laurie | 1-3 | 2-3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Larry Finch | 7-16 | 7-9 | 6 | 4 | 21 | ||
| Bill Cook | 3-6 | 2-3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Wes Westfall | 2-3 | 3-4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| Clarence Jones | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| TOTALS | 41-80 | 16-26 | 54 | 15 | 98 |
| PROVIDENCE | MIN | FG-A | FT-A | REB | AST | PF | TP |
| Charles Crawford | 5-12 | 0-0 | 15 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Fran Costello | 5-5 | 1-1 | 8 | 5 | 11 | ||
| Marvin Barnes | 5-7 | 2-3 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
| Ernie DiGregorio | 15-36 | 2-2 | 2 | 4 | 32 | ||
| Kevin Stacum | 6-15 | 3-3 | 5 | 5 | 15 | ||
| Nehru King | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Al Baker | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Rich Dunphy | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Gary Bello | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| TOTALS | 38-32 | 9-11 | 39 | 22 | 85 |
| Halftime: Providence 49, Memphis 40 Officials: Ditty & White |
Attendance: 19,029 |
| Box Score UCLA 87, Memphis 66 March 26, 1973 - St. Louis, MO Final Four, National Finals |
| MEMPHIS | MIN | FG-A | FT-A | REB | AST | PF | TP |
| Billy Buford | 3-7 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | ||
| Larry Kenon | 8-16 | 4-4 | 8 | 3 | 20 | ||
| Ronnie Robinson | 3-6 | 0-1 | 7 | 4 | 6 | ||
| Bill Laurie | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Larry Finch | 9-21 | 11-13 | 1 | 2 | 29 | ||
| Wes Westfall | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Bill Cook | 1-4 | 2-2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Doug McKinney | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Clarence Jones | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Jerry Tetzlaff | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Jim Liss | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ken Andrews | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| TOTALS | 24-57 | 18-24 | 21 | 17 | 66 |
| UCLA | MIN | FG-A | FT-A | REB | AST | PF | TP |
| Keith Wilkes | 5-12 | 0-0 | 15 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Larry Farmer | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Bill Walton | 21-22 | 2-5 | 13 | 4 | 44 | ||
| Greg Lee | 1-1 | 3-3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Larry Hollyfield | 4-7 | 0-0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| Tommy Curtis | 1-4 | 2-2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Dave Meyers | 2-7 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Swen Nater | 1-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Gary Franklin | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Vince Carson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bob Webb | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| TOTALS | 40-62 | 7-11 | 40 | 18 | 87 |
| Halftime: UCLA 39, Memphis 39 Officials: Howell & Shosid |
Attendance: 19,031 |
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