1968 Marquette Basketball: Al McGuire’s 1st NCAA Tournament
Marquette basketball came into 1968 gaining steam under the leadership of head coach Al McGuire. Starting from close to rock bottom in 1965, Al had gradually improved the Warrior program and in 1967 reached the finals of the NIT. In ’68, Marquette took the next step—they reached an NCAA Tournament that then took just 25 teams and kickstarted what would be the greatest decade of college basketball in Milwaukee.
GEORGE THOMPSON LEADS THE WAY
George Thompson, an explosive scoring guard was the focal point of the lineup. Thompson poured in 23ppg. And despite being 6’2” he still pulled in nine rebounds a night.
McGuire surrounded Thompson with three double-digit scorers, Brad Luchini, Jim Burke, and Brian Bunkhorst. And Pat Smith, the fifth starter, played above his height as well as anyone, going 6’0” and still averaging 9 points/9 rebounds per game.
In spite of the improvement of ’67, Marquette was not on the national radar when 1968 began, opening the season unranked—although we should note that at the time polls only ranked the top 10.
EARLY SUCCESS
After three easy wins opened the season, Marquette hosted what was then their annual four-team Milwaukee Classic in mid-December. Facing Florida State—bound for the NCAA Tournament and led by future NBA great Dave Cowens, the Warriors made a major statement with a 78-58 thumping.
Marquette had a letdown the next night, dropping a 70-62 decision to mediocre in-state rival Wisconsin. But they quickly rebounded, comfortably beating an eventual 19-win team from Villanova behind 31 points from Thompson.
The Warriors were 6-1 when they took a Christmas vacation in Hawaii for the eight-team Rainbow Classic. Ohio State, coached by the legendary Fred Taylor and bound for the Final Four was up first. Marquette won 64-60.
A loss to Houston, ranked second in the nation and also headed for the Final Four behind National Player of the Year Elvin Hayes followed, but Marquette closed out the trip with a 13-point win over Northwestern.
The Warriors went into January with a record of 8-2 and a demonstrated ability to beat high-caliber opponents.
THE MOMENTUM CONTINUES
Four straight home wins followed. That included a 71-70 escape against a pedestrian DePaul team. It also included a solid 83-68 win over Dayton, who had reached the NCAA final a year earlier and would win the NIT this season.
Marquette took some revenge on Wisconsin with a 71-56 win and then comfortably blew out a so-so Denver squad. A road trip to NCAA-bound Loyola-Illinois ended the winning streak, but the Warriors quickly bounced back with wins over Detroit and another hard-fought victory over DePaul.
McGuire’s team was 14-3 going into February even if they had yet to crack the top 10.
CLOSING THE DEAL
Marquette was able to avenge another defeat when Loyola-Illinois came north to Milwaukee and was sent back to Chicago with a 71-57 loss. The Warriors then blew out bad teams from Xavier and UW-Milwaukee. A second win over Detroit got them into the polls at #10.
After a perfunctory win over South Dakota, the Warriors traveled to New York City to take on St. John’s. The Redmen were headed for the NCAA field. With the calendar in late February and the bar for making the bracket so high, Marquette couldn’t assume any margin for error. They got out of Queens with a huge 57-56 win.
There was a big letdown two days later, a 15-point loss to Xavier. But it wasn’t going to slow down Marquette’s march. The Warriors cleaned up with easy wins over Creighton and Western Michigan.
They were 21-5 and got the phone call they were hoping for—an NCAA Tournament invitation.
AL GETS HIS 1ST NCAA WIN
The Warriors were one of six teams placed in the Mideast Regional (the organizational forerunner of today’s South bracket). Ohio State and Kentucky got the two byes into the Sweet 16. Marquette traveled to Kent, OH to take on Bowling Green in the first round.
Bill Fitch, who would one day win an NBA championship in Boston, was coaching the Falcons. Bowling Green had a terrific forward in Walt Piatkowski, who averaged 24 points/7 rebounds per game. And this game would be a thriller.
Thompson met the moment for the Warriors, pouring in 33 points and grabbing ten rebounds. Piatkowski got his points for the Falcons, scoring 27. But MU kept him off the boards, limiting the Bowling Green star to five rebounds. Meanwhile, Brunkhorst went to work down low for Marquette, posting a 20/14 line.
It was enough to get McGuire’s first NCAA Tournament win, 72-71, and send the Warriors to Lexington for the Sweet 16.
THE ROAD ENDS IN LEXINGTON
Home cookin’ was common in the NCAA bracket in this era, so Marquette having to play fourth-ranked Kentucky in old Memorial Coliseum didn’t raise any eyebrows. The ‘Cats were still coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp and had a future NBA center in Dan Issel.
Bunkhorst continued his solid postseason run, with 23 points/7 rebounds. Luchini scored 19 and Burke chipped in 16.
But Thompson, so good all season, had a tough night. He was only able to get seven shots from the floor and held to 13 points. Meanwhile, Issel went off for a 36/13 performance. Marquette lost decisively, 107-89.
The NCAA Tournament played consolation games in the regionals through 1975, so the Warriors had a chance to end their season on a good note. They took advantage, beating East Tennessee State 69-57 behind 20 from Thompson and 18 from Luchini.
A PROGRAM ARRIVES
1968 was a breakthrough year for Marquette basketball and it was coming at just the right time in the broader landscape of Wisconsin sports. The great Vince Lombardi coached his last game with the Green Bay Packers in January. But a new legend in McGuire, who would eventually become one of the most important faces in college basketball, was on the rise.