1964 West Coast Athletic Conference Champions
Overall Record: 23-5 | WCC Record: 12-0 | Final Stats | Final Results | Roster
Head Coach: Pete Peletta
Overall Record: 23-5 WCC Record: 12-0
All-WCC Team: Joe Ellis, Ollie Johnson (POY), Dave Lee
Top Scorer: Ollie Johnson (20.5) Top Rebounder: Ollie Johnson (16.7)
USF Hall-of-Famers: Jim Brovelli, Joe Ellis, Ollie Johnson, Erwin Mueller
The Dons won the West Coast Athletic Conference with a perfect 14-0 league record and three times went over the century mark in scoring. Head coach Pete Peletta had entered the 1963-64 season with high hopes following a 1963 trip to the NCAA West Regional and the return of most of his key players. But Peletta’s veteran squad got off to a slow start. However, after splitting their first eight games the 4-4 Dons got hot and went on to win their next 19 games including wins over California and Kansas and a clean sweep through the WCAC.
The Dons high octane offense averaged 74 points per game and connected on 48.5% from the field. Ollie Johnson would again lead the Dons in scoring at a 20.5 point per game clip and also pulled down 16.7 rebounds per game. Senior forward Dave Lee added 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds and Joe Ellis added just over eight points per outing.
USF upended Utah State 64-58 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but then fell to eventual NCAA champion UCLA 76-72 in the second round. In fact, the Dons gave the Bruins their toughest battle in route to the NCAA title. Johnson knocked down 22 points against the Bruins and Erwin Muller added 15. The Dons finished with an overall record of 23-5.
Did You know? In 1964 the NCAA tournament was not seeded like it is now. If the tourney then was seeded like it is today, the Dons likely would have been a #1 seed or #2 seed and thus would not have faced UCLA until the Final Four. The Dons were the toughest challenge for the Bruins that year in UCLA’s title run.
They Said It: “We should have beaten UCLA in the NCAA tournament. Even though they came into the game undefeated we knew we could play with them. The game was really competitve, but Gail Goodrich really hurt us down the stretch,” USF guard Jim Brovelli.
