UCLA was a heavy favorite over Villanova in the title game. But the Bruins did not cruise through the season in their accustomed fashion. They were severely threatened in their own conference (and backyard) by second-ranked USC, who lost only twice all season – both to UCLA. In addition, UCLA lost at Notre Dame and had several other close calls against Washington, Oregon, and Oregon State. In the West Regional final, the Bruins trailed Long Beach State by 11 points midway through the second half, and their star player
Sidney Wicks was on the bench with four personal fouls. But Wicks returned and avoided his fifth foul (and disqualification), and the Bruins rallied to take a 55–53 lead. With 20 seconds remaining, Wicks sank two clinching free throws and UCLA escaped 57–55. In the national championship game, UCLA jumped out to an early lead, but star players
Sidney Wicks and
Curtis Rowe struggled against Villanova's stingy zone defense. Only the outside shooting of
Henry Bibby and a career best 29 points from center
Steve Patterson kept the Bruins in the lead. In the meantime, Villanova stars
Howard Porter and
Chris Ford overcame early struggles to keep the Wildcats in the game. Midway through the second half, UCLA coach
John Wooden ordered the Bruins to go into a
four-corner stall offense (there was no
shot clock in college basketball at this time), a tactic he rarely employed. Wooden said after the game he did so to bring Villanova out of their zone, and because he wanted to use the stage of the national championship game to show the NCAA that they should adopt a shot clock (something Wooden had long argued for). However, the tactic almost backfired as Villanova started forcing turnovers with an aggressive man-to-man defense. In addition, the stall took UCLA out of its offensive rhythm. Villanova closed the gap to 63–60 and had the ball with one minute to play. However, Porter missed a 15-foot off-balance jumper, Wicks grabbed the rebound, and UCLA made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to win 68–62. In the national third-place game, Western Kentucky defeated Kansas, 77–75. In a situation similar to Villanova's, Western Kentucky's placement in the tournament was vacated due to an NCAA investigation that showed Jim McDaniels had signed a professional contract and accepted money during the 1970–71 season. Western Kentucky would be found in violation twice more in the next 10 years, earning the school a "lack of institutional control" violation. This made the 1971 Final Four officially the first without a school from east of the Mississippi River. The 2021 Final Four is the first to actually have all four teams come from west of the Mississippi (Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA). The total attendance for the tournament was 220,447, a new record. The crowd of 31,765 for the championship game was also a new record. ==Schedule and venues==