Wooden Classic

The John R. Wooden Classic was an annual college basketball event hosted by the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Named after coach John Wooden, the event featured a December neutral-site doubleheader until its final two editions, which were single games.

The event was merged in 2013 with the DirecTV Classic, an eight-team, three-day tournament, to form a new event, the Wooden Legacy.

History

The John R. Classic was founded in 1994 by Atherton Communications in honor of the former Hall of Fame Purdue player and UCLA head coach John Wooden. The inaugural event was nationally televised by NBC Sports and featured four top 10 teams, including the first meeting in 20 years between UCLA and Kentucky, when they played for the 1975 NCAA Championship (won by UCLA), which marked John Wooden's 10th national title and the final game of his illustrious coaching career.

The Wooden Classic grew to include a charity golf tournament and coaches banquet, which raised over $1 million for Children's Hospital and Special Olympics, two of Coach Wooden's favorite charities. The 1998 and 1999 events also included the John R. Wooden Classic High School Invitational, which featured future NBA players, Tyson Chandler (Dominguez), Keith Bogans (DeMatha Catholic), Joe Forte (DeMatha Catholic) and Casey Jacobsen (Glendora).

The Classic was historically a high-profile doubleheader invitational event in early December. After Wooden died in 2010, it became a single game in January in the 2011–12 season due to scheduling conflicts and the transition to the event's new owners, Honda Center.[1][2] The classic returned to December in the 2012–13 season, but was again a single game.[3] Since its inception, the games were played in Anaheim, California, at the Honda Center, known earlier as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. In June 2013, the Wooden Classic merged with the DirecTV Classic to form the Wooden Legacy, a three-day, eight-team event.[4]

Results
Year Game Winning team Score Losing team
2012[lower-alpha 1] — San Diego State 78–69 UCLA
2012[lower-alpha 2] — UCLA 65–58 Arizona
2010 1 Saint Mary's 82–74 Long Beach State
2010 2 UCLA 86–79 BYU
2009 1 Georgetown 74–66 Washington
2009 2 Mississippi State 72–54 UCLA
2008 1 Saint Mary's 67–64 San Diego State
2008 2 UCLA 72–54 DePaul
2007 1 Saint Mary's 69–64 San Diego State
2007 2 UCLA 75–63 Davidson
2006 1 UCLA 65–62 Texas A&M
2006 2 USC 74–65 George Washington
2005 1 Washington 81–71 New Mexico
2005 2 UCLA 67–56 Nevada
2004 1 Arizona 68–64 Mississippi State
2004 2 Boston College 74–64 UCLA
2003 1 Stanford 64–58 Kansas
2003 2 Kentucky 52–50 UCLA
2002 1 Georgia 78–73# Cal
2002 2 Missouri 78–72 USC
2001 1 Arizona 79–66 Purdue
2001 2 UCLA 79–57 Alabama
2000 1 USC 65–60 Utah
2000 2 Georgia Tech 72–67 UCLA
1999 1 Stanford 67–58 Auburn
1999 2 Duke 81–68 USC
1998 1 Kansas 62–55 Pepperdine
1998 2 UCLA 69–66 Oklahoma State
1997 1 UCLA 69–58 New Mexico
1997 2 Stanford 76–74 Georgia
1996 1 Arizona 69–61 Utah
1996 2 Louisville 93–87# LSU
1995 1 Villanova 67–50 Purdue
1995 2 UCLA 73–63 Maryland
1994 1 Kansas 81–75 Massachusetts
1994 2 UCLA 82–81 Kentucky
# indicates number of overtime periods

All-time team records
Rank School Wins Losses
1 UCLA 11 5
2 San Diego State 4 2
3 Saint Mary's 3 0
3 Stanford 3 0
5 Arizona 3 1
6 Kansas 2 1
7 USC 2 2
8 Boston College 1 0
8 Duke 1 0
8 Georgia Tech 1 0
8 Louisville 1 0
8 Missouri 1 0
8 Villanova 1 0
8 Washington 1 0
15 Georgia 1 1
15 Kentucky 1 1
17 Alabama 0 1
17 Auburn 0 1
17 Cal 0 1
17 Davidson 0 1
17 George Washington 0 1
17 LSU 0 1
17 Maryland 0 1
17 Massachusetts 0 1
17 Mississippi State 0 1
17 Nevada 0 1
17 Oklahoma State 0 1
17 Pepperdine 0 1
17 Texas A&M 0 1
30 New Mexico 0 2
30 Purdue 0 2
30 Utah 0 2

Notes
  1. Played in December 2012 during the 2012–13 season
  2. Played in January 2012 during the 2011–12 season

References
  1. Plaschke, Bill (January 5, 2012). "A Wooden Classic that sure didn't resemble one". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012.
  2. Bolch, Ben (April 8, 2011). "UCLA's Wooden Classic shifts to Pac-10 matchup for one year". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012.
  3. Hammond, Rich (November 30, 2012). "UCLA-Wooden Classic relationship murky". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012.
  4. Payne, Terrence (June 4, 2013). "The Wooden Legacy an all new tournament to begin this year". NBCSports.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013.
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