1953–54 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1953–54 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. The Bruins were led by sixth year head coach John Wooden. They finished the regular season with a record of 18–7 and finished 2nd in the PCC Southern Division with a record of 7–5.

1953–54 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
Record	18–7 (7–5 PCC)
Head coach	John R. Wooden (6th season)
Assistant coach	Doug Sale
Home arena	Men's Gym

1953–54 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
North
Oregon State	11	–	5		.688			22	–	8		.733
Idaho	9	–	7		.563			15	–	8		.652
Oregon	9	–	7		.563			17	–	10		.630
Washington	7	–	9		.438			8	–	18		.308
Washington State	4	–	12		.250			10	–	17		.370
South
No. 11 USC †	8	–	4		.667			19	–	14		.576
UCLA	7	–	5		.583			18	–	7		.720
California	6	–	6		.500			17	–	7		.708
Stanford	3	–	9		.250			15	–	10		.600
† Conference playoff series winner Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

Main article: 1952–53 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The Bruins finished the regular season with a record of 16–8 and were 3rd in the PCC Southern Division with a record of 8–4.

Roster

1953–54 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 78 Bob Ballard 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — F 57 Ron Bane 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr G 24 Courtney Borio 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Jr G 56 Don Bragg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr F Mark Costello 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr El Monte, California C Mike Hibler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr G 23 Lindy Kell 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — G 75 Ron Livingston (C) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Sr G 45 Denny Miller 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — F 32 John Moore 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr C 33 Willie Naulls 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So Dallas, Texas F 54 Dick Ridgway 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Sr F Hank Steinman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — G 22 Morris Taft 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — So F 76 Ed White 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) —	Head coach John Wooden (Purdue) Assistant coach(es) Doug Sale Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 30 January 2018

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
December 5, 1953*		West Texas State	W 79–48	1–0	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
December 11, 1953*		Arizona	W 90–45	2–0	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
December 12, 1953*		Arizona	W 84–48	3–0	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 1953*	No. 17	at Denver	W 70–63	4–0	Denver University Fieldhouse  Denver, CO
December 19, 1953*	No. 17	at Denver	W 66–45	5–0	Denver University Fieldhouse  Denver, CO
December 21, 1953*	No. 17	vs. No. 20 La Salle	L 53–62	5–1	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
December 22, 1953*	No. 13	vs. Duke	W 72–67	6–2	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
December 26, 1953	No. 13	Oregon	W 89–74	7–2	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
December 28, 1953	No. 13	Oregon	W 79–53	8–2	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
December 30, 1953*	No. 14	Iowa	L 60–65	8–3	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
December 31, 1953*	No. 14	Michigan State	W 67–57	9–4	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
January 8, 1954		at California	L 53–62	9–5 (0–1)	Men's Gym  Berkeley, CA
January 9, 1954		at California	L 65–73	9–6 (0–2)	Men's Gym  Berkeley, CA
January 15, 1954		at USC	L 65–68	9–7 (0–3)	Pan-Pacific Auditorium  Los Angeles, CA
January 16, 1954		at USC	W 81–63	10–7 (1–3)	Pan-Pacific Auditorium  Los Angeles, CA
January 29, 1954*		Pacific	W 66–56	11–7	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
January 30, 1954		Pepperdine	W 103–68	12–7	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
February 5, 1954		Stanford	W 92–73	13–7 (2–3)	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
February 6, 1954		Stanford	W 77–58	14–7 (3–3)	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
February 12, 1954		No. 14 California	W 82–54	15–7 (4–3)	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
February 13, 1954		No. 14 California	W 71–62	16–7 (5–3)	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
February 19, 1954		at Stanford	W 92–77	17–7 (6–3)	Stanford Pavilion  Stanford, CA
February 20, 1954		at Stanford	W 88–80	18–8 (7–3)	Stanford Pavilion  Stanford, CA
February 26, 1954		USC	L 68–79	18–9 (7–4)	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
February 27, 1954		USC	L 68–79	18–10 (7–5)	Men's Gym  Los Angeles, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

Source