In 1968, number-one-ranked UCLA played number-two-ranked Houston in the Astrodome. It was called the Game of the Century. The Cougars were undefeated on the year, and UCLA had a 47-game winning streak going.It was the first regular-season game ever seen on national television, the first ever played in the Astrodome, and the first to have attendance of over 50,000. It was a big deal. Nobody had ever seen anything like it before in college basketball. UCLA lost in the final seconds, 71–69, and our 47-game winning streak came to an end. After the game, in the locker room, all the Bruins were very interested to see Coach Wooden’s reaction. As UCLA players, we had never seen him lose a single game. Suddenly, he had lost, and it was a big game. How would he react? When Coach walked into the locker room after losing the Game of the Century, he was very even keeled. There was even a slight smile on his face. He told us, “It’s not theend of the world. We’ll do better next time.” He was pleased with our effort. The score was secondary; having our win-ning streak snapped was not his concern. Our effort on the court had been total. That made him happy.
Lynn Shackleford: UCLA, 1967–69;