88 and 1

UCLA’s 88-game winning streak between 1970 and 1974 is undoubtedly one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of college sports. It is 28 games longer than any other streak in college basketball history and the closest anyone has come in the almost 50 years since it was established is UNLV’s 45-game streak between 1989–91. John Wooden’s team was so dominant that it won 48 of the 88 games by at least 20 points and had just eight wins by five or less. The Bruins’ personnel featured multiple national player of the year selections, All-Americans, and 13 different players who went on to play in the NBA, including Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, and Marques Johnson. 88 and 1 documents this incredible run and the losses that bracketed the streak, victories by Notre Dame over #1 ranked UCLA teams in the same building that was just a few miles from Wooden’s home in the 1930s when he was a high school coach in South Bend. Author Timothy Bourret goes in depth on games and events leading up to that epic game on January 19, 1974, details on the game itself, culminating in Dwight Clay’s game-winning shot in the final 30 seconds, and the aftermath. It also examines careers of the coaching combatants Digger Phelps and John Wooden, two unique personalities whose rivalry made this game must-see television.

Tim Bourret spent forty years in the Clemson Sports Information Office before retiring in July of 2018.Bourret also has extensive experience in broadcasting. He has served as color commentator for more than 1,000 Clemson basketball games and is in his 43rd year behind the microphone in 2022–23. He also is the primary color commentator for Clemson’s football broadcasts, a task he handled between 1982-88, and 2019-present. He is the author of six books, including three editions of Basketball for Dummies and Digger Phelps' Tales from the Notre Dame Hardwood, and Father Ted Hesburgh He Coached Me, a book of reflections on the former Notre Dame president. He lives in Clemson, South Carolina.