The 1969 Final four marked the end of the Lew Alcindor era at UCLA but not UCLA’s dominance: that would go on until 1973 (Alcindor converted to Islam in 1968 but did not publicly use Kareem Abdul-Jabbar until 1971).
Also to the final party of the season: Purdue, Drake and UNC.
UNC and Drake fell first, with the Tar Heels bowing to Rick Mount’s Purdue team 92-65 and Drake just barely losing to UCLA 85-82.
The finals were a different story. There was no handling UCLA’s big man. Jabbar, as he would soon be known, dominated everyone during his career and lost just one game in three years - freshmen weren’t yet eligible - and that loss came while he was injured.