1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season explained
The 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1978, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 26, 1979, at the Special Events Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Michigan State Spartans won their first NCAA national championship with a 75–64 victory over the Indiana State Sycamores.
Season headlines
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
See main article: 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[4]
Conference membership changes
The 1978–79 season was most notable for the expansion of the Pacific-8 Conference to 10 members with the addition of the men's athletic programs of Arizona and Arizona State (the conference did not sponsor women's sports until the 1986–87 school year). The conference duly renamed itself the Pacific-10 Conference.
Regular season
Conferences
Conference winners and tournaments
Of 22 Division I basketball conferences, 13 determined their league champion with a single-elimination tournament, while seven leagues sent their regular-season champion to the NCAA Tournament. The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) did not receive an automatic tournament bid until the 1979–80 season, while the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) received its automatic bid in 1980–81.
| Conference | Regular
season winner[5] | Conference
player of the year | Conference
tournament | Tournament
venue (City) | Tournament
winner |
|---|
| | Mike Gminski, Duke[6] | | Greensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro,) | North Carolina |
| | John McCullough, Oklahoma[7] | | Kemper Arena
(Kansas City, Missouri)
(Semifinals and Finals) | Oklahoma |
| | Lawrence Butler, Idaho State[8] | | Dee Events Center
(Ogden, Utah) | Weber State |
| | None Selected | No Tournament |
| Temple (East)
Bucknell (West) | | | The Palestra
(Philadelphia) | Temple |
| | James Bailey, Rutgers[9] | | Civic Arena
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) | Rutgers |
Eastern College Athletic
Conference (ECAC) | Division I ECAC members
played as independents
during the regular season
(see note) | Nikos Galis,
Seton Hall;
Corny Thompson,
Connecticut[10] | 1979 ECAC Metro Region tournament | Nassau Coliseum
(Uniondale, New York) | Iona |
| 1979 ECAC New England Region tournament | Providence Civic Center
(Providence,) | Connecticut |
| 1979 ECAC South-Upstate Region tournament | Cole Field House
(College Park, Maryland) | Georgetown |
| | Tony Price, Penn[11] | No Tournament |
| | | | Mid-South Coliseum
(Memphis, Tennessee) | Virginia Tech |
| | Paul Dawkins, Northern Illinois[12] | No Tournament |
| | Larry Bird, Indiana State[13] | | Hulman Center
(Terre Haute, Indiana) | Indiana State[14] |
| | James Tillman, Eastern Kentucky[15] | | McBrayer Arena
(Richmond, Kentucky)
(Semifinals and Finals) | Eastern Kentucky[16] |
| | David Greenwood, UCLA[17] | No Tournament |
| | Ron Cornelius, Pacific[18] | | Anaheim Convention Center
(Anaheim, California) | Pacific |
| | Reggie King, Alabama[19] | | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
(Birmingham, Alabama) | Tennessee |
| | Jonathan Moore, Furman[20] | | Roanoke Civic Center
(Roanoke, Virginia)
(Semifinals and Finals) | Appalachian State[21] |
| | David Lawrence, McNeese State[22] | No Tournament |
| | Sidney Moncrief, Arkansas (Consensus) | | The Summit
(Houston, Texas) | Arkansas |
| | Larry Smith, Alcorn State[23] | | | Alcorn State |
| | Rory White, South Alabama[24] | | Charlotte Coliseum
(Charlotte,) (Semifinals and Finals) | Jacksonville[25] |
| | Calvin Natt, Northeast Louisiana[26] | | Ewing Coliseum
(Monroe, Louisiana) | Northeast Louisiana |
| | Bill Cartwright, San Francisco[27] | No Tournament |
| | None Selected | No Tournament | |
NOTE: From
1975 to
1981, the
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the
Northeastern United States, organized Division I
ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1979 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the
1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional
athletic conferences did.
[28] Conference standings
Division I independents
A total of 78 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, Syracuse (26–4) had the best winning percentage (.867) and Syracuse and DePaul (26–6) finished with the most wins.[29] [30]
Informal championships
Rutgers finished with a 7–0 regular-season record in head-to-head competition among members of the New Jersey-New York 7 Conference.
Penn and Temple both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Statistical leaders
| | | | | | |
| Player | School | PPG | | Player | School | RPG | | Player | School | FG% | | Player | School | FT% |
|---|
| | 30.1 | | | | 16.2 | | | | 69.1 | | | | 92.1 |
| | 28.6 | | | | 15.7 | | | | 67.1 | | | | 91.7 |
| | 27.5 | | | | 15.5 | | | | 66.1 | | | | 91.0 |
| | 26.9 | | | | 14.9 | | | | 65.6 | | | | 90.9 |
| | 26.7 | | | | 14.3 | | | | 64.4 | | | | 90.8 | |
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
See main article: 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament and 1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game.
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
See main article: 1979 National Invitation Tournament.
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
See main article: 1979 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
Major player of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.[31]
References
- Statistical Leaders and Coaching Changes from 1980 NCAA Basketball 84th Annual Guide, (Copyright 1979, NCAA)
Notes and References
- Web site: 1979 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll. AP Poll Archive. 2009-01-26.
- https://hardwoodhistory.com/2011/03/22/the-1978-79-season/ Hartzell, Larry, "The 1978-79 Season," Hardwood History, March 22, 2011 Accessed April 6, 2021
- Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 12.
- Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. 978-0-345-51392-2.
- News: 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section. 2009. NCAA. 2009-02-14.
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/09mbkguide083112.pdf 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section
- http://www.big12sports.com//pdf1/147025.pdf 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section
- https://archive.today/20120722162522/http://www.bigskyconf.com/Sports/mbball/2008/MBBAwardWinners060508.asp Men's Basketball Award Winners
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/atl10/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/0809-mg-pt8.pdf 2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Awards section
- Web site: UConn Men's Huskies: Men's Basketball Huskies of Honor Announced, December 26, 2006. . March 26, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927211844/http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/122606aaa.html . September 27, 2011 . dead .
- http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/sports/alltime.asp?intSID=6 Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers
- http://mac-sports.com/pdf5/153033.pdf?ATCLID=1620714&SPSID=42971&SPID=3803&DB_OEM_ID=9400 2008–09 MAC Men's BAsketball Media Guide – Records Section
- https://web.archive.org/web/20200828070242/http://mvc-sports.com/pdf1/145747.pdf?ATCLID=1599065&SPID=2901&DB_OEM_ID=7600&SPSID=96987 2008–09 MVC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section
- https://web.archive.org/web/20200509082645/http://mvc-sports.com/pdf5/145750.pdf?ATCLID=1599065&SPID=2901&DB_OEM_ID=7600&SPSID=96987 2008–09 MVC men's basketball media guide – Tournament section
- http://www.ovcsports.com//pdf4/143211.pdf?SPSID=31046&SPID=2443&DB_OEM_ID=6200 2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide
- http://www.ovcsports.com//pdf4/143211.pdf?SPSID=31046&SPID=2443&DB_OEM_ID=6200 2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pac10/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/Honors.pdf 2008–09 Pacific-10 Men's Basketball Media Guide- Honors Section
- http://www.bigwest.org/sports/mbball/0708_MB_Media_Guide.pdf 2008–09 Big West Men's Basketball Media Guide
- http://secsports.com/doc_lib/bkc_record_book.pdf 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book
- http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/honorsandawards.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section
- http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/standingsandresults.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section
- http://www.southland.org/pdf7/153625.pdf?ATCLID=1287496&SPSID=97316&SPID=10825&temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=18400 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide
- 2006–07 SWAC Men's Basketball Media Guide
- http://www.sunbeltsports.org/pdf7/93641.pdf?ATCLID=1293051&SPID=1825&DB_OEM_ID=4100&SPSID=22332 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide
- News: Sun Belt Men's Basketball Previous Champions. Sun Belt Conference. May 31, 2007. 2009-02-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20110307140038/http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=919677. 2011-03-07. dead.
- http://www.atlanticsun.org/media/2008-09/pdf/Records-MBasketball.pdf Atlantic Sun men's basketball record book
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/west/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2008-09mbbrecordbook.pdf 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide
- http://jonfmorse.com/wiki/index.php?title=ECAC_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournaments Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
- Web site: 1978-79 Men's Independent Season Summary . . August 20, 2024.
- Web site: 1978-79 Men's New Jersey-New York 7 Conference Season Summary . . August 20, 2024.
- News: NCAA Division I Men's College Basketball 2000 Coaching Changes. https://web.archive.org/web/20000816033945/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/stats/2000/news.00coaches.html. dead. August 16, 2000. CNN/SI. 2009-02-07 . 2000-09-13.
