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
The Trans America Athletic Conference began play, with eight original members. It was renamed the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001. Indiana State senior forward Larry Bird and Michigan Spartans sophomore point guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson emerged as two highly popular and successful players during the season, and their rivalry — culminating in a meeting in the national championship game — captured national attention of basketball fans and the sports media during the year.Hartzell, Larry, "The 1978-79 Season," Hardwood History, March 22, 2011 Accessed April 6, 2021 In the Pacific 10 Conference, UCLA won an NCAA-record 13th consecutive conference title. The first Great Alaska Shootout took place. The long-running Shootout would become one of the premier early-season tournaments before it was discontinued after its 2017 edition. On February 24, North Carolina trailed Duke 7–0 at halftime. It was the first scoreless half for an NCAA basketball team since 1938. At Boston College, players took part in a point-shaving scheme which was revealed in 1980. The NCAA tournament expanded from 32 to 40 teams and used seeding to place all teams in its bracket for the first time. The first public lottery for tickets to the NCAA tournament Final Four was held. The championship game enjoyed the highest television rating in college basketball history. The National Invitation Tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams. The growing fan appreciation and financial success of college basketball during the season prompted planning for the creation of the ESPN network and the original Big East Conference, both of which launched the following season and would push the sport to greater prominence in the years to come.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.*
'Associated Press'RankingTeam1Duke (38)2UCLA (8)3Notre Dame (1)4Louisville5Kansas (1)6Texas7Michigan State8Michigan9Syracuse10Indiana11Kentucky12NC State13USC14LSU15Rutgers16North Carolina17San Francisco18Marquette19Alabama20UNLV UPI CoachesRankingTeam1Duke2UCLA3Notre Dame4Michigan State 5LouisvilleKansas7Texas8Michigan9NC State10USC11Indiana12North Carolina13Syracuse14Kentucky15Alabama16San Francisco17LSU18Rutgers19Minnesota20Marquette
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.
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Western Athletic Conference Pacific-10 Conference Western Athletic Conference Pacific-10 Conference Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (NAIA) Division I independent Mason–Dixon (D-II) Division I independent Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Ohio Valley Conference Division I independent Mason–Dixon (D-II) Division I independent Metro Conference Division I independent Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Pacific Coast Athletic Association Western Athletic Conference Division I independent Metro Conference No program Division I independent Division I independent Pacific Coast Athletic Association
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.
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference Duke & North Carolina Mike Gminski, Duke2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1979 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, ) North CarolinaBig Eight Conference Oklahoma John McCullough, Oklahoma2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04 1979 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena(Kansas City, Missouri)(Semifinals and Finals) OklahomaBig Sky Conference Weber State Lawrence Butler, Idaho State, Big Sky Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14 1979 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Dee Events Center(Ogden, Utah) Weber StateBig Ten Conference Michigan State, Purdue & Iowa None Selected No TournamentEast Coast Conference Temple (East) Bucknell (West) Michael Brooks, La Salle 1979 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament The Palestra(Philadelphia) TempleEastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8) Villanova James Bailey, Rutgers2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Awards section , Atlantic 10 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 1979 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Rutgers Eastern College AthleticConference (ECAC) Division I ECAC membersplayed as independentsduring the regular season(see note) Nikos Galis,Seton Hall;Corny Thompson,Connecticut 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) GeorgetownIvy League Penn Tony Price, PennMen's Ivy League Outstanding performers , Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01 No TournamentMetro Conference Louisville Pat Cummings, Cincinnati 1979 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament Mid-South Coliseum(Memphis, Tennessee) Virginia TechMid-American Conference Toledo Paul Dawkins, Northern Illinois2008–09 MAC Men's BAsketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14 No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Indiana State Larry Bird, Indiana State2008–09 MVC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Missouri Valley Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 1979 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Hulman Center(Terre Haute, Indiana) Indiana State2008–09 MVC men's basketball media guide – Tournament section, Missouri Valley Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14Ohio Valley Conference Eastern Kentucky James Tillman, Eastern Kentucky2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide, Ohio Valley Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 1979 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament McBrayer Arena(Richmond, Kentucky)(Semifinals and Finals) Eastern Kentucky2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide, Ohio Valley Conference, retrieved 2009-01-24Pacific-10 Conference UCLA David Greenwood, UCLA2008–09 Pacific-10 Men's Basketball Media Guide- Honors Section , Pacific-10 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 No TournamentPacific Coast Athletic Association Pacific Ron Cornelius, Pacific2008–09 Big West Men's Basketball Media Guide , Big West Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14 1979 PCAA men's basketball tournament Anaheim Convention Center(Anaheim, California) PacificSoutheastern Conference LSU Reggie King, Alabama2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book , Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 1979 SEC men's basketball tournament Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex(Birmingham, Alabama) TennesseeSouthern Conference Appalachian State Jonathan Moore, Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1979 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Roanoke Civic Center(Roanoke, Virginia)(Semifinals and Finals) Appalachian State2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southland Conference Lamar David Lawrence, McNeese State2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 No TournamentSouthwest Conference Texas & Arkansas Sidney Moncrief, Arkansas (Consensus) 1979 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament The Summit(Houston, Texas) ArkansasSouthwestern Athletic Conference Alcorn State Larry Smith, Alcorn State2006–07 SWAC Men's Basketball Media Guide 1979 SWAC men's basketball tournament Baton Rouge River CenterBaton Rouge, Louisiana Alcorn StateSun Belt Conference South Alabama Rory White, South Alabama2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 1979 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Charlotte Coliseum(Charlotte, ) (Semifinals and Finals) JacksonvilleTrans America Athletic Conference Northeast Louisiana Calvin Natt, Northeast LouisianaAtlantic Sun men's basketball record book, Atlantic Sun Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 1979 TAAC men's basketball tournament Ewing Coliseum(Monroe, Louisiana) Northeast LouisianaWest Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Bill Cartwright, San Francisco2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide , West Coast Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference BYU 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.Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
Conference standings
Division I independents A total of 74 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.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerNew Jersey-New York 7 Conference None selected
Rutgers finished with a 7–0 regular-season record in head-to-head competition among members of the New Jersey-New York 7 Conference.
ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Penn & Temple Tony Price, Penn, & Rick Reed, Temple 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% Lawrence Butler Idaho St. 30.1 Monti Davis Tenn. St. 16.2 Murray Brown Florida St. 69.1 Darrell Mauldin Campbell 92.1 Larry Bird Indiana St. 28.6 Bill Cartwright San Francisco 15.7 Jeff Ruland Iona 67.1 Kurt Kanaskie La Salle 91.7 Nick Galis Seton Hall 27.5 Lionel Garrett Southern 15.5 Steve Johnson Oregon St. 66.1 Jim Krivacs Texas 91.0 James Tillman Eastern Kentucky 26.9 Larry Bird Indiana St. 14.9 Jonathan Green Tennessee St. 65.6 Tom Orner Butler 90.9 Paul Dawkins Northern Illinois 26.7 Larry Knight Loyola-Illinois 14.3 Wiley Peck Mississippi St. 64.4 Ron Perry Holy Cross 90.8
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards