The 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1977, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1978 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 27, 1978, at The Checkerdome in St. Louis, Missouri. The Kentucky Wildcats won their fifth NCAA national championship with a 94–88 victory over the Duke Blue Devils.It was also the first NCAA tournament to use an official seeding process.
Season headlines
On December 13, 1977, the University of Evansville's first season of NCAA Division I men's basketball came to a tragic and premature end when Air Indiana Flight 216 crashed just after takeoff from Evansville Regional Airport in Evansville, Indiana, killing all 29 people on board, including Evansville Purple Aces head coach Bobby Watson and all but one member of the team, which was on its way to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for a game against Middle Tennessee. The only surviving member of the team, 18-year-old freshman David Furr, was not on the plane because he was out for the season with an ankle injury, but Furr and his younger brother died in an automobile accident two weeks after the plane crash. With its entire 1977–78 men's basketball team dead after Furr's accident, the university decided to cancel the rest of the season rather than attempt to continue it with a substitute team. In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its 12th of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles. For the first time, the NCAA used a seeding process to align teams in the NCAA tournament brackets. Bob Bender of Duke becomes the first player to play in the NCAA championship game for two different teams. He had played for Indiana in the 1976 championship game.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.*
'Associated Press'RankingTeam1North Carolina2Kentucky3Marquette4Notre Dame5San Francisco6UCLA7Arkansas8UNLV9Cincinnati10Louisville11Syracuse12Purdue13Michigan14Maryland15Alabama16Minnesota17Wake Forest18Holy Cross19Detroit20St. John's UPI CoachesRankingTeam1(tie)KentuckyNorth Carolina3Marquette4Notre Dame5San Francisco6UCLA7Purdue8Cincinnati9Arkansas10Louisville11Orange12Michigan13Maryland14(tie)Indiana StateSt. John'sUtahWake Forest18Kansas State19Alabama20Holy Cross
Conference membership changes
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Division I independent SUNYAC (D-III) NAIA Independent Division I independent Division II independent Southern Conference Division I independent Missouri Valley Conference Southern Conference Division I independent Indiana Collegiate Conference (D–II) Division I independent Division I independent Missouri Valley Conference Division I independent Southern Conference Division II independent Division I independent Division II independent Pacific Coast Athletic Association Division I independent Southern Conference Southern Conference Division I independent
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
The Southwestern Athletic Conference — with members Alcorn State, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern, and Texas Southern — became a Division I conference this season.Coaches Database: SWAC regular-season champions Accessed April 1, 2021
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference North Carolina Phil Ford, North Carolina2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1978 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina) DukeBig Eight Conference Kansas Mike Evans, Kansas State2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04 1978 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena(Kansas City, Missouri)(Semifinals and Finals) MissouriBig Sky Conference Montana None selected 1978 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Adams Field House(Missoula, Montana) Weber StateBig Ten Conference Michigan State None Selected No TournamentEast Coast Conference La Salle (East) Lafayette (West) Michael Brooks, La Salle 1978 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Kirby Sports Center(Easton, Pennsylvania) La SalleEastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8) Rutgers & Villanova James Bailey, Rutgers 1978 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Villanova Eastern College AthleticConference (ECAC) Division I ECAC membersplayed as independentsduring the regular season(see note) 1978 ECAC Metro Region tournament Nassau Coliseum(Uniondale, New York) St. John's 1978 ECAC New England Region tournament Providence Civic Center(Providence, Rhode Island) Rhode Island 1978 ECAC South-Upstate Region tournament War Memorial Auditorium(Rochester, New York)(Finals) St. BonaventureIvy League Penn Keven McDonald, PennMen's Ivy League Outstanding performers , Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01 No TournamentMetro Conference Florida State Harry Davis, Florida State, &Rick Wilson, Louisville 1978 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament Riverfront Coliseum(Cincinnati, Ohio) LouisvilleMid-American Conference Miami (OH) Archie Aldridge, Miami (OH)2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14 No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference Creighton Larry Bird, Indiana State 1978 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Omaha Civic Auditorium(Omaha, Nebraska) CreightonOhio Valley Conference East Tennessee State & Middle Tennessee Otis Howard, Austin Peay 1978 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament E.A. Diddle Arena(Bowling Green, Kentucky)(Semifinals and Finals) Western KentuckyPacific-8 Conference UCLA David Greenwood, UCLA Bruins men's basketball<No TournamentPacific Coast Athletic Association Fresno State & San Diego State Joel Kramer, San Diego State 1978 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament Anaheim Convention Center(Anaheim, California) Cal State FullertonSoutheastern Conference Kentucky Reggie King, Alabama2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 No TournamentSouthern Conference Appalachian State Ron Carter, VMI2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1978 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Roanoke Civic Center(Roanoke, Virginia)(Semifinals and Finals) Furman2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southland Conference Lamar &McNeese State Andrew Toney, Southwest Louisiana2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 No TournamentSouthwest Conference Arkansas & Texas Ron Brewer, Arkansas 1978 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament The Summit(Houston, Texas) HoustonSouthwestern Athletic Conference Jackson State & Southern Purvis Short, Jackson State2006–07 SWAC Men's Basketball Media Guide 1978 SWAC men's basketball tournament Jackson StateSun Belt Conference UNC Charlotte Wayne Cooper, New Orleans2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 1978 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Charlotte Coliseum(Charlotte, North Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals) New OrleansWest Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Bill Cartwright, San Francisco No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference New Mexico 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 1978 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1978 NCAA Men's Division I 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 78 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, DePaul (27–3) had both the best winning percentage (.900) and the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerNew Jersey-New York 7 Conference None selected
Rutgers finished with a 6–1 record in head-to-head competition among members of the New Jersey-New York 7 Conference.
ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 & Villanova Michael Brooks, La Salle Temple and Villanova 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% Freeman Williams Portland St. 35.9 Ken Williams N. Texas St. 14.7 Joe Senser West Chester St. 68.5 Bunny Gibson Marshall 94.4 Larry Bird Indiana St. 30.0 Henry Taylor Pan American 14.2 Mike O'Koren N. Carolina 64.3 Mark Tucker Oklahoma St. 91.2 Purvis Short Jackson St. 29.5 Dean Uthoff Iowa St. 14.0 Pat Cummings Cincinnati 64.2 Anthony Williams Jacksonville 90.9 Oliver Mack E. Carolina 28.0 Reggie King Alabama 13.3 Rick Robey Kentucky 63.5 Brian Appel Hofstra 90.5 Roger Phegley Bradley 27.6 Calvin Natt NE Louisiana 13.2 Mel Daniels Stetson 63.4 Ron Perry Holy Cross 90.0
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Butch Lee G Senior Marquette David Greenwood F Junior UCLA Larry Bird F Senior Indiana State Mychal Thompson C Senior Minnesota Phil Ford G Senior North Carolina
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Ron Brewer G Senior Arkansas Jack Givens G/F Senior Kentucky Rod Griffin G Senior Wake Forest Rick Robey F/C Senior Kentucky Freeman Williams G Senior Portland State
Major player of the year awards
Wooden Award: Phil Ford, North Carolina Naismith Award: Butch Lee, Marquette Helms Player of the Year: Jack Givens, Kentucky Associated Press Player of the Year: Butch Lee, Marquette UPI Player of the Year: Butch Lee, Marquette NABC Player of the Year: Phil Ford, North Carolina Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Phil Ford, North Carolina Adolph Rupp Trophy: Butch Lee, Marquette Sporting News Player of the Year: Phil Ford, North Carolina
Major coach of the year awards
Associated Press Coach of the Year: Eddie Sutton, Arkansas Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Ray Meyer, DePaul NABC Coach of the Year: Bill Foster, Duke & Abe Lemons, Texas UPI Coach of the Year: Eddie Sutton, Arkansas Sporting News Coach of the Year: Bill Foster, Duke
Other major awards
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Mike Scheib, Susquehanna Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Michael Brooks, La Salle NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): George Johnson, St. John's
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.