1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Basketball season
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.
Season headlines
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[4]
Conference membership changes
Regular season
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.[5]
From 1975 to 1982, 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.[6]
Conference
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Regular season winner[7]
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Conference player of the year
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Conference tournament
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Tournament venue (City)
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Tournament winner
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Atlantic Coast Conference |
North Carolina |
Phil Ford, North Carolina[8] |
1978 ACC men's basketball tournament |
Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina) |
Duke
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Big Eight Conference |
Kansas |
Mike Evans, Kansas State[9] |
1978 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament |
Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri) (Semifinals and Finals) |
Missouri
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Big Sky Conference |
Montana |
None selected |
1978 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament |
Adams Field House (Missoula, Montana) |
Weber State
|
Big Ten Conference |
Michigan State |
None Selected |
No Tournament
|
East 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 Salle
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Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8) |
Rutgers & Villanova |
James Bailey, Rutgers |
1978 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament |
Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) |
Villanova
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Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)
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Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season
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1978 ECAC Metro Region tournament
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Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, New York)
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St. John's
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1978 ECAC New England Region tournament
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Providence Civic Center (Providence, Rhode Island)
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Rhode Island
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1978 ECAC South-Upstate Region tournament
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War Memorial Auditorium (Rochester, New York) (Finals)
|
St. Bonaventure
|
Ivy League |
Penn |
Keven McDonald, Penn[10] |
No Tournament
|
Metro Conference |
Florida State |
Harry Davis, Florida State, & Rick Wilson, Louisville |
1978 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament |
Riverfront Coliseum (Cincinnati, Ohio) |
Louisville
|
Mid-American Conference |
Miami (OH) |
Archie Aldridge, Miami (OH)[11] |
No Tournament
|
Missouri Valley Conference |
Creighton |
Larry Bird, Indiana State |
1978 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament |
Omaha Civic Auditorium (Omaha, Nebraska) |
Creighton
|
Ohio 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 Kentucky
|
Pacific-8 Conference |
UCLA |
David Greenwood, UCLA Bruins men's basketball< |
No Tournament
|
Pacific 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 Fullerton
|
Southeastern Conference |
Kentucky |
Reggie King, Alabama[12] |
No Tournament
|
Southern Conference |
Appalachian State |
Ron Carter, VMI[13] |
1978 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament |
Roanoke Civic Center (Roanoke, Virginia) (Semifinals and Finals) |
Furman[14]
|
Southland Conference |
Lamar & McNeese State |
Andrew Toney, Southwest Louisiana[15] |
No Tournament
|
Southwest Conference |
Arkansas & Texas |
Ron Brewer, Arkansas |
1978 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament |
The Summit (Houston, Texas) |
Houston
|
Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Jackson State & Southern |
Purvis Short, Jackson State[16] |
1978 SWAC men's basketball tournament |
|
Jackson State
|
Sun Belt Conference |
UNC Charlotte |
Wayne Cooper, New Orleans[17] |
1978 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament |
Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals) |
New Orleans
|
West Coast Athletic Conference |
San Francisco |
Bill Cartwright, San Francisco |
No Tournament
|
Western Athletic Conference |
New Mexico |
None Selected |
No Tournament
|
Statistical leaders
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
- Third Place – Arkansas 71, Notre Dame 69
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
- Third Place – Rutgers 85, Georgetown 72
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
Major player of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
Coaching changes
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A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
References
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ a b "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ Coaches Database: SWAC regular-season champions Accessed April 1, 2021
- ^ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
- ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
- ^ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01
- ^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
- ^ 2006–07 SWAC Men's Basketball Media Guide
- ^ 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
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