1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	North Carolina Tar Heels
NCAA Tournament	1978
Tournament dates	March 11 – 27, 1978
National Championship	The Checkerdome; St. Louis, Missouri
NCAA Champions	Kentucky Wildcats
Helms National Champions	Kentucky Wildcats
Other champions	Texas Longhorns (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Naismith, Wooden)	Butch Lee, Marquette (Naismith); Phil Ford, North Carolina (Wooden);
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Jack Givens, Kentucky
	← 1976–77 1978–79 →

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[edit]

In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its 12th of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.

Season outlook[edit]

Pre-season polls[edit]

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.^[3]

'Associated Press'
Ranking	Team
1	North Carolina
2	Kentucky
3	Marquette
4	Notre Dame
5	San Francisco
6	UCLA
7	Arkansas
8	UNLV
9	Cincinnati
10	Louisville
11	Syracuse
12	Purdue
13	Michigan
14	Maryland
15	Alabama
16	Minnesota
17	Wake Forest
18	Holy Cross
19	Detroit
20	St. John's

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1 (tie)	Kentucky
1 (tie)	North Carolina
3	Marquette
4	Notre Dame
5	San Francisco
6	UCLA
7	Purdue
8	Cincinnati
9	Arkansas
10	Louisville
11	Orange
12	Michigan
13	Maryland
14 (tie)	Indiana State
	St. John's
	Utah
	Wake Forest
18	Kansas State
19	Alabama
20	Holy Cross

Conference membership changes[edit]

School	Former conference	New conference
UC Irvine Anteaters	Division II independent	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
William and Mary Tribe	Southern Conference	Division I independent

Regular season[edit]

Conference winners and tournaments[edit]

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.^[4]

From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of Northeastern colleges and universities, 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.^[5]

Conference	Regular season winner^[6]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Phil Ford, North Carolina^[7]	1978 ACC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	Duke
Big Eight Conference	Kansas	Mike Evans, Kansas State^[8]	1978 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament	Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri) (Semifinals and Finals)	Missouri
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
Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8)	Rutgers & Villanova	James Bailey, Rutgers	1978 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament	Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)	Villanova
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)	Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season		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. Bonaventure
Ivy League	Penn	Keven McDonald, Penn^[9]	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)^[10]	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^[11]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Appalachian State	Ron Carter, VMI^[12]	1978 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Roanoke Civic Center (Roanoke, Virginia) (Semifinals and Finals)	Furman^[13]
Southland Conference	Lamar & McNeese State	Andrew Toney, Southwest Louisiana^[14]	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^[15]	1978 SWAC men's basketball tournament		Jackson State
Sun Belt Conference	UNC Charlotte	Wayne Cooper, New Orleans^[16]	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

Informal championships[edit]

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Philadelphia Big 5	Temple & Villanova	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders[edit]

Player	School	PPG	Player	School	RPG	Player	School	FG%	Player	School	FT%
Points per game			Rebounds per game			Field goal percentage			Free throw percentage
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[edit]

NCAA tournament[edit]

Final Four[edit]

National semifinals			National finals

E1	Duke	90

MW2	Notre Dame	86
			E1	Duke	88

			ME2	Kentucky	94
ME2	Kentucky	64

W2	Arkansas	59

Third Place – Arkansas 71, Notre Dame 69

National Invitation tournament[edit]

Semifinals & finals[edit]

Semifinals			Finals

	Georgetown	85

	NC State	86
				NC State	93

				Texas	101
	Texas	96

	Rutgers	76

Third Place – Rutgers 85, Georgetown 72

Awards[edit]

Consensus All-American teams[edit]

**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

Coaching changes[edit]

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach
Auburn	Bob Davis		Sonny Smith
East Tennessee State	Sonny Smith		Jim Halihan
Indiana State	Bob King		Bill Hodges
Kent State	Rex Hughes	Mike Boyd	Ed Douma
Long Beach State	Dwight Jones		Tex Winter
Mississippi State	Ron Greene		Jim Hatfield
Northwestern	Tex Winter		Rich Falk
Saint Louis	Ron Coleman		Ron Ekker
Southwestern Louisiana	Jim Hatfield		Bobby Paschal
Western Kentucky	Jim Richards		Gene Keady
West Texas A&M	Ron Ekker		Ken Edwards

References[edit]

^ 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.
^ *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

[preseason-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[3] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[4] Coaches Database: SWAC regular-season champions Accessed April 1, 2021

[varsitypride-5] Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments

[6] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[7] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14

[8] 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04

[9] Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01

[10] 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14

[11] 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06

[12] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[13] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[14] 2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

[15] 2006–07 SWAC Men's Basketball Media Guide

[16] 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

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v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24