1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team

The 1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team represented DePaul University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Ray Meyer, in his 37th season, and played their home games at the Alumni Hall in Chicago. After starting the regular season unranked, the Blue Demons won 22 of 27 games to earn a top ten ranking and the #2 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament. DePaul began tournament play by defeating USC^[1] and Marquette, then knocked off #1 seed UCLA, avenging a season-opening loss, to earn the program's second trip to the Final Four. Though the team fell to the #1 ranked and unbeaten Indiana State – led by NCAA Player of the Year Larry Bird – in the National semifinals, they bounced back to defeat Penn to claim third place.^[2] They finished the season with an overall record of 26–6.

1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 6
Record	26–6
Head coach	Ray Meyer (37th season)
Assistant coach	Joey Meyer (5th season)
Home arena	Alumni Hall
Seasons ← 1977–78 1979–80 →

1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 8 Syracuse		–			–			26	–	4		.867
Georgetown		–			–			24	–	5		.828
No. 6 DePaul		–			–			26	–	6		.813
No. 4 Notre Dame		–			–			24	–	6		.800
VCU		–			–			20	–	5		.800
Iona		–			–			23	–	6		.793
Detroit		–			–			22	–	6		.786
Tennessee State		–			–			20	–	6		.769
Old Dominion		–			–			23	–	7		.767
No. 10 Marquette		–			–			22	–	7		.759
Wagner		–			–			21	–	7		.750
Connecticut		–			–			21	–	8		.724
UNLV		–			–			21	–	8		.724
UNC Wilmington		–			–			19	–	8		.704
Boston College		–			–			21	–	9		.700
James Madison		–			–			18	–	8		.692
Rhode Island		–			–			20	–	9		.690
George Mason		–			–			17	–	8		.680
St. Bonaventure		–			–			19	–	9		.679
Illinois State		–			–			20	–	10		.667
St. John's		–			–			21	–	11		.656
Dayton		–			–			19	–	10		.655
Boston University		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Fairfield		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Georgia Tech		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Oral Roberts		–			–			17	–	10		.630
Holy Cross		–			–			17	–	11		.607
Seton Hall		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Cleveland State		–			–			15	–	10		.600
Maine		–			–			14	–	10		.583
Army		–			–			14	–	11		.560
Denver		–			–			15	–	12		.556
South Carolina		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Stetson		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Siena		–			–			14	–	12		.538
St. Francis (NY)		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Navy		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Xavier		–			–			14	–	13		.519
Northeastern		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Saint Francis (PA)		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Robert Morris		–			–			13	–	14		.481
Southern Miss		–			–			13	–	14		.481
Air Force		–			–			12	–	13		.480
Long Island University		–			–			12	–	13		.480
Canisius		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Colgate		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Evansville		–			–			13	–	16		.448
East Carolina		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Loyola-Chicago		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Butler		–			–			11	–	16		.407
North Texas State		–			–			11	–	16		.407
Saint Peter's		–			–			10	–	15		.400
Campbell		–			–			10	–	16		.385
New Hampshire		–			–			10	–	16		.385
Providence		–			–			10	–	16		.385
Richmond		–			–			10	–	16		.385
Hawaii		–			–			10	–	17		.370
William & Mary		–			–			9	–	17		.346
Georgia Southern		–			–			9	–	18		.333
Fairleigh Dickinson		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Wisconsin-Milwaukee		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Vermont		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Northwestern State		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Fordham		–			–			7	–	22		.241
Catholic		–			–			6	–	20		.231
Arkansas-Little Rock		–			–			6	–	20		.231
Manhattan		–			–			6	–	20		.231
Niagara		–			–			6	–	20		.231
Portland State		–			–			6	–	21		.222
Baltimore		–			–			4	–	20		.167
Valparaiso		–			–			4	–	21		.160
Baptist		–			–			2	–	25		.074
Rankings from AP Poll

As of 2025, this is the latest Final Four to include DePaul, as well as the last time the program has made the Elite Eight. The program would make three Sweet Sixteens in the 1980s, and has not ventured past the first weekend since then.

Roster

1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F/C 11 James Mitchem 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr St. Pius X Albuquerque, NM G 15 Clyde Bradshaw 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So East Orange East Orange, NJ F 21 Dennis McGuire 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Holy Cross River Grove, Illinois G 24 Gary Garland 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Sr Clifford J. Scott East Orange, NJ F 30 Curtis Watkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Thornton Harvey, IL F 32 Mark Aguirre 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Westinghouse Chicago, IL F/C 54 William Madey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Gordon Tech Chicago, IL	Head coach Ray Meyer (Notre Dame) Assistant coach(es) Joey Meyer Jim Molinari Ken Sarubbi Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 25, 1978*		at No. 2 UCLA	L 85–108	0–1	Pauley Pavilion (12,178) Los Angeles, CA
Nov 29, 1978*		at Evansville	W 74–55	1–1	Roberts Stadium  Evansville, IN
Dec 2, 1978*		Northern Illinois	W 108–86	2–1	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Dec 4, 1978*		Eastern Michigan	W 96–68	3–1	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Dec 9, 1978*		at Wichita State	L 92–95	3–2	Levitt Arena  Wichita, KS
Dec 13, 1978*		at Butler	W 81–62	4–2	Hinkle Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
Dec 16, 1978*		Wisconsin	W 84–78	5–2	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Dec 19, 1978*		Northwestern	W 90–83 OT	6–2	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Dec 23, 1978*		at Bradley	W 51–50	7–2	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, IL
Dec 30, 1978*		Creighton	W 88–70	8–2	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Jan 2, 1979*		Georgia Tech	W 77–71	9–2	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Jan 6, 1979*		Air Force	W 86–66	10–2	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Jan 9, 1979*		at Providence	W 84–75	11–2	Dunkin' Donuts Center  Providence, RI
Jan 13, 1979*		Loyola (IL)	W 80–73	12–2	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Jan 20, 1979*		at Dayton	L 64–68	12–3	University of Dayton Arena  Dayton, OH
Jan 27, 1979*		at Illinois State	W 87–69	13–3	Horton Field House  Normal, IL
Jan 31, 1979*		at Western Michigan	L 80–82	13–4	University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI
Feb 3, 1979*		at Oral Roberts	W 75–72	14–4	Mabee Center  Tulsa, OK
Feb 8, 1979*		at Loyola (IL)	W 77–73	15–4	Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL
Feb 10, 1979*		Centenary	W 82–66	16–4	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Feb 14, 1979*		at Ball State	W 85–76	17–4	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, IN
Feb 17, 1979*		at Villanova	W 69–66	18–4	The Palestra  Philadelphia, PA
Feb 21, 1979*	No. 20	Valparaiso	W 104–76	19–4	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Feb 24, 1979*	No. 20	No. 9 Marquette	W 61–60	20–4	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Feb 27, 1979*	No. 15	UAB	W 88–66	21–4	Alumni Hall (3,113) Chicago, IL
Mar 2, 1979*	No. 15	No. 2 Notre Dame	W 76–72	22–4	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
Mar 5, 1979*	No. 8	Loyola (IL)	L 99–101	22–5	Alumni Hall  Chicago, IL
NCAA Tournament
Mar 11, 1979*	(2 W) No. 6	vs. (7 W) USC Second Round	W 89–78	23–5	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
Mar 15, 1979*	(2 W) No. 6	vs. (3 W) No. 10 Marquette Regional semifinal	W 62–56	24–5	Marriott Center  Provo, UT
Mar 17, 1979*	(2 W) No. 6	vs. (1 W) No. 2 UCLA Regional final	W 95–91	25–5	Marriott Center  Provo, UT
Mar 24, 1979*	(2 W) No. 6	vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Indiana State National semifinal	L 74–76[3]	25–6	Special Events Center  Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 26, 1979*	(2 W) No. 6	vs. (9 E) No. 14 Penn Consolation Game	W 96–93 OT	26–6	Special Events Center  Salt Lake City, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

Rankings

Main article: 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	20	15	8	6
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	20	11	8	Not released

^Coaches did not release Week 1 or Week 2 polls.

Source ^[4][5]

Awards and honors

• Ray Meyer – NABC Coach of the Year