1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball team represented the University of Detroit in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played at Calihan Hall in Detroit.

1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball
NCAA tournament
Conference	Independent
Record	22–6
Head coach	Smokey Gaines (2nd season)
Home arena	Calihan 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

The Titans were led by second-year head coach Smokey Gaines, a former assistant coach serving under Dick Vitale. After missing out on a bid the previous season, the Titans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Playing as the No. 7 seed in the Mideast region, Detroit fell to No. 10 seed Lamar in the opening round to finish the season with a 22–6 record.

Roster

1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F Earl Cureton 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Detroit, Michigan G Terry Duerod 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Royal Oak, Michigan F Jeff Whitlow 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Sr G Wilbert McCormick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Jr G Dave Niles 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr F Joe Kopicki 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Warren, Michigan	Head coach Smokey Gaines (LeMoyne–Owen) Assistant coach(es) 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*		Toledo	W 67–64	1–0	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Dec 4, 1978*		at No. 14 North Carolina	L 76–93	1–1	Carmichael Auditorium  Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 7, 1978*		at Oregon	W 75–74	2–1	McArthur Court  Eugene, Oregon
Dec 16, 1978*		at Ball State	L 81–82	2–2	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, Indiana
Dec 19, 1978*		Marshall	W 92–61	3–2	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Dec 21, 1978*		at Iona	W 76–72	4–2	John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center  New Rochelle, New York
Dec 23, 1978*		Central Michigan	W 79–72	5–2	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Dec 28, 1978*		New Hampshire	W 108–70	6–2	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Dec 29, 1978*		Rhode Island	L 67–69	6–3	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Jan 4, 1979*		at Long Island University	W 84–63	7–3	Schwartz Athletic Center  Brooklyn, New York
Jan 6, 1979*		at Rhode Island	W 77–76	8–3	Providence Civic Center  Kingston, Rhode Island
Jan 10, 1979*		Loyola (IL)	W 83–74	9–3	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Jan 13, 1979*		Illinois State	W 92–81	10–3	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Jan 15, 1979*		Western Michigan	W 92–77	11–3	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Jan 18, 1979*		at East Carolina	W 81–69	12–3	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum  Greenville, North Carolina
Jan 24, 1979*		Xavier	L 70–74	12–4	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Jan 31, 1979*		at Eastern Michigan	W 80–75	13–4	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Feb 3, 1979*		No. 9 Georgetown	W 91–71[1]	14–4	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Feb 6, 1979*		at No. 9 Marquette	W 64–63[2]	15–4	MECCA Arena  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 14, 1979*		St. Bonaventure	W 106–101	16–4	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Feb 17, 1979*		Colgate	W 86–66	17–4	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Feb 22, 1979*		at Duquesne	L 84–93	17–5	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 24, 1979*		at Loyola (IL)	W 72–69	18–5	Alumni Gym  Chicago, Illinois
Feb 28, 1979*		Xavier	W 88–69	22–5	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
NCAA Tournament
Mar 9, 1979*	(7 ME)	vs. (10 ME) Lamar First round	L 87–95	22–6	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast.

Rankings

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

^[3]