1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1978, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 26, 1979, at the Special Events Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Michigan State Spartans won their first NCAA national championship with a 75–64 victory over the Indiana State Sycamores.

1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Duke Blue Devils[1]
NCAA Tournament	1979
Tournament dates	March 9 – 26, 1979
National Championship	Special Events Center Salt Lake City, Utah
NCAA Champions	Michigan State Spartans
Helms National Champions	Michigan State Spartans
Other champions	Indiana Hoosiers (NIT)
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden)	Larry Bird, Indiana State Sycamores
Player of the Year (Helms)	Larry Bird, Indiana State Sycamores
← 1977–78 1979–80 →

Season headlines

• The Trans America Athletic Conference began play, with eight original members. It was renamed the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001.
• Indiana State senior forward Larry Bird and Michigan Spartans sophomore point guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson emerged as two highly popular and successful players during the season, and their rivalry — culminating in a meeting in the national championship game — captured national attention of basketball fans and the sports media during the year.^[2]
• In the Pacific 10 Conference, UCLA won an NCAA-record 13th consecutive conference title.^[2]
• The first Great Alaska Shootout took place.^[2] The long-running Shootout would become one of the premier early-season tournaments^[2] before it was discontinued after its 2017 edition.
• On February 24, North Carolina trailed Duke 7–0 at halftime. It was the first scoreless half for an NCAA basketball team since 1938.^[2]
• At Boston College, players took part in a point-shaving scheme which was revealed in 1980.^[2]
• The NCAA tournament expanded from 32 to 40 teams and used seeding to place all teams in its bracket for the first time.^[3]
• The first public lottery for tickets to the NCAA tournament Final Four was held.^[3] The championship game enjoyed the highest television rating in college basketball history.^[2]
• The National Invitation Tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams.
• The growing fan appreciation and financial success of college basketball during the season prompted planning for the creation of the ESPN network and the original Big East Conference, both of which launched the following season and would push the sport to greater prominence in the years to come.^[2]

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

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

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.^[4]

'Associated Press' Ranking Team 1 Duke (38) 2 UCLA (8) 3 Notre Dame (1) 4 Louisville 5 Kansas (1) 6 Texas 7 Michigan State 8 Michigan 9 Syracuse 10 Indiana 11 Kentucky 12 NC State 13 USC 14 LSU 15 Rutgers 16 North Carolina 17 San Francisco 18 Marquette 19 Alabama 20 UNLV

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Duke 2 UCLA 3 Notre Dame 4 Michigan State 5 Louisville Kansas 7 Texas 8 Michigan 9 NC State 10 USC 11 Indiana 12 North Carolina 13 Syracuse 14 Kentucky 15 Alabama 16 San Francisco 17 LSU 18 Rutgers 19 Minnesota 20 Marquette

Conference membership changes

The 1978–79 season was most notable for the expansion of the Pacific-8 Conference to 10 members with the addition of the men's athletic programs of Arizona and Arizona State (the conference did not sponsor women's sports until the 1986–87 school year). The conference duly renamed itself the Pacific-10 Conference.

School	Former conference	New conference
Alabama-Birmingham Blazers	No team	Division I independent
Arizona Wildcats	Western Athletic Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Arizona State Sun Devils	Western Athletic Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Centenary Gentlemen	Division I independent	Trans America Athletic Conference
East Tennessee State Buccaneers	Ohio Valley Conference	Southern Conference
Hardin–Simmons Cowboys	Division I independent	Trans America Athletic Conference
Houston Baptist Huskies	Division I independent	Trans America Athletic Conference
Mercer Bears	Division I independent	Trans America Athletic Conference
Northeast Louisiana Indians	Division I independent	Trans America Athletic Conference
Oklahoma City Chiefs	Division I independent	Trans America Athletic Conference
Pan American Broncs	Division I independent	Trans America Athletic Conference
Samford Bulldogs	Division I independent	Trans America Athletic Conference
San Diego State Aztecs	Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Western Athletic Conference
Virginia Tech Hokies	Division I independent	Metro Conference
Utah State Aggies	Division I independent	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
William & Mary Indians	Southern	Independent

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Of 22 Division I basketball conferences, 13 determined their league champion with a single-elimination tournament, while seven leagues sent their regular-season champion to the NCAA Tournament. The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) did not receive an automatic tournament bid until the 1979–80 season, while the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) received its automatic bid in 1980–81.

Conference	Regular season winner[5]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke & North Carolina	Mike Gminski, Duke[6]	1979 ACC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Big Eight Conference	Oklahoma	John McCullough, Oklahoma[7]	1979 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament	Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri) (Semifinals and Finals)	Oklahoma
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	Lawrence Butler, Idaho State[8]	1979 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament	Dee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)	Weber State
Big Ten Conference	Michigan State, Purdue & Iowa	None Selected	No Tournament
East Coast Conference	Temple (East) Bucknell (West)	Michael Brooks, La Salle	1979 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament	The Palestra (Philadelphia)	Temple
Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8)	Villanova	James Bailey, Rutgers[9]	1979 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament	Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)	Rutgers
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)	Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season (see note)	Nikos Galis, Seton Hall; Corny Thompson, Connecticut[10]	1979 ECAC Metro Region tournament	Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, New York)	Iona
			1979 ECAC New England Region tournament	Providence Civic Center (Providence, Rhode Island)	Connecticut
			1979 ECAC South-Upstate Region tournament	Cole Field House (College Park, Maryland)	Georgetown
Ivy League	Penn	Tony Price, Penn[11]	No Tournament
Metro Conference	Louisville	Pat Cummings, Cincinnati	1979 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament	Mid-South Coliseum (Memphis, Tennessee)	Virginia Tech
Mid-American Conference	Toledo	Paul Dawkins, Northern Illinois[12]	No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Indiana State	Larry Bird, Indiana State[13]	1979 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Hulman Center (Terre Haute, Indiana)	Indiana State[14]
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Kentucky	James Tillman, Eastern Kentucky[15]	1979 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	McBrayer Arena (Richmond, Kentucky) (Semifinals and Finals)	Eastern Kentucky[16]
Pacific-10 Conference	UCLA	David Greenwood, UCLA[17]	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Pacific	Ron Cornelius, Pacific[18]	1979 PCAA men's basketball tournament	Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, California)	Pacific
Southeastern Conference	LSU	Reggie King, Alabama[19]	1979 SEC men's basketball tournament	Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, Alabama)	Tennessee
Southern Conference	Appalachian State	Jonathan Moore, Furman[20]	1979 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Roanoke Civic Center (Roanoke, Virginia) (Semifinals and Finals)	Appalachian State[21]
Southland Conference	Lamar	David Lawrence, McNeese State[22]	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	Texas & Arkansas	Sidney Moncrief, Arkansas (Consensus)	1979 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament	The Summit (Houston, Texas)	Arkansas
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Alcorn State	Larry Smith, Alcorn State[23]	1979 SWAC men's basketball tournament	Baton Rouge River Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Alcorn State
Sun Belt Conference	South Alabama	Rory White, South Alabama[24]	1979 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals)	Jacksonville[25]
Trans America Athletic Conference	Northeast Louisiana	Calvin Natt, Northeast Louisiana[26]	1979 TAAC men's basketball tournament	Ewing Coliseum (Monroe, Louisiana)	Northeast Louisiana
West Coast Athletic Conference	San Francisco	Bill Cartwright, San Francisco[27]	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	BYU	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 1979 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.^[28]

Conference standings

1978–79 ACC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 9 North Carolina † 9 – 3   .750 23 – 6   .793 No. 11 Duke 9 – 3   .750 22 – 8   .733 Virginia 7 – 5   .583 19 – 10   .655 Maryland 6 – 6   .500 19 – 11   .633 Clemson 5 – 7   .417 19 – 10   .655 NC State 3 – 9   .250 18 – 12   .600 Wake Forest 3 – 9   .250 12 – 15   .444 † 1979 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1978–79 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 16 Oklahoma † 10 – 4   .714 21 – 10   .677 Missouri 8 – 6   .571 13 – 15   .464 Kansas State 8 – 6   .571 16 – 12   .571 Kansas 8 – 6   .571 18 – 11   .621 Nebraska 7 – 7   .500 14 – 13   .519 Iowa State 6 – 8   .429 11 – 16   .407 Oklahoma State 5 – 9   .357 12 – 15   .444 Colorado 4 – 10   .286 14 – 13   .519 † 1979 Big Eight tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[29]	1978–79 Big Sky men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Weber State † 10 – 4   .714 25 – 9   .735 Northern Arizona 8 – 6   .571 14 – 14   .500 Idaho State 8 – 6   .571 14 – 13   .519 Montana 7 – 7   .500 14 – 13   .519 Gonzaga 7 – 7   .500 16 – 10   .615 Montana State 6 – 8   .429 15 – 11   .577 Boise State 6 – 8   .429 11 – 15   .423 Idaho 4 – 10   .286 11 – 15   .423 † Big Sky Conference tournament winner
1978–79 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Michigan State 13 – 5   .722 26 – 6   .813 No. 15 Purdue 13 – 5   .722 27 – 8   .771 No. 20 Iowa 13 – 5   .722 20 – 8   .714 Ohio State 12 – 6   .667 19 – 12   .613 Indiana 10 – 8   .556 22 – 12   .647 Michigan 8 – 10   .444 15 – 12   .556 Illinois 7 – 11   .389 19 – 11   .633 Wisconsin 6 – 12   .333 12 – 15   .444 Minnesota 6 – 12   .333 11 – 16   .407 Northwestern 2 – 16   .111 6 – 21   .222 Rankings from AP Poll	1978–79 ECC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East Temple † 10 – 0   1.000 25 – 4   .862 Saint Joseph's 9 – 2   .818 19 – 11   .633 La Salle 9 – 2   .818 15 – 13   .536 American 7 – 4   .636 14 – 13   .519 Drexel 6 – 5   .545 18 – 9   .667 Hofstra 3 – 8   .273 8 – 19   .296 West Bucknell 11 – 5   .688 18 – 9   .667 Lafayette 8 – 8   .500 16 – 12   .571 Rider 7 – 8   .467 11 – 15   .423 West Chester 4 – 12   .250 8 – 18   .308 Lehigh 4 – 12   .250 8 – 18   .308 Delaware 2 – 12   .143 5 – 22   .185 † 1979 ECC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1978–79 Eastern 8 men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Villanova 9 – 1   .900 13 – 13   .500 No. 18 Rutgers † 7 – 3   .700 22 – 9   .710 West Virginia 7 – 3   .700 16 – 12   .571 Pittsburgh 6 – 4   .600 18 – 11   .621 George Washington 5 – 5   .500 13 – 14   .481 Penn State 4 – 6   .400 12 – 18   .400 Duquesne 2 – 8   .200 13 – 13   .500 UMass 0 – 10   .000 5 – 22   .185 † 1979 Eastern 8 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll
1978–79 Ivy League men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 14 Penn 13 – 1   .929 25 – 7   .781 Columbia 10 – 4   .714 17 – 9   .654 Princeton 7 – 7   .500 14 – 12   .538 Dartmouth 6 – 8   .429 14 – 12   .538 Brown 6 – 8   .429 8 – 18   .308 Harvard 6 – 8   .429 8 – 21   .276 Yale 5 – 9   .357 11 – 15   .423 Cornell 3 – 11   .214 8 – 18   .308 Rankings from AP Poll[30]	1978–79 Metro Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 13 Louisville 9 – 1   .900 24 – 8   .750 Florida State 7 – 3   .700 19 – 10   .655 Memphis State 5 – 5   .500 13 – 15   .464 Virginia Tech † 4 – 6   .400 22 – 9   .710 Cincinnati 4 – 6   .400 13 – 14   .481 Saint Louis 3 – 7   .300 10 – 17   .370 Tulane 2 – 8   .200 8 – 19   .296 † 1979 Metro Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[31]	1978–79 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 19 Toledo 13 – 3   .813 22 – 8   .733 Central Michigan 13 – 3   .813 19 – 9   .679 Ohio 10 – 6   .625 16 – 11   .593 Ball State 9 – 7   .563 16 – 11   .593 Northern Illinois 8 – 8   .500 14 – 13   .519 Kent State 7 – 9   .438 13 – 14   .481 Bowling Green State 6 – 10   .375 14 – 13   .519 Miami (Ohio) 6 – 10   .375 9 – 18   .333 Eastern Michigan 5 – 11   .313 9 – 18   .333 Western Michigan 3 – 13   .188 7 – 23   .233 Rankings from AP Poll
1978–79 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 Indiana State † 16 – 0   1.000 33 – 1   .971 New Mexico State 11 – 5   .688 22 – 10   .688 Wichita State 8 – 8   .500 14 – 14   .500 Creighton 8 – 8   .500 14 – 13   .519 Southern Illinois 8 – 8   .500 15 – 13   .536 Drake 8 – 8   .500 15 – 12   .556 Tulsa 7 – 9   .438 13 – 14   .481 West Texas State 3 – 13   .188 8 – 19   .296 Bradley 3 – 13   .188 9 – 17   .346 † 1979 MVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1978–79 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Eastern Kentucky † 9 – 3   .750 21 – 8   .724 Western Kentucky 7 – 5   .583 17 – 11   .607 Morehead State 7 – 5   .583 14 – 13   .519 Middle Tennessee 7 – 5   .583 16 – 11   .593 Tennessee Tech 7 – 5   .583 11 – 15   .423 Austin Peay State 3 – 9   .250 8 – 18   .308 Murray State 2 – 10   .167 4 – 22   .154 † 1979 OVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1978–79 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 UCLA 15 – 3   .833 25 – 5   .833 USC 14 – 4   .778 20 – 9   .690 Oregon State 11 – 7   .611 18 – 10   .643 Washington State 10 – 8   .556 18 – 9   .667 Arizona 10 – 8   .556 16 – 11   .593 Arizona State 7 – 11   .389 12 – 15   .444 Oregon 7 – 11   .389 12 – 15   .444 Stanford 6 – 12   .333 12 – 15   .444 Washington 6 – 12   .333 11 – 16   .407 California 4 – 14   .222 6 – 21   .222 Rankings from AP Poll[32]
1978–79 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Pacific † 11 – 3   .786 18 – 12   .600 Utah State 9 – 5   .643 19 – 11   .633 Fresno State 9 – 5   .643 16 – 12   .571 Cal State Fullerton 7 – 7   .500 16 – 11   .593 Long Beach State 7 – 7   .500 16 – 12   .571 UC Santa Barbara[note 1] 6 – 8   .429 12 – 15   .444 San Jose State 4 – 10   .286 7 – 20   .259 UC Irvine[note 2] 3 – 11   .214 9 – 19   .321 † 1979 PCAA tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[33]	1978–79 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 7 LSU 14 – 4   .778 23 – 6   .793 Tennessee † 12 – 6   .667 21 – 12   .636 Vanderbilt 11 – 7   .611 18 – 9   .667 Alabama 11 – 7   .611 22 – 11   .667 Mississippi State 11 – 7   .611 19 – 9   .679 Kentucky 10 – 8   .556 19 – 12   .613 Georgia 7 – 11   .389 14 – 14   .500 Ole Miss 6 – 12   .333 11 – 16   .407 Auburn 5 – 13   .278 13 – 16   .448 Florida 3 – 15   .167 8 – 19   .296 † 1979 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll[34]	1978–79 Southern Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Appalachian State † 11 – 3   .786 23 – 6   .793 Furman 9 – 3   .750 20 – 9   .690 The Citadel 10 – 4   .714 20 – 7   .741 Western Carolina 5 – 7   .417 14 – 14   .500 Marshall 5 – 8   .385 11 – 16   .407 Davidson 3 – 7   .300 8 – 19   .296 Chattanooga 3 – 8   .273 14 – 13   .519 VMI 2 – 8   .200 12 – 15   .444 East Tennessee State 0 – 0   – 16 – 11   .593 † 1979 Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll
1978–79 Southland Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Lamar 9 – 1   .900 23 – 9   .719 Louisiana Tech 6 – 4   .600 17 – 8   .680 Southwestern Louisiana 6 – 4   .600 16 – 11   .593 Arkansas State 5 – 5   .500 15 – 12   .556 McNeese State 3 – 7   .300 10 – 17   .370 Texas-Arlington 1 – 9   .100 11 – 16   .407 Rankings from AP poll[35]	1978–79 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 Arkansas† 13 – 3   .813 25 – 5   .833 Texas 13 – 3   .813 21 – 8   .724 Texas A&M 11 – 5   .688 24 – 9   .727 Baylor 9 – 7   .563 16 – 12   .571 Texas Tech 9 – 7   .563 19 – 11   .633 Houston 6 – 10   .375 16 – 15   .516 SMU 6 – 10   .375 11 – 16   .407 Rice 4 – 12   .250 7 – 20   .259 TCU 1 – 15   .063 6 – 21   .222 † 1979 SWC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1978–79 SWAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Alcorn State † 12 – 0   1.000 28 – 1   .966 Grambling 6 – 6   .500 16 – 11   .593 Southern 6 – 6   .500 16 – 12   .571 Texas Southern 6 – 6   .500 13 – 14   .481 Jackson State 4 – 8   .333 13 – 14   .481 Mississippi Valley State –   – 15 – 16   .484 Prairie View –   – 17 – 14   .548 † 1979 SWAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll
1978–79 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT South Alabama 10 – 0   1.000 20 – 7   .741 South Florida 6 – 4   .600 14 – 14   .500 UNC Charlotte 6 – 4   .600 16 – 11   .593 Jacksonville † 5 – 5   .500 19 – 11   .633 New Orleans 3 – 7   .300 11 – 16   .407 Georgia State 0 – 10   .000 7 – 20   .259 † 1979 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1978–79 Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Northeast Louisiana† 2 – 0   1.000 30 – 4   .882 Mercer 2 – 0   1.000 21 – 6   .778 Oklahoma City 5 – 0   1.000 18 – 11   .621 Pan American 2 – 0   1.000 13 – 13   .500 Hardin–Simmons 2 – 5   .286 7 – 20   .259 Houston Baptist 1 – 4   .200 11 – 16   .407 Samford 0 – 2   .000 10 – 15   .400 Centenary 0 – 3   .000 9 – 20   .310 † 1979 TAAC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll
1978–79 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 12 San Francisco 12 – 2   .857 22 – 7   .759 Pepperdine 10 – 4   .714 22 – 10   .688 Nevada 9 – 5   .643 21 – 7   .750 Seattle 8 – 6   .571 15 – 11   .577 Santa Clara 6 – 8   .429 13 – 14   .481 Portland 5 – 9   .357 18 – 10   .643 Saint Mary's 5 – 9   .357 13 – 15   .464 Loyola Marymount 1 – 13   .071 5 – 21   .192 Rankings from AP Poll	1978–79 WAC men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT BYU 10 – 2   .833 20 – 8   .714 Utah 9 – 3   .750 20 – 10   .667 New Mexico 8 – 4   .667 19 – 10   .655 Wyoming 5 – 7   .417 15 – 12   .556 San Diego State 4 – 8   .333 15 – 12   .556 UTEP 3 – 9   .250 11 – 15   .423 Colorado State 3 – 9   .250 11 – 16   .407 Rankings from AP Poll[36]

Division I independents

A total of 78 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, Syracuse (26–4) had the best winning percentage (.867) and Syracuse and DePaul (26–6) finished with the most wins.^[37][38]

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

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
New Jersey-New York 7 Conference	Rutgers	None selected

Rutgers finished with a 7–0 regular-season record in head-to-head competition among members of the New Jersey-New York 7 Conference.

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Penn & Temple	Tony Price, Penn, & Rick Reed, Temple

Penn and Temple both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Points per game				Rebounds per game				Field goal percentage				Free throw percentage
Player	School	PPG		Player	School	RPG		Player	School	FG%		Player	School	FT%
Lawrence Butler	Idaho St.	30.1		Monti Davis	Tenn. St.	16.2		Murray Brown	Florida St.	69.1		Darrell Mauldin	Campbell	92.1
Larry Bird	Indiana St.	28.6		Bill Cartwright	San Francisco	15.7		Jeff Ruland	Iona	67.1		Kurt Kanaskie	La Salle	91.7
Nick Galis	Seton Hall	27.5		Lionel Garrett	Southern	15.5		Steve Johnson	Oregon St.	66.1		Jim Krivacs	Texas	91.0
James Tillman	Eastern Kentucky	26.9		Larry Bird	Indiana St.	14.9		Jonathan Green	Tennessee St.	65.6		Tom Orner	Butler	90.9
Paul Dawkins	Northern Illinois	26.7		Larry Knight	Loyola-Illinois	14.3		Wiley Peck	Mississippi St.	64.4		Ron Perry	Holy Cross	90.8

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main articles: 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament and 1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game

Final Four

	National semifinals					National finals
	E9	Penn	67
	ME2	Michigan State	101
						ME2	Michigan State	75
						MW1	Indiana State	64
	MW1	Indiana State	76
	W2	DePaul	74			Third place
						E9	Penn	93
						W2	DePaul	96OT

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1979 National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals & finals

	Semifinals				Finals
	Indiana	64
	Ohio State	55
					Indiana	53
					Purdue	52
	Purdue	87
	Alabama	68			Third place
					Ohio State	86
					Alabama	96

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1979 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Larry Bird	F	Senior	Indiana State
Mike Gminski	C	Junior	Duke
David Greenwood	F	Senior	UCLA
Magic Johnson	G	Sophomore	Michigan State
Sidney Moncrief	G	Senior	Arkansas

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Bill Cartwright	C	Senior	San Francisco
Calvin Natt	C	Senior	Northeast Louisiana
Mike O'Koren	F	Junior	North Carolina
Jim Paxson	G/F	Senior	Dayton
Jim Spanarkel	G	Senior	Duke
Kelly Tripucka	F	Sophomore	Notre Dame
Sly Williams	F	Junior	Rhode Island

Major player of the year awards

• Wooden Award: Larry Bird, Indiana State
• Naismith Award: Larry Bird, Indiana State
• Helms Player of the Year: Larry Bird, Indiana State
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Larry Bird, Indiana State
• UPI Player of the Year: Larry Bird, Indiana State
• NABC Player of the Year: Larry Bird, Indiana State
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Larry Bird, Indiana State
• Adolph Rupp Trophy: Larry Bird, Indiana State
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Larry Bird, Indiana State

Major coach of the year awards

• Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bill Hodges, Indiana State
• Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Dean Smith, North Carolina
• NABC Coach of the Year: Ray Meyer, DePaul
• UPI Coach of the Year: Bill Hodges, Indiana State
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: Bill Hodges, Indiana State

Other major awards

• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Alton Byrd, Columbia
• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Tony Price, Penn & Rick Reed, Temple
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Nick Galis, Seton Hall

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.^[39]

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Arkansas-Little Rock	Happy Mahfouz		Ron Krestenbaum
Austin Peay	Ed Thompson		Ron Bargatze
Dartmouth	Gary Walters		Tim Cohane	Walters left for Providence.
Detroit	David Gaines		Willie McCarter
East Carolina	Larry Gillman		Dave Odom
Eastern Michigan	Ray Scott		Jim Boyce
Florida A&M	Ajac Triplett		Josh Giles
Hofstra	Roger Gaeckler		Joe Harrington
La Salle	Paul Westhead		Lefty Ervin	Westhead left to become an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Louisiana Tech	J. D. Barnett		Andy Russo
Loyola Marymount	Dave Benaderet		Ron Jacobs
Marshall	Stu Aberdeen		Bob Zuffelato	Aberdeen died of a heart attack during the offseason, replaced by associate head coach Zuffelato.
Massachusetts	Jack Leaman		Ray Wilson
Memphis State	Wayne Yates		Dana Kirk
Middle Tennessee State	Jimmy Earle		Stan Simpson
New Mexico	Norm Ellenberger	Charlie Harrison	Gary Colson	Ellenberger was fired following a recruiting scandal. Charlie Harrison served as interim coach for the 1979–80 season and Colson was hired as permanent coach in the 1980 offseason.
New Mexico State	Ken Hayes		Weldon Drew
New Orleans	Butch van Breda Kolff		Don Smith
North Carolina A&T	Gene Littles		Don Corbett
Northeast Louisiana	Lenny Fant		Benny Hollis	Fant retired, turning the program to top assistant Hollis.
Oklahoma City	Paul Hansen		Ken Trickey
Oklahoma State	Jim Killingsworth		Paul Hansen
Oral Roberts	Lake Kelly		Ken Hayes
Pacific	Stan Morrison		Dick Fichtner	Morrison left for USC
Pepperdine	Gary Colson		Jim Harrick	Colson resigned.
Providence	Dave Gavitt		Gary Walters	Gavitt left to concentrate on launching the new Big East Conference.
Robert Morris	Tom Weirich		Matt Furjanic
St. Francis (NY)	Lucio Rossini		Gene Roberti
Saint Mary's	Frank LaPorte		Bill Oates
Saint Peter's	Bob Kelly		Bob Dukiet
Samford	Fred Crowell		Cliff Wettig
San Diego State	Tim Vezie		David Gaines
San Jose State	Ivan Guevara		Bill Berry	San Jose State tapped Michigan State assistant Berry fresh off the Spartans' national championship.
Southern California	Bob Boyd		Stan Morrison
Tennessee–Chattanooga	Ron Shumate		Murray Arnold
Tennessee Tech	Cliff Malpass		Tom Deaton
TCU	Tim Somerville		Jim Killingsworth
UCLA	Gary Cunningham		Larry Brown
Utah State	Dutch Belnap		Rod Tueller
Vanderbilt	Wayne Dobbs		Richard Schmidt
Virginia Commonwealth	Dana Kirk		J. D. Barnett
Western Michigan	Dick Schiltz		Les Wothke
Xavier	Tay Baker		Bob Staak	Xavier brought in Penn assistant Staak.

Notes

1. UC Santa Barbara was forced to vacated all wins during the 1978–79 season due to the use of ineligible players. UC Santa Barbara Record Book still includes win and loss totals.
2. Two losses against UC Santa Barbara included in win count per UC Irvine Record Book.