1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
| 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
St. Louis, Missouri | |
| NCAA Champions | Kentucky Wildcats |
| Helms National Champions | Kentucky Wildcats |
| Other champions | Texas Longhorns (NIT) |
| Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden) |
|
| Player of the Year (Helms) | Jack Givens, Kentucky |
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
St. Louis, Missouri. The Kentucky Wildcats won their fifth NCAA national championship with a 94–88 victory over the Duke Blue Devils
.
Season headlines
- In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its 12th of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[3]
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Conference membership changes
| School | Former conference | New conference |
|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine Anteaters | Division II independent | Pacific Coast Athletic Association
|
Tribe
|
Southern Conference | Division I independent |
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.[4]
From
1978 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.[5]
Informal championships
| 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
Points per game |
Rebounds per game |
Field goal percentage |
Free throw percentage
| |||||||||||
| Player | School | PPG | Player | School | RPG | Player | School | FG% | Player | School | FT% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
NCAA tournament
Final Four
| 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
Semifinals & finals
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| Georgetown | 85 | ||||||||
| NC State | 86 | ||||||||
| NC State | 93 | ||||||||
| Texas | 101 | ||||||||
| Texas | 96 | ||||||||
| Rutgers | 76 | ||||||||
- Third Place – Rutgers 85, Georgetown 72
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
| 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 |
| 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 |
Major player of the year awards
- Wooden Award: Phil Ford, North Carolina
- Naismith Award: Butch Lee, Marquette
- Helms Player of the Year: Jack Givens, Kentucky
- Associated Press Player of the Year: Butch Lee, Marquette
- UPI Player of the Year: Butch Lee, Marquette
- NABC Player of the Year: Phil Ford, North Carolina
- Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Phil Ford, North Carolina
- Adolph Rupp Trophy: Butch Lee, Marquette
- Sporting News Player of the Year: Phil Ford, North Carolina
Major coach of the year awards
- Associated Press Coach of the Year: Eddie Sutton, Arkansas
- Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Ray Meyer, DePaul
- NABC Coach of the Year: Bill Foster, Duke & Abe Lemons, Texas
- UPI Coach of the Year: Eddie Sutton, Arkansas
- Sporting News Coach of the Year: Bill Foster, Duke
Other major awards
- Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Mike Scheib, Susquehanna
- Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Michael Brooks, La Salle
- St. John's
Coaching changes
![[icon]](/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021) |
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach |
Interim Coach |
New Coach |
Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- 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