| 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Preseason AP No. 1 | North Carolina Tar Heels[1][2] |
| 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) |
|
| 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 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
- 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 |
| William and Mary 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 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]
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
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
- NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): George Johnson, St. John's
Coaching changes
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
- ↑ 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
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