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 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.[1] They finished the season with an overall record of 26–6.

1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Third place
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 8
APNo. 6
1978–79 record26–6
Head coach
Assistant coachJoey Meyer (5th season)
Home arenaAlumni Hall
1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
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
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
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– –  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
Catholic– –  6–20  .231
Arkansas-Little Rock– –  6–20  .231
Niagara– –  6–20  .231
Portland State– –  6–21  .222
Baltimore– –  4–20  .167
Valparaiso– –  4–21  .160
Charleston Southern– –  2–25  .074
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster
1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F/C 11 James Mitchem 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrSt. Pius X Albuquerque, NM
G 15 Clyde Bradshaw 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoEast Orange East Orange, NJ
F 21 Dennis McGuire 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoHoly Cross River Grove, Illinois
G 24 Gary Garland 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 SrClifford J. Scott East Orange, NJ
F 30 Curtis Watkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrThornton Harvey, IL
F 32 Mark Aguirre 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrWestinghouse Chicago, IL
F/C 54 William Madey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) JrGordon Tech Chicago, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

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[2]  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.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final 
AP NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 15 8 6 
Coaches NR – – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 11 8 Not released

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

Source [3][4]

Awards and honors

References
  1. "It was Magic vs. Bird in the Final Four 40 years ago, but do you remember Mark Aguirre and DePaul?". Chicago Tribune. March 18, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  2. "Michigan State, Indiana State Gain NCAA Final". The Washington Post. March 25, 1979. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  3. sports-reference.com 1978-79 Independent Season Summary
  4. sports-reference.com 1978-79 Polls
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