1978–79 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 65th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Metro Conference and were coached by Denny Crum. The team played home games at Freedom Hall.

1978–79 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Metro Conference Champions
ConferenceMetro Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 13
1978–79 record24–8 (9–1 Metro)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFreedom Hall
1978–79 Metro Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 13 Louisville91 .900  248  .750
Florida State73 .700  1910  .655
Memphis State55 .500  1315  .464
Virginia Tech46 .400  229  .710
Cincinnati46 .400  1314  .481
Saint Louis37 .300  1017  .370
Tulane28 .200  819  .296
1979 Metro Conference Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The team completed a 24–8 record and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the 1979 NCAA Tournament.

Roster

1978–79 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 5 Jerry Eaves 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrBallard Louisville, Kentucky
G 15 Greg Deuser 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrFloyd Central New Albany, Indiana
F 21 Scooter McCray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrMount Vernon Mount Vernon, New York
G 23 Tony Branch 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrElston Michigan City, Indiana
F 24 Daryl Cleveland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoThomas County Central Thomasville, Georgia
G 34 Roger Burkman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoFranklin Central Indianapolis, Indiana
G 35 Darrell Griffith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrLouisville Male Louisville, Kentucky
C 40 Marty Pulliam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrMercer Country Senior Harrodsburg, Kentucky
C 41 Wiley Brown 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrWorth County Sylvester, Georgia
F 43 Derek Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrHogansville Hogansville, Georgia
G/F 44 Poncho Wright 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrMarshall Indianapolis, Indiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 24, 1978*
No. 4 vs. Penn State
Sea Wolf Classic
W 89–58  1–0
Buckner Fieldhouse 
Fort Richardson, Alaska
Nov 25, 1978*
No. 4 vs. Lamar
Sea Wolf Classic
W 90–68  2–0
Buckner Fieldhouse 
Fort Richardson, Alaska
Nov 26, 1978*
No. 4 vs. No. 12 NC State
Sea Wolf Classic
L 66–72  2–1
Buckner Fieldhouse 
Fort Richardson, Alaska
Dec 2, 1978*
No. 5 Tennessee W 82–61  3–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 6, 1978*
No. 7 No. 6 Michigan W 86–84  4–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 9, 1978*
No. 7 Idaho W 101–54  5–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 12, 1978*
No. 4 at Ohio State L 69–85  5–2
St. John Arena 
Columbus, Ohio
Dec 16, 1978*
No. 4 West Virginia W 106–60  6–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 23, 1978*
No. 12 Providence W 88–70  7–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 28, 1978*
No. 10 Wisconsin
Louisville Holiday Classic
W 70–53  8–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 29, 1978*
No. 10 Mississippi State
Louisville Holiday Classic
L 73–80  8–3
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 4, 1979*
No. 16 Chattanooga W 94–70  9–3
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 6, 1979*
No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette W 73–60  10–3
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 8, 1979*
No. 16 Marshall W 112–64  11–3
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 13, 1979*
No. 12 at Maryland W 99–84  12–3
Cole Fieldhouse 
College Park, Maryland
Jan 16, 1979*
No. 7 at Dayton W 77–76  13–3
UD Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
Jan 18, 1979
No. 7 at Cincinnati
Rivalry
W 82–77  14–3
(1–0)
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 20, 1979
No. 7 at Florida State W 67–65  15–3
(2–0)
Tully Gymnasium 
Tallahassee, Florida
Jan 24, 1979
No. 5 Saint Louis W 80–65  16–3
(3–0)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 28, 1979
No. 5 Virginia Tech W 82–72  17–3
(4–0)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 31, 1979
No. 6 Florida State W 84–71  18–3
(5–0)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 3, 1979
No. 6 Cincinnati
Rivalry
W 88–85  19–3
(6–0)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 5, 1979
No. 6 Memphis State
Rivalry
W 103–82  20–3
(7–0)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 8, 1979
No. 5 at Tulane W 77–66  21–3
(8–0)
Avron B. Fogelman Arena 
New Orleans, Louisiana
Feb 10, 1979*
No. 5 at No. 9 Marquette L 55–71  21–4
MECCA Arena 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 15, 1979
No. 9 at Saint Louis W 78–62  22–4
(9–0)
St. Louis Arena 
St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 17, 1979*
No. 9 at Memphis State
Rivalry
L 53–60  22–5
(9–1)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 18, 1979*
No. 9 at No. 5 Duke L 72–88  22–6
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 24, 1979
No. 13 Tulane W 95–71  23–6
(10–1)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
Metro Conference Tournament
Mar 2, 1979*
No. 13 vs. Virginia Tech
Metro Tournament Semifinal
L 68–72  23–7
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
NCAA Tournament
Mar 10, 1979*
(3 MW) No. 18 vs. (6 MW) South Alabama
Second round
W 69–66  24–7
Moody Coliseum 
University Park, Texas
Mar 15, 1979*
(3 MW) No. 13 vs. (2 MW) No. 5 Arkansas
Regional Semifinal
L 62–73  24–8
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern.

[2]

Team players drafted into the NBA

YearRoundPickPlayerNBA Club
198012Darrell GriffithUtah Jazz
1982235Derek SmithGolden State Warriors
1983236Scooter McCraySeattle SuperSonics

[3]

References

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