1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1978–79 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Digger Phelps and played their home games at the Joyce Center.

1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 4
1978–79 record24–6
Head coach
Assistant coachDanny Nee
Home arenaJoyce Center
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

After reaching the school's first Final Four the previous season, Notre Dame entered the season with high expectations and a No. 3 preseason ranking (AP). One of five teams to hold the No. 1 ranking during season, the Irish earned the #1 seed in the Mideast Region of the 1979 NCAA Tournament, but were defeated by eventual the eventual NCAA champions, Michigan State, in the regional final. Notre Dame finished the season with a record of 24–6.

Roster
1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 12 Rich Branning 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)160 lb (73 kg) JrMarina Huntington Beach, CA
G 24 Chris Fabian 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrHaddonfield Haddonfield, NJ
F/C 34 Bruce Flowers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrBerkley Huntington Woods, MI
G/F 42 Bill Hanzlik 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrBeloit Beloit, WI
G 11 Tim Healy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrCardinal Gibbons Fort Lauderdale, FL
F 30 Tracy Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoPaint Branch Silver Spring, Maryland
C 52 Bill Laimbeer 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)235 lb (107 kg) SrPalos Verdes
Owens CC		 Palos Verdes, CA
C 55 Gilbert Salinas 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)215 lb (98 kg) So  San Antonio, Texas
F 44 Kelly Tripucka 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)230 lb (104 kg) SoBloomfield Essex Fells, New Jersey
C 32 Orlando Woolridge 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) SoMansfield Mansfield, Louisiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Dec 2, 1978*
 No. 3 Valparaiso W 87–57  1–0
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 4, 1978*
 No. 3 Rice W 105–61  2–0
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 6, 1978*
 No. 3 Northwestern W 101–57  3–0
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 9, 1978*
 No. 3 at No. 2 UCLA W 81–78[1][2]  4–0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, California
Dec 27, 1978*
 No. 2 Saint Francis (PA) W 96–43  5–0
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 30, 1978*
 No. 2 vs. No. 13 Kentucky L 76–81  5–1
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 6, 1979*
 No. 2 at Villanova W 75–64  6–1
 The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 8, 1979*
 No. 2 at Davidson W 95–63  7–1
 Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 13, 1979*
 No. 2 at No. 13 Marquette W 65–60  8–1
 MECCA Arena 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jan 16, 1979*
 No. 1 Lafayette W 91–66  9–1
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 18, 1979*
 No. 1 San Francisco W 88–69  10–1
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 20, 1979*
 No. 1 South Carolina W 82–73  11–1
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 24, 1979*
 No. 1 Fordham W 85–53  12–1
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 27, 1979*
 No. 1 at Maryland L 66–67  12–2
 Cole Fieldhouse 
College Park, Maryland
Jan 30, 1979*
 No. 1 Brown W 80–53  13–2
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 1, 1979*
 No. 1 Xavier W 66–57  14–2
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 3, 1979*
 No. 1 Dayton W 86–71  15–2
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 5, 1979*
 No. 1 Loyola-Chicago W 84–66  16–2
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 7, 1979*
 No. 1 at North Carolina State W 53–52  17–2
 Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, North Carolina
Feb 11, 1979*
 No. 1 No. 4 UCLA L 52–56[3]  17–3
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 15, 1979*
 No. 3 at Manhattan W 86–63  18–3
 Draddy Gymnasium 
Bronx, New York
Feb 17, 1979*
 No. 3 at West Virginia W 70–54  19–3
 WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, West Virginia
Feb 21, 1979*
 No. 3 Oklahoma City W 88–60  20–3
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 24, 1979*
 No. 3 La Salle W 93–70  21–3
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 26, 1979*
 No. 3 East Carolina W 89–72  22–3
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Mar 2, 1979*
 No. 2 at No. 15 DePaul L 72–76  22–4
 Alumni Hall 
Chicago, Illinois
Mar 4, 1979*
 No. 2 at Michigan L 59–62  22–5
 Pontiac Silverdome 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
NCAA Tournament
Mar 11, 1979*
 No. 5 vs. No. 20 Tennessee
Second Round		 W 73–67  23–5
 Murphy Center 
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Mar 16, 1979*
 No. 5 vs. No. 19 Toledo
Mideast Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen		 W 79–71  24–5
 Market Square Arena 
Indianapolis, Indiana
Mar 18, 1979*
 No. 5 vs. No. 3 Michigan State
Mideast Regional Final – Elite Eight		 L 68–80  24–6
 Market Square Arena 
Indianapolis, Indiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast.

[4]

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 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 5 4 
Coaches 3 – – 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 5 Not released

^Coaches did not release Week 1 or Week 2 polls. [5]

References
  1. "Notre Dame Continues To Beat UCLA at Home". Washington Post. December 11, 1978. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  2. "Another Irish Roast Out on the Coast". Sports Illustrated. December 18, 1978. Retrieved November 22, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. "U.C.L.A. Beats Notre Dame". New York Times. February 12, 1979. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  4. "2019–20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Notre Dame Athletics. p. 116. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
    • ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 856–857. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
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