1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Digger Phelps and was ranked in the Associated Press poll for the entirety of the season.

1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Second Round L 84–87 OT vs. Missouri
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 9
1979–80 record22–6
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Captains
Home arenaJoyce Center
1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 1 DePaul    262  .929
No. 9 Notre Dame    238  .742
Tennessee State    197  .731
UNLV    239  .719
Cleveland State    188  .692
Illinois State    209  .690
Marquette    189  .667
UNC Wilmington    1910  .655
Penn State    1810  .643
Southern Mississippi    1710  .630
South Carolina    1611  .593
Campbell    1512  .556
East Carolina    1512  .556
Stetson    1512  .556
Detroit    1413  .519
Dayton    1314  .481
North Texas State    1314  .481
Milwaukee    917  .346
Valparaiso    818  .308
Portland State    521  .192
Charleston Southern    223  .080
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

The Irish were ranked fifth in the preseason AP Poll, behind Indiana, Kentucky, Duke and Ohio State.[1] While they lost frontcourt contributors Bruce Flowers and Bill Laimbeer to graduation, they added a recruiting class ranked fourth nationally by the 1979–80 Street & Smith basketball yearbook.[2] The class included McDonald's All-Americans Tim Andree and John Paxson and highly regarded forward Bill Varner.[3][4] Key returning players were 1979 All-American Kelly Tripucka and future National Basketball Association (NBA) players Tracy Jackson, Bill Hanzlik and Orlando Woolridge. Woolridge was moved from forward to center to replace Flowers and Laimbeer.[5][6] Senior point guard Rich Branning was selected co-captain of the team with Hanzlik.[7]

Leading up to an Olympic year, Notre Dame played an exhibition game against the Soviet National Team, notching a surprising 86–76 win behind Tripucka's 35 points.[8]

Regular season

The Irish suffered an early setback as senior co-captain Hanzlik missed several games with a dislocated finger,[9][7] but fared well, compiling a 6–0 record in his absence, including a marquee win against UCLA.[10] The Irish won the contest behind clutch free throws and defense from freshman John Paxson.[11] After the team's fast start, The Irish found themselves ranked third in the country and facing second-ranked Kentucky at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Despite the Wildcats missing starters Sam Bowie and Dirk Minniefield, the Irish lost the game 80–86.[12] A January loss to San Francisco left the Irish on a two-game losing streak.[13] The highlight of the Irish's season came on February 27, 1980 when they upset top-ranked DePaul 76–74 in double-overtime. The Irish were led by Kelly Tripucka's 28 points and the win was sealed by two free throws by Orlando Woolridge. The Irish were able to overcome a big scoring push by future NBA All-Stars Mark Aguirre (28 points) and Terry Cummings (16).[14][15] A regular-season finale 62–54 win at Dayton raised the Irish's record to 22–5.[16]

Roster

1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 12 Rich Branning 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg) Sr Huntington Beach, California
G 42 Bill Hanzlik 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) Sr Beloit, Wisconsin
F 22 Kevin Hawkins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) Jr Los Angeles, California
G 11 Tim Healy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) Sr Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
F 30 Tracy Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) Jr Silver Spring, Maryland
G 15 Mike Mitchell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) So San Bruno, California
G 23 John Paxson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) Fr Kettering, Ohio
C 55 Gilbert Salinas 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)215 lb (98 kg) Jr San Antonio, Texas
F 44 Kelly Tripucka 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)230 lb (104 kg) Jr Essex Fells, New Jersey
C 32 Orlando Woolridge 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) Jr Mansfield, Louisiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

NCAA Tournament

Notre Dame was selected for the 1980 NCAA Tournament and were the 4 seed in the Midwest Region, slated to play the winner of a first-round game between Missouri and San Jose State in Lincoln, Nebraska.[17] Fifth-seeded Missouri upset the Irish 87–84 in overtime behind senior Mark Dressler's 32 points, wasting a 29-point effort by Tracy Jackson.[18]

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
December 1
No. 5 Valparaiso W 92–66  1–0
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
December 3
No. 5 Iowa State W 87–77  2–0
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
December 5
No. 4 at Northwestern W 73–56  3–0
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, Illinois
December 8
No. 4 Saint Louis W 93–66  4–0
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
December 11
No. 4 No. 7 UCLA W 77–74  5–0
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
December 13
No. 4 No. 7 St. Joseph's (IN) W 79–58  6–0
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
December 22
No. 4 Fairfield W 69–59  7–0
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
December 29
No. 3 No. 2 Kentucky L 80–86  7–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
January 8
No. 7 at San Francisco L 59–67  7–2
War Memorial Gymnasium 
San Francisco, CA
January 10
No. 7 at Tulane W 79–59  8–2
Avron B. Fogelman Arena 
New Orleans, Louisiana
January 13
No. 7 at TCU W 85–68  9–2
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
January 15
No. 8 Villanova W 70–69  10–2
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
January 19
No. 8 at UCLA W 80–73  11–2
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, California
January 23
No. 8 Canisius W 84–63  12–2
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
January 26
No. 8 No. 15 Maryland W 64–63  13–2
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
January 30
No. 8 at La Salle W 64–63  13–3
Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 2
No. 8 Davidson W 105–71  14–3
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
February 4
No. 8 Navy W 67–53  15–3
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
February 6
No. 9 Manhattan W 93–49  16–3
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
February 9
No. 9 North Carolina State L 55–63  16–4
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
February 11
No. 9 San Francisco W 78–66  17–4
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
February 13
No. 12 at Fordham W 86–76  18–4
Rose Hill Gymnasium 
Bronx, NY
February 16
No. 12 at South Carolina W 90–66  19–4
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
February 20
No. 10 at Xavier W 85–72  20–4
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, OH
February 24
No. 10 Marquette L 74–77  20–5
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
February 27
No. 14 No. 1 DePaul W 76–74  21–5
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
March 1
No. 14 at Dayton W 62–54  22–5
UD Arena 
Dayton, OH
NCAA Tournament
March 8
(4) No. 9 vs. (5) No. 16 Missouri
NCAA Tournament • Second Round
L 84–87 OT 22–6
Bob Devaney Sports Center 
Lincoln, NE
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[19]

Players selected in NBA drafts

YearRoundPickPlayerNBA Club
1980120Bill HanzlikSeattle SuperSonics
1980478Rich BranningIndiana Pacers
198116Orlando WoolridgeChicago Bulls
1981112Kelly TripuckaDetroit Pistons
1981225Tracy JacksonBoston Celtics
19818167Gilbert SalinasAtlanta Hawks
1983119John PaxsonSan Antonio Spurs
1983598Tim AndreeChicago Bulls
19839202Bill VarnerMilwaukee Bucks

[20]

References

  1. "Indiana no. 1 in preseason poll". The News-Press. November 16, 1979. p. 40. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "1979–80 Official Basketball Yearbook". Street & Smith's Official Yearbook. New York City: Condé Nast Publications. October 1979. pp. 26, 73.
  3. Francisco, Joel (May 26, 2009). "Many players succeeded after '79 game". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  4. "Golden dome shines brightly for Varner". Pittsburgh Press. June 5, 1979. p. 20. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  5. Goldaper, Sam (November 25, 1979). "A Preview of the 20 Top College Basketball Teams". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  6. "The Top 20". Sports Illustrated. December 1, 1980. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  7. "Notre Dame's pied piper plays sweet Irish tune". Indianapolis News. December 28, 1979. p. 24. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Notre Dame 'outsmarts' Russians". The Dispatch. November 16, 1979. p. 23. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Bill Hanzlik to sit out UCLA tilt". Indianapolis Star. December 11, 1979. p. 31. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Notre Dame-UCLA better than expected". Indianapolis Star. December 13, 1979. p. 53. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Irish rookie sinks 4 free throws, UCLA". Detroit Free Press. December 13, 1979. p. 53. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Bowie-less Kentucky impressed Irish coach". The Paducah Sun. December 31, 1979. p. 15. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "San Francisco center's about face stuns Notre Dame". Chillicothe Gazette. January 9, 1980. p. 17. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Woolridge free throws spark Irish past DePaul". The Pantagraph. February 28, 1980. p. 11. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Irish do unto DePaul as they have others". Decatur Daily Review. February 28, 1980. p. 13. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Notre Dame bounces Dayton with late surge". The Cincinnati Enquirer. March 2, 1980. p. 33. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Tourney a matter of momentum". South Bend Tribune. March 4, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Missouri stuns Irish in overtime". Kokomo Tribune. March 9, 1980. p. 22. Retrieved March 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  19. "1979-80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  20. "Notre Dame draft history at basketball-reference.com". Retrieved March 3, 2019.
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