1977–78 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team

The 1977–78 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Western Athletic Conference during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lobos were coached by head coach Norm Ellenberger and played their home games at the University Arena, also known as "The Pit", in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1977–78 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball
WAC Champions
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 12
Record24–4 (13–1 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaUniversity Arena
Seasons
← 1976–77
1978–79 →
1977–78 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 12 New Mexico 13 1   .929 24 4   .857
No. 14 Utah 12 2   .857 23 6   .793
Colorado State 8 6   .571 18 9   .667
Arizona 7 8   .467 15 11   .577
BYU 6 8   .429 12 18   .400
Arizona State 6 9   .400 13 14   .481
Wyoming 3 11   .214 12 15   .444
UTEP 2 12   .143 10 16   .385
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

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1977–78 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 21 Marvin Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Howard County JC DeRidder, Louisiana
G 22 Michael Cooper 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Pasadena CC Los Angeles, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

[2]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 25, 1977*
Idaho W 120–70  1–0
University Arena (17,455)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 29, 1977*
New Mexico Highlands W 125–73  2–0
University Arena (13,888)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 3, 1977*
at New Mexico State W 94–87  3–0
Pan American Center (13,011)
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Dec 5, 1977*
Kentucky State W 126–104  4–0
University Arena (16,457)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 9, 1977*
at Southern California L 80–93  4–1
L.A. Sports Arena (4,293)
Los Angeles, California
Dec 17, 1977*
Alaska Anchorage W 127–101  5–1
University Arena (15,048)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 21, 1977*
New Mexico State W 106–78  6–1
University Arena (18,054)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 29, 1977*
Vermont
Lobo Invitational
W 104–81  7–1
University Arena (18,029)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 30, 1977*
No. 10 Syracuse
Lobo Invitational
L 91–96  7–2
University Arena (18,644)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 4, 1978*
Puget Sound W 102–89  8–2
University Arena (14,433)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 7, 1978*
at No. 9 Nevada-Las Vegas W 102–98  9–2
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,593)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 13, 1978
at Arizona State W 91–84  10–2
(1–0)
ASU Activity Center (6,689)
Tempe, Arizona
Jan 14, 1978
at Arizona W 93–81  11–2
(2–0)
McKale Center (15,156)
Tucson, Arizona
Jan 17, 1978*
No. 20 No. 16 Nevada-Las Vegas W 89–76  12–2
University Arena (19,044)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 21, 1978
No. 20 at UTEP W 84–57  13–2
(3–0)
Special Events Center (11,850)
El Paso, Texas
Jan 26, 1978
No. 14 BYU W 95–82  14–2
(4–0)
University Arena (18,211)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 28, 1978
No. 14 Utah W 113–89  15–2
(5–0)
University Arena (18,155)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 2, 1978
No. 10 at Wyoming W 94–91  16–2
(6–0)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,885)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 4, 1978
No. 10 at Colorado State W 91–82  17–2
(7–0)
Moby Arena (11,642)
Fort Collins, Colorado
Feb 9, 1978
No. 6 Arizona W 103–85  18–2
(8–0)
University Arena (18,019)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 11, 1978
No. 6 Arizona State W 103–92  19–2
(9–0)
University Arena (18,144)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 14, 1978*
No. 5 Hawaii W 87–69  20–2
University Arena (14,906)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 18, 1978*
No. 5 UTEP W 59–51  21–2
(10–0)
University Arena (18,116)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 23, 1978
No. 5 at Utah L 92–95  21–3
(10–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (14,451)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 25, 1978
No. 5 at BYU W 71–68  22–3
(11–1)
Marriott Center (22,998)
Provo, Utah
Mar 2, 1978
No. 8 Colorado State W 111–88  23–3
(12–1)
University Arena (18,101)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 4, 1978*
No. 8 Wyoming W 93–74  24–3
(13–1)
University Arena (18,382)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
NCAA tournament
Mar 11, 1978*
(W 2Q) No. 5 vs. (W 4L) Cal State Fullerton
First round
L 85–90  24–4
ASU Activity Center (11,316)
Tempe, Arizona
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.

[3][4] [5]

Rankings

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Awards and honors

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NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
2 31 Marvin Johnson Chicago Bulls
3 60 Michael Cooper Los Angeles Lakers

[6]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1977-78 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1977–78 New Mexico Lobos Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "2022-23 MEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA GUIDE" (PDF). University of New Mexico Athletics. p. 130. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "1977-78 MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE". University of New Mexico Athletics. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "1977-1978 New Mexico Lobos Men's Basketball Stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.
  6. ^ "1978 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.