1977–78 Utah Utes men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Utah Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference during the 1977–78 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jerry Pimm, and played their home games at the Special Events Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1977–78 Utah Utes men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 18
APNo. 14
Record23–6 (12–2 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaSpecial Events Center
Seasons
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 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 5 Jeff Judkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Salt Lake City, Utah
F 23 Danny Vranes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Salt Lake City, Utah
F/C 42 Tom Chambers 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Ogden, Utah
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1977*
Loyola Marymount W 85–77  1–0
Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 3, 1977*
No. 20 USC W 93–67  2–0
Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 9, 1977*
No. 14 Kent State W 50–47  3–0
Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 23, 1978*
No. 5 New Mexico W 95–92  20–5
(10–2)
Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 25, 1978
UTEP W 68–52  21–5
(11–2)
Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 4, 1978
No. 19 BYU W 81–74  22–5
(12–2)
Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1978*
No. 14 vs. Missouri
First round
W 86–79 2OT[2] 23–5
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Mar 17, 1978*
No. 14 vs. No. 6 Notre Dame
Midwest Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
L 56–69[3]  23–6
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.

[4][5]

Rankings

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[6]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1977-78 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "DePaul, Utah Win". The New York Times. March 13, 1978. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "Notre Dame and DePaul Reach Final in Midwest". The New York Times. March 18, 1978. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "1977–78 Utah Utes Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "1977-78 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Utah Athletics. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  6. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. pp. 846–847. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.