1977–78 William & Mary Indians men's basketball team

The 1977–78 William & Mary Indians men's basketball team represented the College of William & Mary in intercollegiate basketball during the 1977–78 season. Under the first year of head coach Bruce Parkhill, the team finished the season 16–10. This was the 73rd season of the collegiate basketball program at William & Mary, whose nickname is now the Tribe.

1977–78 William & Mary Indians men's basketball
Conference	Independent
Record	16–10
Head coach	Bruce Parkhill (1st season)
Home arena	William & Mary Hall

1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 DePaul		–			–			27	–	3		.900
No. 18 Detroit		–			–			25	–	4		.862
Illinois State		–			–			24	–	4		.857
No. 8 Marquette		–			–			24	–	4		.857
Pan American		–			–			22	–	4		.846
VCU		–			–			24	–	5		.828
Fairfield		–			–			22	–	5		.815
North Texas State		–			–			22	–	6		.786
Syracuse		–			–			22	–	6		.786
Rhode Island		–			–			24	–	7		.774
Providence		–			–			24	–	8		.750
St. John's		–			–			21	–	7		.750
Utah State		–			–			21	–	7		.750
Georgetown		–			–			23	–	8		.742
No. 6 Notre Dame		–			–			23	–	8		.742
Holy Cross		–			–			20	–	7		.741
Northeast Louisiana		–			–			20	–	7		.741
UNC Wilmington		–			–			19	–	7		.731
St. Bonaventure		–			–			21	–	8		.724
UNLV		–			–			20	–	8		.714
Virginia Tech		–			–			19	–	8		.704
James Madison		–			–			18	–	8		.692
Maine		–			–			17	–	8		.680
Army		–			–			19	–	9		.679
Dayton		–			–			19	–	10		.655
St. Francis (NY)		–			–			16	–	9		.640
Iona		–			–			17	–	10		.630
William & Mary		–			–			16	–	10		.615
Air Force		–			–			15	–	10		.600
Loyola (IL)		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Mercer		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Oklahoma City		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Boston College		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Butler		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Saint Francis (PA)		–			–			15	–	11		.577
South Carolina		–			–			16	–	12		.571
Siena		–			–			13	–	10		.565
Navy		–			–			14	–	11		.560
Milwaukee		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Niagara		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Northeastern		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Southern Mississippi		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Portland State		–			–			14	–	13		.519
Stetson		–			–			14	–	13		.519
Oral Roberts		–			–			13	–	14		.481
Xavier		–			–			13	–	14		.481
Cleveland State		–			–			12	–	13		.480
Tennessee State		–			–			11	–	12		.478
Catholic		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Georgia Southern		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Northwestern State		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Connecticut		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Old Dominion		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Vermont		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Boston University		–			–			10	–	15		.400
Hardin–Simmons		–			–			10	–	16		.385
Campbell		–			–			9	–	15		.375
Centenary (LA)		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Denver		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Colgate		–			–			9	–	17		.346
East Carolina		–			–			9	–	17		.346
Long Island		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Saint Peter's		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Charleston Southern		–			–			8	–	19		.296
Samford		–			–			8	–	19		.296
Canisius		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Houston Baptist		–			–			7	–	19		.269
New Hampshire		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Wagner		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Evansville		–			–			1	–	3		.250
Fairleigh Dickinson		–			–			6	–	18		.250
Valparaiso		–			–			6	–	19		.240
Robert Morris		–			–			4	–	19		.174
Richmond		–			–			4	–	22		.154
Hawaii		–			–			1	–	26		.037
Rankings from AP Poll

After playing as members of the Southern Conference for the previous 41 season, William & Mary became an Independent.

Additionally, this was the final season of William & Mary's athletics teams bearing the Indian nickname. The following season, the college's athletic teams became the Tribe.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
11/25/1977*		vs. VCU Spider Classic	W 55–44	1–0	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
11/26/1977*		vs. Saint Joseph's Spider Classic	L 60–69	1–1	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
11/28/1977*		Christopher Newport	W 86–68	2–1	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
11/30/1977*		West Virginia	W 72–61	3–1	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
12/3/1977*		Radford	W 72–61	4–1	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
12/7/1977*		No. 2 North Carolina	W 78–75	5–1	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
12/9/1977*		vs. Cal State Fullerton Cougar Classic	W 67–62	6–1	Marriott Center  Provo, Utah
12/10/1977*		vs. Montana Cougar Classic	W 61–60	7–1	Marriott Center  Provo, Utah
12/28/1977*		at Stetson Tangerine Bowl	W 61–60	8–1	Edmunds Center  DeLand, Florida
12/29/1977*		vs. Rollins Tangerine Bowl	W 79–66	9–1	Edmunds Center  DeLand, Florida
1/7/1978*		East Carolina	L 56–58	9–2	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
1/10/1978*		at Rutgers	L 71–79	9–3	Rutgers Athletic Center  Piscataway, New Jersey
1/14/1978*		Richmond	W 75–43	10–3	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
1/17/1978*		at East Carolina	W 77–76	11–3	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum  Greenville, North Carolina
1/21/1978*		American	L 67–73	11–4	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
1/25/1978*		at Davidson	W 65–56	12–4	Johnston Gym  Davidson, North Carolina
1/28/1978*		at Old Dominion	L 63–64	12–5	ODU Fieldhouse  Norfolk, Virginia
2/1/1978*		VCU	L 62–73	12–6	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
2/4/1978*		George Mason	W 94–73	13–6	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
2/7/1978*		at Navy	W 70–62	14–6	Halsey Field House  Annapolis, Maryland
2/11/1978*		James Madison	L 66–68	14–7	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
2/15/1978*		vs. VMI	L 59–60	14–8	Holland Hall Gymnasium  Hampton, Virginia
2/18/1978*		at Richmond	W 59–48	15–8	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
2/20/1978*		No. 17 Virginia	L 49–62	15–9	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
2/22/1978*		at South Carolina	L 54–67	15–10	Carolina Coliseum  Columbia, South Carolina
2/25/1978*		Old Dominion	W 75–64	16–10	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, Virginia
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source