Wikipedia

1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1978–79 college basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Don DeVoe, the team played their home games at the Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers finished with a record of 21–12 (12–6 SEC, 2nd) and, after winning the SEC tournament, received an automatic bid to the 1979 NCAA tournament as the 8 seed in the Mideast region. After an opening round win over Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee was defeated by No. 1 seed Notre Dame.

1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
SEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Second round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast
Record21–12 (12–6 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaStokely Athletic Center
Seasons
← 1977–78
1979–80 →
1978–79 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 LSU 14 – 4   .778 23 – 6   .793
Tennessee † 12 – 6   .667 21 – 12   .636
Vanderbilt 11 – 7   .611 18 – 9   .667
Alabama 11 – 7   .611 22 – 11   .667
Mississippi State 11 – 7   .611 19 – 9   .679
Kentucky 10 – 8   .556 19 – 12   .613
Georgia 7 – 11   .389 14 – 14   .500
Ole Miss 6 – 12   .333 11 – 16   .407
Auburn 5 – 13   .278 13 – 16   .448
Florida 3 – 15   .167 8 – 19   .296
† 1979 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll[1]

This was the first of five straight seasons of NCAA Tournament basketball for the Tennessee men's program.

Roster edit

1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F/C 32 Reggie Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Atlanta, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[2]

Schedule and results edit

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Dec 2, 1978*
 at No. 5 Louisville L 61–82  0–1
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 5, 1978*
 East Carolina W 89–71  1–1
 Stokely Center 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 9, 1978*
 Ohio State L 78–86  1–2
 Stokely Center 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 15, 1978*
 Niagara W 100–80  2–2
 Stokely Center 
 
Dec 16, 1978*
 Xavier L 50–51  2–3
 Stokely Center 
 
Dec 22, 1978*
 vs. San Jose State W 73–68  3–3
 Toso Pavilion 
 
Dec 23, 1978*
 vs. Seton Hall W 94–80  4–3
 Toso Pavilion 
 
Dec 27, 1978*
 vs. Utah
Rainbow Classic 		L 71–80  4–4
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 28, 1978*
 vs. Fordham
Rainbow Classic 		W 83–58  5–4
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 30, 1978*
 vs. Boston College
Rainbow Classic 		L 72–74  5–5
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 3, 1979
 at Ole Miss W 72–67  6–5
(1–0) 		Tad Smith Coliseum 
Oxford, Mississippi
Feb 24, 1979
 at Auburn W 60–55  18–11
(12–6) 		Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, Alabama
SEC tournament
Mar 2, 1979*
 Chesley-TPC 		vs. Auburn
Semifinals 		W 75–64  19–11
 BJCC Coliseum 
Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 3, 1979*
 Chesley-TPC 		vs. Kentucky
Championship game 		W 75–69 OT 20–11
 BJCC Coliseum 
Birmingham, Alabama
NCAA tournament
Mar 9, 1979*
 (8 ME) No. 20 vs. (9 ME) Eastern Kentucky
First round 		W 97–81  20–11
 Murphy Center 
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Mar 11, 1979*
 (8 ME) No. 20 vs. (1 ME) No. 5 Notre Dame
Second round 		L 67–73  20–12
 Murphy Center (10,982)
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
ME=Mideast.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[3] [4]

Rankings edit

Main article: 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

[5]

NBA draft edit

Main article: 1979 NBA draft
Round Pick Player NBA Club
3 62 Terry Crosby Kansas City Kings

[6]

References edit

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1978-79 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1978-79 Men's Basketball Roster". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "1978-79 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "2019-20 Tennessee Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  5. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 899–900. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  6. ^ "1979 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
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