1979–80 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University for the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by eighth-year head coach George Raveling, the Cougars were members of the Pacific-10 Conference and played their home games on campus at the Performing Arts Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.

1979–80 Washington State Cougars men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First round
ConferencePacific-10
Record22–6 (14–4 Pac-10)
Head coach
Home arenaPerforming Arts Coliseum
Seasons
1979–80 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
^#5 Oregon State 16 2   .889 26 3   .897
No. 18 Arizona State 15 3   .833 22 7   .759
Washington State 14 4   .778 22 6   .786
*UCLA 12 6   .667 17 9   .654
Washington 9 9   .500 18 10   .643
Arizona 6 12   .333 12 15   .444
USC 5 13   .278 12 15   .444
Oregon 5 13   .278 10 17   .370
Stanford 5 13   .278 7 19   .269
California 3 15   .167 8 19   .296
As of April 15, 1980[1]
*Oregon State vacated all tournament games (0–1) due to NCAA sanctions.
Disputed record (16-2, 26-4)
^UCLA vacated all tournament games (5–1) due to NCAA sanctions.
Disputed record (22-10, 12-6)
Rankings from AP Poll

The Cougars were 22–5 overall in the regular season and 14–4 in conference play, third in the standings.

For the first time since its national runner-up finish in 1941, WSU was invited to the 48-team NCAA tournament and were seeded fifth in the Mideast region; they met twelfth seed Penn, the Ivy League champion, in the first round in West Lafayette, Indiana.[2][3] The Cougars had a ten-point lead early in the second half, but it was tied at 51 with just under four minutes to go when Don Collins fouled out and Penn outscored the Cougars eleven to four.[4][5][6]

WSU's next NCAA appearance was three years away in 1983.

Roster

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1979–80 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 42 Don Collins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Toledo, Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Postseason result

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
NCAA Tournament
Thu, March 6*
6:10 pm
(5 ME) vs. (12ME) Penn
First round
L 55–62  22–6
Mackey Arena (12,632)
West Lafayette, Indiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific time.

References

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  1. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ^ Pickett, Todd (March 6, 1980). "Cougs meet Penn today in opening round". Lewiston Morning Tribune. p. 1C.
  3. ^ Missildine, Harry (March 6, 1980). "Cougs venture into Ivy domain". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 23.
  4. ^ Missildine, Harry (March 7, 1980). "Ivy champs poison Cougs' NCAA bid". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 25.
  5. ^ Pickett, Todd (March 7, 1980). "Penn humbles Cougars in NCAA tourney". Lewiston Morning Tribune. p. 1C.
  6. ^ "It's all over for George and WSU". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 7, 1980. p. 1C.
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