1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1978–79 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Digger Phelps and played their home games at the Joyce Center .
After reaching the school's first Final Four the previous season, Notre Dame entered the season with high expectations and a No. 3 preseason ranking (AP). One of five teams to hold the No. 1 ranking during season, the Irish earned the #1 seed in the Mideast Region of the 1979 NCAA Tournament , but were defeated by eventual the eventual NCAA champions, Michigan State , in the regional final. Notre Dame finished the season with a record of 24–6.
Roster
1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
12
Rich Branning
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Jr
Marina
Huntington Beach, CA
G
24
Chris Fabian
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Sr
Haddonfield
Haddonfield, NJ
F/C
34
Bruce Flowers
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
Berkley
Huntington Woods, MI
G/F
42
Bill Hanzlik
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Jr
Beloit
Beloit, WI
G
11
Tim Healy
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Jr
Cardinal Gibbons
Fort Lauderdale, FL
F
30
Tracy Jackson
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
So
Paint Branch
Silver Spring, Maryland
C
52
Bill Laimbeer
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Sr
Palos Verdes Owens CC
Palos Verdes, CA
C
55
Gilbert Salinas
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
So
San Antonio, Texas
F
44
Kelly Tripucka
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
So
Bloomfield
Essex Fells, New Jersey
C
32
Orlando Woolridge
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
So
Mansfield
Mansfield, Louisiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 2, 1978 *
No. 3
Valparaiso
W 87–57
1–0
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 4, 1978 *
No. 3
Rice
W 105–61
2–0
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 6, 1978 *
No. 3
Northwestern
W 101–57
3–0
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 9, 1978 *
No. 3
at No. 2 UCLA
W 81–78[ 1] [ 2]
4–0
Pauley Pavilion (12,721)Los Angeles, California
Dec 27, 1978 *
No. 2
Saint Francis (PA)
W 96–43
5–0
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 30, 1978 *
No. 2
vs. No. 13 Kentucky
L 76–81
5–1
Freedom Hall (16,869)Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 6, 1979 *
No. 2
at Villanova
W 75–64
6–1
The Palestra (9,208)Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 8, 1979 *
No. 2
at Davidson
W 95–63
7–1
Charlotte Coliseum (6,783)Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 13, 1979 *
No. 2
at No. 13 Marquette
W 65–60
8–1
MECCA Arena (10,938)Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jan 16, 1979 *
No. 1
Lafayette
W 91–66
9–1
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 18, 1979 *
No. 1
San Francisco
W 88–69
10–1
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 20, 1979 *
No. 1
South Carolina
W 82–73
11–1
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 24, 1979 *
No. 1
Fordham
W 85–53
12–1
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 27, 1979 *
No. 1
at Maryland
L 66–67
12–2
Cole Fieldhouse (14,500)College Park, Maryland
Jan 30, 1979 *
No. 1
Brown
W 80–53
13–2
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 1, 1979 *
No. 1
Xavier
W 66–57
14–2
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 3, 1979 *
No. 1
Dayton
W 86–71
15–2
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 5, 1979 *
No. 1
Loyola-Chicago
W 84–66
16–2
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 7, 1979 *
No. 1
at North Carolina State
W 53–52
17–2
Reynolds Coliseum (12,400)Raleigh, North Carolina
Feb 11, 1979 *
No. 1
No. 4 UCLA
L 52–56[ 3]
17–3
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 15, 1979 *
No. 3
at Manhattan
W 86–63
18–3
Draddy Gymnasium (18,106)Bronx, New York
Feb 17, 1979 *
No. 3
at West Virginia
W 70–54
19–3
WVU Coliseum (15,118)Morgantown, West Virginia
Feb 21, 1979 *
No. 3
Oklahoma City
W 88–60
20–3
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 24, 1979 *
No. 3
La Salle
W 93–70
21–3
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 26, 1979 *
No. 3
East Carolina
W 89–72
22–3
Joyce Center (11,345)Notre Dame, Indiana
Mar 2, 1979 *
No. 2
at No. 15 DePaul
L 72–76
22–4
Alumni Hall (5,556)Chicago, Illinois
Mar 4, 1979 *
No. 2
at Michigan
L 59–62
22–5
Pontiac Silverdome (37,283)Ann Arbor, Michigan
NCAA Tournament
Mar 11, 1979 *
(1 ME) No. 5
vs. (8 ME) No. 20 Tennessee Second Round
W 73–67
23–5
Murphy Center (10,982)Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Mar 16, 1979 *
(1 ME) No. 5
vs. (5 ME) No. 19 Toledo Mideast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 79–71
24–5
Market Square Arena (16,823)Indianapolis, Indiana
Mar 18, 1979 *
(1 ME) No. 5
vs. (2 ME) No. 3 Michigan State Mideast Regional final – Elite Eight
L 68–80
24–6
Market Square Arena (17,423)Indianapolis, Indiana
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
ME=Mideast.
[ 4]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final AP 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 5 4 Coaches 3 — — 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 5 Not released
^Coaches did not release week 1 or week 2 polls.
[ 5]
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics
Information related to 1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team