1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
---|---|
Preseason AP No. 1 | Michigan Wolverines[1][2] |
NCAA Tournament | 1977 |
Tournament dates | March 12 – 27, 1977 |
National Championship | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
NCAA Champions | Marquette Warriors |
Helms National Champions | Marquette Warriors |
Other champions | St. Bonaventure (NIT) |
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden) | Marques Johnson, UCLA |
Player of the Year (Helms) | Marques Johnson, UCLA |
The 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1976, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1977 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 27, 1977, at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. The Marquette Warriors won their first NCAA national championship with a 67–59 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Rule changes[]
The slam dunk, prohibited in NCAA basketball games and warm-ups since the 1967–68 season because of criticism that it rewarded height rather than skill, once again became legal after a nine-season absence.[3][4]
Season headlines[]
- In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its 11th of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
Season outlook[]
Pre-season polls[]
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[5][6]
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Conference membership changes[]
The Eastern Collegiate Basketball League, with eight members, and the Sun Belt Conference, with six members, both began play this season. The ECBL, popularly known as the "Eastern 8," became the Eastern Athletic Association the following season and eventually became the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Yankee Conference dropped all sports except football at the end of the previous season, and seven of its members left the conference before this season began.
Although Chattanooga joined the Southern Conference this season, it still was considered a Division II program. It completed its transition to Division I status after the conclusion of the season.
School | Former Conference | New Conference |
---|---|---|
Boston University Terriers | Yankee Conference | Division I independent |
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | Division I independent | Pacific Coast Athletic Association |
UNC Charlotte 49ers | Division I independent | Sun Belt Conference |
Chattanooga Mocs | Division II independent | Southern Conference |
Connecticut Huskies | Yankee Conference | Division I independent |
Creighton Bluejays | Division I independent | Missouri Valley Conference |
Duquesne Dukes | Division I independent | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League |
Florida State Seminoles | Division I independent | Metro Conference |
George Washington Colonials | Division I independent | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League |
Georgia State Panthers | Division I independent | Sun Belt Conference |
Indiana State Sycamores | Division I independent | Missouri Valley Conference |
Jacksonville Dolphins | Division I independent | Sun Belt Conference |
Maine Black Bears | Yankee Conference | Division I independent |
Marshall Thundering Herd | Division I independent | Southern Conference |
Massachusetts Minutemen | Yankee Conference | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League |
New Hampshire Wildcats | Yankee Conference | Division I independent |
New Orleans Privateers | Division I independent | Sun Belt Conference |
Penn State Nittany Lions | Division I independent | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League |
Pittsburgh Panthers | Division I independent | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League |
Portland Pilots | Division I independent | West Coast Athletic Conference |
Rhode Island Rams | Yankee Conference | Division I independent |
Richmond Spiders | Southern Conference | Division I independent |
Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Division I independent | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League |
South Alabama Jaguars | Division I independent | Sun Belt Conference |
South Florida Bulls | Division I independent | Sun Belt Conference |
Rhode Island Rams | Yankee Conference | Division I independent |
Vermont Catamounts | Yankee Conference | Division I independent |
West Virginia Mountaineers | Division I independent | Eastern Collegiate Basketball League |
Western Carolina Catamounts | Non-Division I independent | Southern Conference |
Regular season[]
Conference winners and tournaments[]
From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of Northeastern colleges and universities, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1977 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.[7]
Conference | Regular Season Winner[8] |
Conference Player of the Year |
Conference Tournament |
Tournament Venue (City) |
Tournament Winner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic Coast Conference | North Carolina | Rod Griffin, Wake Forest[9] | 1977 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament | Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina) |
North Carolina |
Big Eight Conference | Kansas State | Kim Anderson, Missouri, & Mike Evans, Kansas State[10] |
1977 Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri) (Semifinals and Finals) |
Kansas State |
Big Sky Conference | Idaho State | None selected | 1977 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | ISU Minidome (Pocatello, Idaho) |
Idaho State |
Big Ten Conference | Michigan | None Selected | No Tournament | ||
East Coast Conference | Hofstra & Temple (East) Lafayette (West) |
Rich Laurel, Hofstra | Kirby Sports Center (Easton, Pennsylvania) |
Hofstra | |
Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (Eastern 8) | Rutgers (East) Penn State & West Virginia (West) |
Norm Nixon, Duquesne | 1977 Eastern 8 Men's Basketball Tournament | The Spectrum (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
Duquesne |
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) |
Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season |
Tony Hanson, Connecticut[11] | 1977 ECAC Metro Region Tournament | Madison Square Garden (New York, New York) |
St. John's |
1977 ECAC New England Region Tournament | Hartford Civic Center (Hartford, Connecticut) |
Holy Cross | |||
1977 ECAC Southern Region Tournament | Campus sites | Syracuse | |||
Ivy League | Princeton | , Princeton[12] | No Tournament | ||
Metro Conference | Louisville | Gary Yoder, Cincinnati | 1977 Metro Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | Mid-South Coliseum (Memphis, Tennessee) |
Cincinnati |
Mid-American Conference | Central Michigan | , Northern Illinois[13] | No Tournament | ||
Missouri Valley Conference | New Mexico State & Southern Illinois | Roger Phegley, Bradley | 1977 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | Levitt Arena (Wichita, Kansas) |
Southern Illinois |
Ohio Valley Conference | Austin Peay | Otis Howard, Austin Peay | Dunn Center (Clarksville, Tennessee) (Semifinals and Finals) |
Middle Tennessee | |
Pacific-8 Conference | UCLA | Marques Johnson, UCLA | No Tournament | ||
Pacific Coast Athletic Association | Long Beach State & San Diego State | , Long Beach State | 1977 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Men's Basketball Tournament | Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, California) |
Long Beach State |
Southeastern Conference | Kentucky & Tennessee | Ernie Grunfeld, Tennessee, & Bernard King, Tennessee[14] | No Tournament | ||
Southern Conference | Furman & VMI | Ron Carter, VMI[15] | 1977 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | Roanoke Civic Center (Roanoke, Virginia) (Semifinals and Finals) |
VMI[16] |
Southland Conference | Southwest Louisiana | , Arkansas State[17] | No Tournament | ||
Southwest Conference | Arkansas | Otis Birdsong, Houston | 1977 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | The Summit (Houston, Texas) |
Arkansas |
Sun Belt Conference | UNC Charlotte | Cedric Maxwell, UNC Charlotte[18] | 1977 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) (Finals) |
UNC Charlotte |
West Coast Athletic Conference | San Francisco | Bill Cartwright, San Francisco | No Tournament | ||
Western Athletic Conference | Utah | None Selected | No Tournament |
Informal championships[]
Conference | Regular Season Winner |
Conference Player of the Year |
Conference Tournament |
Tournament Venue (City) |
Tournament Winner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Big 5 | Penn & Temple | None selected | No Tournament |
Statistical leaders[]
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Post-Season Tournaments[]
NCAA Tournament[]
Final Four[]
National Semifinals | National Finals | ||||||||
E | North Carolina | 84 | |||||||
W | UNLV | 83 | |||||||
E | North Carolina | 59 | |||||||
MW | Marquette | 67 | |||||||
ME | UNC Charlotte | 49 | |||||||
MW | Marquette | 51 |
- Third Place – UNLV 106, UNC Charlotte 94
National Invitation Tournament[]
Semifinals & Finals[]
Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
Alabama | 76 | ||||||||
Houston | 82 | ||||||||
Houston | 91 | ||||||||
St. Bonaventure | 94 | ||||||||
Villanova | 82 | ||||||||
St. Bonaventure | 86 |
- Third Place – Villanova 102, Alabama 89
Awards[]
Consensus All-American teams[]
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Kent Benson | C | Senior | Indiana |
Otis Birdsong | G | Senior | Houston |
Phil Ford | G | Junior | North Carolina |
Rickey Green | G | Senior | Michigan |
Marques Johnson | F | Senior | UCLA |
Bernard King | F | Junior | Tennessee |
Player | Position | Class | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Greg Ballard | F | Senior | Oregon |
Bill Cartwright | C | Sophomore | San Francisco |
Rod Griffin | G | Junior | Wake Forest |
Ernie Grunfeld | F | Senior | Tennessee |
Phil Hubbard | F | Senior | Michigan |
Butch Lee | G | Junior | Marquette |
Mychal Thompson | F/C | Junior | Minnesota |
Major player of the year awards[]
- Wooden Award: Marques Johnson, UCLA
- Naismith Award: Marques Johnson, UCLA
- Helms Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA
- Associated Press Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA
- UPI Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA
- NABC Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA
- Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Marques Johnson, UCLA
- Adolph Rupp Trophy: Marques Johnson, UCLA
- Sporting News Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA
Major coach of the year awards[]
- Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bob Gaillard, San Francisco
- Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Eddie Sutton, Arkansas
- NABC Coach of the Year: Dean Smith, North Carolina
- UPI Coach of the Year: Bob Gaillard, San Francisco
- Sporting News Coach of the Year: Lee Rose, UNC Charlotte
Other major awards[]
- Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): , Utah
- Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Keven McDonald, Penn
- NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Rich Laurel, Hofstra
Coaching changes[]
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A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
Team | Former Coach |
Interim Coach |
New Coach |
Reason |
---|---|---|---|---|
Austin Peay | Lake Kelly | |||
Hardin–Simmons | ||||
Marquette | Al McGuire | Hank Raymonds | ||
Marshall | Bob Daniels | Stu Aberdeen | ||
Oral Roberts | Jerry Hale | Lake Kelly | ||
Tennessee | Ray Mears | Don DeVoe |
References[]
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank, "When college basketball outlawed the dunk," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 2014 Accessed April 6, 2021
- ^ Burnsed, Brian, "A Brief History of Men's College Basketball," Champion, Fall 2018 Accessed April 6, 2021
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
- ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
- ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
- ^ Carson, Chris, "UConn Basketball: The Top 50 Players in School History," Bleacher Report, November 8, 2011 Accessed April 3, 2021
- ^ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01
- ^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
- ^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
- ^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
- ^ 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
- 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season