1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Indiana Hoosiers[1]
NCAA Tournament	1980
Tournament dates	March 6 – 24, 1980
National Championship	Market Square Arena Indianapolis
NCAA Champions	Louisville Cardinals
Helms National Champions	Louisville Cardinals
Other champions	Virginia Cavaliers (NIT)
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden)	Mark Aguirre, DePaul (Wooden) Darrell Griffith, Louisville (Naismith)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Darrell Griffith, Louisville
NCAA Division I basketball seasons «1978–79  1980–81»

The 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 17, 1979, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 24, 1980, at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. The Louisville Cardinals won their first NCAA national championship with a 59–54 victory over the UCLA Bruins.

Rule changes[]

• Officials were ordered to more strictly enforce foul rules already on the books, including bench decorum, hand-checking and charging fouls.
• Any mistaken attempt to call a time-out after a team runs out of time-outs results in a technical foul and two free throws for the opposing team. The rule would figure prominently in the outcome of the 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

Season headlines[]

• ESPN launched in November as the first all-sports television network.^[2] It took advantage of college basketball's rapidly growing popularity to begin a highly profitable relationship with the NCAA which greatly expanded television coverage of college basketball in the United States.^[2]
• The basketball-centered original Big East Conference began play.^[2] Working closely with ESPN, it rapidly developed a reputation as a powerhouse of college basketball and a dominating force in the sport.^[2]
• The NCAA Tournament expanded from 40 to 48 teams.^[3]
• ESPN televised 23 games of the 1980 NCAA Tournament, becoming the first television network to broadcast the early rounds of an NCAA Tournament.^[3]
• Louisville's "doctors of dunk" brought Denny Crum his first NCAA title with a 59–54 win over surprise finalist UCLA and coach Larry Brown. Wooden Award winner Darrell Griffith was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
• The first year of the Ralph Sampson era ended with a Virginia Cavaliers National Invitation Tournament championship – a 58–55 win over Minnesota. Sampson, a 7-foot-4-inch (224 cm) freshman center, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Season outlook[]

Pre-season polls[]

The top 20 from the AP Poll and UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[4]

'Associated Press' Ranking Team 1 Indiana (28) 2 Kentucky (5) 3 Duke (18) 4 Ohio State (7) 5 Notre Dame (1) 6 North Carolina 7 Louisiana State 8 UCLA 9 DePaul 10 Louisville 11 Purdue 12 Syracuse 13 Virginia 14 Texas A&M 15 Brigham Young 16 St. John's 17 Oregon State 18 Marquette 19 Georgetown 20 Kansas

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Indiana 2 Ohio State 3 Notre Dame 4 North Carolina 5 Kentucky 6 Duke 7 UCLA 8 Louisiana State 9 DePaul Virginia 11 Purdue 12 Syracuse 13 Texas A&M 14 Louisville 15 St. John's 16 Oregon State 17 Brigham Young 18 Iowa 19 Marquette 20 UNLV

Regular season[]

Conference winners and tournaments[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner[5]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Maryland	Albert King, Maryland[6]	1980 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	Duke
Big East Conference	Georgetown, St. John's & Syracuse	John Duren, Georgetown[7]	1980 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament	Providence Civic Center (Providence, Rhode Island)	Georgetown
Big Eight Conference	Missouri	Rolando Blackman, Kansas State[8]	1980 Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri) (Semifinals and Finals)	Kansas State
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	Don Newman, Idaho[9]	1980 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Dee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)	Weber State
Big Ten Conference	Indiana	None Selected	No Tournament
East Coast Conference	St. Joseph's (East) Lafayette (West)	Michael Brooks, La Salle		The Palestra (Philadelphia)	La Salle
Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8)	Villanova, Duquesne & Rutgers	Earl Belcher, St. Bonaventure[10]	1980 Eastern 8 Men's Basketball Tournament	Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)	Villanova
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)	Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season (see note)		1980 ECAC Metro Region Tournament	Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, New York)	Iona
			1980 ECAC South Men's Basketball Tournament	Hampton Coliseum (Hampton, Virginia)	Old Dominion
ECAC North	Boston University & Northeastern	Rufus Harris, Maine & Ron Perry, Holy Cross[11]	1980 ECAC North Men's Basketball Tournament	Hart Center (Worcester, Massachusetts)	Holy Cross
Ivy League	Penn	, Brown[12]	No Tournament
Metro Conference	Louisville	Darrell Griffith, Louisville	1980 Metro Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Freedom Hall (Louisville, Kentucky)	Louisville
Mid-American Conference	Toledo	, Toledo[13]	1980 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament	Crisler Arena (Ann Arbor, Michigan)	Toledo
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	North Carolina A&T State	James Ratiff, Howard		Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	North Carolina A&T State
Midwestern City Conference	Loyola (IL)	Calvin Garrett, Oral Roberts[14]	1980 Midwestern City Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Roberts Municipal Stadium (Evansville, Indiana)	Oral Roberts
Missouri Valley Conference	Bradley	Lewis Lloyd, Drake[15]	1980 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Robertson Memorial Field House (Peoria, Illinois)	Bradley
Ohio Valley Conference	Murray State & Western Kentucky	, Murray State[16]		E. A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, Kentucky)	Western Kentucky
Pacific-10 Conference	Oregon State	Don Collins, Washington State[17]	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Utah State	, Utah State[18]	1980 PCAA Men's Basketball Tournament	Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, California)	San Jose State
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	Kyle Macy, Kentucky[19]	1980 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament	Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, Alabama)	LSU
Southern Conference	Furman	Jonathan Moore, Furman[20]	1980 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Roanoke Civic Center (Roanoke, Virginia)	Furman
Southland Conference	Lamar	Andrew Toney, Southwestern Louisiana[21]	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	Texas A&M	Ron Baxter, Texas & Terry Teagle, Baylor	1980 Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	HemisFair Arena (San Antonio, Texas)	Texas A&M
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Alcorn State	Larry Smith, Alcorn State[22]			Alcorn State
Sun Belt Conference	South Alabama	James Ray, Jacksonville[23]	1980 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals)	VCU
Trans America Athletic Conference	Northeast Louisiana	, Centenary[24]	1980 TAAC Men's Basketball Tournament	Ewing Coliseum (Monroe, Louisiana)	Centenary
West Coast Athletic Conference	St. Mary's & San Francisco	Kurt Rambis, Santa Clara[25]	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	BYU	None Selected	No Tournament

Note: 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 1980 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did. The ECAC North was a separate, conventional conference.^[26]

Informal championships[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Philadelphia Big 5	Saint Joseph's	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders[]

Points Per Game				Rebounds Per Game				Field Goal Percentage				Free Throw Percentage
Player	School	PPG		Player	School	RPG		Player	School	FG%		Player	School	FT%
Tony Murphy	Southern	32.1		Larry Smith	Alcorn St.	15.1		Steve Johnson	Oregon St.	71.0			George Washington	92.9
Lewis Lloyd	Drake	30.2		Lewis Lloyd	Drake	15.0		Ron Charles	Michigan St.	67.6			The Citadel	92.5
Harry Kelly	TX Southern	29.0		Rickey Brown	Mississippi St.	14.4			Centenary	66.6		Kyle Macy	Kentucky	91.2
	New Mexico	28.0		Monti Davis	Tenn. St.	13.3		Roosevelt Bouie	Syracuse	65.4			Maryland	90.8
	Eastern Kentucky	27.2			Murray St.	12.3			Florida St.	64.6			Gonzaga	89.2

Post-Season tournaments[]

NCAA tournament[]

Final Four[]

Played at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana

	National Semifinals					National Finals
	E5	Iowa	72
	MW2	Louisville	80
						MW2	Louisville	59
						W8	UCLA	54
	ME6	Purdue	62
	W8	UCLA	67

• Third Place – Purdue 75, Iowa 58

National Invitation Tournament[]

NIT semifinals and final[]

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

	Semifinals					Finals
		UNLV	71
		Virginia	90
							Virginia	58
							Minnesota	55
		Minnesota	65
		Illinois	63

• Third Place – Illinois 84, UNLV 74

Awards[]

Consensus All-American teams[]

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Mark Aguirre	F	Sophomore	DePaul
Michael Brooks	F	Senior	La Salle
Joe Barry Carroll	C	Senior	Purdue
Darrell Griffith	G	Senior	Louisville
Kyle Macy	G	Senior	Kentucky

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Mike Gminski	C	Senior	Duke
Albert King	F	Junior	Maryland
Mike O'Koren	F	Senior	North Carolina
Kelvin Ransey	G	Senior	Ohio State
Sam Worthen	G	Senior	Marquette

Major player of the year awards[]

• Wooden Award: Darrell Griffith, Louisville
• Naismith Award: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• Helms Player of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Louisville
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• UPI Player of the Year: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• NABC Player of the Year: Michael Brooks, La Salle
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• Adolph Rupp Trophy: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Louisville

Major coach of the year awards[]

• Associated Press Coach of the Year: Ray Meyer, DePaul
• Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Ray Meyer, DePaul
• NABC Coach of the Year: Lute Olson, Iowa
• UPI Coach of the Year: Ray Meyer, DePaul
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: Lute Olson, Iowa

Other major awards[]

• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Jim Sweeney, Boston College
• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Michael Brooks, La Salle
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jeff Ruland, Iona

Coaching changes[]

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after the season ended.^[27]

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Alabama	C. M. Newton		Wimp Sanderson	Newton resigned to take the same position at Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt
Akron	Ken Cunningham		Bob Rupert
Army	Mike Krzyzewski		Pete Gaudet
Baptist
Boise State
Cal State Fullerton	Bobby Dye
Colorado State	Jim Williams
Cornell	Ben Bluitt		Tom Miller
Duke	Bill Foster		Mike Krzyzewski[28]	Duke hired the untested Krzyzewski after a 9–17 season at Army.
Fairleigh Dickinson			Don Feeley
Florida			Norm Sloan
George Mason			Joe Harrington
Georgia Southern
Hofstra	Joe Harrington
Iona	Jim Valvano		Pat Kennedy
Iowa State	Lynn Nance		Johnny Orr	Nance resigned mid-season after an 8–10 start.
Lafayette	Roy Chipman
Lamar	Billy Tubbs		Pat Foster
Loyola (IL)	Jerry Lyne		Gene Sullivan
Loyola Marymount	Ron Jacobs		Ed Goorjian
Michigan	Johnny Orr		Bill Frieder
Navy			Paul Evans
Nebraska	Joe Cipriano		Moe Iba	Iba took the helm after Cipriano died of cancer in November 1980.[29]
Nevada-Reno			Sonny Allen
Niagara
NC State	Norm Sloan		Jim Valvano	Sloan resigned at NC State to take over at Florida, his alma mater, to rebuild the Gators as they moved into their new arena.
Northwestern Louisiana	Tynes Hildebrand		Wayne Yates
Ohio	Dale Bandy		Danny Nee
Oklahoma	Dave Bliss		Billy Tubbs
Pittsburgh	Tim Grgurich		Roy Chipman
Purdue	Lee Rose		Gene Keady
San Francisco
South Carolina	Frank McGuire		Bill Foster	Hall of Fame coach McGuire retired after 30 years of coaching.
South Carolina State
South Florida			Lee Rose	Conner was fired in January[30] and later replaced with Rose – fresh off of a Final Four at Purdue.
Southern Methodist	Sonny Allen		Dave Bliss
Southern Utah
Tennessee Tech
Tulsa	Jim King		Nolan Richardson	King resigned due to family concerns in February.[31] Tulsa hired reigning NJCAA championship coach Richardson.
UC Irvne
Valparaiso			Tom Smith
Western Kentucky	Gene Keady		Clem Haskins
Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Bob Gottlieb

References[]