1978–79 BYU Cougars men's basketball team

The 1978–79 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 1978–79 college basketball season. This was head coach Frank Arnold's 4th season at BYU. The Cougars reached the NCAA tournament and finished the season with a record of 20–8, 10–2 in the Western Athletic Conference.

1978–79 BYU Cougars men's basketball
WAC champion
NCAA Tournament, Second round
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record20-8 (10-2 WAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMarriott Center
Seasons
← 1977–78
1978–79 WAC men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
BYU102 .833208 .714
Utah93 .7502010 .667
New Mexico84 .6671910 .655
Wyoming57 .4171512 .556
San Diego State48 .3331512 .556
UTEP39 .2501115 .423
Colorado State39 .2501116 .407
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

1978–79 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G22Danny Ainge6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg)SoEugene, Oregon
F34Fred Roberts6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)220 lb (100 kg)FrRiverton, Utah
F35Devin Durrant6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg)FrProvo, Utah
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 24, 1978*
HawaiiW 93–69 1–0
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Nov 25, 1978*
Portland StateW 111–82 2–0
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Dec 1, 1978*
at BaylorW 92–86 3–0
Heart O' Texas Coliseum 
Waco, Texas
Dec 2, 1978*
at No. 13 TexasL 57–96 3–1
Frank Erwin Center 
Austin, Texas
Dec 6, 1978*
Utah StateW 99–80 4–1
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Dec 8, 1978*
Saint Joseph'sW 90–71 5–1
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Dec 9, 1978*
PurdueW 76–64 6–1
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Dec 14, 1978*
at Rhode IslandL 76–85 6–2
Providence Civic Center 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Dec 16, 1978*
at St. John'sL 83–90 6–3
Alumni Hall 
New York, New York
Dec 21, 1978*
HarvardW 113–72 7–3
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Dec 23, 1978*
Oral RobertsW 120–104 8–3
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Dec 29, 1978*
vs. Georgia TechL 81–83 8–4
Met Center 
Bloomington, Minnesota
Dec 30, 1978*
vs. HoustonW 84–77 9–4
Met Center 
Bloomington, Minnesota
Jan 4, 1979*
DenverW 92–53 10–4
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Jan 6, 1979*
at Utah StateL 68–84 10–5
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum 
Logan, Utah
Jan 11, 1979
UTEPW 80–56 11–5
(1–0)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Jan 13, 1979
New MexicoW 100–83 12–5
(2–0)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Jan 20, 1979
at UtahW 90–76 13–5
(3–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 25, 1979
at Colorado StateW 98–83 14–5
(4–0)
Moby Arena 
Fort Collins, Colorado
Jan 27, 1979
at WyomingL 69–71 14–6
(4–1)
War Memorial Fieldhouse 
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 3, 1979
San Diego StateW 88–80 15–6
(5–1)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Feb 9, 1979
at New MexicoL 65–66 15–7
(5–2)
University Arena 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 10, 1979
at UTEPW 77–68 16–7
(6–2)
Special Events Center 
El Paso, Texas
Feb 17, 1979
UtahW 76–50 17–7
(7–2)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Feb 22, 1979
WyomingW 78–73 18–7
(8–2)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Feb 24, 1979
Colorado StateW 66–61 19–7
(9–2)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Mar 2, 1979
at San Diego StateW 96–95 20–7
(10–2)
San Diego Sports Arena 
San Diego, California
NCAA Tournament
Mar 11, 1979*
(5 W) vs. (4 W) No. 19 San Francisco
Second round
L 63–86 20–8
McKale Center 
Tucson, Arizona
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.

[2]

References