1978–79 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 November 2016 1978–79 Oklahoma Sooners Basketball Oklahoma Sooners Logo 1966-79.png 150 Big 8 Conference Big 8 16 21–10 10–4 Dave Bliss 4th Les Fertig John Underwood Lloyd Noble Center (Capacity: 11,528) Big 8 Conference Regular Season ChampionsBig 8 Conference Tournament Champions NCAA Division I Tournament Sweet Sixteen The 1978–79 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) former Big Eight Conference at that time. The team posted a 21–10 overall record and a 10–4 conference record to finish first in the Conference for head coach Dave Bliss. This was the only Big Eight Conference Regular Season Championship for Bliss.http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/okla-conf-championships.html Conference Championships July 6, 2010 SoonerStats.com https://web.archive.org/web/20100623042818/http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/okla-conf-championships.html June 23, 2010 dead The team was led by Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year John McCullough. Despite losing two of three games in the Big Eight Conference Pre-Season Tournament, the team posted a 10–4 record during the conference regular season and won all three of its games during the Big Eight Conference Post-Season Tournament. Because of the conference tournaments, the team played both Kansas and 1978 men Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State University Kansas State four times. It swept the season series with Kansas State and split the season series with Kansas. The team also played 1978 men Nebraska Cornhuskers University of Nebraska Nebraska three times, only winning the home game. The team reached the sweet sixteen round of the 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament by beating Texas before losing to Indiana State.http://www.soonerstats.com/basketball/men/seasons/schedule.cfm?SeasonID=1979 1979 Men's Basketball Season July 7, 2010 SoonerStats.com The Sooners' appearance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament marked their first participation in the event since 1947. Schedule |- !colspan=9 style=Oklahoma Sooners| Regular season November 25, 1978 yes 1978 men Oklahoma City Chiefs Oklahoma City Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 75–81 0–1 November 28, 1978 yes yes 1978 none Baylor Bears Baylor Heart O' Texas Coliseum Waco, TX 78–75 1–1 December 2, 1978 yes yes Arkansas Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, AR 74–80 1–2 December 5, 1978 yes 13 Texas Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 71–65 2–2 December 9, 1978 yes 1978 none Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 84–68 3–2 December 12, 1978 yes Pepperdine Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 92–66 4–2 December 15, 1978 yes yes Auburn Bayfront Center St. Petersburg, FL 70–78 Big Sun Classic 4–3 December 16, 1978 yes yes 1978 men South Florida Bulls South Florida Bayfront Center St. Petersburg, FL 86–73 Big Sun Classic 5–3 December 19, 1978 yes 1978 men Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners Cal State Bakersfield Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 100–75 6–3 December 27, 1978 yes yes 1978 men Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO 62–61 Big Eight Holiday Tournament 7–3 December 29, 1978 yes yes 18 Kansas Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO 75–86 Big Eight Holiday Tournament 7–4 December 30, 1978 yes yes 1978 men Nebraska Cornhuskers Nebraska Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO 53–69 Big Eight Holiday Tournament 7–5 January 10, 1979 15 Kansas Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 68–45 1–0 8–5 January 13, 1979 yes 1978 men Missouri Tigers Missouri Hearnes Center Columbia, MO 67–73 1–1 8–6 January 17, 1979 1978 none Oklahoma State Cowboys Oklahoma State Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 64–59 Bedlam Series 2–1 9–6 January 20, 1979 1978 men Colorado Buffaloes Colorado Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 72–64 3–1 10–6 January 24, 1979 yes Nebraska Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, NE 56–74 3–2 10–7 January 27, 1979 Iowa State Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 98–83 4–2 11–7 January 31, 1979 yes Kansas State Ahearn Field House Manhattan, KS 70–62 5–2 12–7 February 3, 1979 Missouri Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 80–76 6–2 13–7 February 7, 1979 yes Oklahoma State Gallagher Hall Stillwater, OK 74–67 Bedlam Series 7–2 14–7 February 10, 1979 yes Kansas Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS 62–74 7–3 14–8 February 14, 1979 Nebraska Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 79–58 8–3 15–8 February 17, 1979 yes Colorado Balch Fieldhouse Boulder, CO 67–62 9–3 16–8 February 21, 1979 yes Iowa State Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA 65–66 9–4 16–9 February 24, 1979 Kansas State Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK 65–52 10–4 17–9 |- !colspan=9 style=Oklahoma Sooners|Big Eight tournament February 27, 1979 1 Colorado 8 Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK First Round 77–57 18–9 March 2, 1979 yes 1 Kansas State 4 Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO Semifinal 72–68 19–9 March 3, 1979 yes 1 Kansas 3 Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO Championship 80–65 20–9 |- !colspan=9 style=Oklahoma Sooners|NCAA tournament March 11, 1979 yes yes 5 MW Texas 15 4 MW Moody Coliseum Dallas, TX Second Round 90–76 21–9 March 15, 1979 yes yes 5 MW Indiana State 1 1 MW Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH Sweet Sixteen 72–93 21–10 AP Poll Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region MW=Midwest 1978-79 Oklahoma Sooners Men's Basketball https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/oklahoma/men/1979-schedule.html Sports Reference March 16, 2023 Honors Big Eight POY: John McCulloughhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010_mbb_guide_section7.pdf July 5, 2010 Oklahoma 2009-10 Men's Basketball Guide 165 CBS Interactive November 12, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121112122651/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010_mbb_guide_section7.pdf dead Team players drafted into the NBA The following players were drafted in the 1979 NBA draft:http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/sooners-in-nba-draft.html Sooners in NBA Draft July 5, 2010 CBS Interactive https://web.archive.org/web/20100718064107/http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/sooners-in-nba-draft.html July 18, 2010 dead mdy-allhttp://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1979&lg=N 1979 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com 2011-03-25 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20110520154458/http://databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1979&lg=N May 20, 2011 Oklahoma Sooners 2 Round Pick Player Position NBA club 485John McCulloughGuardKansas City Kings The following letter winners from this team were drafted in the NBA draft in subsequent years (all in the 1980 NBA draft): Terry Stotts (2nd, 38th, Houston Rockets), Al Beal (3rd, 63rd Milwaukee Bucks), and Aaron Curry (5th, 98th, New Jersey Nets).http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/sooners-in-nba-draft.html Sooners in NBA Draft July 5, 2010 CBS Interactive https://web.archive.org/web/20100718064107/http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/sooners-in-nba-draft.html July 18, 2010 dead mdy-allhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010_mbb_guide_section7.pdf July 5, 2010 Oklahoma 2009-10 Men's Basketball Guide 168–169 CBS Interactive November 12, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121112122651/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010_mbb_guide_section7.pdf dead See also Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball List of Oklahoma Sooners Men's Basketball Conference Championships 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament References Category:Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball seasons Oklahoma Oklahoma