1979–80 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1979–80 Louisville Cardinals Louisville Cardinals text logo.svg Metro Conference (1975–1995) Metro 4 2 33–3 12–0 Denny Crum 9th Bill Olsen Wade Houston Jerry Jones Freedom Hall NCAA tournament National ChampionsMetro Conference tournament championsMetro Conference champions National Championship Game W Won 59–54 vs. UCLA The 1979–80 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 66th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Metro Conference and were coached by Denny Crum. The team played home games at Freedom Hall. The team completed a 33–3 record and brought Louisville basketball their first NCAA national championship when they defeated UCLA 59–54, led by Darrell Griffith and his 23 points. Roster 1979 Louisville Cardinals y y Jerry Eaves 5 G 6 4 180 SO Louisville, Kentucky y Ballard Greg Deuser 15 G 6 0 170 SO New Albany, Indiana Floyd Central Scooter McCray 21 F 6 8 185 SO Mount Vernon, New York USA y Mount Vernon Rodney McCray basketball 22 F-C 6 7 220 FR Mount Vernon, New York USA y Mount Vernon Tony Branch 23 G 6 0 175 SR Michigan City, Indiana Elston C Daryl Cleveland 24 F 6 7 190 JR Thomasville, Georgia Thomas County Central Roger Burkman 34 G 6 5 175 JR y Indianapolis, Indiana Franklin Central Darrell Griffith 35 G 6 4 190 SR Louisville, Kentucky y Louisville Male C Marty Pulliam 40 C 6 9 225 SO Harrodsburg, Kentucky Mercer Country Senior Wiley Brown 41 C 6 8 220 SO Sylvester, Georgia y Worth County Derek Smith basketball 43 F 6 6 205 SO Hogansville, Georgia y Hogansville Poncho Wright 44 G-F 6 5 195 SO Indianapolis, Indiana Marshall Steve Clark 25 F 6 5 196 FR Louisville, Kentucky Thomas Jefferson W Denny Crum (UCLA) Jerry Jones Bill Olsen Wade Houston 2012-02-12 Schedule no |- !colspan=12| Regular Season December 1 yes 10 South Alabama Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 75–73 1–0 December 5 yes 14 Tennessee Chattanooga Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 87–63 2–0 December 8 yes y 14 Tennessee Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee 77–75 3–0 December 13 yes 12 UNC-Charlotte Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky Holiday Classic 93–76 4–0 December 14 yes 12 Western Kentucky Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky Holiday Classic 96–74 5–0 December 19 yes 11 Ohio State 2 Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 75–65 6–0 December 22 yes y 11 Utah Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City 69–71 6–1 December 28 yes y 12 Princeton Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii Rainbow Classic 64–53 7–1 December 29 yes y 12 Illinois Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii Rainbow Classic 65–77 7–2 December 30 yes y 12 Nebraska Honalulu, Hawaii Hawaii Rainbow Classic 65–58 8–2 January 3 y n 15 Tulsa Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 78–58 9–2 January 5 y 15 Kansas St. Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 85–73 10–2 January 8 11 St. Louis Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 94–65 11–2 (1–0) January 12 yes 11 Memphis St. Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee 69–48 12–2 (2–0) January 19 y 7 Tulane Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans 76–59 13–2 (3–0) January 22 y 7 Marquette Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 76–63 14–2 (3–0) January 25 y 7 St. Louis Kiel Auditorium St. Louis 99–74 15–2 (4–0) January 27 7 Florida St. Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 79–73 16–2 (5–0) January 31 7 Tulane Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 64–60 17–2 (6–0) February 3 y y 7 St. John's 9 Alumni Hall Queens, New York 76–71 18–2 (6–0) February 4 7 Memphis St. Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 88–60 19–2 (7–0) February 6 3 Cincinnati Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 88–73 20–2 (8–0) February 9 yes 3 Providence Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island 79–73 21–2 (8–0) February 11 y 3 Virginia Tech Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, Virginia 56–54 OT 22–2 (9–0) February 14 y y 3 West Virginia WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia 90–78 23–2 (9–0) February 16 yes 3 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio 61–57 24–2 (10–0) February 18 3 Virginia Tech Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 77–72 25–2 (11–0) February 21 y 2 Iona Madison Square Garden New York City 60–77 25–3 (11–0) February 24 yes 2 Florida St. Tallahassee, Florida 83–75 26–3 (12–0) |- !colspan=9| 1980 Metro Conference tournament February 29 4 Memphis St. Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky Metro Conference tournament Semi-Final 84–65 27–3 (12–0) March 1 4 Florida St. Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky Metro Conference tournament championship Tanner Sports Network 81–72 28–3 (12–0) |- !colspan=9| 1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament March 8 y yes 2 (MW2) Kansas St. MW7 Devaney Center Lincoln, Nebraska Second Round 71–69 OT 29–3 (12–0) March 14 y yes 2 (MW2) Texas A&M MW6 The Summit Houston, Texas Midwest Regional Semi-Final (Sweet Sixteen) 66–55 OT 30–3 (12–0) March 16 y yes 2 (MW2) Louisiana St. 3 (MW1) The Summit Houston, Texas Midwest Regional Championship (Elite Eight) 86–66 31–3 (12–0) March 22 y yes 2 (MW2) Iowa E5 Market Square Arena Indianapolis National semifinal (Final Four) 80–72 32–3 (12–0) March 24 yes yes 2 (MW2) UCLA W8 Market Square Arena Indianapolis National Championship Game 59–54 33–3 (12–0) Rankings 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings 14 AP 10 14 12 11 12 15 11 7 7 7 3 3 2 4 2 NCAA basketball tournament Midwest region Regional semifinals Regional Finals 8 Alcorn State 70 9 South Alabama 62 5 Missouri 61 12 San Jose State 51 6 Texas A&M 55 11 Bradley 53 7 Kansas State 71 10 Arkansas 53 8 Alcorn State 88 1 LSU 98 4 Notre Dame 84* 5 Missouri 87 6 Texas A&M 78 3 North Carolina 61** 2 Louisville 71 7 Kansas State 69* 1 LSU 68 5 Missouri 63 6 Texas A&M 55* 2 Louisville 66 1 LSU 66 2 Louisville 86 Final Four National semifinals National Finals E5 Iowa 72 MW2 Louisville 80 ME6 Purdue 62 W8 UCLA 67 MW2 Louisville 59 W8 UCLA 54 National third-place game E5 Iowa 58 ME6 Purdue 75 http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1980 1980 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket and Results 2012-02-06 Awards and honors Darrell Griffith, NCAA Men's MOP Awardhttp://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/history/outstandingplayer Final Four Most Outstanding Players cbs.sportsline.com 31 March 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080907123518/http://sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/history/outstandingplayer 7 September 2008 Darrell Griffith, All-America selection Team players drafted into the NBA Year Round Pick Player NBA club 1980 1 2 Darrell Griffith Utah Jazz 1983 2 36 Scooter McCray Seattle SuperSonics 1983 1 3 Rodney McCray Houston Rockets 1982 2 35 Derek Smith Golden State Warriors1980 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1980 https://web.archive.org/web/20120209215927/http://databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1980&lg=N 2012-02-09 usurped 2012-02-27 References Louisville Cardinals Category:Louisville Cardinals men's basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Louisville Louisville Cardinals men's basketball, 1979-80 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball, 1979-80 Category:1979 in Louisville, Kentucky Category:1980 in Louisville, Kentucky Category:Long stubs with short prose