1978–79 St. John's Redmen basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 September 2016 1978–79 St. John's Redmen Basketball Independent 17 21–11 Lou Carnesecca (11th season) John Kresse (11th season) Tom Abatemarco (1st season) Ron Rutledge (1st season) Tom Calabrese Alumni HallMadison Square Garden Lapchick Memorial Champions 1979 NCAA tournament Elite Eight The 1978–79 St. John's Redmen basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Lou Carnesecca in his eleventh year at the school. St. John's home games were (and to this day still are) played at Alumni Hall and Madison Square Garden. Roster 1978 St. John's Red Storm n y y Ray James - F 6 7 FR Brooklyn, NY Alexander Hamilton Ed Kennedy - G 5 9 JR Merrick, NY Maria Regina Curtis Redding - G/F 6 5 JR Brooklyn, NY Canarsie/Kansas State yes Tom Calabrese 4 G 6 0 SR Cliffside Park, NJ Cliffside Park C Bernard Rencher 5 G 6 1 JR y Elmhurst, NY Mater Christi/Notre Dame Ron Plair 22 G/F 6 4 SO East Elmhurst, NY William C. Bryant Gordon Thomas 32 G/F 6 4 SR Bay Shore, NY Bay Shore Reggie Carter y 35 G 6 3 JR y New York, NY Long Island Lutheran/Hawaii Rick Bollinger - F/C 6 7 SR Teaneck, NJ River Dell Frank Gilroy 43 F 6 6 SO Whitestone, NY Holy Cross Rudy Wright 44 F 6 7 SR Queens, NY Long Island City Tim Cluess y - G/F 6 6 FR West Hempstead, NY St. Agnes Wayne McKoy y 55 C 6 9 SO Bayside, NY Long Island Lutheran Lou Carnesecca (St. John's, 11th) John Kresse (St. John's, 11th) Tom Abatemarco (Dowling, 1st) Ron Rutledge (St. John's, 1st) Schedule and results no |- !colspan=9 style="background:#FF0000; color:#FFFFFF;"| Regular season 11/24/78 yes American Alumni Hall Queens, NY Lapchick Tournament Opening Round 72-70 1-0 11/25/78 yes Wagner Alumni Hall Queens, NY Lapchick tournament championship 108-91 2-0 11/28/78 yes Wisconsin Alumni Hall Queens, NY 68-73 2-1 12/02/78 yes Princeton Alumni Hall Queens, NY 71-51 3-1 12/07/78 yes Baylor Alumni Hall Queens, NY 83-82 4-1 12/09/78 yes Georgetown 20 Alumni Hall Queens, NY 71-77 4-2 12/12/78 yes yes Columbia Levien Gymnasium New York, NY 77-90 4-3 12/16/78 yes BYU Alumni Hall Queens, NY 90-83 5-3 12/22/78 yes Tennessee Tech Alumni Hall Queens, NY 100-56 6-3 12/29/78 yes yes Rutgers Madison Square Garden New York, NY ECAC Holiday Festival Semifinal 61-72 6-4 12/30/78 yes yes Duke 1 Madison Square Garden New York, NY ECAC Holiday Festival Consolation 69-66 7-4 01/04/79 yes yes Seton Hall Walsh Gymnasium South Orange, NJ 70-76 7-5 01/06/79 yes Temple Alumni Hall Queens, NY 73-74 7-6 01/09/79 yes Baltimore Alumni Hall Queens, NY 75-52 8-6 01/13/79 yes Rutgers Alumni Hall Queens, NY 66-69 8-7 01/16/79 yes yes Villanova The Palestra Philadelphia, PA 74-54 9-7 01/20/79 yes Rhode Island Alumni Hall Queens, NY 70-71 9-8 01/23/79 yes yes Manhattan Alumni Gym Bronx, NY 80-55 10-8 01/28/79 yes yes Saint Joseph's The Palestra Philadelphia, PA 47-40 11-8 01/31/79 yes yes Army USMA Fieldhouse West Point, NY 72-65 12-8 02/03/79 yes Niagara Alumni Hall Queens, NY 80-52 13-8 02/06/79 yes Boston College Alumni Hall Queens, NY 85-76 14-8 02/10/79 yes yes Fordham Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY 66-48 15-8 02/13/79 yes Holy Cross Alumni Hall Queens, NY 82-66 16-8 02/17/79 yes yes Syracuse 7 Manley Field House Syracuse, NY 72-79 16-9 02/24/79 yes Providence Alumni Hall Queens, NY 70-65 17-9 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#FF0000; color:#FFFFFF;"| ECAC Metro tournament 03/01/79 yes Wagner Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY ECAC Metro Semifinal 86-82 OT 18-9 03/03/79 yes Iona Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY ECAC Metro Final 57-63 18-10 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#FF0000; color:#FFFFFF;"| NCAA tournament 03/09/79 yes yes 17 (7) Temple 13 Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC NCAA First Round 75-70 19-10 03/11/79 yes yes 17 (2) Duke 6 Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC NCAA Second Round 80-78 20-10 03/16/79 yes yes 17 (6) Rutgers 18 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC NCAA Sweet Sixteen 67-65 21-10 03/18/79 yes yes 17 (9) Penn 14 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC NCAA Elite Eight 62-64 21-11 Rankings 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings Team players drafted into the NBA Round Pick Player NBA club 2 27 Reggie Carter New York Knicks 10 189 Gordon Thomas New York Knicks References Category:St. John's Red Storm men's basketball seasons Saint John's Saint John Saint John Saint John