1978–79 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1978–79 Louisville Cardinals Basketball Louisville Cardinals text logo.svg Metro Conference (1975–1995) Metro 19 13 24–8 9–1 Denny Crum 8th Bill Olsen Wade Houston Jerry Jones Freedom Hall Metro Conference Champions NCAA Men's Division I Tournament Sweet Sixteen The 1978–79 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 65th 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 24–8 record and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the 1979 NCAA Tournament. Roster 1978 Louisville Cardinals y y Jerry Eaves 5 G 6 4 180 FR Louisville, Kentucky y Ballard Greg Deuser 15 G 6 0 170 FR New Albany, Indiana Floyd Central Scooter McCray 21 F 6 8 185 FR Mount Vernon, New York USA y Mount Vernon Tony Branch 23 G 6 0 175 JR Michigan City, Indiana Elston Daryl Cleveland 24 F 6 7 190 SO Thomasville, Georgia Thomas County Central Roger Burkman 34 G 6 5 175 SO y Indianapolis, Indiana Franklin Central Darrell Griffith 35 G 6 4 190 JR Louisville, Kentucky y Louisville Male Marty Pulliam 40 C 6 9 225 FR Harrodsburg, Kentucky Mercer Country Senior Wiley Brown 41 C 6 8 220 FR Sylvester, Georgia y Worth County Derek Smith basketball 43 F 6 6 205 FR Hogansville, Georgia y Hogansville Poncho Wright 44 G-F 6 5 195 FR Indianapolis, Indiana Marshall Denny Crum (UCLA) Jerry Jones Bill Olsen Wade Houston Schedule |- !colspan=12 style=Louisville Cardinals| Regular season Nov 24, 1978 yes yes 4 1978 men Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State Buckner Fieldhouse Fort Richardson, Alaska Sea Wolf Classic 89–58 1–0 Nov 25, 1978 yes yes 4 1978 men Lamar Cardinals Lamar Buckner Fieldhouse Fort Richardson, Alaska Sea Wolf Classic 90–68 2–0 Nov 26, 1978 yes yes 4 1978 men NC State Wolfpack NC State 12 Buckner Fieldhouse Fort Richardson, Alaska Sea Wolf Classic 66–72 2–1 Dec 2, 1978 yes 5 1978 men Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 82–61 3–1 Dec 6, 1978 yes 7 Michigan 6 Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 86–84 4–1 Dec 9, 1978 yes 7 Idaho Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 101–54 5–1 Dec 12, 1978 yes yes 4 1978 men Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 69–85 5–2 Dec 16, 1978 yes 4 1978 men West Virginia Mountaineers West Virginia Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 106–60 6–2 Dec 23, 1978 yes 12 1978 men Providence Friars Providence Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 88–70 7–2 Dec 28, 1978 yes 10 Wisconsin Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Holiday Classic 70–53 8–2 Dec 29, 1978 yes 10 1978 men Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Holiday Classic 73–80 8–3 Jan 4, 1979 yes 16 1978 men Chattanooga Mocs Chattanooga Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 94–70 9–3 Jan 6, 1979 yes 16 1978 men Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Louisiana-Lafayette Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 73–60 10–3 Jan 8, 1979 yes 16 1978 men Marshall Thundering Herd Marshall Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 112–64 11–3 Jan 13, 1979 yes yes 12 Maryland Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland 99–84 12–3 Jan 16, 1979 yes yes 7 1978 men Dayton Flyers Dayton UD Arena Dayton, Ohio 77–76 13–3 Jan 18, 1979 yes 7 1978 men Cincinnati Bearcats Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio Rivalry 82–77 14–3 1–0 Jan 20, 1979 yes 7 1978 men Florida State Seminoles Florida State Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, Florida 67–65 15–3 2–0 Jan 24, 1979 5 1978 men Saint Louis Billikens Saint Louis Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 80–65 16–3 3–0 Jan 28, 1979 5 Virginia Tech Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 82–72 17–3 4–0 Jan 31, 1979 6 Florida State Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 84–71 18–3 5–0 Feb 3, 1979 6 Cincinnati Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky Rivalry 88–85 19–3 6–0 Feb 5, 1979 6 1978 men Memphis State Tigers Memphis State Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky Rivalry 103–82 20–3 7–0 Feb 8, 1979 yes 5 1978 men Tulane Green Wave Tulane Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana 77–66 21–3 8–0 Feb 10, 1979 yes yes 5 Marquette 9 MECCA Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin 55–71 21–4 Feb 15, 1979 yes 9 Saint Louis St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri 78–62 22–4 9–0 Feb 17, 1979 yes yes 9 Memphis State Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee Rivalry 53–60 22–5 9–1 Feb 18, 1979 yes yes 9 Duke 5 Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina 72–88 22–6 Feb 24, 1979 13 Tulane Freedom Hall Louisville, KY 95–71 23–6 10–1 |- !colspan=12 style=Louisville Cardinals| Metro Conference Tournament Mar 2, 1979 yes yes 13 1 Virginia Tech 4 Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee Metro Tournament Semifinal 68–72 23–7 |- !colspan=12 style=Louisville Cardinals| NCAA Tournament Mar 10, 1979 yes yes 18 3 MW 1978 men South Alabama Jaguars South Alabama 6 MW Moody Coliseum University Park, Texas Second round 69–66 24–7 Mar 15, 1979 yes yes 13 3 MW Arkansas 5 2 MW Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio Regional semifinal 62–73 24–8 AP Eastern MW Midwest http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1980 1980 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket and Results 2012-02-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20120330012645/http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1980 2012-03-30 dead Rankings 1978-79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 856–857 2009 978-0-345-51392-2 Team players drafted into the NBA Louisville Cardinals Year Round Pick Player NBA club 1980 1 2 Darrell Griffith Utah Jazz 1982 2 35 Derek Smith Golden State Warriors 1983 2 36 Scooter McCray Seattle SuperSonics1980 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 Louisville Louisville Cardinals men's basketball, 1978-79 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball, 1978-79 Category:1978 in Louisville, Kentucky Category:1979 in Louisville, Kentucky