1979–80 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1979–80 Ohio State Buckeyes basketball Ohio State Buckeyes Logo 1898-1978.png 125 Big Ten Conference Big Ten 9 10 21–8 12–6 Eldon Miller 4th St. John Arena NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen The 1979–80 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by 4th-year head coach Eldon Miller, the Buckeyes played their home games at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. With a loaded roster that had five future NBA players, Ohio State spent all but one week of the season ranked in the AP top ten. The Buckeyes went into the regular season finale tied with Indiana in the conference standings, but fell to the Hoosiers on the road in overtime. Likely under-seeded, the team received a bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 4 seed in the West region. After handling No. 5 seed Arizona State in the round of 32, the Buckeyes were upset in the Sweet Sixteen by No. 8 seed and eventual Final Four participant UCLA, 72–68. Ohio State finished with a record of 21–8 (12–6 Big Ten). Senior guard Kelvin Ransey was named a Consensus second-team All-American and was selected as the No. 4 pick in the 1980 NBA draft. Roster 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes y Granville Waiters 13 C 6 11 215 Fr y Columbus, Ohio Kelvin Ransey 14 G 6 1 170 Sr y Toledo, Ohio Herb Williams 32 C 6 9 250 Jr y Columbus, Ohio Clark Kellogg 33 F 6 7 220 Fr y Cleveland, Ohio Bryant Johnson F 6 7 So y handballer Washington, D.C. Jim Smith 23 F 6 9 220 Jr y basketball, born 1958 Cleveland, Ohio Eldon Miller (Wittenberg) https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/ohio-state/1980.html 1979-80 Ohio State Buckeyes Roster and Stats February 17, 2023 Schedule/results no yes no yes |- !colspan=9 style=Ohio State Buckeyes| Non-conference regular season Dec 1, 1979 yes 4 Ohio St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 78–51 1–0 Dec 8, 1979 yes yes 3 1979 men Stetson Hatters Stetson Edmunds Center DeLand, Florida 69–50 2–0 Dec 10, 1979 yes yes 3 1979 men West Virginia Mountaineers West Virginia WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia 72–55 3–0 Dec 13, 1979 yes 3 1979 men Cal Poly Pomona Broncos Cal Poly Pomona St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 87–46 4–0 Dec 15, 1979 yes yes 3 Holy Cross Hart Center Worcester, Massachusetts 79–63 5–0 Dec 19, 1979 yes yes 2 Louisville 11 Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky 65–75 5–1 Dec 22, 1979 yes 2 Tennessee St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 91–65 6–1 Dec 29, 1979 yes 7 1979 men Northwestern State Demons Northwestern State St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 71–46 7–1 |- !colspan=9 style=Ohio State Buckeyes| Big Ten Regular season Jan 3, 1980 5 Indiana 11 St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 59–58 8–1 1–0 Jan 5, 1980 5 Purdue 8 St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 67–58 9–1 2–0 Jan 10, 1980 yes 3 Iowa 12 Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa 77–71 13,365 10–1 3–0 Jan 12, 1980 yes 3 1979 men Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois 75–63 11–1 4–0 Jan 17, 1980 2 Minnesota St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 75–70 12–1 5–0 Jan 19, 1980 yes 2 Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan 74–75 12–2 5–1 Jan 24, 1980 yes 4 Illinois Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 79–76 13–2 6–1 Jan 26, 1980 4 Wisconsin St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 71–72Wisconsin badgers Bucks The Daily Sentinel January 27, 1980 26 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35846044/wisconsin_badgers_bucks/ Newspapers.com February 18, 2023 13–3 6–2 Jan 27, 1980 yes 4 Virginia 17 St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 70–65 14–3 Jan 31, 1980 6 Michigan State St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 54–74 14–4 6–3 Feb 2, 1980 yes 6 Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin 67–70 14–5 6–4 Feb 7, 1980 Michigan St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 66–63 15–5 7–4 Feb 9, 1980 Michigan State St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 71–59 16–5 8–4 Feb 14, 1980 yes 9 Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 70–74 16–6 8–5 Feb 16, 1980 9 Illinois St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 71–57 17–6 9–5 Feb 21, 1980 11 Northwestern St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 68–59 18–6 10–5 Feb 23, 1980 11 Iowa St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 70–69 19–6 11–5 Feb 28, 1980 yes 9 Purdue 18 Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana 64–60 20–6 12–5 Mar 2, 1980 yes 9 Indiana 13 Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana 73–76 OT 20–7 12–6 |- !colspan=9 style=Ohio State Buckeyes|NCAA tournament Mar 9, 1980 yes yes 10 4W Arizona State 18 5W ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona Second Round 89–75Ohio State Jolts Arizona State https://www.nytimes.com/1980/03/10/archives/ohio-state-jolts-arizona-state-ohio-state-advances-ohio-state-five.html The New York Times March 10, 1980 February 18, 2023 21–7 Mar 13, 1980 yes yes 10 4W UCLA 8W McKale Center Tucson, Arizona West Regional Semifinal Sweet Sixteen 68–72UCLA, Clemson West Finalists https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1980/03/14/ucla-clemson-west-finalists/0149e3eb-702e-45a1-8ffd-1430a43e0e6c/ The Washington Post March 14, 1980 February 18, 2023 21–8 AP Poll W West 2022-23 Ohio State Men's Basketball Media Guide https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-23-Ohio-State-Mens-Basketball-Meida-Information-Record-Book-SM.pdf Ohio State University Athletics 154 February 18, 2023 Rankings 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 866–867 2009 0-345-51392-4 References Category:Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball seasons Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball