1978–79 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1978–79 San Francisco Dons Basketball West Coast Athletic Conference WCAC 17 12 22–7 12–2 Dan Belluomini 1st War Memorial Gymnasium WCAC regular season champions NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen The 1978–79 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team represented the University of San Francisco as a member of the West Coast Athletic Conference during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dons opened the season with a top 20 ranking, but fell out after a couple early season losses. San Francisco battled back to finish the season with a 22–7 record (12–2 WCAC) and a No. 12 ranking in the final AP poll. As champions of the West Coast Athletic Conference, San Francisco played in the NCAA Tournament as No. 4 seed in the West region. To date, this season marks the most recent time the Dons have reached the Sweet Sixteen. Senior center Bill Cartwright was named conference Player of the Year for the third time and received consensus second-team All-American honors. He ended his career with the Dons as the top scorer and shot blocker (since surpassed) in school history and third on the career rebounding list. Roster 1978 San Francisco Dons y Guy Williams 44 F 6 9 190 Fr Oakland, California y basketball Bill Cartwright 24 C 7 1 235 Sr Elk Grove, California y Wallace Bryant 34 C 7 0 230 Fr Gary, Indiana y Dan Belluomini (San Francisco) Schedule and results |- !colspan=9 style=San Francisco Dons| Regular season Nov 25, 1978 yes yes 17 1978 men UC Santa Barbara Gauchos UC Santa Barbara Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, California 91–68 1–0 Nov 28, 1978 yes 15 1978 men Chico State Wildcats Cal State-Chico War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 77–53 2–0 Nov 30, 1978 yes yes 15 1978 men California Golden Bears California Harmon Gym Berkeley, California 76–67 3–0 Dec 2, 1978 yes yes 15 1978 none UNLV Runnin' Rebels Nevada-Las Vegas 18 Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nevada 82–117 3–1 Dec 5, 1978 yes 17 1978 men San Diego State Aztecs San Diego State War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 75–77 3–2 Dec 8, 1978 yes 17 1978 men Stanford Cardinal Stanford War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 87–77 4–2 Dec 9, 1978 yes 17 1978 men Sacramento State Hornets Sacramento State War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 78–59 5–2 Dec 15, 1978 yes 19 Pacific War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California Golden Gate Invitational 69–57 6–2 Dec 16, 1978 yes 19 1978 men Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California Golden Gate Invitational 65–68 6–3 Dec 22, 1978 yes 1978 men San Francisco State Gators San Francisco State War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 79–51 7–3 Dec 23, 1978 yes 1978 men Seattle Pacific Falcons Seattle Pacific War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 90–61 8–3 Dec 30, 1978 yes Texas War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 69–48 9–3 Jan 5, 1979 yes 1978 men Loyola Marymount Lions Loyola Marymount Loyola Memorial Gymnasium Los Angeles, California 95–66 10–3 1–0 Jan 18, 1979 yes yes Notre Dame 1 Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 69–88 13–4 Feb 24, 1979 Loyola Marymount War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 103–69 21–6 12–2 |- !colspan=9 style=San Francisco Dons| NCAA Tournament Mar 11, 1979 yes yes 12 4 W Brigham Young 5 W McKale Center Tucson, Arizona Second Round 86–63 22–6 Mar 15, 1979 yes yes 12 4 W UCLA 2 1 W Marriott Center Provo, Utah West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen 81–99Indiana St., Arkansas, DePaul, UCLA Win https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1979/03/16/indiana-st-arkansas-depaul-ucla-win/1d8f5ff4-4653-4e24-8fb7-56b210909832/ The Washington Post March 16, 1979 September 11, 2022 22–7 AP Poll Pacific Time W West 1979 West Coast Conference Champions https://usfdons.com/sports/2012/8/3/MBB1979Champs.aspx?id=11 University of San Francisco Athletics September 11, 2022 Men's Basketball Yearly Results (1970-80) - University of San Francisco Athletics https://usfdons.com/sports/2014/8/7/MBB_0807140403.aspx#1978-79 University of San Francisco Athletics September 11, 2022 Rankings 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings Awards and honors Bill Cartwright – WCAC Player of the Year (3x), Consensus Second-team All-American Team players drafted into the NBA 1979 NBA draft San Francisco Dons Round Pick Player NBA Club 1 3 Bill Cartwright New York Knickshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1979.html 1979 NBA Draft basketball-reference.com September 11, 2022 References San Francisco Category:San Francisco Dons men's basketball seasons San Francisco San Francisco Dons San Francisco Dons Category:1978 in San Francisco Category:1979 in San Francisco