1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team were coached by Joe B. Hall. The team finished the season with a 30–2 record and SEC Championship and won the 1978 NCAA Championship over the Duke Blue Devils, 94–88. Hall remarked before the title game that "This season was without celebration for us."[2]

Rick Robey, James Lee and Jack Givens celebrate winning the title.

1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
SEC regular season champions
ConferenceSoutheast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record30–2 (16–2 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
CaptainJack Givens
Rick Robey
Home arenaRupp Arena
1977–78 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 1 Kentucky162 .889302  .938
Mississippi State135 .722189  .667
LSU126 .667189  .667
Alabama117 .6111710  .630
Florida810 .4441512  .556
Auburn810 .4441314  .481
Tennessee612 .3331116  .407
Vanderbilt612 .3331017  .370
Georgia513 .2781116  .407
Ole Miss513 .2781017  .370
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Season summary

Those who witnessed it call Jack Givens' 41 point game against Duke in the 1978 NCAA championship game one of the finest performances in the game's history. Givens made 18-of-27 shots in leading Kentucky to its fifth national championship and first in 20 years. This team also had a pair of bruising frontcourt players in Mike Phillips and Rick Robey and a great point guard in Kyle Macy. The Wildcats went on exhibition tour of Japan in June following the season's end.

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
November 26*
No. 2 SMU W 110–86  1–0
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 5*
No. 1 Indiana
Indiana–Kentucky rivalry
W 78–64  2–0
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 10*
No. 1 at No. 19 Kansas W 73–66  3–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
December 12*
No. 1 South Carolina W 84–65  4–0
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 16*
No. 1 Portland State
UK Invitation Tournament
W 114–88  5–0
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 17*
No. 1 St. John's
UK Invitation Tournament
W 102–72  6–0
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 23*
No. 1 Iona W 104–65  7–0
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 31*
No. 1 No. 4 Notre Dame W 73–68[3]  8–0
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
January 2
No. 1 Vanderbilt W 72–59  9–0
(1–0)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
January 7
No. 1 at Florida W 86–67  10–0
(2–0)
 
Gainesville, FL
January 9
No. 1 at Auburn W 101–77  11–0
(3–0)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, AL
January 14
No. 1 LSU W 96–76  12–0
(4–0)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
January 16
No. 1 Ole Miss W 76–56  13–0
(5–0)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
January 21
No. 1 at Mississippi State W 75–65  14–0
(6–0)
 
Starkville, MS
January 23
No. 1 at Alabama L 62–78  14–1
(6–1)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, AL
January 30
No. 1 Georgia W 90–73  15–1
(7–1)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 4
No. 1 Florida W 88–61  16–1
(8–1)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 6
No. 1 Auburn W 104–81  17–1
(9–1)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 11
No. 1 at LSU L 94–95 OT 17–2
(9–2)
LSU Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, LA
February 13
No. 1 at Ole Miss W 64–52  18–2
(10–2)
 
Oxford, MS
February 15
No. 3 Tennessee W 90–77  19–2
(11–2)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 18
No. 3 Mississippi State W 58–56  20–2
(12–2)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 20
No. 3 Alabama W 97–84  21–2
(13–2)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 25
No. 2 at Tennessee W 68–57  22–2
(14–2)
Stokely Athletic Center 
Knoxville, TN
February 27
No. 2 at Georgia W 78–67  23–2
(15–2)
 
Athens, GA
March 4*
No. 1 UNLV W 92–70  24–2
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
March 6
No. 1 at Vanderbilt W 78–68  25–2
(16–2)
 
Nashville, TN
March 11*
No. 1 vs. No. 13 Florida State
NCAA tournament
W 85–76  26–2
Stokely Athletic Center 
Knoxville, TN
March 16*
No. 1 vs. No. 19 Miami (OH)
NCAA Tournament
W 91–69  27–2
University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, OH
March 18*
No. 1 vs. No. 4 Michigan State
NCAA Tournament
W 52–49  28–2
University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, OH
March 25*
No. 1 vs. No. 5 Arkansas
NCAA Tournament
W 64–59  29–2
Checkerdome 
St. Louis, MO
March 27*
No. 1 vs. No. 7 Duke
NCAA Championship
W 94–88  30–2
Checkerdome 
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[4]

Statistics

[4]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

RoundPickPlayerNBA Club
13Rick RobeyIndiana Pacers
116Jack GivensAtlanta Hawks
239James LeeSeattle SuperSonics

[6]

References

  1. sports-reference.com 1977-78 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  2. "A Season Without Celebration: Hall." Schenectady Gazette. 1978 Mar 27. Retrieved 2015-May-24.
  3. "Kentucky Rally Tops Notre Dame, 73‐68". The New York Times. January 1, 1978. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  4. 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball media guide Archived 2014-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-May-24.
  5. "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  6. "1978 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
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