1978–79 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) former Big Eight Conference at that time. The team posted a 21–10 overall record and a 10–4 conference record to finish first in the Conference for head coach Dave Bliss. This was the only Big Eight Conference Regular Season Championship for Bliss.[2]

1978–79 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball
Big 8 Conference Regular Season Champions
Big 8 Conference Tournament Champions
ConferenceBig 8 Conference
Ranking
APNo. 16
Record21–10 (10–4 Big 8)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Les Fertig
  • John Underwood
Home arenaLloyd Noble Center (Capacity: 11,528)
1978–79 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 16 Oklahoma104 .7142110  .677
Missouri86 .5711315  .464
Kansas State86 .5711612  .571
Kansas86 .5711811  .621
Nebraska77 .5001413  .519
Iowa State68 .4291116  .407
Oklahoma State59 .3571215  .444
Colorado410 .2861413  .519
1979 Big Eight tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The team was led by Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year John McCullough. Despite losing two of three games in the Big Eight Conference Pre-Season Tournament, the team posted a 10–4 record during the conference regular season and won all three of its games during the Big Eight Conference Post-Season Tournament. Because of the conference tournaments, the team played both Kansas and Kansas State four times. It swept the season series with Kansas State and split the season series with Kansas. The team also played Nebraska three times, only winning the home game. The team reached the sweet sixteen round of the 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament by beating Texas before losing to Indiana State.[3]

The Sooners' appearance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament marked their first participation in the event since 1947.

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
November 25, 1978*
Oklahoma City L 75–81  0–1
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
November 28, 1978*
at Baylor W 78–75  1–1
Heart O' Texas Coliseum 
Waco, TX
December 2, 1978*
at Arkansas L 74–80  1–2
Barnhill Arena 
Fayetteville, AR
December 5, 1978*
No. 13 Texas W 71–65  2–2
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
December 9, 1978*
Louisiana Tech W 84–68  3–2
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
December 12, 1978*
Pepperdine W 92–66  4–2
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
December 15, 1978*
vs. Auburn
Big Sun Classic
L 70–78  4–3
Bayfront Center 
St. Petersburg, FL
December 16, 1978*
vs. South Florida
Big Sun Classic
W 86–73  5–3
Bayfront Center 
St. Petersburg, FL
December 19, 1978*
Cal State Bakersfield W 100–75  6–3
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
December 27, 1978*
vs. Kansas State
Big Eight Holiday Tournament
W 62–61  7–3
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
December 29, 1978*
vs. No. 18 Kansas
Big Eight Holiday Tournament
L 75–86  7–4
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
December 30, 1978*
vs. Nebraska
Big Eight Holiday Tournament
L 53–69  7–5
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
January 10, 1979
No. 15 Kansas W 68–45  8–5
(1–0)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
January 13, 1979
at Missouri L 67–73  8–6
(1–1)
Hearnes Center 
Columbia, MO
January 17, 1979
Oklahoma State
Bedlam Series
W 64–59  9–6
(2–1)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
January 20, 1979
Colorado W 72–64  10–6
(3–1)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
January 24, 1979
at Nebraska L 56–74  10–7
(3–2)
Bob Devaney Sports Center 
Lincoln, NE
January 27, 1979
Iowa State W 98–83  11–7
(4–2)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
January 31, 1979
at Kansas State W 70–62  12–7
(5–2)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, KS
February 3, 1979
Missouri W 80–76  13–7
(6–2)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
February 7, 1979
at Oklahoma State
Bedlam Series
W 74–67  14–7
(7–2)
Gallagher Hall 
Stillwater, OK
February 10, 1979
at Kansas L 62–74  14–8
(7–3)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
February 14, 1979
Nebraska W 79–58  15–8
(8–3)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
February 17, 1979
at Colorado W 67–62  16–8
(9–3)
Balch Fieldhouse 
Boulder, CO
February 21, 1979
at Iowa State L 65–66  16–9
(9–4)
Hilton Coliseum 
Ames, IA
February 24, 1979
Kansas State W 65–52  17–9
(10–4)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
Big Eight tournament
February 27, 1979
(1) (8) Colorado
First Round
W 77–57  18–9
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
March 2, 1979
(1) vs. (4) Kansas State
Semifinal
W 72–68  19–9
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
March 3, 1979
(1) vs. (3) Kansas
Championship
W 80–65  20–9
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
NCAA tournament
March 11, 1979*
(5 MW) vs. (4 MW) No. 15 Texas
Second Round
W 90–76  21–9
Moody Coliseum 
Dallas, TX
March 15, 1979*
(5 MW) vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Indiana State
Sweet Sixteen
L 72–93  21–10
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region MW=Midwest.

[4]

Honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

The following players were drafted in the 1979 NBA draft:[6][7]

RoundPickPlayerNBA Club
485John McCulloughKansas City Kings

The following letter winners from this team were drafted in the NBA draft in subsequent years (all in the 1980 NBA draft): Terry Stotts (2nd, 38th, Houston Rockets), Al Beal (3rd, 63rd Milwaukee Bucks), and Aaron Curry (5th, 98th, New Jersey Nets).[8][9]

See also

References

  1. sports-reference.com 1978-79 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
  2. "Conference Championships". SoonerStats.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  3. "1979 Men's Basketball Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
  4. "1978-79 Oklahoma Sooners Men's Basketball". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  5. "Oklahoma 2009-10 Men's Basketball Guide" (PDF). CBS Interactive. p. 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  6. "Sooners in NBA Draft". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  7. "1979 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  8. "Sooners in NBA Draft". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  9. "Oklahoma 2009-10 Men's Basketball Guide" (PDF). CBS Interactive. pp. 168–169. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
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