1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team
American college basketball season
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The 1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1978–79 college basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Don DeVoe, the team played their home games at the Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers finished with a record of 21–12 (12–6 SEC, 2nd) and, after winning the SEC tournament, received an automatic bid to the 1979 NCAA tournament as the 8 seed in the Mideast region. After an opening round win over Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee was defeated by No. 1 seed Notre Dame.
| 1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball | |
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SEC tournament champions | |
NCAA tournament, Second round | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| East | |
| Record | 21–12 (12–6 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Home arena | Stokely Athletic Center |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 LSU | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 23 | – | 6 | .793 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee † | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 21 | – | 12 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 18 | – | 9 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 22 | – | 11 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 19 | – | 9 | .679 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 19 | – | 12 | .613 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 14 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 13 | – | 16 | .448 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 8 | – | 19 | .296 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 1979 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This was the first of five straight seasons of NCAA Tournament basketball for the Tennessee men's program.
Roster
| 1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| Dec 2, 1978* |
at No. 5 Louisville | L 61–82 | 0–1 |
Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky | |||||||
| Dec 5, 1978* |
East Carolina | W 89–71 | 1–1 |
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee | |||||||
| Dec 9, 1978* |
Ohio State | L 78–86 | 1–2 |
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee | |||||||
| Dec 15, 1978* |
Niagara | W 100–80 | 2–2 |
Stokely Center | |||||||
| Dec 16, 1978* |
Xavier | L 50–51 | 2–3 |
Stokely Center | |||||||
| Dec 22, 1978* |
vs. San Jose State | W 73–68 | 3–3 |
Toso Pavilion | |||||||
| Dec 23, 1978* |
vs. Seton Hall | W 94–80 | 4–3 |
Toso Pavilion | |||||||
| Dec 27, 1978* |
vs. Utah Rainbow Classic |
L 71–80 | 4–4 |
Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii | |||||||
| Dec 28, 1978* |
vs. Fordham Rainbow Classic |
W 83–58 | 5–4 |
Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii | |||||||
| Dec 30, 1978* |
vs. Boston College Rainbow Classic |
L 72–74 | 5–5 |
Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii | |||||||
| Jan 3, 1979 |
at Ole Miss | W 72–67 | 6–5 (1–0) |
Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi | |||||||
| Feb 24, 1979 |
at Auburn | W 60–55 | 18–11 (12–6) |
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama | |||||||
| SEC tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 2, 1979* Chesley-TPC |
vs. Auburn Semifinals |
W 75–64 | 19–11 |
BJCC Coliseum Birmingham, Alabama | |||||||
| Mar 3, 1979* Chesley-TPC |
vs. Kentucky Championship game |
W 75–69 OT | 20–11 |
BJCC Coliseum Birmingham, Alabama | |||||||
| NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 9, 1979* |
(8 ME) No. 20 | vs. (9 ME) Eastern Kentucky First round |
W 97–81 | 20–11 |
Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee | ||||||
| Mar 11, 1979* |
(8 ME) No. 20 | vs. (1 ME) No. 5 Notre Dame Second round |
L 67–73 | 20–12 |
Murphy Center (10,982) Murfreesboro, Tennessee | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
Rankings
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | NBA club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 62 | Terry Crosby | Kansas City Kings |