1979–80 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 66th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Metro Conference and were coached by Denny Crum. The team played home games at Freedom Hall.

1979–80 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
ConferenceMetro Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 2
Record33–3 (12–0 Metro)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFreedom Hall
1979–80 Metro Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 2 Louisville †12–0 1.00033–3  .917
Virginia Tech8–4 .66721–8  .724
Florida State7–5 .58322–9  .710
Memphis State5–7 .41713–14  .481
Saint Louis4–8 .33312–15  .444
Cincinnati3–9 .25013–15  .464
Tulane3–9 .25010–17  .370
† 1980 Metro Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The team completed a 33–3 record and brought Louisville basketball their first NCAA national championship when they defeated UCLA 59–54, led by Darrell Griffith and his 23 points.

Roster
1979–80 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 5 Jerry Eaves 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoBallard Louisville, Kentucky
G 15 Greg Deuser 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoFloyd Central New Albany, Indiana
F 21 Scooter McCray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoMount Vernon Mount Vernon, New York
F/C 22 Rodney McCray 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrMount Vernon Mount Vernon, New York
G 23 Tony Branch (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg) SrElston Michigan City, Indiana
F 24 Daryl Cleveland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrThomas County Central Thomasville, Georgia
G 34 Roger Burkman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrFranklin Central Indianapolis, Indiana
G 35 Darrell Griffith (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrLouisville Male Louisville, Kentucky
C 40 Marty Pulliam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg) SoMercer Country Senior Harrodsburg, Kentucky
C 41 Wiley Brown 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) SoWorth County Sylvester, Georgia
F 43 Derek Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoHogansville Hogansville, Georgia
G/F 44 Poncho Wright 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoMarshall Indianapolis, Indiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
December 1*
 No. 10 South Alabama W 75-73  1–0
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
December 5*
 No. 14 Tennessee Chattanooga W 87-63  2-0
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
December 8*
 No. 14 at Tennessee W 77-75  3–0
 Stokely Athletic Center ([2])
Knoxville, Tennessee
December 13*
 No. 12 UNC-Charlotte
Holiday Classic		 W 93-76  4–0
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
December 14*
 No. 12 Western Kentucky
Holiday Classic		 W 96-74  5–0
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
December 19*
 No. 11 No. 2 Ohio State W 75-65  6–0
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
December 22*
 No. 11 at Utah L 69-71  6-1
 Jon M. Huntsman Center ([2])
Salt Lake City
December 28*
 No. 12 vs. Princeton
Hawaii Rainbow Classic		 W 64-53  7-1
  ([2])
Honolulu, Hawaii
December 29*
 No. 12 vs. Illinois
Hawaii Rainbow Classic		 L 65-77  7-2
  ([2])
Honolulu, Hawaii
December 30*
 No. 12 vs. Nebraska
Hawaii Rainbow Classic		 W 65-58  8-2
  ([2])
Honalulu, Hawaii
January 3
 No. 15 at Tulsa W 78-58  9-2
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
January 5
 No. 15 Kansas St. W 85-73  10-2
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
January 8
 No. 11 St. Louis W 94-65  11–2 (1–0)
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
January 12
 No. 11 at Memphis St. W 69-48  12–2 (2-0)
 Mid-South Coliseum ([2])
Memphis, Tennessee
January 19
 No. 7 at Tulane W 76-59  13–2 (3-0)
 Avron B. Fogelman Arena ([2])
New Orleans
January 22
 No. 7 Marquette W 76-63  14–2 (3–0)
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
January 25
 No. 7 at St. Louis W 99-74  15–2 (4–0)
 Kiel Auditorium ([2])
St. Louis
January 27
 No. 7 Florida St. W 79-73  16–2 (5-0)
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
January 31
 No. 7 Tulane W 64-60  17–2 (6-0)
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
February 3
 No. 7 at No. 9 St. John's W 76-71  18-2 (6–0)
 Alumni Hall ([2])
Queens, New York
February 4
 No. 7 Memphis St. W 88-60  19-2 (7-0)
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
February 6
 No. 3 Cincinnati W 88-73  20-2 (8-0)
 Freedom Hall (10,001[2])
Louisville, Kentucky
February 9
 No. 3 at Providence W 79-73  21-2 (8-0)
 Providence Civic Center ([2])
Providence, Rhode Island
February 11
 No. 3 at Virginia Tech W 56-54 OT 22-2 (9-0)
 Cassell Coliseum ([2])
Blacksburg, Virginia
February 14
 No. 3 at West Virginia W 90-78  23-2 (9-0)
 WVU Coliseum ([2])
Morgantown, West Virginia
February 16
 No. 3 at Cincinnati W 61-57  24-2 (10-0)
 Riverfront Coliseum ([2])
Cincinnati, Ohio
February 18
 No. 3 Virginia Tech W 77-72  25-2 (11-0)
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
February 21
 No. 2 vs. Iona L 60-77  25-3 (11-0)
 Madison Square Garden ([2])
New York City
February 24
 No. 2 at Florida St. W 83-75  26-3 (12-0)
  ([2])
Tallahassee, Florida
1980 Metro Conference tournament
February 29
 No. 4 Memphis St.
Metro Conference tournament Semi-Final		 W 84-65  27-3 (12-0)
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
March 1
 No. 4 Florida St.
Metro Conference tournament championship		 W 81-72  28–3 (12-0)
 Freedom Hall ([2])
Louisville, Kentucky
1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
March 8
 No. 2 (MW2) vs. No. MW7 Kansas St.
Second Round		 W 71-69 OT 29-3 (12-0)
  ([2])
Lincoln, Nebraska
March 14
 No. 2 (MW2) vs. No. MW6 Texas A&M
Midwest Regional Semi-Final (Sweet Sixteen)		 W 66-55 OT 30-3 (12-0)
  ([2])
Houston, Texas
March 16
 No. 2 (MW2) vs. No. 3 (MW1) Louisiana St.
Midwest Regional Championship (Elite Eight)		 W 86-66  31-3 (12-0)
  ([2])
Houston, Texas
March 22
 No. 2 (MW2) vs. No. E5 Iowa
National semifinal (Final Four)		 W 80-72  32-3 (12-0)
 Market Square Arena ([2])
Indianapolis
March 24*
 No. 2 (MW2) vs. No. W8 UCLA
National Championship Game		 W 59-54  33-3 (12-0)
 Market Square Arena ([2])
Indianapolis
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings
See also: 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP1014121112151177733242

NCAA basketball tournament

Midwest region
First round Second round Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
8 Alcorn State 70
9 South Alabama 62
8 Alcorn State 88
1 LSU 98
1 LSU 68
5 Missouri 63
4 Notre Dame 84*
5 Missouri 87
5 Missouri 61
12 San Jose State 51
1 LSU 66
2 Louisville 86
6 Texas A&M 55
11 Bradley 53
6 Texas A&M 78
3 North Carolina 61**
6 Texas A&M 55*
2 Louisville 66
2 Louisville 71
7 Kansas State 69*
7 Kansas State 71
10 Arkansas 53

Final Four
National semifinals National Finals
      
E5 Iowa 72
MW2 Louisville 80
MW2 Louisville 59
W8 UCLA 54
ME6 Purdue 62
W8 UCLA 67 National third-place game
E5 Iowa 58
ME6 Purdue 75

[3]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA
YearRoundPickPlayerNBA Club
198012Darrell GriffithUtah Jazz
1983236Scooter McCraySeattle SuperSonics
198313Rodney McCrayHouston Rockets
1982235Derek SmithGolden State Warriors

[5]

References
  1. sports-reference.com 1979-80 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. "Louisville Basketball Media Guide". University of Louisville.
  3. "1980 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket and Results". Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  4. "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  5. "1980 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
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