1979–80 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Weber State College during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Wildcats were led by fifth-year head coach Neil McCarthy and played their home games on campus at Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.

1979–80 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 17 [1]
Record26–3 (13–1 Big Sky)
Head coach
Home arenaDee Events Center
1979–80 Big Sky men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 17 Weber State †13–1 .92926–3  .897
Idaho9–5 .64317–10  .630
Montana8–6 .57117–11  .607
Montana State7–7 .50014–12  .538
Nevada5–9 .35710–19  .345
Idaho State5–9 .3579–17  .346
Northern Arizona5–9 .35714–12  .538
Boise State4–10 .28610–16  .385
† Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

They were 24–2 overall in the regular season and 13–1 in conference play,[2][3] won the regular season title (by four games), and the conference tournament.[4][5] The sole conference loss was at Idaho, the league runner-up,[6][7] which broke an 18-game winning streak and dropped Weber's poll ranking (AP, UPI) from 15 to 17.[8][9]

The Wildcats appeared in the first five finals of the conference tournament and this was the third consecutive title.

Ranked seventeenth in both major polls,[1] Weber State earned the Big Sky's berth in the expanded 48-team NCAA tournament. They were seeded seventh in the West region and hosted the subregional in Ogden, but were upset by a point by Lamar.[10][11]

All-conference

Senior guard Bruce Collins was a unanimous selection to the all-conference team, becoming the seventh player to be named in three consecutive years. Joining him for a second straight year was senior forward Richard Johnson. On the second team was senior center Richard Smith and senior guard Mark Mattos; forward Gerald Mattinson and sophomore reserve guard Todd Harper were honorable mention.[12][13][14][15]

A four-year starter, Collins scored over two thousand points for the Wildcats, including 32 in his final game, the NCAA loss to Lamar.[10] He was edged out for player of the year honors by guard Don Newman of Idaho,[16] which had finished last in each of the previous five seasons.

Postseason results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Big Sky tournament
Fri, Feb 29
7:00 pm		 (1) No. 16 (4) Montana State
Semifinal		 W 93–70  25–2
 Dee Events Center (8,089)
Ogden, Utah
Sat, March 1
8:00 pm		 (1) No. 16 (3) Montana
Final		 W 50–42  26–2
 Dee Events Center (8,247)
Ogden, Utah
NCAA tournament
Thu, March 6*
9:37 pm		 (7W) No. 17 (10W) Lamar
First round		 L 86–87  26–3
 Dee Events Center (11,505)
Ogden, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain time.

References
  1. "AP poll, UPI poll". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). AP, UPI. March 4, 1980. p. 4C.
  2. "College standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 3, 1980. p. 4B.
  3. Ewer, Bill (February 28, 1980). "Weber puts record on line in BSC playoffs". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B9.
  4. "Weber rallies for tournament title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 2, 1980. p. 3D.
  5. "1979-80 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  6. Robinson, Doug (February 1, 1980). "UI stops Weber win streak". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 4B.
  7. Van Sickel, Charlie (February 1, 1980). "Monson outcoaches rival in big Idaho upset". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 23.
  8. Robinson, Doug (February 4, 1980). "Weber starting a new streak". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B3.
  9. "DePaul reigns, BYU up to 14th". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). wire services. February 5, 1980. p. 2B.
  10. Rock, Brad (March 7, 1980). "Comeback 'Cats fall a point short". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 4B.
  11. "Lamar surprises struggling Weber State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 7, 1980. p. 4C.
  12. "Newman named All Big Sky". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 6, 1980. p. 3C.
  13. "Collins, Newman picked for Big Sky All-Stars". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. March 6, 1980. p. 25.
  14. "Collins tops all Big Sky cage team". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. March 6, 1981. p. D1.
  15. "Intercollegiate athletics". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1980. p. 22, part 4.
  16. "MVP: Idaho's Newman named top player in Big Sky". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 8, 1980. p. 2C.
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