1978–79 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University during the 1978–79 college basketball season.

1978–79 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
Setting up for a free throw vs. NC State, February 14
ACC regular season co-champions
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 11
Record22–8 (9–3 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPJim Spanarkel
CaptainJim Spanarkel
Home arenaCameron Indoor Stadium
Seasons
1978–79 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 9 North Carolina 9 3   .750 23 6   .793
No. 11 Duke 9 3   .750 22 8   .733
Virginia 7 5   .583 19 10   .655
Maryland 6 6   .500 19 11   .633
Clemson 5 7   .417 19 10   .655
NC State 3 9   .250 18 12   .600
Wake Forest 3 9   .250 12 15   .444
1979 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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1978–79 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 12 Vince Taylor 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Lexington, KY
G 14 Rob Hardy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Columbus, OH
F 20 Gene Banks 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Philadelphia, PA
G 21 Bob Bender 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Crown Point, IN
G 22 John Harrell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Durham, NC
G 23 Steve Gray 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Woodland Hills, CA
F 24 Harold Morrison 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr West Orange, NJ
G/F 30 Jim Suddath 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So East Point, GA
F 33 Kenny Dennard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Walnut Cove, NC
G 34 Jim Spanarkel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Jersey City, NJ
C 43 Mike Gminski 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Monroe, CT
C 44 Scott Goetsch 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Chatsworth, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
Compiled from multiple sources[1][2]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
November 25*
No. 1 at Western Kentucky W 78–53  1–0
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
November 27*
No. 1 SMU W 86–80  2–0
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
December 1*
No. 1 vs. No. 6 N.C. State
Big Four Tournament
W 65–63  3–0
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
December 2*
No. 1 vs. No. 14 North Carolina
Big Four Tournament
W 78–68  4–0
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
December 5*
No. 1 La Salle W 66–42  5–0
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
December 13*
No. 1 No. 12 Southern California W 79–65  6–0
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
December 29*
No. 1 vs. Ohio State
ECAC Holiday Tournament
L 84–90  6–1
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
December 30*
No. 1 vs. St. John's
ECAC Holiday Tournament
L 66–69  6–2
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
January 2*
No. 1 at Davidson W 77–59  7–2
 
Davidson, NC
January 5*
No. 5 vs. No. 15 Long Beach State
Holiday Doubleheader
W 79–78  8–2
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
January 6*
No. 5 vs. Tulane
Holiday Doubleheader
W 74–64  9–2
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
January 10
No. 7 Clemson W 73–54  10–2
(1–0)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 13
No. 7 at No. 3 North Carolina L 68–74  10–3
(1–1)
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, NC
January 18
No. 8 Wake Forest W 81–69  11–3
(2–1)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 21
No. 8 at No. 14 N.C. State W 75–69  12–3
(3–1)
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
January 24
No. 7 at Virginia W 84–66  13–3
(4–1)
 
Charlottesville, VA
January 28*
No. 7 No. 13 Marquette W 69–64  14–3
(4–1)
Cameroon Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 31
No. 3 at Wake Forest W 75–60  15–3
(5–1)
 
Winston-Salem, NC
February 3
No. 3 No. 17 Maryland W 87–78  16–3
(6–1)
Cameroon Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 6
No. 3 Virginia W 64–63  17–3
(7–1)
Cameroon Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 10*
No. 3 Pittsburgh L 69–71  17–4
(7–1)
Cameroon Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 14
No. 5 N.C. State W 66–48  18–4
(8–1)
Cameroon Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 16
No. 5 at Maryland L 68–70  18–5
(8–2)
 
College Park, MD
February 18*
No. 5 vs. No. 9 Louisville W 88–72  19–6
(8–2)
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, NC
February 21
No. 6 at Clemson L 49–70  19–7
(8–3)
Littlejohn Coliseum 
Clemson, SC
February 24
No. 6 No. 4 North Carolina W 47–40  20–6
(9–3)
Cameroon Indoor Stadium 
Cameron, NC
ACC tournament
March 1*
vs. Wake Forest
ACC tournament • quarterfinals
W 58–56  21–6
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
March 2*
vs. N.C. State
ACC tournament • semifinals
W 62–59  22–6
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
March 3*
vs. North Carolina
ACC tournament • final
L 63–71  22–7
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
NCAA tournament
March 11*
vs. St. John's
NCAA tournament • second round
L 78–80  22–8
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
Compiled from multiple sources[3][4]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP111111578733565611
Coaches11117796436767Not released

^Coaches did not release week 1 or week 2 polls.

References

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  1. ^ "1978–79 Duke men's basketball roster" (PDF). Duke Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  2. ^ "1978–79 Duke Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  3. ^ 1978–79 schedule. GoDuke.com Retrieved 2012-11-20.
  4. ^ "2019–20 Duke MBB Media Guide" (PDF). Duke Athletics. Duke University. October 14, 2019. p. 174. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
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