1977–78 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Southwest Conference. They finished the season 26-5 overall, tied for the SWC regular season title with a 14–2 record and won the 1978 National Invitation Tournament. They were coached by Abe Lemons in his second season as head coach of the Longhorns. They played their home games at the Special Events Center in Austin, Texas.[1]

1977–78 Texas Longhorns men's basketball
SWC Regular Season Co-Champions
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 17
Record26–5 (14–2 SWC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Barry Dowd
  • Steve Moeller
Home arenaSpecial Events Center
Seasons
1977–78 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Arkansas 14 2   .875 32 4   .889
No. 17 Texas 14 2   .875 26 5   .839
Houston 11 5   .688 25 8   .758
Texas Tech 10 6   .625 19 10   .655
Baylor 8 8   .500 14 13   .519
SMU 6 10   .375 10 18   .357
Texas A&M 5 11   .313 12 15   .444
Rice 2 14   .125 4 22   .154
TCU 2 14   .125 4 22   .154
1978 SWC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

edit
Name[2] # Position Height Weight Year Home Town High School
Ron Baxter 12 Guard-Forward 6–4 205 Sophomore Los Angeles Dorsey
Brent Boyd 4 Guard 6–3 185 Sophomore Baton Rouge, Louisiana Catholic University
Tyrone Branyan 31 Forward 6–7 220 Junior Placentia, California El Dorado
Rob Cunningham 35 Forward-Center 6–8 215 Freshman Westport, Connecticut Staples
John Danks 32 Forward 6–6 190 Sophomore Beaver Dam, Kentucky Ohio County
Ovie Dotson 15 Guard 6–5 200 Junior San Antonio, Texas Sam Houston
Gary Goodner 42 Forward 6–7 220 Senior Denton, Texas Denton
Henry Johnson 33 Forward 6–6 190 Freshman Los Angeles Manual Arts
Jim Krivacs 11 Guard 6–1 160 Junior Indianapolis Southport
John Moore 00 Guard 6–1 170 Junior Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona
Mike Murphy 41 Forward 6–8 215 Senior Austin, Texas Crockett
Tom Nichols 55 Center 6–10 230 Senior Houston, Texas Sharpstown
Dave Shepard 44 Guard 6–4 205 Freshman Los Angeles Manual Arts
Keith Stephens 52 Forward 6–8 210 Freshman Pasadena, California Pasadena
Phillip Stroud 30 Forward 6–7 220 Junior Houston, Texas Wheatley

Schedule

edit
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
November 26, 1977*
at USC L 64–65  0–1
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
November 29, 1977*
Oklahoma W 83–76  1–1
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
December 3, 1977*
Mississippi State W 81–69  2–1
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
December 5, 1977*
LSU W 82–66  3–1
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
December 7, 1977*
at Oklahoma State W 108–87  4–1
Gallagher Hall 
Stillwater, OK
December 10, 1977*
Alaska Anchorage W 87–65  5–1
Special Events Center 
Austin, Texas
December 17, 1977*
at Centenary W 87–65  6–1
Gold Dome 
Shreveport, LA
December 20, 1977*
Oklahoma City W 88–71  7–1
Special Events Center 
Austin, Texas
December 26, 1977*
vs. Army
Milwaukee Classic
W 74–73  8–1
MECCA Arena 
Milwaukee, WI
December 27, 1977*
at No. 5 Marquette
Milwaukee Classic
L 56–65  8–2
MECCA Arena 
Milwaukee, WI
January 5, 1978
at TCU W 90–41  9–2
(1–0)
Daniel–Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, TX
January 7, 1978
Texas Tech W 90–41  10–2
(2–0)
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
January 10, 1978
at Houston W 100–89  11–2
(3–0)
Hofheinz Pavilion 
Houston, TX
January 14, 1978
No. 3 Arkansas W 100–89  12–2
(4–0)
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
January 17, 1978
No. 15 Rice W 78–64  13–2
(5–0)
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
January 23, 1978
No. 15 at Texas A&M W 79–77 OT 14–2
(6–0)
G. Rollie White Coliseum 
College Station, TX
January 25, 1978
No. 15 Baylor W 78–76  15–2
(7–0)
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
January 28, 1978
No. 15 at SMU W 85–80  16–2
(8–0)
Moody Coliseum 
University Park, TX
January 30, 1978
No. 15 Houston W 73–72  17–2
(9–0)
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
February 1, 1978
No. 12 at No. 2 Arkansas L 71–75  17–3
(9–1)
Barnhill Arena 
Fayetteville, AR
February 4, 1978
No. 12 TCU W 87–60  18–3
(10–1)
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
February 7, 1978
No. 12 at Rice W 102–86  19–3
(11–1)
Rice Gymnasium 
Houston, TX
February 13, 1978
No. 12 Texas A&M W 90–66  20–3
(12–1)
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
February 4, 1978
No. 12 at Baylor L 77–79  20–4
(12–2)
Heart O' Texas Fair Complex 
Waco, TX
February 18, 1978
No. 12 at Texas Tech W 78–63  21–4
(13–2)
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum 
Lubbock, TX
February 21, 1978
No. 14 SMU W 82–74  22–4
(14–2)
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
SWC tournament
March 4, 1978
(1) No. 12 vs. (3) Houston
Final
L 90–92  22–5
The Summit 
Houston, TX
NIT
March 10, 1978
No. 16 Temple
First Round
W 72–58  23–5
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
March 15, 1978
No. 17 Nebraska
Quarterfinal
W 67–48  24–5
Special Events Center 
Austin, TX
March 19, 1978
No. 17 vs. Rutgers
Semifinal
W 96–76  25–5
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
March 21, 1978
No. 17 vs. NC State
Final
W 101–93  26–5
Madison Square Garden 
Houston, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

[3][4]

Rankings

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "1977–78 Texas Longhorns Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. ^ 1977–78 SWC men's basketball media guide, p. 36
  3. ^ Pennington, Richard. Longhorn Hoops: The History of Texas Basketball. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998. ISBN 0-292-76585-1.
  4. ^ McConnell, Scott. 2006–07 Texas Basketball Media Guide. Austin: UT Athletics, 2006.