1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball | |
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NCAA tournament National Champions SEC regular season champions | |
Conference | Southeast Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 1 |
Record | 30–2 (16–2 SEC) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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Captain | Jack Givens Rick Robey |
Home arena | Rupp Arena |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 Kentucky | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 30 | – | 2 | .938 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mississippi State | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 18 | – | 9 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LSU | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 18 | – | 9 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alabama | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 17 | – | 10 | .630 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Florida | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 15 | – | 12 | .556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Auburn | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 13 | – | 14 | .481 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vanderbilt | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 10 | – | 17 | .370 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ole Miss | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 10 | – | 17 | .370 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll[1] |
The 1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team were coached by Joe B. Hall. The team finished the season with a 30–2 record and SEC Championship and won the 1978 NCAA Championship over the Duke Blue Devils, 94–88. Noting the all-or-nothing pressure exhibited on the team by Kentucky fans, Hall remarked before the title game that "This season was without celebration for us."[2]
Season summary[edit]
Those who witnessed it call Jack Givens' 41 point game against Duke in the 1978 NCAA championship game one of the finest performances in the game's history. Givens made 18-of-27 shots in leading Kentucky to its fifth national championship and first in 20 years. This team also had a pair of bruising frontcourt players in Mike Phillips and Rick Robey and a great point guard in Kyle Macy. The Wildcats went on exhibition tour of Japan in June following the season's end.
Schedule[edit]
Date time, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
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November 26* | No. 2 | SMU | W 110–86 | 1–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
December 5* | No. 1 | Indiana Indiana–Kentucky rivalry | W 78–64 | 2–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
December 10* | No. 1 | at No. 19 Kansas | W 73–66 | 3–0 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS | ||||||
December 12* | No. 1 | South Carolina | W 84–65 | 4–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
December 16* | No. 1 | Portland State UK Invitation Tournament | W 114–88 | 5–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
December 17* | No. 1 | St. John's UK Invitation Tournament | W 102–72 | 6–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
December 23* | No. 1 | Iona | W 104–65 | 7–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
December 31* NBC | No. 1 | No. 4 Notre Dame | W 73–68[3] | 8–0 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY | ||||||
January 2 | No. 1 | Vanderbilt | W 72–59 | 9–0 (1–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
January 7 | No. 1 | at Florida | W 86–67 | 10–0 (2–0) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL | ||||||
January 9 | No. 1 | at Auburn | W 101–77 | 11–0 (3–0) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL | ||||||
January 14 | No. 1 | LSU | W 96–76 | 12–0 (4–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
January 16 | No. 1 | Ole Miss | W 76–56 | 13–0 (5–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
January 21 | No. 1 | at Mississippi State | W 75–65 | 14–0 (6–0) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS | ||||||
January 23 | No. 1 | at Alabama | L 62–78 | 14–1 (6–1) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL | ||||||
January 30 | No. 1 | Georgia | W 90–73 | 15–1 (7–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
February 4 | No. 1 | Florida | W 88–61 | 16–1 (8–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
February 6 | No. 1 | Auburn | W 104–81 | 17–1 (9–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
February 11 | No. 1 | at LSU | L 94–95 OT | 17–2 (9–2) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
February 13 | No. 1 | at Ole Miss | W 64–52 | 18–2 (10–2) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS | ||||||
February 15 | No. 3 | Tennessee | W 90–77 | 19–2 (11–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
February 18 | No. 3 | Mississippi State | W 58–56 | 20–2 (12–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
February 20 | No. 3 | Alabama | W 97–84 | 21–2 (13–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
February 25 | No. 2 | at Tennessee | W 68–57 | 22–2 (14–2) | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN | ||||||
February 27 | No. 2 | at Georgia | W 78–67 | 23–2 (15–2) | Georgia Coliseum Athens, GA | ||||||
March 4* NBC | No. 1 | UNLV | W 92–70 | 24–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
March 6 | No. 1 | at Vanderbilt | W 78–68 | 25–2 (16–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN | ||||||
March 11* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 13 Florida State NCAA tournament | W 85–76 | 26–2 | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN | ||||||
March 16* NCAA Productions | No. 1 | vs. No. 19 Miami (OH) NCAA Tournament | W 91–69 | 27–2 | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH | ||||||
March 18* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 4 Michigan State NCAA Tournament | W 52–49 | 28–2 | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH | ||||||
March 25* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 5 Arkansas NCAA Tournament | W 64–59 | 29–2 | Checkerdome St. Louis, MO | ||||||
March 27* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 7 Duke NCAA Championship | W 94–88 | 30–2 | Checkerdome St. Louis, MO | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |
Statistics[edit]
- Jack Givens (6'4", Sr, F) 18.1 ppg
- Rick Robey (6'10", Sr, F) 14.4 ppg
- Kyle Macy (6'3", So, G) 12.5 ppg
- James Lee (6'5", Sr, F) 11.3 ppg
- Mike Phillips (6'10", Sr, C) 10.2 ppg
- Truman Claytor (6'1", Jr, G) 6.9 ppg
Awards and honors[edit]
Team players drafted into the NBA[edit]
Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
1 | 3 | Rick Robey | Indiana Pacers |
1 | 16 | Jack Givens | Atlanta Hawks |
2 | 39 | James Lee | Seattle SuperSonics |
References[edit]
- ^ sports-reference.com 1977-78 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
- ^ "A Season Without Celebration: Hall." Schenectady Gazette. 1978 Mar 27. Retrieved 2015-May-24.
- ^ "Kentucky Rally Tops Notre Dame, 73-68". The New York Times. January 1, 1978. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ a b 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball media guide Archived 2014-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-May-24.
- ^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
- ^ "1978 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.