1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1978–79 college basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Don DeVoe, the team played their home games at the Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers finished with a record of 21–12 (12–6 SEC, 2nd) and, after winning the SEC tournament, received an automatic bid to the 1979 NCAA tournament as the 8 seed in the Mideast region. After an opening round win over Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee was defeated by No. 1 seed Notre Dame.

1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
SEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	East
Record	21–12 (12–6 SEC)
Head coach	Don DeVoe (1st season)
Home arena	Stokely Athletic Center
Seasons ← 1977–78 1979–80 →

1978–79 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 7 LSU	14	–	4		.778			23	–	6		.793
Tennessee †	12	–	6		.667			21	–	12		.636
Vanderbilt	11	–	7		.611			18	–	9		.667
Alabama	11	–	7		.611			22	–	11		.667
Mississippi State	11	–	7		.611			19	–	9		.679
Kentucky	10	–	8		.556			19	–	12		.613
Georgia	7	–	11		.389			14	–	14		.500
Ole Miss	6	–	12		.333			11	–	16		.407
Auburn	5	–	13		.278			13	–	16		.448
Florida	3	–	15		.167			8	–	19		.296
† 1979 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll^[1]

This was the first of five straight seasons of NCAA Tournament basketball for the Tennessee men's program.

Roster

1978–79 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F/C 32 Reggie Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Atlanta, Georgia	Head coach Don DeVoe (Ohio State) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

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Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Dec 2, 1978*		at No. 5 Louisville	L 61–82	0–1	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 5, 1978*		East Carolina	W 89–71	1–1	Stokely Center  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 9, 1978*		Ohio State	L 78–86	1–2	Stokely Center  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 15, 1978*		Niagara	W 100–80	2–2	Stokely Center
Dec 16, 1978*		Xavier	L 50–51	2–3	Stokely Center
Dec 22, 1978*		vs. San Jose State	W 73–68	3–3	Toso Pavilion
Dec 23, 1978*		vs. Seton Hall	W 94–80	4–3	Toso Pavilion
Dec 27, 1978*		vs. Utah Rainbow Classic	L 71–80	4–4	Neal S. Blaisdell Center  Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 28, 1978*		vs. Fordham Rainbow Classic	W 83–58	5–4	Neal S. Blaisdell Center  Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 30, 1978*		vs. Boston College Rainbow Classic	L 72–74	5–5	Neal S. Blaisdell Center  Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 3, 1979		at Ole Miss	W 72–67	6–5 (1–0)	Tad Smith Coliseum  Oxford, Mississippi
Feb 24, 1979		at Auburn	W 60–55	18–11 (12–6)	Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, Alabama
SEC tournament
Mar 2, 1979*  Chesley-TPC		vs. Auburn Semifinals	W 75–64	19–11	BJCC Coliseum  Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 3, 1979*  Chesley-TPC		vs. Kentucky Championship game	W 75–69 ^OT	20–11	BJCC Coliseum  Birmingham, Alabama
NCAA tournament
Mar 9, 1979*	(8 ME) No. 20	vs. (9 ME) Eastern Kentucky First round	W 97–81	20–11	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Mar 11, 1979*	(8 ME) No. 20	vs. (1 ME) No. 5 Notre Dame Second round	L 67–73	20–12	Murphy Center (10,982) Murfreesboro, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Eastern Time.

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Rankings

Main article: 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

^[5]

NBA draft

Main article: 1979 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
3	62	Terry Crosby	Kansas City Kings

^[6]

References

1. sports-reference.com 1978-79 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
2. "1978-79 Men's Basketball Roster". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
3. "1978-79 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
4. "2019-20 Tennessee Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
5. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 899–900. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
6. "1979 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 12, 2023.