1978–79 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1978–79 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Gary Cunningham began his second year and final year as head coach. The Bruins started the season ranked 2nd in the nation (AP Poll). The Bruins started the season 3–0 before losing to #3 Notre Dame. UCLA's team finished 1st in the Pac-10 regular season. UCLA participated in the NCAA Tournament where they reached the Regional Final before losing 95–91 to DePaul (a team the Bruins had beaten in their second game of the season).^[2]

1978–79 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Pac-10 champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Pacific-10
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	25–5 (15–3 Pac-10)
Head coach	Gary Cunningham (2nd year)
Assistant coaches	Jim Harrick Craig Impelman
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion
Seasons ← 1977–78 1979–80 →

1978–79 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 UCLA	15	–	3		.833			25	–	5		.833
USC	14	–	4		.778			20	–	9		.690
Oregon State	11	–	7		.611			18	–	10		.643
Washington State	10	–	8		.556			18	–	9		.667
Arizona	10	–	8		.556			16	–	11		.593
Arizona State	7	–	11		.389			12	–	15		.444
Oregon	7	–	11		.389			12	–	15		.444
Stanford	6	–	12		.333			12	–	15		.444
Washington	6	–	12		.333			11	–	16		.407
California	4	–	14		.222			6	–	21		.222
As of April 15, 1979^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

Starting lineup

Position	Player	Class
F	Kiki Vandeweghe	Jr.
F	David Greenwood	Sr.
C	Gig Sims	Jr.
G	Roy Hamilton	Sr.
G	Brad Holland	Sr.

Roster

1978–79 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown C 32 Darrell Allums 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Jr Los Angeles, California F 34 David Greenwood (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Sr Lynwood, California G 24 Roy Hamilton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Los Angeles, California G 14 Brad Holland 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Sr Billings, Montana G 43 Rennie Kelly 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr G 20 Tyren Naulls 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr F 52 Mike Sanders 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Fr Vidalia, Louisiana C 31 Gig Sims 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Jr G 50 Marvin Thomas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr F 55 Kiki Vandeweghe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Wiesbaden, West Germany F 35 James Wilkes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Nashville, Tennessee	Head coach Gary Cunningham (UCLA) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
November 24, 1978	No. 2	Boise State	W 79–59	1–0	Pauley Pavilion (11,058) Los Angeles, CA
November 25, 1978	No. 2	DePaul	W 108–85	2–0	Pauley Pavilion (12,178) Los Angeles, CA
December 2, 1978	No. 2	Santa Clara	W 87–73	3–0	Pauley Pavilion (11,829) Los Angeles, CA
December 9, 1978	No. 2	No. 3 Notre Dame	L 78–81	3–1	Pauley Pavilion (12,721) Los Angeles, CA
December 16, 1978	No. 5	San Diego State	W 97–73	4–1	Pauley Pavilion (10,852) Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 1978	No. 3	Fordham	W 95–64	5–1	Pauley Pavilion (9,732) Los Angeles, CA
December 23, 1978	No. 3	Boston College	W 103–81	6–1	Pauley Pavilion (10,489) Los Angeles, CA
December 27, 1978	No. 3	at Stanford	L 72–75	6–2 (0–1)	Maples Pavilion (7,946) Stanford, CA
December 28, 1978	No. 3	at California	W 95–67	7–2 (1–1)	Harmon Gym (6,500) Berkeley, CA
January 4, 1979	No. 6	Oregon State	W 65–63	8–2 (2–1)	Pauley Pavilion (12,374) Los Angeles, CA
January 6, 1979	No. 6	Rutgers	W 78–57	9–2	Pauley Pavilion (12,176) Los Angeles, CA
January 8, 1979	No. 6	Oregon	W 74–71	10–2 (3–1)	Pauley Pavilion (11,433) Los Angeles, CA
January 13, 1979	No. 6	at USC	W 89–86	11–2 (4–1)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (14,696) Los Angeles, CA
January 18, 1979	No. 3	at Arizona	L 69–70	11–3 (4–1)	McKale Center (14,606) Tucson, AZ
January 20, 1979	No. 3	at Arizona State	W 95–79	12–3 (5–2)	ASU Activity Center (14,301) Tempe, AZ
January 25, 1979	No. 6	Washington State	W 89–71	13–3 (6–2)	Pauley Pavilion (12,173) Los Angeles, CA
January 27, 1979	No. 6	Washington	W 86–61	14–3 (7–2)	Pauley Pavilion (12,052) Los Angeles, CA
February 1, 1979	No. 6	at Oregon	W 65–58	15–3 (8–2)	McArthur Court (10,000) Eugene, OR
February 3, 1979	No. 6	at Oregon State	W 69–56	16–3 (9–2)	Gill Coliseum (10,427) Corvallis, OR
February 9, 1979	No. 4	USC	W 102–94 ^OT	17–3 (10–2)	Pauley Pavilion (12,591) Los Angeles, CA
February 11, 1979	No. 4	at No. 1 Notre Dame	W 56–52	18–3	Athletic & Convocation Center (11,343) Notre Dame, IN
February 15, 1979	No. 2	Arizona State	W 85–83	19–3 (11–2)	Pauley Pavilion (12,066) Los Angeles, CA
February 17, 1979	No. 2	Arizona	W 110–86	20–3 (12–2)	Pauley Pavilion (11,746) Los Angeles, CA
February 22, 1979	No. 1	at Washington	L 68–69	20–4 (12–3)	Hec Edmundson Pavilion (7,000) Seattle, WA
February 24, 1979	No. 1	at Washington State	W 110–102 ^3OT	21–4 (13–3)	WSU Performing Arts Coliseum (11,754) Pullman, WA
March 1, 1979	No. 3	California	W 79–68	22–4 (14–3)	Pauley Pavilion (12,129) Los Angeles, CA
March 3, 1979	No. 3	Stanford	W 99–71	23–4 (15–3)	Pauley Pavilion (12,322) Los Angeles, CA
NCAA Tournament
March 11, 1979	(1 W) No. 2	vs. (9 W) Pepperdine Second Round	W 76–71	24–4	Pauley Pavilion (12,181) Los Angeles, CA
March 15, 1979	(1 W) No. 2	vs. (4 W) No. 12 San Francisco Regional semifinals	W 99–81	25–4	Marriott Center (15,139) Provo, UT
March 17, 1979	(1 W) No. 2	vs. (2 W) No. 6 DePaul Regional Finals	L 91–95	25–5	Marriott Center (13,126) Provo, UT
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific time.

Source:^[3][4]

Rankings

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

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	2	2	2	5	3	3	6	6	3	6	5	4	2	1	3	2	2
Coaches	2	—	—	5	3	3	5	6	4	7	3	3	1	1	3	2	Not released

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

NBA draft

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA Team
1979	1	2	David Greenwood	Chicago Bulls
1979	1	10	Roy Hamilton	Detroit Pistons
1979	1	14	Brad Holland	Los Angeles Lakers

Source:^[5]

Notes

• David Greenwood will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021

References

1. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
2. 2012–13 UCLA Men's Basketball Media Guide
3. "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
4. "Final 1979 Cumulative Basketball Statistics Report" (PDF).
5. UCLA Basketball Produces Three First-Round NBA Draft Picks, UCLABruins.com, June 26, 2014