1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season


The 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 17, 1979, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 24, 1980, at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. The Louisville Cardinals won their first NCAA national championship with a 59–54 victory over the UCLA Bruins.

Rule changes

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP and UPI polls during the pre-season.

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Note: From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a loosely organized sports federation of Northeastern colleges and universities, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1980 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did. The ECAC North was a separate, conventional conference.

Statistical leaders

Post-Season tournaments

NCAA tournament

"doctors of dunk" brought Denny Crum his first NCAA title with a 59–54 win over surprise finalist UCLA and coach Larry Brown. Wooden Award winner Darrell Griffith was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Final Four

Played at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana
The first year of the Ralph Sampson era ended with a Virginia Cavaliers NIT Championship – a 58–55 win over Minnesota. 7'4 freshman Sampson was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

NIT semifinals and final

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.
TeamFormer
Coach		Interim
Coach		New
Coach		Reason
AlabamaC. M. NewtonWimp SandersonNewton resigned to take the same position at Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt
AkronKen CunninghamBob Rupert
ArmyMike KrzyzewskiPete Gaudet
BaptistDavid ReesePhil Carter
Boise StateBus ConnorDave Leach
Cal State FullertonBobby DyeGeorge McQuarn
Colorado StateJim WilliamsTony McAndrews
CornellBen BluittTom Miller
DukeBill FosterMike KrzyzewskiDuke hired the untested Krzyzewski after a 9–17 season at Army.
Fairleigh DickinsonAl LobalboDon Feeley
FloridaEd VisscherNorm Sloan
George MasonJohn LinnJoe Harrington
Georgia SouthernJ. B. ScearceJohn Nelson
HofstraJoe HarringtonDick Berg
IonaJim ValvanoPat Kennedy
Iowa StateLynn NanceRick SamuelsJohnny OrrNance resigned mid-season after an 8–10 start.
LafayetteRoy ChipmanWill Rackley
LamarBilly TubbsPat Foster
Loyola Jerry LyneGene Sullivan
Loyola MarymountRon JacobsEd Goorjian
MichiganJohnny OrrBill Frieder
NavyBob HamiltonPaul Evans
NebraskaJoe CiprianoMoe IbaIba took the helm after Cipriano died of cancer in November 1980.
Nevada-RenoJim CareySonny Allen
NiagaraDan RaskinPeter Lonergan
NC StateNorm SloanJim ValvanoSloan resigned at NC State to take over at Florida, his alma mater, to rebuild the Gators as they moved into their new arena.
Northwestern LouisianaTynes HildebrandWayne Yates
OhioDale BandyDanny Nee
OklahomaDave BlissBilly Tubbs
PittsburghTim GrgurichRoy Chipman
PurdueLee RoseGene Keady
San FranciscoDan BelluominiPete Barry
South CarolinaFrank McGuireBill FosterHall of Fame coach McGuire retired after 30 years of coaching.
South Carolina StateTim AutryJohnny Jones
South FloridaChip ConnerGordon GibbonsLee RoseConner was fired in January and later replaced with Rose – fresh off of a Final Four at Purdue.
Southern MethodistSonny AllenDave Bliss
Southern UtahStan JackTom McCracken
Tennessee TechCliff MalpassTom Deaton
TulsaJim KingBill FraneyNolan RichardsonKing resigned due to family concerns in February. Tulsa hired reigning NJCAA championship coach Richardson.
UC IrvneTim TiftBill Mulligan
ValparaisoKen RochlitzTom Smith
Western KentuckyGene KeadyClem Haskins
Wisconsin-MilwaukeeBob GottliebBob Voight