| 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| Preseason AP No. 1 | Indiana Hoosiers[1] | 
| NCAA Tournament | 1980 | 
| Tournament dates | March 6 – 24, 1980 | 
| National Championship | Market Square Arena Indianapolis  | 
| NCAA Champions | Louisville Cardinals | 
| Helms National Champions | Louisville Cardinals | 
| Other champions | Virginia Cavaliers (NIT) | 
| Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden)  | Mark Aguirre, DePaul (Naismith) Darrell Griffith, Louisville (Wooden)  | 
| Player of the Year (Helms)  | Darrell Griffith, Louisville | 
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 Division I men's 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
- Officials were ordered to more strictly enforce foul rules already on the books, including bench decorum, hand-checking and charging fouls.
 - Any mistaken attempt to call a time-out after a team runs out of time-outs results in a technical foul and two free throws for the opposing team. The rule would figure prominently in the outcome of the 1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
 
Season headlines
- ESPN launched in November as the first all-sports television network.[2] It took advantage of college basketball's rapidly growing popularity to begin a highly profitable relationship with the NCAA which greatly expanded television coverage of college basketball in the United States.[2]
 - The basketball-centered original Big East Conference began play.[2] Working closely with ESPN, it rapidly developed a reputation as a powerhouse of college basketball and a dominating force in the sport.[2]
 - The NCAA tournament expanded from 40 to 48 teams.[3]
 - ESPN televised 23 games of the 1980 NCAA tournament, becoming the first television network to broadcast the early rounds of an NCAA Tournament.[3]
 - Louisville's "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.
 - The first year of the Ralph Sampson era ended with a Virginia Cavaliers National Invitation Tournament championship – a 58–55 win over Minnesota. Sampson, a 7-foot-4-inch (224 cm) freshman center, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
 
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll and UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[4]
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Regular season
Conference winners and tournaments
Note: From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), 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 Division I men's basketball tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did. The ECAC North was a separate, conventional conference.[27]
Informal championships
| Conference | Regular  season winner  | 
Conference  player of the year  | 
Conference  tournament  | 
Tournament  venue (City)  | 
Tournament  winner  | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Big 5 | Saint Joseph's | None selected | No Tournament | ||
Statistical leaders
Points per game  | Rebounds per game  | Field-goal percentage  | Free-throw percentage  | |||||||||||
| Player | School | PPG | Player | School | RPG | Player | School | FG% | Player | School | FT% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Murphy | Southern | 32.1 | Larry Smith | Alcorn St. | 15.1 | Steve Johnson | Oregon St. | 71.0 | Brian Magid | George Washington | 92.9 | |||
| Lewis Lloyd | Drake | 30.2 | Lewis Lloyd | Drake | 15.0 | Ron Charles | Michigan St. | 67.6 | Randy Nesbit | The Citadel | 92.5 | |||
| Harry Kelly | TX Southern | 29.0 | Rickey Brown | Mississippi St. | 14.4 | Cherokee Rhone | Centenary | 66.6 | Kyle Macy | Kentucky | 91.2 | |||
| Ken Page | New Mexico | 28.0 | Monti Davis | Tenn. St. | 13.3 | Roosevelt Bouie | Syracuse | 65.4 | Greg Manning | Maryland | 90.8 | |||
| James Tillman | Eastern Kentucky | 27.2 | Gary Hooker | Murray St. | 12.3 | Murray Brown | Florida St. | 64.6 | Eddie White | Gonzaga | 89.2 | |||
Post-Season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
Played at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana
| National semifinals | National finals | ||||||||
| E5 | Iowa | 72 | |||||||
| MW2 | Louisville | 80 | |||||||
| MW2 | Louisville | 59 | |||||||
| W8 | UCLA | 54 | |||||||
| ME6 | Purdue | 62 | |||||||
| W8 | UCLA | 67 | |||||||
- Third Place – Purdue 75, Iowa 58
 
National Invitation tournament
NIT semifinals and final
Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| UNLV | 71 | ||||||||
| Virginia | 90 | ||||||||
| Virginia | 58 | ||||||||
| Minnesota | 55 | ||||||||
| Minnesota | 65 | ||||||||
| Illinois | 63 | ||||||||
- Third Place – Illinois 84, UNLV 74
 
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
| Player | Position | Class | Team | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Aguirre | F | Sophomore | DePaul | 
| Michael Brooks | F | Senior | La Salle | 
| Joe Barry Carroll | C | Senior | Purdue | 
| Darrell Griffith | G | Senior | Louisville | 
| Kyle Macy | G | Senior | Kentucky | 
| Player | Position | Class | Team | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Gminski | C | Senior | Duke | 
| Albert King | F | Junior | Maryland | 
| Mike O'Koren | F | Senior | North Carolina | 
| Kelvin Ransey | G | Senior | Ohio State | 
| Sam Worthen | G | Senior | Marquette | 
Major player of the year awards
- Wooden Award: Darrell Griffith, Louisville
 - Naismith Award: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
 - Helms Player of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Louisville
 - Associated Press Player of the Year: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
 - UPI Player of the Year: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
 - NABC Player of the Year: Michael Brooks, La Salle
 - Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Mark Aguirre, DePaul
 - Adolph Rupp Trophy: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
 - Sporting News Player of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Louisville
 
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
- Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Jim Sweeney, Boston College
 - Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Michael Brooks, La Salle
 - NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jeff Ruland, Iona
 
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after the season ended.[28]
References
- ↑ "1980 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". AP Poll Archive. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
 - 1 2 3 4 Hartzell, Larry, "The 1978-79 Season," Hardwood History, March 22, 2011 Accessed April 6 , 2021
 - 1 2 "Burnsed, Brian, "A Brief History of Men's College Basketball," Champion, Fall 2018 Accessed April 6, 2021". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
 - ↑  
- ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
 
 - ↑ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
 - ↑ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 Big East Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section Archived 2009-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Big East Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ Men's Basketball Award Winners, Big Sky Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Awards section Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Atlantic 10 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ America East Men's Basketball Players of the Year, America East Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 Horizon League Men's Basketball Record Book Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Horizon League, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 MVC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Missouri Valley Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide, Ohio Valley Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 Pacific-10 Men's Basketball Media Guide- Honors Section Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Pacific-10 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 Big West Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, Big West Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ "Teagle, Metcalf get top SWC honors". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. February 27, 1980. p. 33. Retrieved December 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
 - ↑ 2006–07 SWAC Men's Basketball Media Guide
 - ↑ 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ Atlantic Sun men's basketball record book, Atlantic Sun Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2010-08-01
 - ↑ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments This was also the inaugural season of the [Original Big East Conference].
 - ↑ [1980–81 Street and Smith College Basketball Preview]
 - ↑ 2009–2010 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine, Updated August 21, 2010
 - ↑ The Week (november 28–30)
 - ↑ "Basketball Notes". The Spartanburg Herald-Journal. January 16, 1980. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
 - ↑ "King resigns Tulsa post". Lawrence Journal-World. February 2, 1980. Retrieved August 31, 2010.