1977–78 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

1977–78 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Metro Conference Champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceMetro Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 14
Record23–7 (9–3 Metro)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFreedom Hall
Seasons
1977–78 Metro Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 15 Florida State 12 1   .923 23 6   .793
No. 9 Louisville 9 3   .750 23 7   .767
Memphis State 7 5   .583 19 9   .679
Cincinnati 6 6   .500 17 10   .630
Georgia Tech 6 6   .500 15 12   .556
Saint Louis 2 10   .167 7 20   .259
Tulane 1 12   .077 5 22   .185
1978 Metro Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1977–78 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 64th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Metro Conference and were coached by Denny Crum. The team played home games at Freedom Hall.

The team completed a 23–7 record and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the 1978 NCAA Tournament.

Roster

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1977–78 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 13 Ricky Gallon 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Sr Tampa, Florida
G 23 Tony Branch 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Elston Michigan City, Indiana
F 24 Daryl Cleveland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Thomas County Central Thomasville, Georgia
G 34 Roger Burkman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Franklin Central Indianapolis, Indiana
G 35 Darrell Griffith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Louisville Male Louisville, Kentucky
G 42 Rick Wilson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Atherton Louisville, Kentucky
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 30, 1977*
No. 9 at Providence L 51–57  0–1
Providence Civic Center 
Providence, Rhode Island
Dec 3, 1977*
Vanderbilt W 96–66  1–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 7, 1977*
at No. 9 Michigan W 88–85  2–1
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Dec 10, 1977*
Robert Morris W 104–68  3–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 13, 1977*
No. 17 Purdue W 68–66  4–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 19, 1977*
Dayton W 69–63  5–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 22, 1977*
No. 2 Marquette W 61–60  6–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 28, 1977*
No. 7 La Salle W 113–85  7–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 27, 1978
Saint Louis W 94–59  19–6
(9–3)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Metro Conference Tournament
Mar 2, 1978*
No. 20 vs. Tulane
Quarterfinals
W 93–64  20–6
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 3, 1978*
No. 20 vs. Memphis
Semifinals
W 67–62  21–6
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 4, 1978*
No. 20 vs. No. 11 Florida State
Championship game
W 94–93  22–6
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1978*
No. 9 vs. St. John's
First round
W 76–68  23–6
Mabee Center 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Mar 17, 1978*
No. 9 vs. No. 3 DePaul
Midwest Regional Semifinals – Sweet Sixteen
L 89–90 2OT[2] 23–7
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern.

[3]

Rankings

[edit]

[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1977-78 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "Notre Dame and DePaul Reach Final in Midwest". The New York Times. March 18, 1978. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  3. ^ "1977-78 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  4. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 846–847. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.