# 1978–79 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University as a member of the Eastern Athletic Association during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Tom Young, then in his sixth season with the Scarlet Knights. The team played its home games in Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights won the EAA tournament to reach the NCAA tournament, where they defeated Georgetown in the second round to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Rutgers would lose to St. John's – a team they beat twice during the regular season – in the East Regional semifinal to finish with a record of 22–9 (7–3 EAA).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 18, 1978* | | Columbia | W 70–63 | 1–0 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Dec 1, 1978* | | Rider | W 101–51 | 2–0 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Dec 2, 1978* | | Lafayette | L 70–77 | 2–1 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Dec 9, 1978 | | at Villanova | L 67–86 | 2–2 (0–1) | Villanova Field House Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 12, 1978* | | at Manhattan | W 62–60 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | Alumni Gym New York, New York |
| Dec 16, 1978* | | Princeton | W 54–51 | 4–2 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Dec 22, 1978* | | Saint Peter's | L 58–67 | 4–3 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Dec 29, 1978* | | at St. John's ECAC Holiday Festival | W 72–61 | 5–3 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Dec 30, 1978* | | vs. Ohio State ECAC Holiday Festival | W 97–96 $^{3OT}$ | 6–3 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Jan 6, 1979* | | at No. 6 UCLA | L 57–78 | 6–4 | Pauley Pavilion (12,176) Los Angeles, California |
| Jan 9, 1979* | | at Connecticut | L 67–69 $^{OT}$ | 6–5 | Hugh S. Greer Field House Storrs, Connecticut |
| Jan 11, 1979 | | George Washington | W 80–72 | 7–5 (1–1) | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Jan 13, 1979* | | at St. John's | W 69–66 | 8–5 | Carnesecca Arena New York, New York |
| Jan 20, 1979 | | Penn State | W 48–46 | 9–5 (2–1) | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Jan 22, 1979* | | at No. 12 Syracuse | L 65–71 | 9–6 | Manley Field House Syracuse, New York |
| Jan 26, 1979 | | Duquesne | W 70–67 | 10–6 (3–1) | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Jan 27, 1979 | | Villanova | W 64–55 | 11–6 (4–1) | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Jan 31, 1979 | | at UMass | W 60–55 | 12–6 (5–1) | Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, Massachusetts |
| Feb 3, 1979 | | at George Washington | L 71–74 | 12–7 (5–2) | Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 8, 1979* | | Drexel | W 87–61 | 13–7 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Feb 10, 1979* | | at West Virginia | L 61–68 | 13–8 (5–3) | WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia |
| Feb 12, 1979* | | New Hampshire | W 83–73 | 14–8 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Feb 15, 1979* | | vs. Seton Hall | W 88–67 | 15–8 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Feb 17, 1979* | | Fordham | W 67–59 | 16–8 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Feb 19, 1979 | | UMass | W 95–76 | 17–8 (6–3) | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Feb 23, 1979 | | at Pittsburgh | W 76–68 | 18–8 (7–3) | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| EAA tournament ||||||
| Feb 27, 1979* | | Penn State Quarterfinals | W 67–57 | 19–8 | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey |
| Mar 1, 1979* | | vs. West Virginia Semifinals | W 55–52 | 20–8 | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 3, 1979* | | at Pittsburgh Championship game | W 61–57 | 21–8 | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 1979* | (6 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 11 Georgetown Second round | W 64–58 | 22–8 | Providence Civic Center (12,150) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Mar 16, 1979* | (6 E) | vs. (10 E) No. 17 St. John's East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 65–67 | 22–9 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 6 | James Bailey | Seattle SuperSonics |