# 1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1978–79 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Digger Phelps and played their home games at the Joyce Center.
After reaching the school's first Final Four the previous season, Notre Dame entered the season with high expectations and a No. 3 preseason ranking (AP). One of five teams to hold the No. 1 ranking during season, the Irish earned the #1 seed in the Mideast Region of the 1979 NCAA Tournament, but were defeated by eventual the eventual NCAA champions, Michigan State, in the regional final. Notre Dame finished the season with a record of 24–6.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 2, 1978* | No. 3 | Valparaiso | W 87–57 | 1–0 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Dec 4, 1978* | No. 3 | Rice | W 105–61 | 2–0 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Dec 6, 1978* | No. 3 | Northwestern | W 101–57 | 3–0 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Dec 9, 1978* | No. 3 | at No. 2 UCLA | W 81–78 | 4–0 | Pauley Pavilion (12,721) Los Angeles, California |
| Dec 27, 1978* | No. 2 | Saint Francis (PA) | W 96–43 | 5–0 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Dec 30, 1978* | No. 2 | vs. No. 13 Kentucky | L 76–81 | 5–1 | Freedom Hall (16,869) Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 6, 1979* | No. 2 | at Villanova | W 75–64 | 6–1 | The Palestra (9,208) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 8, 1979* | No. 2 | at Davidson | W 95–63 | 7–1 | Charlotte Coliseum (6,783) Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Jan 13, 1979* | No. 2 | at No. 13 Marquette | W 65–60 | 8–1 | MECCA Arena (10,938) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 16, 1979* | No. 1 | Lafayette | W 91–66 | 9–1 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 18, 1979* | No. 1 | San Francisco | W 88–69 | 10–1 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 20, 1979* | No. 1 | South Carolina | W 82–73 | 11–1 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 24, 1979* | No. 1 | Fordham | W 85–53 | 12–1 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 27, 1979* | No. 1 | at Maryland | L 66–67 | 12–2 | Cole Fieldhouse (14,500) College Park, Maryland |
| Jan 30, 1979* | No. 1 | Brown | W 80–53 | 13–2 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 1, 1979* | No. 1 | Xavier | W 66–57 | 14–2 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 3, 1979* | No. 1 | Dayton | W 86–71 | 15–2 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 5, 1979* | No. 1 | Loyola-Chicago | W 84–66 | 16–2 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 7, 1979* | No. 1 | at North Carolina State | W 53–52 | 17–2 | Reynolds Coliseum (12,400) Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 11, 1979* | No. 1 | No. 4 UCLA | L 52–56 | 17–3 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 15, 1979* | No. 3 | at Manhattan | W 86–63 | 18–3 | Draddy Gymnasium (18,106) Bronx, New York |
| Feb 17, 1979* | No. 3 | at West Virginia | W 70–54 | 19–3 | WVU Coliseum (15,118) Morgantown, West Virginia |
| Feb 21, 1979* | No. 3 | Oklahoma City | W 88–60 | 20–3 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 24, 1979* | No. 3 | La Salle | W 93–70 | 21–3 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 26, 1979* | No. 3 | East Carolina | W 89–72 | 22–3 | Joyce Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Mar 2, 1979* | No. 2 | at No. 15 DePaul | L 72–76 | 22–4 | Alumni Hall (5,556) Chicago, Illinois |
| Mar 4, 1979* | No. 2 | at Michigan | L 59–62 | 22–5 | Pontiac Silverdome (37,283) Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1979* | (1 ME) No. 5 | vs. (8 ME) No. 20 Tennessee Second Round | W 73–67 | 23–5 | Murphy Center (10,982) Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Mar 16, 1979* | (1 ME) No. 5 | vs. (5 ME) No. 19 Toledo Mideast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 79–71 | 24–5 | Market Square Arena (16,823) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 18, 1979* | (1 ME) No. 5 | vs. (2 ME) No. 3 Michigan State Mideast Regional final – Elite Eight | L 68–80 | 24–6 | Market Square Arena (17,423) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Coaches | 3 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | Not released |
^Coaches did not release week 1 or week 2 polls.