# 1979–80 Furman Paladins men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Furman Paladins men's basketball team represented Furman University in the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Paladins, led by second-year head coach Eddie Holbrook, played their home games at Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina, as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the regular season with a 14–1 record in SoCon play, to finish in first place. In the SoCon tournament, they defeated VMI, and East Tennessee State, and Marshall to win the title and make the NCAA tournament. In the opening round, the Paladins were beaten by No. 7 seed Tennessee to finish the season at 23–7.
The Furman men's basketball program would not make a return to the NCAA tournament until 2023.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1979* | | Central Florida | L 77–84 | 0–1 | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Dec 3, 1979* | | Rollins | W 88–73 | 1–1 | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Dec 5, 1979* | | Coastal Carolina | W 89–65 | 2–1 | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Dec 8, 1979 | | at The Citadel | W 89–88 | 3–1 (1–0) | McAlister Field House Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 15, 1979 | | at Davidson | W 91–81 | 4–1 (2–0) | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 17, 1979 | | Western Carolina | W 96–90 | 5–1 (3–0) | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Dec 20, 1979* | | at UNC Charlotte | L 76–91 | 5–2 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 28, 1979* | | Indiana State–Evansville Poinsettia Classic | W 93–64 | 6–2 | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Dec 29, 1979* | | Austin Peay Poinsettia Classic | W 93–89 | 7–2 | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 3, 1980* | | Presbyterian | W 90–61 | 8–2 | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 5, 1980 | | Appalachian State | W 76–65 | 9–2 (4–0) | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 7, 1980 | | at Western Carolina | W 92–83 | 10–2 (5–0) | Reid Gymnasium Cullowhee, North Carolina |
| Jan 10, 1980 | | Chattanooga | W 88–74 | 11–2 (6–0) | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 12, 1980 | | Davidson | W 84–68 | 12–2 (7–0) | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 16, 1980 | | at East Tennessee State | W 86–84 $^{OT}$ | 13–2 (8–0) | Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Jan 19, 1980 | | The Citadel | W 82–55 | 14–2 (9–0) | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 21, 1980 | | at Appalachian State | W 75–71 | 15–2 (10–0) | Varsity Gym Boone, North Carolina |
| Jan 23, 1980* | | at No. 12 Clemson | L 67–85 | 15–3 | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| Jan 26, 1980 | | at VMI | W 84–67 | 16–3 (11–0) | VMI Field House Lexington, Virginia |
| Jan 28, 1980 | | at Marshall | L 67–83 | 16–4 (11–1) | Memorial Field House Huntington, West Virginia |
| Feb 1, 1980* | | at NC State North-South Doubleheader | L 56–76 | 16–5 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 2, 1980* | | No. 11 North Carolina North-South Doubleheader | L 63–75 | 16–6 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 13, 1980 | | at Chattanooga | W 67–65 | 17–6 (12–1) | Maclellan Gym Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Feb 16, 1980 | | Marshall | W 61–57 | 18–6 (13–1) | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Feb 18, 1980 | | VMI | W 107–75 | 19–6 (14–1) | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Feb 20, 1980* | | South Carolina | W 61–53 | 20–6 | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| Feb 23, 1980* | | VMI Quarterfinals | W 87–75 | 21–6 | Memorial Auditorium Greenville, South Carolina |
| Feb 24, 1980* | | vs. East Tennessee State Semifinals | W 93–81 | 22–6 | Roanoke Civic Center Roanoke, Virginia |
| Feb 25, 1980* | | vs. Marshall Championship game | W 80–62 | 23–6 | Roanoke Civic Center Roanoke, Virginia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1980* | (E 10) | vs. (E 7) Tennessee First round | L 69–80 | 23–7 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source