# 1977–78 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Lynn Nance, who was in his second season with the Cyclones. They played their home games at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
They finished the season 14–13, 9–5 in Big Eight play to finish tied for second place. The Cyclones lost in the first round of the Big Eight tournament to seventh seeded Missouri, falling 65–63.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 17, 1977* 7:35 pm | | Cuban National Team Exhibition | W 61–47 | | Hilton Coliseum (4,000) Ames, Iowa |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 26, 1977* 7:35 pm | | Iowa CyHawk Rivalry | W 79–78 | 1–0 | Hilton Coliseum (14,308) Ames, Iowa |
| December 2, 1977* 10:05 pm | | at Arizona State Sun Devil Classic Semifinals | L 69–87 | 1–1 | ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona |
| December 3, 1977* 8:05 pm | | vs. Tennessee Sun Devil Classic Consolation | L 76–81 | 1–2 | ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona |
| December 7, 1977* 7:35 pm | | Nebraska-Omaha | W 86–78 | 2–2 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| December 10, 1977* 7:35 pm | | at Drake Iowa Big Four | L 77–91 | 2–3 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (10,638) Des Moines, Iowa |
| December 12, 1977* 7:35 pm | | Wisconsin | W 82–73 | 3–3 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| December 17, 1977* 10:05 pm | | at California | L 73–102 | 3–4 | Harmon Gymnasium Berkeley, California |
| December 20, 1977* 10:05 pm | | at San Jose State | L 56–59 | 3–5 | Independence Fieldhouse San Jose, California |
| December 28, 1977* 7:00 pm | | vs. Oklahoma Big Eight Holiday tournament quarterfinals | L 69–74 $^{OT}$ | 3–6 | Kemper Arena (10,400) Kansas City, Missouri |
| December 29, 1977* 3:05 pm | | vs. Missouri Big Eight Holiday Tournament Consolation Semifinals | L 62–66 | 3–7 | Kemper Arena (7,252) Kansas City, Missouri |
| December 30, 1977* 1:05 pm | | vs. Colorado Big Eight Holiday Tournament Seventh Place | W 83–79 | 4–7 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| January 5, 1978* 7:35 pm, WOI | | Drake Iowa Big Four | W 74–71 | 5–7 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 8, 1978 1:10 pm, TVS–NBC | | Colorado | W 84–64 | 6–7 (1–0) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 11, 1978 7:35 pm | | Kansas State | W 82–77 | 7–7 (2–0) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 14, 1978 7:35 pm | | at Nebraska | W 65–59 | 8–7 (3–0) | Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| January 18, 1978 7:35 pm | | No. 8 Kansas | L 82–100 | 8–8 (3–1) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 21, 1978 7:35 pm | | at Oklahoma State | W 59–53 | 9–8 (4–1) | Gallagher Hall Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| January 25, 1978 7:35 pm | | at Oklahoma | W 76–74 $^{OT}$ | 10–8 (5–1) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| January 28, 1978 7:35 pm | | Missouri | W 68–59 | 11–8 (6–1) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 1, 1978 7:35 pm | | at Kansas State | L 63–74 | 11–9 (6–2) | Ahearn Fieldhouse Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 4, 1978 7:35 pm | | Nebraska | L 56–62 | 11–10 (6–3) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 8, 1978 8:35 pm | | at Colorado | L 64–70 | 11–11 (6–4) | Balch Fieldhouse Boulder, Colorado |
| February 11, 1978 7:35 pm | | Oklahoma State | W 93–69 | 12–11 (7–4) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 15, 1978 7:35 pm | | at No. 6 Kansas | L 70–80 | 12–12 (7–5) | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 18, 1978 7:35 pm | | Oklahoma | W 77–71 | 13–12 (8–5) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 25, 1978 7:35 pm | | at Missouri | W 67–63 | 14–12 (9–5) | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| Big Eight tournament ||||||
| February 28, 1978 7:35 pm | (2) | at (7) Missouri Big Eight tournament quarterfinals | L 63–65 | 14–13 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||