# 1977–78 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University. The head coach was Bill Foster. The team played its home games in the Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They advanced through the NCAA tournament to the championship game, where they lost to the Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 88–94.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| November 26, 1977* | | Johns Hopkins | W 95–49 | 1–0 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| November 29, 1977* | | Washington College | W 110–66 | 2–0 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| December 2, 1977 | | vs. No. 2 North Carolina Big Four Tournament | L 66–79 | 2–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, N.C. |
| December 3, 1977 | | vs. No. 18 Wake Forest Big Four Tournament | W 97–84 | 3–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, N.C. |
| December 8, 1977* | | at SMU | W 91–67 | 4–1 | Dallas, Texas |
| December 10, 1977* | | at Southern California | L 81–87 $^{OT}$ | 4–2 | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| December 13, 1977* | | Chicago | W 99–61 | 5–2 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| December 28, 1977* | | vs. Duquesne | W 74–65 | 6–2 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, N.C. |
| December 29, 1977* | | vs. Saint Joseph's | W 74–61 | 7–2 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, N.C. |
| January 2, 1978* | | at Virginia Tech | W 86–79 | 8–2 | Blacksburg, Va. |
| January 4, 1978 | | at Maryland | W 88–78 | 9–2 | College Park, Md. |
| January 7, 1978 | | at NC State | L 50–74 | 9–3 | Raleigh, N.C. |
| January 9, 1978* | | Lehigh | W 105–63 | 10–3 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| January 11, 1978 | | at Clemson | W 107–85 | 11–3 | Clemson, S.C. |
| January 14, 1978 | | No. 2 North Carolina | W 92–84 | 12–3 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| January 18, 1978 | No. 17 | Wake Forest | W 81–72 | 13–3 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| January 21, 1978* | No. 17 | at La Salle | W 91–81 | 14–3 | Philadelphia, Pa. |
| January 25, 1978 | No. 11 | at No. 18 Virginia | L 73–74 | 14–4 | Charlottesville, Va. |
| January 28, 1978* | No. 11 | East Carolina | W 105–82 | 15–4 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| February 2, 1978 | No. 17 | at Wake Forest | L 60–79 | 15–5 | Winston-Salem, N.C. |
| February 8, 1978 | | No. 13 Virginia | W 100–75 | 16–5 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| February 11, 1978 | | Davidson | W 104–88 | 17–5 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| February 15, 1978 | No. 20 | NC State | W 76–64 | 18–5 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| February 18, 1978 | No. 20 | Maryland | W 81–70 | 19–5 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| February 22, 1978 | No. 13 | Clemson | W 78–62 | 20–5 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, N.C. |
| February 25, 1978 | No. 13 | at No. 8 North Carolina | L 83–87 | 20–6 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| March 1, 1978 | No. 15 | vs. Clemson ACC tournament | W 83–72 | 21–6 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, N.C. |
| March 2, 1978 | No. 15 | vs. Maryland ACC Tournament | W 81–69 | 22–6 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, N.C. |
| March 4, 1978 | No. 15 | vs. Wake Forest ACC Tournament | W 85–77 | 23–6 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, N.C. |
| March 12, 1978* | No. 8 | vs. Rhode Island NCAA East First round | W 63–62 | 24–6 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, N.C. |
| March 17, 1978* | No. 7 | vs. No. 20 Pennsylvania NCAA East Regional semifinal | W 84–80 | 25–6 | Providence Civic Center Providence, R.I. |
| March 19, 1978 | No. 7 | vs. Villanova NCAA East Regional Final | W 90–72 | 26–6 | Providence Civic Center Providence, R.I. |
| March 25, 1978* | No. 7 | vs. No. 6 Notre Dame NCAA Final Four | W 90–86 | 27–6 | Checkerdome St. Louis, Mo. |
| March 27, 1978* | No. 7 | vs. No. 1 Kentucky NCAA Championship | L 88–94 | 27–7 | Checkerdome St. Louis, Mo. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. Source: Duke Athletics ||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

No one from the men's basketball team was selected in the 1978 NBA draft. However, Jim Spanarkel was drafted 16th overall in the 1979 NBA draft. Also, Mike Gminski was picked 7th overall in the 1980 NBA Draft, and Gene Banks and Kenny Dennard were picked 28th and 78th in the 1981 NBA draft, respectively.