# 1978–79 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 1978–79 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the program's second season in Division I and 14th season overall. The Anteaters were led by tenth year head coach Tim Taft and played their home games at Crawford Hall as members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished the season 9–17 and were 3–11 in PCAA play to finish 8th place. The anteaters were invited to the 1979 PCAA tournament as the eighth seed where they lost to the Pacific Tigers in the first round.

## Previous season

In their inaugural season as a Division I program, the 1977–78 Anteaters finished with a record of 8–17 and 2–12 PCAA play. The anteaters started the season with a record of 5–5, achieving their first victory as a Division I program against the Chico State Wildcats and their first victory versus a fellow Division I program against the Boise State Broncos. The anteaters struggled for the remainder of the season, going 3–12, and ended the year on a six-game losing streak.

## Off-season
### Incoming transfer

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Lester Jones | G | 6'0" | N/A | Jr. | N/A | Junior college transfer from Foothill Junior College |
| Victor Conyers | F | 6'7" | N/A | Jr. | N/A | Junior college transfer from San Jose City College |

### 1978 Recruiting Class

College recruiting information (1977) :
| Name | Hometown | Height | Weight |
| Robbie Beal G | N/A | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Louis Bremond G | N/A | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: |||||||
Source:

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 27, 1978* | Portland | L 58–86 | 0–1 | Crawford Hall (755) Irvine, CA |
| November 28, 1978* | Northern Arizona | W 57–56 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | Crawford Hall (682) Irvine, CA |
| December 2, 1978* | at Saint Mary's | L 56–67 | 1–2 | McKeon Pavilion (1,000) Moraga, CA |
| December 9, 1978* | at Puget Sound | L 49–62 | 1–3 | – (800) Tacoma, WA |
| December 11, 1978* | at Seattle Pacific | W 57–47 | 2–3 | – (500) Seattle, WA |
| December 14, 1978* | at Portland | L 66–82 | 2–4 | Howard Hall (1,089) Portland, OR |
| December 29, 1978* | vs. Puget Sound Gaucho Tournament | L 49–64 | 2–5 | Robertson Gymnasium (2,900) Santa Barbara, CA |
| December 30, 1978* | vs. San Diego Gaucho Tournament | L 59–70 | 2–6 | Robertson Gymnasium (2,900) Santa Barbara, CA |
| January 4, 1979* | MacMurray College | W 107–57 | 3–6 | Crawford Hall (525) Irvine, CA |
| January 6, 1979* 7:30 pm | Portland State | W 63–51 | 4–6 | Crawford Hall (525) Irvine, CA |
| January 11, 1979 | at Long Beach State | L 58–83 | 4–7 (0–1) | Long Beach Arena (3,769) Long Beach, CA |
| January 13, 1979 8:05 pm | at UC Santa Barbara | L 63–66 | 4–8 (0–2) | Robertson Gymnasium (3,100) Santa Barbara, CA |
| January 16, 1979* 7:30 pm | Loyola Marymount | L 54–55 | 4–9 | Crawford Hall (875) Irvine, CA |
| January 18, 1979 7:30 pm | Pacific | L 54–64 | 4–10 (0–3) | Crawford Hall (748) Irvine, CA |
| January 20, 1979 7:30 pm | Fresno State | L 63 –64 | 4–11 (0–4) | Crawford Hall (842) Irvine, CA |
| January 25, 1979 | Cal State Fullerton | L 57–73 | 4–12 (0–5) | Crawford Hall (1,552) Irvine, CA |
| January 28, 1979 5:00 pm | at Cal State Fullerton | L 55–76 | 4–13 (0–6) | Titan Gym (2,909) Fullerton, CA |
| February 1, 1979 | at San Jose State | W 62–61 $^{OT}$ | 5–13 (1–6) | Spartan Gym (991) San Jose, CA |
| February 3, 1979 | at Utah State | L 54–65 | 5–14 (1–7) | Smith Spectrum (8,279) Logan, UT |
| February 8, 1979 | Utah State | W 56–54 | 6–14 (2–7) | Crawford Hall (878) Irvine, CA |
| February 10, 1979 7:30 pm | San Jose State | W 80–71 | 7–14 (3–7) | Crawford Hall (1,005) Irvine, CA |
| February 15, 1979 | at Fresno State | L 44–55 | 7–15 (3–8) | Selland Arena (5,991) Fresno, CA |
| February 17, 1979 | at Pacific | L 53–73 | 7–16 (3–9) | Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium (2,800) Stockton, CA |
| February 22, 1979 7:30 pm | UC Santa Barbara | L 61–63 | 7–17 (3–10) | Crawford Hall (878) Irvine, CA |
| February 24, 1979 | Long Beach State | L 63–64 | 7–18 (3–11) | Crawford Hall (1,525) Irvine, CA |
| PCAA tournament ||||||
| March 1, 1979* | vs. Pacific Quarterfinals | L 52–57 | 7–19 | Anaheim Convention Center (7,470) Anaheim, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

* Louis Bremond
** PCAA All-Freshman Team