# 1978–79 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Southwest Conference. They finished the season 21-8 overall, tied for the SWC regular season title with a 13–3 record and reached the NCAA tournament. They were coached by Abe Lemons in his third season as head coach of the Longhorns. They played their home games at the Special Events Center in Austin, Texas.

## Roster

| Name | # | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Home Town | High School |
| Ron Baxter | 12 | Guard-Forward | 6–4 | 205 | Junior | Los Angeles | Dorsey |
| Brent Boyd | 4 | Guard | 6–3 | 185 | Junior | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Catholic University |
| Tyrone Branyan | 31 | Forward | 6–7 | 220 | Senior | Placentia, California | El Dorado |
| Rob Cunningham | 35 | Forward-Center | 6–8 | 215 | Sophomore | Westport, Connecticut | Staples |
| John Danks | 32 | Forward | 6–6 | 190 | Junior | Beaver Dam, Kentucky | Ohio County |
| Ovie Dotson | 15 | Guard | 6–5 | 200 | Senior | San Antonio, Texas | Sam Houston |
| Henry Johnson | 33 | Forward | 6–6 | 190 | Sophomore | Los Angeles | Manual Arts |
| Jim Krivacs | 11 | Guard | 6–1 | 160 | Senior | Indianapolis | Southport |
| John Moore | 00 | Guard | 6–1 | 170 | Senior | Altoona, Pennsylvania | Altoona |
| Dave Shepard | 44 | Guard | 6–4 | 205 | Sophomore | Los Angeles | Manual Arts |
| Keith Stephens | 52 | Forward | 6–8 | 210 | Sophomore | Pasadena, California | Pasadena |
| Phillip Stroud | 30 | Forward | 6–7 | 220 | Senior | Houston, Texas | Wheatley |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 24, 1978* | No. 6 | at Long Beach State | L 71–76 | 0–1 | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California |
| Nov 29, 1978* | No. 13 | Arkansas State | W 68–54 | 1–1 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Dec 2, 1978* | No. 13 | BYU | W 96–57 | 2–1 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Dec 5, 1978* | No. 13 | at Oklahoma | L 65-71 | 2–2 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| Dec 9, 1978* | No. 13 | Oklahoma State | W 85-70 | 3-2 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Dec 16, 1978* | No. 17 | Hardin-Simmons | W 68-58 | 4–2 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Dec 28, 1978* | | at Pacific | W 70–53 | 5–2 | Pacific Pavilion Stockton, California |
| Dec 30, 1978* | | at San Francisco | L 48-69 | 5–3 | Sobrato Center San Francisco, California |
| Jan 4, 1979 | | TCU | W 92-63 | 6–3 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Jan 6, 1979 | | at Texas Tech | L 74-92 | 6–4 | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| Jan 8, 1979 | | at Houston | W 75-57 | 7–4 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 12, 1979 | | at No. 10 Arkansas | W 66-63 | 8–4 | Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Jan 16, 1979 | | at Rice | W 94-81 | 9–4 | Rice Gymnasium Houston, Texas |
| Jan 20, 1979* | | USC | W 87-68 | 10–4 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Jan 22, 1979 | No. 17 | No. 14 Texas A&M | W 89-66 | 11–4 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Jan 24, 1979 | No. 17 | at Baylor | W 77-76 | 12–4 | Heart O' Texas Coliseum Waco, Texas |
| Jan 27, 1979 | No. 17 | SMU | W 98-62 | 13–4 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Jan 28, 1979 | No. 17 | Houston | W 79-53 | 14–4 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Feb 1, 1979 | No. 11 | No. 19 Arkansas | L 58-68 | 14–5 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Feb 3, 1979 | No. 11 | at TCU | W 73-60 | 15–5 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| SWC tournament ||||||
| Mar 2, 1979* | No. 14 | vs. Houston Semifinals | W 70–65 | 21–6 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| Mar 3, 1979* | No. 14 | vs. No. 9 Arkansas Championship game | L 38–39 | 21–7 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1979* | (4 MW) | vs. (5 MW) Oklahoma Second round | L 76–90 | 21–8 | Moody Coliseum Dallas, Texas |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||