# 1979–80 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1979–80 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Larry Brown began his first year as head coach. The Bruins started the season ranked 8th in the nation (AP Poll). The Bruins started the season 3-0 and climbed to 7th after starting 3–0. UCLA's team finished 4th in the Pac-10 regular season, failing to finish atop the conference for the first time since 1965–66. UCLA participated the NCAA tournament going 5–0 before losing to the Louisville Cardinals in the championship game. The Bruins' five NCAA tournament wins and championship game appearance were later vacated after the NCAA had determined UCLA committed nine violations.
The Bruins fell out the rankings in the poll released on January 14, 1980, ending what currently stands as the second most consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll with 221. The streak began at the beginning of the Bruins 1966–67 season.

## Starting lineup

| Position | Player | Class |
| F | Kiki Vandeweghe | Sr. |
| F | James Wilkes | Sr. |
| C | Mike Sanders | So. |
| G | Michael Holton | Fr. |
| G | Rod Foster | Fr. |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 30, 1979* | No. 8 | Idaho State | W 82–40 | 1–0 | Pauley Pavilion (9,872) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 1, 1979* | No. 8 | Hofstra | W 90–71 | 2–0 | Pauley Pavilion (9,785) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 8, 1979* | No. 8 | Santa Clara | W 92–79 | 3–0 | Pauley Pavilion (12,238) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 11, 1979* | No. 7 | at No. 4 Notre Dame | L 74–77 | 3–1 | Athletic & Convocation Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| December 15, 1979* | No. 7 | No. 11 DePaul | L 94–99 | 3–2 | Pauley Pavilion (12,072) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 21, 1979* | No. 14 | UC Santa Barbara | W 102–58 | 4–2 | Pauley Pavilion (7,834) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 22, 1979* | No. 14 | Colorado State | W 86–63 | 5–2 | Pauley Pavilion (8,166) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 28, 1979 | No. 16 | California | W 73–59 | 6–2 (1–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,413) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 29, 1979 | No. 16 | Stanford | W 92–60 | 7–2 (2–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,473) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 3, 1980 | No. 16 | at No. 14 Oregon State | L 67–76 | 7–3 (2–1) | Beasley Coliseum (10,642) Corvallis, OR |
| January 5, 1980 | No. 16 | at Oregon | W 76–62 | 8–3 (3–1) | McArthur Court (10,000) Eugene, OR |
| January 12, 1980 | No. 16 | at USC | L 74–82 | 8–4 (3–2) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (14,168) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 17, 1980 | | Arizona State | L 76–78 | 8–5 (3–3) | Pauley Pavilion (12,286) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 19, 1980* | | No. 8 Notre Dame | L 73–80 | 8–6 | Pauley Pavilion (12,193) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 21, 1980 | | Arizona | W 69–59 | 9–6 (4–3) | Pauley Pavilion (10,044) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 24, 1980 | | at Washington | W 76–59 | 10–6 (5–3) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion (5,178) Seattle, WA |
| January 26, 1980 | | at Washington State | L 64–80 | 10–7 (5–4) | Gill Coliseum (11,742) Pullman, WA |
| January 31, 1980 | | No. 2 Oregon State | W 93–67 | 11–7 (6–4) | Pauley Pavilion (12,305) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 2, 1980 | | Oregon | W 90–76 | 12–7 (7–4) | Pauley Pavilion (11,952) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 9, 1980 | | USC | W 91–64 | 13–7 (8–4) | Pauley Pavilion (12,383) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 16, 1980 | | at Arizona | W 90–78 | 14–7 (9–4) | McKale Center (14,486) Tucson, AZ |
| February 18, 1980 | | at No. 18 Arizona State | L 80–92 | 14–8 (9–5) | Wells Fargo Arena (9,638) Tempe, AZ |
| February 21, 1980 | | No. 20 Washington State | W 80–66 | 15–8 (10–5) | Pauley Pavilion (11,652) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 23, 1980 | | Washington | L 70–72 | 15–9 (10–6) | Pauley Pavilion (11,813) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 28, 1980 | | at Stanford | W 75–62 | 16–9 (11–6) | Maples Pavilion (5,892) Stanford, CA |
| March 1, 1980 | | at California | W 83–58 | 17–9 (12–6) | Harmon Gym (6,500) Berkeley, CA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 7, 1980* | | vs. Old Dominion First Round | W 87–74 (vacated) | 18–9 | Wells Fargo Arena (9,250) Tempe, AZ |
| March 9, 1980* | | vs. No. 1 DePaul Second Round | W 77–71 (vacated) | 19–9 | Wells Fargo Arena (14,468) Tempe, AZ |
| March 13, 1980* | | vs. No. 10 Ohio State Sweet Sixteen | W 72–68 (vacated) | 20–9 | McKale Center (7,670) Tucson, AZ |
| March 15, 1980* | | vs. Clemson Elite Eight | W 85–74 (vacated) | 21–9 | McKale Center (6,355) Tucson, AZ |
| March 22, 1980* | | vs. Purdue Final Four | W 67–62 (vacated) | 22–9 | Market Square Arena (16,637) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 24, 1980* | | vs. No. 2 Louisville Championship Game | L 54–59 (vacated) | 22–10 | Market Square Arena (16,637) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
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