# 1979–80 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 1979–80 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by eleventh year head coach Tim Tift and played their home games at Crawford Hall. They were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished the season 4–18 and 1–13 in PCAA play.

## Previous season

The 1978–79 Anteaters finished the season with a record of 9–17 and 3–11 in PCAA play. The anteaters were invited to the PCAA tournament for the first time and were eliminated Pacific Tigers in the first round.

## Off-season
### 1979 Recruiting Class

US college sports recruiting information for 1979 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| James Brooker F | N/A | Mission San Jose High School (CA) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Rick Doyle C | N/A | Santa Rosa High School (CA) | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Barry Smith C | N/A | Mission San Jose High School (CA) | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Tony Welch G | N/A | Sacred Heart High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Recruiting 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

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 30, 1979* | Samford | W 93–79 | 1–0 | Crawford Hall (873) Irvine, CA |
| December 1, 1979* | Saint Mary's | L 66–68 | 1–1 | Crawford Hall (937) Irvine, CA |
| December 8, 1979* | at Northern Arizona | L 77–84 $^{OT}$ | 1–2 | Walkup Skydome (7,153) Flagstaff, AZ |
| December 14, 1979* | Chico State | W 85–56 | 2–2 | Crawford Hall (406) Irvine, CA |
| December 15, 1979* | North Park | L 55–69 | 2–3 | Crawford Hall (512) Irvine, CA |
| December 17, 1979* | Central | W 74–60 | 3–3 | Crawford Hall (319) Irvine, CA |
| December 19, 1979* | Jackson State | W 56–50 | 4–3 | Crawford Hall (201) Irvine, CA |
| December 21, 1979* | vs. Portland State Portland State Tournament | W 69–56 | 5–3 | Portland State University Gym (517) Portland, OR |
| December 22, 1979* | vs. Pepperdine Portland State Tournament | L 55–68 | 5–4 | Portland State University Gym (450) Portland, OR |
| December 28, 1979* | vs. Hofstra Crusader Classic | L 83–84 $^{2OT}$ | 5–5 | Hart Recreation Center (4,000) Worcester, MA |
| December 29, 1979* | vs. Assumption Crusader Classic | L 65–67 | 5–6 | Hart Recreation Center (4,000) Worcester, MA |
| January 2, 1980* | vs. Western Illinois | W 83–74 | 6–6 | Crawford Hall (247) Irvine, CA |
| January 10, 1980 | at Long Beach State | L 46–77 | 6–7 (0–1) | Long Beach Arena (3,187) Long Beach, CA |
| January 12, 1980 | UC Santa Barbara | L 59–61 | 6–8 (0–2) | Crawford Hall (1,049) Irvine, CA |
| January 16, 1980 | at Pacific | L 46–59 | 6–9 (0–3) | Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium (2,530) Stockton, CA |
| January 19, 1980 | at Fresno State | L 53–68 | 6–10 (0–4) | Selland Arena (6,530) Fresno, CA |
| January 24, 1980 | at Cal State Fullerton | L 53–68 | 6–11 (0–5) | Titan Gym (1,350) Fullerton, CA |
| January 26, 1980 | Cal State Fullerton | L 62–63 | 6–12 (0–6) | Crawford Hall (1,232) Irvine, CA |
| January 31, 1980 | at San Jose State | L 47–82 | 6–13 (0–7) | San Jose Civic Auditorium (1,453) San Jose, CA |
| February 2, 1980 | at Utah State | L 81–98 | 6–14 (0–8) | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (8,918) Logan, UT |
| February 7, 1980 | Utah State | L 83–87 $^{OT}$ | 6–15 (0–9) | Crawford Hall (719) Irvine, CA |
| February 9, 1980 | San Jose State | L 59–74 | 6–16 (0–10) | Crawford Hall (3,196) Irvine, CA |
| February 14, 1980 | Fresno State | L 47–51 | 6–17 (0–11) | Crawford Hall (519) Irvine, CA |
| February 16, 1980 | Pacific | W 63–60 | 7–17 (1–11) | Crawford Hall (487) Irvine, CA |
| February 21, 1980 | at UC Santa Barbara | L 66–81 | 7–18 (1–12) | UCSB Events Center (2,300) Santa Barbara, CA |
| February 24, 1980 | Long Beach State | L 26–30 | 7–19 (1–13) | Crawford Hall (1,429) Irvine, CA |
| PCAA tournament ||||||
| February 28, 1980 | vs. Long Beach State Quarterfinals | L 56–64 | 7–20 | Anaheim Convention Center (3,221) Anaheim, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

* Victor Conyers
** PCAA Second Team All-Conference