# 1978–79 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) former Big Eight Conference at that time. The team posted a 21–10 overall record and a 10–4 conference record to finish first in the Conference for head coach Dave Bliss. This was the only Big Eight Conference Regular Season Championship for Bliss.
The team was led by Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year John McCullough. Despite losing two of three games in the Big Eight Conference Pre-Season Tournament, the team posted a 10–4 record during the conference regular season and won all three of its games during the Big Eight Conference Post-Season Tournament. Because of the conference tournaments, the team played both Kansas and Kansas State four times. It swept the season series with Kansas State and split the season series with Kansas. The team also played Nebraska three times, only winning the home game. The team reached the sweet sixteen round of the 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament by beating Texas before losing to Indiana State.
The Sooners' appearance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament marked their first participation in the event since 1947.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 1978* | | Oklahoma City | L 75–81 | 0–1 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| November 28, 1978* | | at Baylor | W 78–75 | 1–1 | Heart O' Texas Coliseum Waco, TX |
| December 2, 1978* | | at Arkansas | L 74–80 | 1–2 | Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| December 5, 1978* | | No. 13 Texas | W 71–65 | 2–2 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| December 9, 1978* | | Louisiana Tech | W 84–68 | 3–2 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| December 12, 1978* | | Pepperdine | W 92–66 | 4–2 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| December 15, 1978* | | vs. Auburn Big Sun Classic | L 70–78 | 4–3 | Bayfront Center St. Petersburg, FL |
| December 16, 1978* | | vs. South Florida Big Sun Classic | W 86–73 | 5–3 | Bayfront Center St. Petersburg, FL |
| December 19, 1978* | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 100–75 | 6–3 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| December 27, 1978* | | vs. Kansas State Big Eight Holiday Tournament | W 62–61 | 7–3 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO |
| December 29, 1978* | | vs. No. 18 Kansas Big Eight Holiday Tournament | L 75–86 | 7–4 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO |
| December 30, 1978* | | vs. Nebraska Big Eight Holiday Tournament | L 53–69 | 7–5 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO |
| January 10, 1979 | | No. 15 Kansas | W 68–45 | 8–5 (1–0) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| January 13, 1979 | | at Missouri | L 67–73 | 8–6 (1–1) | Hearnes Center Columbia, MO |
| January 17, 1979 | | Oklahoma State Bedlam Series | W 64–59 | 9–6 (2–1) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| January 20, 1979 | | Colorado | W 72–64 | 10–6 (3–1) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| January 24, 1979 | | at Nebraska | L 56–74 | 10–7 (3–2) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, NE |
| January 27, 1979 | | Iowa State | W 98–83 | 11–7 (4–2) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| January 31, 1979 | | at Kansas State | W 70–62 | 12–7 (5–2) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, KS |
| February 3, 1979 | | Missouri | W 80–76 | 13–7 (6–2) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| February 7, 1979 | | at Oklahoma State Bedlam Series | W 74–67 | 14–7 (7–2) | Gallagher Hall Stillwater, OK |
| February 10, 1979 | | at Kansas | L 62–74 | 14–8 (7–3) | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| February 14, 1979 | | Nebraska | W 79–58 | 15–8 (8–3) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| February 17, 1979 | | at Colorado | W 67–62 | 16–8 (9–3) | Balch Fieldhouse Boulder, CO |
| February 21, 1979 | | at Iowa State | L 65–66 | 16–9 (9–4) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA |
| February 24, 1979 | | Kansas State | W 65–52 | 17–9 (10–4) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| Big Eight tournament ||||||
| February 27, 1979 | (1) | (8) Colorado First Round | W 77–57 | 18–9 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| March 2, 1979 | (1) | vs. (4) Kansas State Semifinal | W 72–68 | 19–9 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO |
| March 3, 1979 | (1) | vs. (3) Kansas Championship | W 80–65 | 20–9 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 11, 1979* | (5 MW) | vs. (4 MW) No. 15 Texas Second Round | W 90–76 | 21–9 | Moody Coliseum Dallas, TX |
| March 15, 1979* | (5 MW) | vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Indiana State Sweet Sixteen | L 72–93 | 21–10 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region MW=Midwest. ||||||

## Honors

* Big Eight POY: John McCullough

## Team players drafted into the NBA

The following players were drafted in the 1979 NBA draft:
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NBA club |
| 4 | 85 | John McCullough | Guard | Kansas City Kings |
The following letter winners from this team were drafted in the NBA draft in subsequent years (all in the 1980 NBA draft): Terry Stotts (2nd, 38th, Houston Rockets), Al Beal (3rd, 63rd Milwaukee Bucks), and Aaron Curry (5th, 98th, New Jersey Nets).