# 1978–79 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1978–79 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Gary Cunningham began his second year and final year as head coach. The Bruins started the season ranked 2nd in the nation (AP Poll). The Bruins started the season 3–0 before losing to #3 Notre Dame. UCLA's team finished 1st in the Pac-10 regular season. UCLA participated in the NCAA Tournament where they reached the Regional Final before losing 95–91 to DePaul (a team the Bruins had beaten in their second game of the season).

## Starting lineup

| Position | Player | Class |
| F | Kiki Vandeweghe | Jr. |
| F | David Greenwood | Sr. |
| C | Gig Sims | Jr. |
| G | Roy Hamilton | Sr. |
| G | Brad Holland | Sr. |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 24, 1978 | No. 2 | Boise State | W 79–59 | 1–0 | Pauley Pavilion (11,058) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 25, 1978 | No. 2 | DePaul | W 108–85 | 2–0 | Pauley Pavilion (12,178) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 2, 1978 | No. 2 | Santa Clara | W 87–73 | 3–0 | Pauley Pavilion (11,829) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 9, 1978 | No. 2 | No. 3 Notre Dame | L 78–81 | 3–1 | Pauley Pavilion (12,721) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 16, 1978 | No. 5 | San Diego State | W 97–73 | 4–1 | Pauley Pavilion (10,852) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 22, 1978 | No. 3 | Fordham | W 95–64 | 5–1 | Pauley Pavilion (9,732) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 23, 1978 | No. 3 | Boston College | W 103–81 | 6–1 | Pauley Pavilion (10,489) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 27, 1978 | No. 3 | at Stanford | L 72–75 | 6–2 (0–1) | Maples Pavilion (7,946) Stanford, CA |
| December 28, 1978 | No. 3 | at California | W 95–67 | 7–2 (1–1) | Harmon Gym (6,500) Berkeley, CA |
| January 4, 1979 | No. 6 | Oregon State | W 65–63 | 8–2 (2–1) | Pauley Pavilion (12,374) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 6, 1979 | No. 6 | Rutgers | W 78–57 | 9–2 | Pauley Pavilion (12,176) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 8, 1979 | No. 6 | Oregon | W 74–71 | 10–2 (3–1) | Pauley Pavilion (11,433) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 13, 1979 | No. 6 | at USC | W 89–86 | 11–2 (4–1) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (14,696) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 18, 1979 | No. 3 | at Arizona | L 69–70 | 11–3 (4–1) | McKale Center (14,606) Tucson, AZ |
| January 20, 1979 | No. 3 | at Arizona State | W 95–79 | 12–3 (5–2) | ASU Activity Center (14,301) Tempe, AZ |
| January 25, 1979 | No. 6 | Washington State | W 89–71 | 13–3 (6–2) | Pauley Pavilion (12,173) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 27, 1979 | No. 6 | Washington | W 86–61 | 14–3 (7–2) | Pauley Pavilion (12,052) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 1, 1979 | No. 6 | at Oregon | W 65–58 | 15–3 (8–2) | McArthur Court (10,000) Eugene, OR |
| February 3, 1979 | No. 6 | at Oregon State | W 69–56 | 16–3 (9–2) | Gill Coliseum (10,427) Corvallis, OR |
| February 9, 1979 | No. 4 | USC | W 102–94 $^{OT}$ | 17–3 (10–2) | Pauley Pavilion (12,591) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 11, 1979 | No. 4 | at No. 1 Notre Dame | W 56–52 | 18–3 | Athletic & Convocation Center (11,343) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 15, 1979 | No. 2 | Arizona State | W 85–83 | 19–3 (11–2) | Pauley Pavilion (12,066) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 17, 1979 | No. 2 | Arizona | W 110–86 | 20–3 (12–2) | Pauley Pavilion (11,746) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 22, 1979 | No. 1 | at Washington | L 68–69 | 20–4 (12–3) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion (7,000) Seattle, WA |
| February 24, 1979 | No. 1 | at Washington State | W 110–102 $^{3OT}$ | 21–4 (13–3) | WSU Performing Arts Coliseum (11,754) Pullman, WA |
| March 1, 1979 | No. 3 | California | W 79–68 | 22–4 (14–3) | Pauley Pavilion (12,129) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 3, 1979 | No. 3 | Stanford | W 99–71 | 23–4 (15–3) | Pauley Pavilion (12,322) Los Angeles, CA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 11, 1979 | (1 W) No. 2 | vs. (9 W) Pepperdine Second Round | W 76–71 | 24–4 | Pauley Pavilion (12,181) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 15, 1979 | (1 W) No. 2 | vs. (4 W) No. 12 San Francisco Regional semifinals | W 99–81 | 25–4 | Marriott Center (15,139) Provo, UT |
| March 17, 1979 | (1 W) No. 2 | vs. (2 W) No. 6 DePaul Regional Finals | L 91–95 | 25–5 | Marriott Center (13,126) Provo, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific time. ||||||
    Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Coaches | 2 | — | — | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Not released |
^Coaches did not release Week 1 or Week 2 polls.

## NBA draft

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 1979 | 1 | 2 | David Greenwood | Chicago Bulls |
| 1979 | 1 | 10 | Roy Hamilton | Detroit Pistons |
| 1979 | 1 | 14 | Brad Holland | Los Angeles Lakers |
    Source: