# 1977–78 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1977–78 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Gary Cunningham, who would be the highest winning percentage coach of all time at UCLA, began his first of two years. The Bruins started the season ranked 6th in the nation (AP Poll). The Bruins started the season 4–0 before losing at Notre Dame. UCLA's team finished 1st in the Pac-8 regular season. They went undefeated in conference play for the first time since John Wooden's 1972–73 team in the last Pac-8 year, as the conference would add the two Arizona universities, becoming the Pac-10. UCLA participated the NCAA tournament where they lost to Arkansas.

## Starting lineup

| Position | Player | Class |
| F | James Wilkes | So. |
| F | David Greenwood | Jr. |
| C | Gig Sims | So. |
| G | Roy Hamilton | Jr. |
| G | Raymond Townsend | Sr. |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 26, 1977 | No. 6 | BYU | W 75–73 | 1–0 | Pauley Pavilion (12,202) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 27, 1977 | No. 6 | Seattle | W 106–73 | 2–0 | Pauley Pavilion (8,223) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 2, 1977 | No. 6 | Colorado | W 104–70 | 3–0 | Pauley Pavilion (10,311) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 3, 1977 | No. 6 | Santa Clara | W 88–79 | 4–0 | Pauley Pavilion (12,164) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 10, 1977 | No. 5 | No. 3 Notre Dame | L 66–69 | 4–1 | Pauley Pavilion (12,829) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 16, 1977 | No. 8 | Southern Illinois | W 90–75 | 5–1 | Pauley Pavilion (9,517) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 17, 1977 | No. 8 | UC Santa Barbara | W 71–55 | 6–1 | Pauley Pavilion (9,149) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 22, 1977 | No. 7 | San Jose State | W 109–69 | 7–1 | Pauley Pavilion (9,014) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 23, 1977 | No. 7 | New Mexico State | W 86–67 | 8–1 | Pauley Pavilion (8,638) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 29, 1977 | No. 8 | Arizona | W 85–63 | 9–1 | Pauley Pavilion (12,603) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 6, 1978 | No. 7 | at Washington | W 79–60 | 10–1 (1–0) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion (7,461) Seattle, WA |
| January 8, 1978 | No. 7 | at Washington State | W 70–55 | 11–1 (2–0) | Washington State University Performing Arts Coliseum (8,763) Pullman, WA |
| January 13, 1978 | No. 7 | Oregon | W 90–72 | 12–1 (3–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,652) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 14, 1978 | No. 7 | Oregon State | W 77–60 | 13–1 (4–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,461) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 22, 1978 | No. 3 | at No. 7 Notre Dame | L 73–75 | 13–2 | Athletic & Convocation Center (11,345) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 28, 1978 | No. 6 | USC | W 83–71 | 14–2 (5–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,712) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 2, 1978 | No. 5 | Stanford | W 101–64 | 15–2 (6–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,091) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 4, 1978 | No. 5 | California | W 94–75 | 16–2 (7–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,399) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 10, 1978 | No. 5 | at California | W 78–64 | 17–2 (8–0) | Harmon Gym (6,600) Berkeley, CA |
| February 11, 1978 | No. 5 | at Stanford | W 79–63 | 18–2 (9–0) | Maples Pavilion (7,982) Stanford, CA |
| February 17, 1978 | No. 4 | Washington State | W 60–59 | 19–2 (10–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,438) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 18, 1978 | No. 4 | Washington | W 104–64 | 20–2 (11–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,593) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 23, 1978 | No. 3 | at Oregon State | W 96–58 | 21–2 (12–0) | Gill Coliseum (10,522) Corvallis, OR |
| February 25, 1978 | No. 3 | at Oregon | W 83–57 | 22–2 (13–0) | McArthur Court (10,500) Eugene, OR |
| March 3, 1978 | No. 2 | at USC | W 91–78 | 23–2 (14–0) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (11,761) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 5, 1978 | No. 2 | Michigan | W 96–70 | 24–2 | Pauley Pavilion (12,004) Los Angeles, CA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 11, 1978 | No. 2 | vs. No. 9 Kansas Regional Quarterfinals | W 83–76 | 25–2 | McArthur Court (9,141) Eugene, OR |
| March 16, 1978 | No. 2 | vs. No. 5 Arkansas Regional semifinals | L 70–74 | 25–3 | The Pit (17,750) Albuquerque, NM |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source