# 1979–80 BYU Cougars men's basketball team

The 1979–80 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 1979–80 college basketball season. This was head coach Frank Arnold's 5th season at BYU. The Cougars finished the regular season with a record of 24–5, 13–1 in the Western Athletic Conference. The team's sole conference loss was by a 53–56 score against Wyoming.
Junior Guard Danny Ainge was leading scorer, averaging 19.1 points per game. Center Alan Taylor with 12.5 rebounds per game.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 30* | Illinois | L 76–86 | 0–1 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| December 1* | Baylor | W 100–58 | 1–1 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| December 7* | at Tulsa | W 73–71 | 2–1 | Tulsa Convention Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| December 8* | at Oral Roberts | W 76–75 | 3–1 | Mabee Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| December 11* | Cal State Fullerton | W 80–64 | 4–1 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| December 14* | UC-Santa Barbara | W 87–65 | 5–1 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| December 15* | La Salle | W 108–106 | 6–1 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| December 18* | at Long Beach State | L 76–78 | 6–2 | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California |
| December 22* | at Utah State | W 89–84 | 7–2 | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, Utah |
| December 26* | vs. Penn State | W 58–50 | 8–2 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR |
| December 27* | vs. Oregon State | L 71–86 | 8–3 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR |
| December 28* | vs. Charlotte | W 104–91 | 9–3 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR |
| January 3 | at New Mexico | W 75–63 | 10–3 (1–0) | The Pit/Bob King Court Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| January 5 | at UTEP | W 70–69 | 11–3 (2–0) | Special Events Center El Paso, Texas |
| January 12 | Utah | W 89–72 | 12–3 (3–0) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| January 17 | Wyoming | L 53–56 | 12–4 (3–1) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| January 19 | Colorado State | W 104–82 | 13–4 (4–1) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| January 24 | at San Diego State | W 123–91 | 14–4 (5–1) | San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California |
| January 26 | at Hawaii | W 34–33 | 15–4 (6–1) | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| January 31 | UTEP | W 89–81 | 16–4 (7–1) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| February 2 | New Mexico | W 89–68 | 17–4 (8–1) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| February 9 | at Utah | W 83–82 | 18–4 (9–1) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| February 12* | Utah State | W 84–83 | 19–4 (9–1) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| February 16* | Alaska | W 93–59 | 20–4 (9–1) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| February 21 | at Colorado State | W 111–86 | 21–4 (10–1) | Moby Arena Fort Collins, Colorado |
| February 23 | at Wyoming | W 39–30 | 22–4 (11–1) | War Memorial Fieldhouse Laramie, Wyoming |
| February 28 | Hawaii | W 107–82 | 23–4 (12–1) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| March 1 | San Diego State | W 114–81 | 24–4 (13–1) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 8* | at Clemson | L 66–71 | 24–5 (13–1) | Dee Events Center Ogden, Utah |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||