# 1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team

The 1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team represented DePaul University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Ray Meyer, in his 37th season, and played their home games at the Alumni Hall in Chicago. After starting the regular season unranked, the Blue Demons won 22 of 27 games to earn a top ten ranking and the #2 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament. DePaul began tournament play by defeating USC and Marquette, then knocked off #1 seed UCLA, avenging a season-opening loss, to earn the program's second trip to the Final Four. Though the team fell to the #1 ranked and unbeaten Indiana State – led by NCAA Player of the Year Larry Bird – in the National semifinals, they bounced back to defeat Penn to claim third place. They finished the season with an overall record of 26–6.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 25, 1978* | | at No. 2 UCLA | L 85–108 | 0–1 | Pauley Pavilion (12,178) Los Angeles, CA |
| Nov 29, 1978* | | at Evansville | W 74–55 | 1–1 | Roberts Stadium Evansville, IN |
| Dec 2, 1978* | | Northern Illinois | W 108–86 | 2–1 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Dec 4, 1978* | | Eastern Michigan | W 96–68 | 3–1 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Dec 9, 1978* | | at Wichita State | L 92–95 | 3–2 | Levitt Arena Wichita, KS |
| Dec 13, 1978* | | at Butler | W 81–62 | 4–2 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 16, 1978* | | Wisconsin | W 84–78 | 5–2 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Dec 19, 1978* | | Northwestern | W 90–83 $^{OT}$ | 6–2 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Dec 23, 1978* | | at Bradley | W 51–50 | 7–2 | Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, IL |
| Dec 30, 1978* | | Creighton | W 88–70 | 8–2 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Jan 2, 1979* | | Georgia Tech | W 77–71 | 9–2 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Jan 6, 1979* | | Air Force | W 86–66 | 10–2 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Jan 9, 1979* | | at Providence | W 84–75 | 11–2 | Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI |
| Jan 13, 1979* | | Loyola (IL) | W 80–73 | 12–2 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Jan 20, 1979* | | at Dayton | L 64–68 | 12–3 | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH |
| Jan 27, 1979* | | at Illinois State | W 87–69 | 13–3 | Horton Field House Normal, IL |
| Jan 31, 1979* | | at Western Michigan | L 80–82 | 13–4 | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI |
| Feb 3, 1979* | | at Oral Roberts | W 75–72 | 14–4 | Mabee Center Tulsa, OK |
| Feb 8, 1979* | | at Loyola (IL) | W 77–73 | 15–4 | Alumni Gym Chicago, IL |
| Feb 10, 1979* | | Centenary | W 82–66 | 16–4 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Feb 14, 1979* | | at Ball State | W 85–76 | 17–4 | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, IN |
| Feb 17, 1979* | | at Villanova | W 69–66 | 18–4 | The Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| Feb 21, 1979* | No. 20 | Valparaiso | W 104–76 | 19–4 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Feb 24, 1979* | No. 20 | No. 9 Marquette | W 61–60 | 20–4 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Feb 27, 1979* | No. 15 | UAB | W 88–66 | 21–4 | Alumni Hall (3,113) Chicago, IL |
| Mar 2, 1979* | No. 15 | No. 2 Notre Dame | W 76–72 | 22–4 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| Mar 5, 1979* | No. 8 | Loyola (IL) | L 99–101 | 22–5 | Alumni Hall Chicago, IL |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1979* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (7 W) USC Second Round | W 89–78 | 23–5 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| Mar 15, 1979* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (3 W) No. 10 Marquette Regional semifinal | W 62–56 | 24–5 | Marriott Center Provo, UT |
| Mar 17, 1979* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (1 W) No. 2 UCLA Regional final | W 95–91 | 25–5 | Marriott Center Provo, UT |
| Mar 24, 1979* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Indiana State National semifinal | L 74–76 | 25–6 | Special Events Center Salt Lake City, UT |
| Mar 26, 1979* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (9 E) No. 14 Penn Consolation Game | W 96–93 $^{OT}$ | 26–6 | Special Events Center Salt Lake City, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. ||||||

## 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 15 | 8 | 6 |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 11 | 8 | Not released |
^Coaches did not release Week 1 or Week 2 polls.
Source

## Awards and honors

* Ray Meyer – NABC Coach of the Year