# 1977–78 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 1977–78 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the program's first season in Division I after spending the previous 12 season in Division II. The Anteaters were led by ninth year head coach Tim Tift and played their home games at Crawford Hall as members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished their inaugural season 8–17 and were 2–12 in PCAA play to finish 8th place. The anteaters did not receive an invitation to the 1978 PCAA tournament.

## Previous season

The 1976–77 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team finished their final season in NCAA Division II as an Independent with a record of 10–17.
In July 1977, the anteaters were formally accepted into the Pacific Coast Athletic Association and reclassified as an NCAA Division I program beginning with the 1977–78 season.

## Off-season
### Incoming transfer

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Steve McGuire | F | 6'5" | N/A | Jr. | N/A | Junior college transfer from Rio Hondo College |

### 1977 Recruiting Class

College recruiting information (1977) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Quentin Brown F | N/A | Theodore Roosevelt High School (Fresno) (CA) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Willie Alexander G | N/A | Theodore Roosevelt High School (Fresno) (CA) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Bret Bell C | N/A | Sanger Union High School (CA) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Rick Jurk G | N/A | Mira Costa High School (CA) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: |||||||
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 27, 1977* | at Portland | L 61–77 | 0–1 | Howard Hall (945) Portland, OR |
| November 29, 1977* | at Chico State | W 62–56 | 1–1 | – (352) Chico, CA |
| December 3, 1977* | at UC San Diego | L 64–76 | 1–2 | – (250) San Diego, CA |
| December 10, 1977* | Wisconsin–Parkside | W 59–51 | 2–2 | Crawford Hall (450) Irvine, CA |
| December 16, 1977* | Boise State | W 66–64 | 3–2 | Crawford Hall (525) Irvine, CA |
| December 17, 1977* | Aurora College | W 70–48 | 4–2 | Crawford Hall (450) Irvine, CA |
| December 20, 1977* | Portland | L 68–73 | 4–3 | Crawford Hall (703) Irvine, CA |
| December 22, 1977* | at Oregon | L 62–77 | 4–4 | McArthur Court (10,500) Eugene, OR |
| December 30, 1977* | at California | L 50–83 | 4–5 | Harmon Gym (2,500) Berkeley, CA |
| January 7, 1978* | at Northern Colorado | W 60–58 | 5–5 | Butler–Hancock Hall (650) Greeley, CO |
| January 12, 1978 | Fresno State | L 40–45 | 5–6 (0–1) | Crawford Hall (1,025) Irvine, CA |
| January 14, 1978 | Cal State Fullerton | L 59–88 | 5–7 (0–2) | Crawford Hall (1,382) Irvine, CA |
| January 19, 1978 | at San Diego State | L 65–90 | 5–8 (0–3) | Peterson Gym (2,881) San Diego, CA |
| January 21, 1978 | at Long Beach State | L 79–92 | 5–9 (0–4) | Long Beach Arena (3,036) Long Beach, CA |
| January 24, 1978* | at Loyola Marymount | W 72–69 | 6–9 | Loyola Memorial Gymnasium (800) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 26, 1978 | Pacific | L 58–70 | 6–10 (0–5) | Crawford Hall (575) Irvine, CA |
| January 28, 1978 | San Jose State | W 73–58 | 7–10 (1–5) | Crawford Hall (682) Irvine, CA |
| February 2, 1978 | at UC Santa Barbara | L 76–78 | 7–11 (1–6) | Robertson Gymnasium (1,482) Santa Barbara, CA |
| February 4, 1978 | UC Santa Barbara | W 68–65 | 8–11 (2–6) | Crawford Hall (956) Irvine, CA |
| February 9, 1978 | at San Jose State | L 67–70 | 8–12 (2–7) | Independence High School (1,440) San Jose, CA |
| February 11, 1978 | at Pacific | L 73–58 | 8–13 (2–8) | Pacific Pavilion (2,350) Stockton, CA |
| February 16, 1978 | Long Beach State | L 64–73 | 8–14 (2–9) | Crawford Hall (1,328) Irvine, CA |
| February 18, 1978 | San Diego State | L 42–48 | 8–15 (2–10) | Crawford Hall (1,101) Irvine, CA |
| February 23, 1978 | at Cal State Fullerton | L 75–83 | 8–16 (2–11) | Titan Gym (1,432) Fullerton, CA |
| February 25, 1978 | at Fresno State | L 73–58 | 8–17 (2–12) | Selland Arena (6,493) Fresno, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

* Wayne Smith
** Second Team All-PCAA

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 4 | 22 | Wayne Smith | Phoenix Suns |
Source