# 1978–79 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team

The 1978–79 San Francisco Dons men's basketball team represented the University of San Francisco as a member of the West Coast Athletic Conference during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dons opened the season with a top 20 ranking, but fell out after a couple early season losses. San Francisco battled back to finish the season with a 22–7 record (12–2 WCAC) and a No. 12 ranking in the final AP poll. As champions of the West Coast Athletic Conference, San Francisco played in the NCAA Tournament as No. 4 seed in the West region. To date, this season marks the most recent time the Dons have reached the Sweet Sixteen.
Senior center Bill Cartwright was named conference Player of the Year for the third time and received consensus second-team All-American honors. He ended his career with the Dons as the top scorer and shot blocker (since surpassed) in school history and third on the career rebounding list.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 25, 1978* | No. 17 | at UC Santa Barbara | W 91–68 | 1–0 | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, California |
| Nov 28, 1978* | No. 15 | Cal State-Chico | W 77–53 | 2–0 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Nov 30, 1978* | No. 15 | at California | W 76–67 | 3–0 | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Dec 2, 1978* | No. 15 | at No. 18 Nevada-Las Vegas | L 82–117 | 3–1 | Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 5, 1978* | No. 17 | San Diego State | L 75–77 | 3–2 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 8, 1978* | No. 17 | Stanford | W 87–77 | 4–2 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 9, 1978* | No. 17 | Sacramento State | W 78–59 | 5–2 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 15, 1978* | No. 19 | Pacific Golden Gate Invitational | W 69–57 | 6–2 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 16, 1978* | No. 19 | Texas A&M Golden Gate Invitational | L 65–68 | 6–3 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 22, 1978* | | San Francisco State | W 79–51 | 7–3 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 23, 1978* | | Seattle Pacific | W 90–61 | 8–3 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 30, 1978* | | Texas | W 69–48 | 9–3 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Jan 5, 1979 | | at Loyola Marymount | W 95–66 | 10–3 (1–0) | Loyola Memorial Gymnasium Los Angeles, California |
| Jan 18, 1979* | | at No. 1 Notre Dame | L 69–88 | 13–4 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Feb 24, 1979 | | Loyola Marymount | W 103–69 | 21–6 (12–2) | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1979* | (4 W) No. 12 | vs. (5 W) Brigham Young Second Round | W 86–63 | 22–6 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Mar 15, 1979* | (4 W) No. 12 | vs. (1 W) No. 2 UCLA West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 81–99 | 22–7 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Bill Cartwright – WCAC Player of the Year (3x), Consensus Second-team All-American

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 3 | Bill Cartwright | New York Knicks |