# 1979–80 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

The 1979–80 Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball team represented Syracuse University in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1979–80 academic year. This was their first season as a member of the Big East Conference.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| December 1* | No. 12 | Cornell | W 107–66 | 1–0 | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| December 5* | No. 11 | St. Francis | W 93–60 | 2–0 | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| December 7* | No. 11 | Le Moyne | W 107–61 | 3–0 | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| December 8* | No. 11 | Illinois State | W 72–70 $^{OT}$ | 4–0 | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| December 15* | No. 10 | at Penn State | W 85–72 | 5–0 | Rec Hall University Park, Pennsylvania |
| December 22* | No. 10 | at Pittsburgh | W 73–66 | 6–0 | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| December 28* | No. 9 | vs. Cornell | W 99–64 | 7–0 | Rochester War Memorial Rochester, NY |
| December 29* | No. 9 | vs. Villanova | W 92–84 | 8–0 | Rochester War Memorial Rochester, NY |
| January 2* | No. 9 | Canisius | W 81–49 | 9–0 | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| January 5 | No. 9 | Seton Hall | W 99–76 | 10–0 (1–0) | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| January 7* | No. 9 | at West Virginia | W 72–69 | 11–0 (1–0) | WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV |
| January 9* | No. 5 | Baltimore | W 94–64 | 12–0 (1–0) | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| January 11* | No. 5 | at Rhode Island | W 64–54 | 13–0 (1–0) | Providence Civic Center Providence, RI |
| January 13* | No. 5 | at No. 20 Purdue | W 66–61 | 14–0 (1–0) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| January 19* | No. 3 | at Old Dominion | L 67–68 | 14–1 (1–0) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| January 21* | No. 6 | Detroit | W 89–83 | 15–1 (1–0) | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| January 24* | No. 6 | at Rutgers | W 69–66 | 16–1 (1–0) | Rutgers Athletic Center Piscataway, NJ |
| January 26 | No. 6 | Connecticut | W 99–89 | 17–1 (2–0) | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| January 30* | No. 4 | Temple | W 93–77 | 18–1 (2–0) | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| February 2 | No. 4 | at Providence | W 89–69 | 19–1 (3–0) | Providence Civic Center Providence, RI |
| February 4* | No. 2 | Siena | W 99–64 | 20–1 (3–0) | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| February 9* | No. 2 | St. Bonaventure | W 105–80 | 21–1 (3–0) | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| February 12 | No. 2 | Georgetown | L 50–52 | 21–2 (3–1) | Manley Field House Syracuse, NY |
| February 16 | No. 2 | at No. 7 St. John's | W 72–71 | 22–2 (4–1) | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| February 20* | No. 2 | at Niagara | W 107–82 | 23–2 (4–1) | Niagara University Student Center Niagara Falls, NY |
| February 23 | No. 4 | at Boston College | W 85–77 | 24–2 (5–1) | Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| February 28 | (1) No. 3 | vs. (4) Connecticut Semifinals | W 92–61 | 25–2 (5–1) | Providence Civic Center Providence, RI |
| February 28 | (1) No. 3 | vs. (3) No. 20 Georgetown Championship | L 81–87 | 25–3 (5–1) | Providence Civic Center Providence, RI |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 9 | (1 E) No. 6 | vs. No. 8 E Villanova Second round | W 97–83 | 26–3 (5–1) | Providence Civic Center Providence, RI |
| March 14 | (1 E) No. 6 | vs. (5 E) Iowa Sweet Sixteen | L 77–88 | 26–4 (5–1) | The Spectrum (17,569) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||