# 1978–79 Lamar Cardinals basketball team

    For information on all Lamar University sports, see Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals
The 1978–79 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by third-year head coach Billy Tubbs and played their home games at McDonald Gym in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals won the regular season conference championship to receive an invitation to the 1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they defeated No. 7 seed Detroit Mercy in the first round before falling to No. 1 seed and eventual National champion Michigan State and Magic Johnson. Lamar finished the season with a record of 23–9 (9–1 Southland). This season was the first of three straight (and four in five years) NCAA Tournament appearances for the Cardinals.

## Roster

Sources:

## Schedule and results

Sources:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 24, 1978* | | at Alaska-Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout | W 88–66 | 1–0 | Buckner Fieldhouse (3,600) Anchorage, Alaska |
| Nov 25, 1978* | | vs. No. 4 Louisville Great Alaska Shootout | L 68–90 | 1–1 | Buckner Fieldhouse (3,800) Anchorage, Alaska |
| Nov 26, 1978* | | vs. Pepperdine Great Alaska Shootout | L 74–75 | 1–2 | Buckner Fieldhouse (3,800) Anchorage, Alaska |
| Nov 29, 1978* | | Texas Southern | W 84–72 | 2–2 | Beaumont Civic Center (4,900) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 2, 1978* | | Stephen F. Austin | W 85–63 | 3–2 | Beaumont Civic Center (4,600) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 5, 1978* | | at New Mexico | L 84–97 | 3–3 | University Arena (14,805) Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Dec 9, 1978* | | Southwestern | W 82–68 | 4–3 | McDonald Gym (3,200) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 11, 1978* | | Texas Lutheran | W 112–74 | 5–3 | McDonald Gym (2,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 13, 1978* | | Oklahoma Arts and Sciences | W 92–55 | 6–3 | McDonald Gym (2,800) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 16, 1978* | | at North Texas | L 89–95 | 6–4 | Super Pit (2,300) Denton, Texas |
| Dec 18, 1978* | | at Northeast Louisiana | W 75–74 $^{OT}$ | 7–4 | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (4,300) Monroe, Louisiana |
| Dec 23, 1978* | | at Pan American | W 74–72 | 8–4 | UTPA Fieldhouse (2,900) Edinburg, Texas |
| Dec 30, 1978* | | at Colorado State | L 62–72 | 8–5 | Moby Arena (3,522) Fort Collins, Colorado |
| Jan 6, 1979* | | University of Wisconsin–Parkside | W 102–79 | 9–5 | McDonald Gym (2,700) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 8, 1979* | | Pan American | W 91–85 | 10–5 | McDonald Gym (3,300) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 13, 1979* | | North Texas | W 122–91 | 11–5 | Beaumont Civic Center (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 15, 1979* | | Hardin–Simmons | W 105–84 | 12–5 | McDonald Gym (3,800) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 18, 1979* | | at Oral Roberts | L 71–80 | 12–6 | Mabee Center (6,152) Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Jan 20, 1979* | | at OCU | L 86–99 | 12–7 | Frederickson Fieldhouse (2,614) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Southland Conference regular season ||||||
| Jan 22, 1979 | | Louisiana Tech | W 90–87 | 13–7 (1–0) | Beaumont Civic Center (4,700) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 27, 1979 | | Arkansas State | W 90–87 | 14–7 (2–0) | Beaumont Civic Center (4,700) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 29, 1979 | | at Louisiana Tech | W 76–75 | 15–7 (3–0) | Memorial Gymnasium (1,526) Ruston, Louisiana |
| Feb 3, 1979 | | Southwestern Louisiana | W 92–73 | 16–7 (4–0) | Beaumont Civic Center (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 10, 1979 | | UT Arlington | W 113–98 | 17–7 (5–0) | Beaumont Civic Center (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 14, 1979 | | at McNeese | W 95–79 | 18–7 (6–0) | Lake Charles Civic Center (4,879) Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| Feb 17, 1979 | | at USL | L 84–88 | 18–8 (6–1) | Blackham Coliseum (9,216) Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Feb 19, 1979 | | McNeese | W 103–83 | 19–8 (7–1) | Beaumont Civic Center (4,600) Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 24, 1979 | | at UT Arlington | W 103–83 | 20–8 (8–1) | Texas Hall (1,249) Arlington, Texas |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Feb 26, 1979* | | at Hardin–Simmons | W 113–84 | 21–8 (8–1) | Mabee Athletic Complex (100) Abilene, Texas |
| Southland Conference regular season ||||||
| Mar 1, 1979 | | Arkansas State | W 90–87 | 22–8 (9–1) | Beaumont Civic Center (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament ||||||
| Mar 9, 1979* | (10 ME) | vs. (7 ME) No. 17 Detroit First round | W 95–87 | 23–8 | Murphy Center (10,892) Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Mar 10, 1979* | (10 ME) | vs. (2 ME) No. 4 Michigan State Second round | L 64–95 | 23–9 | Murphy Center (10,892) Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Central Time. ||||||