# 1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team were coached by Joe B. Hall. The team finished the season with a 30–2 record and SEC Championship and won the 1978 NCAA Championship over the Duke Blue Devils, 94–88. Noting the all-or-nothing pressure exhibited on the team by Kentucky fans, Hall remarked before the title game that "This season was without celebration for us."

## Season summary

Those who witnessed it call Jack Givens' 41 point game against Duke in the 1978 NCAA championship game one of the finest performances in the game's history. Givens made 18-of-27 shots in leading Kentucky to its fifth national championship and first in 20 years. This team also had a pair of bruising frontcourt players in Mike Phillips and Rick Robey and a great point guard in Kyle Macy. The Wildcats went on exhibition tour of Japan in June following the season's end.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| November 26* | No. 2 | SMU | W 110–86 | 1–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 5* | No. 1 | Indiana Indiana–Kentucky rivalry | W 78–64 | 2–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 10* | No. 1 | at No. 19 Kansas | W 73–66 | 3–0 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| December 12* | No. 1 | South Carolina | W 84–65 | 4–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 16* | No. 1 | Portland State UK Invitation Tournament | W 114–88 | 5–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 17* | No. 1 | St. John's UK Invitation Tournament | W 102–72 | 6–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 23* | No. 1 | Iona | W 104–65 | 7–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 31* NBC | No. 1 | No. 4 Notre Dame | W 73–68 | 8–0 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| January 2 | No. 1 | Vanderbilt | W 72–59 | 9–0 (1–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 7 | No. 1 | at Florida | W 86–67 | 10–0 (2–0) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| January 9 | No. 1 | at Auburn | W 101–77 | 11–0 (3–0) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| January 14 | No. 1 | LSU | W 96–76 | 12–0 (4–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 16 | No. 1 | Ole Miss | W 76–56 | 13–0 (5–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 21 | No. 1 | at Mississippi State | W 75–65 | 14–0 (6–0) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| January 23 | No. 1 | at Alabama | L 62–78 | 14–1 (6–1) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 30 | No. 1 | Georgia | W 90–73 | 15–1 (7–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 4 | No. 1 | Florida | W 88–61 | 16–1 (8–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 6 | No. 1 | Auburn | W 104–81 | 17–1 (9–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 11 | No. 1 | at LSU | L 94–95 $^{OT}$ | 17–2 (9–2) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 13 | No. 1 | at Ole Miss | W 64–52 | 18–2 (10–2) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| February 15 | No. 3 | Tennessee | W 90–77 | 19–2 (11–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 18 | No. 3 | Mississippi State | W 58–56 | 20–2 (12–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 20 | No. 3 | Alabama | W 97–84 | 21–2 (13–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 25 | No. 2 | at Tennessee | W 68–57 | 22–2 (14–2) | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN |
| February 27 | No. 2 | at Georgia | W 78–67 | 23–2 (15–2) | Georgia Coliseum Athens, GA |
| March 4* NBC | No. 1 | UNLV | W 92–70 | 24–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| March 6 | No. 1 | at Vanderbilt | W 78–68 | 25–2 (16–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| March 11* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 13 Florida State NCAA tournament | W 85–76 | 26–2 | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN |
| March 16* NCAA Productions | No. 1 | vs. No. 19 Miami (OH) NCAA Tournament | W 91–69 | 27–2 | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH |
| March 18* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 4 Michigan State NCAA Tournament | W 52–49 | 28–2 | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH |
| March 25* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 5 Arkansas NCAA Tournament | W 64–59 | 29–2 | Checkerdome St. Louis, MO |
| March 27* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 7 Duke NCAA Championship | W 94–88 | 30–2 | Checkerdome St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Statistics

* Jack Givens (6'4", Sr, F) 18.1 ppg
* Rick Robey (6'10", Sr, F) 14.4 ppg
* Kyle Macy (6'3", So, G) 12.5 ppg
* James Lee (6'5", Sr, F) 11.3 ppg
* Mike Phillips (6'10", Sr, C) 10.2 ppg
* Truman Claytor (6'1", Jr, G) 6.9 ppg

## Awards and honors

* Jack Givens, NCAA Men's MOP Award

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 3 | Rick Robey | Indiana Pacers |
| 1 | 16 | Jack Givens | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2 | 39 | James Lee | Seattle SuperSonics |