# 1978–79 Eastern Kentucky Colonels basketball team

The 1978–79 Eastern Kentucky Colonels basketball team represented Eastern Kentucky University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by second-year head coach Ed Byhre, played their home games at McBrayer Arena within Alumni Coliseum and were members of the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 21–8, 9–3 in OVC play to finish in first place. They were champions of the OVC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the opening round to No. 8 seed Tennessee.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1978* | | Ball State | W 88–86 | 1–0 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Dec 1, 1978* | | at Missouri | L 81–82 | 1–1 | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| Dec 4, 1978* | | Dayton | W 72–70 | 2–1 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Dec 9, 1978* | | Butler | W 104–81 | 3–1 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Dec 16, 1978* | | at Charlotte | W 86–80 | 4–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 20, 1978* | | at Nevada | L 84–116 | 4–2 | Centennial Coliseum Reno, Nevada |
| Dec 21, 1978* | | vs. Fresno State | W 84–78 | 5–2 | Centennial Coliseum Reno, Nevada |
| Jan 3, 1979* | | at Toledo | L 57–82 | 5–3 | John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio |
| Jan 8, 1979* | | at Middle Tennessee | W 81–77 | 6–3 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Jan 13, 1979* | | Austin Peay | W 82–73 | 7–3 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Jan 15, 1979* | | Murray State | W 73–69 | 8–3 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Jan 20, 1979* | | Tennessee Tech | W 112–84 | 9–3 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Jan 27, 1979* | | Morehead State | W 97–95 | 10–3 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Jan 29, 1979* | | at Western Kentucky | L 65–70 | 10–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| Feb 3, 1979* | | Middle Tennessee | W 84–83 | 11–4 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Feb 5, 1979* | | Western Kentucky | L 77–78 | 11–5 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Feb 10, 1979* | | at Austin Peay | W 69–57 | 12–5 | Dunn Center Clarksville, Tennessee |
| Feb 12, 1979* | | at Murray State | W 87–76 | 13–5 | Racer Arena Murray, Kentucky |
| Feb 15, 1979* | | vs. West Virginia | W 93–91 | 14–5 | Charleston Civic Center Charleston, West Virginia |
| Feb 19, 1979* | | at Tennessee Tech | W 100–72 | 15–5 | Eblen Center Cookeville, Tennessee |
| Feb 24, 1979* | | at Morehead State | L 91–98 | 15–6 | Wetherby Gymnasium Morehead, Kentucky |
| Ohio Valley Conference tournament ||||||
| Mar 2, 1979* | | Middle Tennessee Semifinals | W 90–81 | 20–7 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| Mar 3, 1979* | | Western Kentucky Championship game | W 78–77 | 21–7 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, Kentucky |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 9, 1979* | (9 ME) | vs. (8 ME) No. 20 Tennessee First round | L 81–97 | 21–8 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll, (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||