# 1979–80 Lamar Cardinals basketball team

    For information on all Lamar University sports, see Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals
The 1979–80 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by fourth-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 1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they defeated No. 7 seed Weber State in the first round and No. 2 seed Oregon State in the second round to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the first and only time in program history. Lamar fell to Clemson to finish the season with a record of 22–11 (8–2 Southland).

## Roster

Sources:

## Schedule and results

Sources:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 30, 1979* | | vs. Long Beach State Great Alaska Shootout | L 85–98 | 0–1 | Buckner Fieldhouse (3,000) Fort Richardson, Alaska |
| Dec 1, 1979* | | vs. Texas A&M Great Alaska Shootout | W 61–60 | 1–1 | Buckner Fieldhouse (3,200) Fort Richardson, Alaska |
| Dec 2, 1979* | | vs. Bradley Great Alaska Shootout | L 75–82 | 1–2 | Buckner Fieldhouse (1,200) Fort Richardson, Alaska |
| Dec 2, 1979* | | Texas Southern | W 98–88 $^{OT}$ | 2–2 | McDonald Gym (4,200) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 8, 1979* | | West Georgia | W 98–88 | 3–2 | McDonald Gym (4,200) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 11, 1979* | | at Texas–Pan American | L 65–70 | 3–3 | Pan American Fieldhouse (4,500) Edinburg, Texas |
| Dec 13, 1979* | | at Texas Tech | L 68–83 | 3–4 | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (4,332) Lubbock, Texas |
| Dec 15, 1979* | | Northwest Missouri State | W 64–61 | 4–4 | McDonald Gym (2,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 18, 1979* | | Texas A&I | W 94–81 | 5–4 | McDonald Gym (2,600) Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 21, 1979* | | vs. Northern Illinois Holiday Festival | W 83–81 | 6–4 | Horton Fieldhouse (2,013) Normal, Illinois |
| Dec 22, 1979* | | at Northern Illinois Holiday Festival | L 64–96 | 6–5 | Horton Fieldhouse (3,117) Normal, Illinois |
| Dec 29, 1979* | | at Arizona | L 57–61 | 6–6 | McKale Center (10,590) Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan 3, 1980* | | Oklahoma City | W 102–82 | 7–6 | McDonald Gym (3,500) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 5, 1980* | | at No. 12 Missouri | L 60–71 | 7–7 | Hearnes Center (9,407) Columbia, Missouri |
| Jan 7, 1980* | | Wisconsin–Parkside | W 63–45 | 8–7 | McDonald Gym (3,330) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 9, 1980* | | South Carolina State | W 63–45 | 9–7 | McDonald Gym (4,200) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 12, 1980* | | at Portland State | W 141–84 | 10–7 | Viking Pavilion (1,600) Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 15, 1980* | | at No. 1 DePaul | L 61–63 | 10–8 | Alumni Hall (5,444) Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 19, 1980* | | Texas–Pan American | W 86–79 | 11–8 | McDonald Gym (4,800) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 21, 1980* | | Portland State | W 99–78 | 12–8 | McDonald Gym (4,200) Beaumont, Texas |
| Southland Conference regular season ||||||
| Jan 26, 1980 | | Louisiana Tech | W 70–64 | 13–8 (1–0) | McDonald Gym (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 28, 1980 | | at Arkansas State | W 52–48 | 14–8 (2–0) | Indian Fieldhouse (4,448) Jonesboro, Arkansas |
| Feb 2, 1980 | | Texas–Arlington | W 118–81 | 15–8 (3–0) | McDonald Gym (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 4, 1980 | | Texas–Arlington | W 118–81 | 16–8 (4–0) | McDonald Gym (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 4, 1980 | | at Southwestern Louisiana | L 64–75 | 16–9 (4–1) | Blackham Coliseum (6,261) Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Feb 9, 1980 | | at Louisiana Tech | W 85–75 | 17–9 (5–1) | Memorial Gymnasium (1,797) Ruston, Louisiana |
| Feb 11, 1980 | | McNeese | W 105–82 | 18–9 (6–1) | McDonald Gym (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 16, 1980 | | Arkansas State | W 80–53 | 19–9 (7–1) | McDonald Gym (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 18, 1980 | | at Texas–Arlington | W 99–82 | 20–9 (8–1) | Texas Hall (1,449) Arlington, Texas |
| Feb 23, 1980 | | Southwestern Louisiana | W 90–87 | 21–9 (8–1) | McDonald Gym (5,000) Beaumont, Texas |
| Feb 25, 1980 | | at McNeese | L 85–95 | 20–10 (8–2) | Lake Charles Civic Center (5,500) Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1980* | (10 W) | vs. (7 W) No. 17 Weber State First round | W 87–86 | 21–10 | Dee Events Center (11,505) Ogden, Utah |
| Mar 8, 1980* | (10 W) | vs. (2 W) No. 5 Oregon State Second round | W 81–77 | 22–10 | Dee Events Center (11,551) Ogden, Utah |
| Mar 13, 1980* | (10 W) | vs. (6 W) Clemson West Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 66–74 | 22–11 | McKale Center (7,729) Tucson, Arizona |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||