# 1978–79 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

The 1978–79 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. Their head coach was Bobby Knight, who was in his 8th year. The team played its home games in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 22–12 and a conference record of 10–8, finishing 5th in the Big Ten Conference. Coming off an NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance, Indiana missed out on an invitation to the 1979 NCAA Tournament. Instead, IU was invited to participate in the 1979 NIT, where Bobby Knight and the Hoosiers advanced to the championship game and won their first NIT title.

## Roster

| No. | Name | Position | Ht. | Year | Hometown |
| 20 | Steve Reish | G | 6–2 | Fr. | Union City, Indiana |
| 23 | Don Cox | G/F | 6–6 | So. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 24 | Randy Wittman | G/F | 6–6 | Fr. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 25 | Tommy Baker | G | 6–2 | So. | Jeffersonville, Indiana |
| 30 | Ted Kitchel | F | 6–8 | Fr. | Galveston, Indiana |
| 31 | Scott Eells | F | 6–9 | Sr. | Hoopeston, Illinois |
| 32 | Landon Turner | F/C | 6–10 | Fr. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 33 | Eric Kirchner | F | 6–7 | So. | Edelstein, Illinois |
| 34 | Steve Risley | F | 6–8 | So. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 40 | Glen Grunwald | F | 6–9 | Jr. | Franklin Park, Illinois |
| 41 | Butch Carter | G | 6–5 | Jr. | Middletown, Ohio |
| 42 | Mike Woodson | F | 6–5 | Jr. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 43 | Jim Roberson | C | 6–9 | Sr. | Rochester, New York |
| 44 | Phil Isenbarger | F | 6–8 | So. | Muncie, Indiana |
| 45 | Ray Tolbert | F/C | 6–9 | So. | Anderson, Indiana |

## Schedule/Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/24/1978* | No. 10 | vs. Pepperdine Sea Wolf Classic | L 58–59 | 0–1 | Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, AK |
| 11/25/1978* | No. 10 | vs. Texas A&M Sea Wolf Classic | L 49–54 | 0–2 | Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, AK |
| 11/26/1978* | No. 10 | vs. Penn State Sea Wolf Classic | W 86–65 | 1–2 | Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, AK |
| 12/2/1978* | No. 20 | Morehead State | W 80–37 | 2–2 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/6/1978* | | vs. No. 20 Georgetown | L 54–60 | 2–3 | Capital Centre Landover, Maryland |
| 12/9/1978* | | vs. Bradley | W 80–64 | 3–3 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis |
| 12/16/1978* | | No. 6 Kentucky Indiana–Kentucky rivalry | W 68–67 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/18/1978* | | Davidson Indiana Classic | W 101–64 | 5–3 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/19/1978* | | Washington Indiana Classic | W 73–56 | 6–3 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/27/1978* | | vs. Washington Far West Classic Quarterfinals | W 71–57 | 7–3 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| 12/28/1978* | | at Oregon Far West Classic Semifinals | W 68–60 | 8–3 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| 12/30/1978* | | vs. Michigan State Far West Classic Championship | L 57–74 | 8–4 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| 1/4/1979 | | No. 4 Illinois Rivalry | L 61–65 | 8–5 (0–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/6/1979 | | Purdue Rivalry | W 63–54 | 9–5 (1–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/11/1979 | | at Minnesota | L 63–80 | 9–6 (1–2) | Williams Arena Minneapolis |
| 1/13/1979 | | at Iowa | L 61–90 | 9–7 (1–3) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| 1/18/1979 | | at No. 6 Michigan State | L 58–82 | 9–8 (1–4) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, Michigan |
| 1/20/1979 | | Northwestern | W 74–45 | 10–8 (2–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/25/1979 | | Wisconsin | W 82–61 | 11–8 (3–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/27/1979 | | at No. 10 Ohio State | L 63–66 $^{OT}$ | 11–9 (3–5) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| 2/1/1979 | | Michigan | W 68–62 | 12–9 (4–5) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/3/1979 | | No. 7 Ohio State | W 70–62 | 13–9 (5–5) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/8/1979 | | at Northwestern | W 82–57 | 14–9 (6–5) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| 2/10/1979 | | at Michigan | L 59–60 | 14–10 (6–6) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| 2/15/1979 | | No. 8 Michigan State | L 47–59 | 14–11 (6–7) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/17/1979 | | at Wisconsin | W 68–62 $^{OT}$ | 15–11 (7–7) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2/22/1979 | | No. 12 Iowa | W 64–62 | 16–11 (8–7) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/24/1979 | | Minnesota | W 71–46 | 17–11 (9–7) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 3/1/1979 | | at No. 19 Purdue Rivalry | L 48–55 | 17–12 (9–8) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| 3/3/1979 | | at Illinois Rivalry | W 72–60 | 18–12 (10–8) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| NIT ||||||
| 3/8/1979* | | at Texas Tech First Round | W 78–59 | 19–12 (10–8) | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| 3/12/1979* | | Alcorn State Second Round | W 73–69 | 20–12 (10–8) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 3/19/1979* | | vs. Ohio State Semifinals | W 64–55 | 21–12 (10–8) | Madison Square Garden New York City |
| 3/21/1979* | | vs. No. 15 Purdue Championship | W 53–52 | 22–12 (10–8) | Madison Square Garden New York City |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||