1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team
| 1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
NCAA Tournament, Second Round | |
| Conference | Independent |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 9 |
| 1979–80 record | 22–6 |
| Head coach | Digger Phelps (9th season) |
| Assistant coach | Danny Nee |
| Assistant coach | Scott Thompson |
| Assistant coach | Tom McLaughlin |
| Captain | Rich Branning (Senior year) |
| Captain | Bill Hanzlik (Senior year) |
| Home arena | Joyce Center |
The 1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Digger Phelps and was ranked in the Associated Press poll for the entirety of the season.
Preseason[edit]
The Irish were ranked fifth in the preseason AP Poll, behind Indiana, Kentucky, Duke and Ohio State.[1] While they lost frontcourt contributors Bruce Flowers and Bill Laimbeer to graduation, they added a recruiting class ranked fourth nationally by the 1979–80 Street & Smith basketball yearbook.[2] The class included McDonald's All-Americans Tim Andree and John Paxson and highly-regarded forward Bill Varner.[3][4] Key returning players were 1979 All-American Kelly Tripucka and future National Basketball Association (NBA) players Tracy Jackson, Bill Hanzlik and Orlando Woolridge. Woolridge was moved from forward to center to replace Flowers and Laimbeer.[5][6] Senior point guard Rich Branning was selected co-captain of the team with Hanzlik.[7]
Leading up to an Olympic year, Notre Dame played an exhibition game against the Soviet National Team, notching a surprising 86–76 win behind Tripucka's 35 points.[8]
Regular season[edit]
The Irish suffered an early setback as senior co-captain Hanzlik missed several games with a dislocated finger,[9][7] but fared well, compiling a 6–0 record in his absence, including a marquee win against UCLA.[10] The Irish won the contest behind clutch free throws and defense from freshman John Paxson.[11] After the team's fast start, The Irish found themselves ranked third in the country and facing second-ranked Kentucky at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Despite the Wildcats missing starters Sam Bowie and Dirk Minniefield, the Irish lost the game 80–86.[12] A January loss to San Francisco left the Irish on a two-game losing streak.[13] The highlight of the Irish's season came on February 27, 1980 when they upset top-ranked DePaul 76-74 in double-overtime. The Irish were led by Kelly Tripucka's 28 points and the win was sealed by two free throws by Orlando Woolridge. The Irish were able to overcome a big scoring push by future NBA All-Stars Mark Aguirre (28 points) and Terry Cummings (16).[14][15] A regular-season finale 62–54 win at Dayton raised the Irish's record to 22–5.[16]
NCAA Tournament[edit]
Notre Dame was selected for the 1980 NCAA Tournament and were the 4 seed in the Midwest Region, slated to play the winner of a first round game between Missouri and San Jose State in Lincoln, Nebraska.[17] Fifth-seeded Missouri upset the Irish 87–84 in overtime behind senior Mark Dressler's 32 points, wasting a 29-point effort by Tracy Jackson.[18]
Schedule[edit]
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1 |
No. 5 | Valparaiso | W 92–66 | 1–0 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| December 3 |
No. 5 | Iowa State | W 87–77 | 2–0 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| December 5 |
No. 4 | at Northwestern | W 73–56 | 3–0 |
Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois | ||||||
| December 8 |
No. 4 | Saint Louis | W 93–66 | 4–0 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| December 11 |
No. 4 | No. 7 UCLA | W 77–74 | 5–0 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| December 22 |
No. 4 | Fairfield | W 69–59 | 6–0 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| December 29 |
No. 3 | No. 2 Kentucky | L 80–86 | 6–1 |
Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky | ||||||
| January 8 |
No. 7 | at San Francisco | L 59–67 | 6–2 |
War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, CA | ||||||
| January 10 |
No. 7 | at Tulane | W 79–59 | 7–2 |
Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||
| January 13 |
No. 7 | at TCU | W 85–68 | 8–2 |
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas | ||||||
| January 15 |
No. 8 | Villanova | W 70–69 | 9–2 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| January 19 |
No. 8 | at UCLA | W 80–73 | 10–2 |
Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California | ||||||
| January 23 |
No. 8 | Canisius | W 84–63 | 11–2 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| January 26 |
No. 8 | No. 15 Maryland | W 64–63 | 12–2 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| January 30 |
No. 8 | at La Salle | L 64–63 | 12–3 |
Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||||||
| February 2 |
No. 8 | Davidson | W 105–71 | 13–3 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| February 4 |
No. 8 | Navy | W 67–53 | 14–3 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| February 6 |
No. 9 | Manhattan | W 93–49 | 15–3 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| February 9 |
No. 9 | North Carolina State | L 55–63 | 15–4 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| February 11 |
No. 9 | San Francisco | W 78–66 | 16–4 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| February 13 |
No. 12 | at Fordham | W 86–76 | 17–4 |
Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY | ||||||
| February 16 |
No. 12 | at South Carolina | W 90–66 | 18–4 |
Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC | ||||||
| February 20 |
No. 10 | at Xavier | W 85–72 | 19–4 |
Schmidt Field House Cincinnati, OH | ||||||
| February 24 |
No. 10 | Marquette | L 74–77 | 19–5 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| February 27 |
No. 14 | No. 1 DePaul | W 76–74 | 20–5 |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN | ||||||
| March 1 |
No. 14 | at Dayton | W 62–54 | 21–5 |
UD Arena Dayton, OH | ||||||
| March 8 |
(4) No. 9 | vs. (5) No. 16 Missouri | L 84–87 1 | 21–6 |
Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, NE | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
| |||||||||||
Players selected in NBA drafts[edit]
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1980 | 1 | 20 | Bill Hanzlik | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1980 | 4 | 78 | Rich Branning | Indiana Pacers |
| 1981 | 1 | 6 | Orlando Woolridge | Chicago Bulls |
| 1981 | 1 | 12 | Kelly Tripucka | Detroit Pistons |
| 1981 | 2 | 25 | Tracy Jackson | Boston Celtics |
| 1981 | 8 | 167 | Gilbert Salinas | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1983 | 1 | 19 | John Paxson | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1983 | 5 | 98 | Tim Andree | Chicago Bulls |
| 1983 | 9 | 202 | Bill Varner | Milwaukee Bucks |
References[edit]
- ↑ "Indiana no. 1 in preseason poll". The News-Press. November 16, 1979. p. 40. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "1979–80 Official Basketball Yearbook". Street & Smith's Official Yearbook. New York City: Condé Nast Publications. October 1979. pp. 26, 73.
- ↑ Francisco, Joel (May 26, 2009). "Many players succeeded after '79 game". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ↑ "Golden dome shines brightly for Varner". Pittsburgh Press. June 5, 1979. p. 20. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Goldaper, Sam (November 25, 1979). "A Preview of the 20 Top College Basketball Teams". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
- ↑ "The Top 20". Sports Illustrated. December 1, 1980. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Notre Dame's pied piper plays sweet Irish tune". Indianapolis News. December 28, 1979. p. 24. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Notre Dame 'outsmarts' Russians". The Dispatch. November 16, 1979. p. 23. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Bill Hanzlik to sit out UCLA tilt". Indianapolis Star. December 11, 1979. p. 31. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Notre Dame-UCLA better than expected". Indianapolis Star. December 13, 1979. p. 53. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Irish rookie sinks 4 free throws, UCLA". Detroit Free Press. December 13, 1979. p. 53. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Bowie-less Kentucky impressed Irish coach". The Paducah Sun. December 31, 1979. p. 15. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "San Francisco center's about face stuns Notre Dame". Chillicothe Gazette. January 9, 1980. p. 17. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Woolridge free throws spark Irish past DePaul". The Pantagraph. February 28, 1980. p. 11. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Irish do unto DePaul as they have others". Decatur Daily Review. February 28, 1980. p. 13. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Notre Dame bounces Dayton with late surge". The Cincinnati Enquirer. March 2, 1980. p. 33. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Tourney a matter of momentum". South Bend Tribune. March 4, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Missouri stuns Irish in overtime". Kokomo Tribune. March 9, 1980. p. 22. Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "1979-80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ↑ "Notre Dame draft history at basketball-reference.com". Retrieved March 3, 2019.
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