1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 17, 1979, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 24, 1980, at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. The Louisville Cardinals won their first NCAA national championship with a 59–54 victory over the UCLA Bruins.

1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Indiana Hoosiers
NCAA Tournament	1980
Tournament dates	March 6 – 24, 1980
National Championship	Market Square Arena Indianapolis
NCAA Champions	Louisville Cardinals
Helms National Champions	Louisville Cardinals
Other champions	Virginia Cavaliers (NIT)
Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden)	Mark Aguirre, DePaul (Naismith) Darrell Griffith, Louisville (Wooden)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Darrell Griffith, Louisville

Rule changes

• Officials were ordered to more strictly enforce foul rules already on the books, including bench decorum, hand-checking and charging fouls.
• Any mistaken attempt to call a time-out after a team runs out of time-outs results in a technical foul and two free throws for the opposing team. The rule would figure prominently in the outcome of the 1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Season headlines

• ESPN launched on September 7, 1979, as the first all-sports television network and began televising college basketball in November. It took advantage of college basketball's rapidly growing popularity to begin a highly profitable relationship with the NCAA which greatly expanded television coverage of college basketball in the United States.
• The basketball-centered original Big East Conference began play. Working closely with ESPN, it rapidly developed a reputation as a powerhouse of college basketball and a dominating force in the sport.
• The ECAC North Conference began play, with 10 original members. It was renamed the North Atlantic Conference in 1988 and the America East Conference in 1996.
• The ECAC South Conference was founded, consisting of schools that participated in the Eastern College Athletic Conference's Division I ECAC South tournaments for independents. The ECAC South did not play as a conference until the 1981–82 season; in the meantime, its members continued compete as independents during the regular season and seek a bid to the NCAA tournament via the ECAC's regional tournament. The conference was renamed the Colonial Athletic Association in 1985 and the Coastal Athletic Association in 2023.
• The Midwestern City Conference began play, with six original members. It was renamed the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985 and the Horizon League in 2001.
• The National Invitation Tournament expanded from 24 to 32 teams.
• The NCAA tournament expanded from 40 to 48 teams. For the first time, more than two teams from each conference could be selected for the tournament. The NCAA also instituted the "round-robin rule," requiring a conference to play either a single-round-robin regular-season format and a conference tournament or a double-round-robin regular-season format to be eligible for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The expanded access of conference members to tournament bids combined with the "round-robin rule" made it difficult for Division I independents — most of which were located in the Northeastern United States — to get a tournament bid, greatly accelerating the decline in the number of independents, a decline which had begun in the 1974–75 season when the NCAA allowed more than one team per conference into the tournament for the first time. The Big East Conference formed as a result of the new tournament access requirements, and additional conferences would form by 1981.
• ESPN televised 23 games of the 1980 NCAA tournament, becoming the first television network to broadcast the early rounds of an NCAA Tournament.
• For the first time, none of the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament advanced to the Final Four.
• Louisville's "doctors of dunk" brought Denny Crum his first NCAA title with a 59–54 win over surprise finalist UCLA and coach Larry Brown. Wooden Award winner Darrell Griffith was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
• The first year of the Ralph Sampson era ended with a Virginia Cavaliers National Invitation Tournament championship – a 58–55 win over Minnesota. Sampson, a 7-foot-4-inch (224 cm) freshman center, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

Main article: 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

The top 20 from the AP Poll and UPI Coaches Poll during the pre-season.

'Associated Press' Ranking Team 1 Indiana (28) 2 Kentucky (5) 3 Duke (18) 4 Ohio State (7) 5 Notre Dame (1) 6 North Carolina 7 Louisiana State 8 UCLA 9 DePaul 10 Louisville 11 Purdue 12 Syracuse 13 Virginia 14 Texas A&M 15 Brigham Young 16 St. John's 17 Oregon State 18 Marquette 19 Georgetown 20 Kansas

UPI Coaches Ranking Team 1 Indiana 2 Ohio State 3 Notre Dame 4 North Carolina 5 Kentucky 6 Duke 7 UCLA 8 Louisiana State 9 DePaul Virginia 11 Purdue 12 Syracuse 13 Texas A&M 14 Louisville 15 St. John's 16 Oregon State 17 Brigham Young 18 Iowa 19 Marquette 20 UNLV

Conference membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Air Force Falcons	Division I independent	Western Athletic Conference
Alabama-Birmingham Blazers	Division I independent	Sun Belt Conference
Boston College Eagles	Division I independent	Big East Conference
Boston University Terriers	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
Butler Bulldogs	Division I independent	Midwestern City Conference
Canisius Golden Griffins	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
Colgate Raiders	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
Connecticut Huskies	Division I independent	Big East Conference
Evansville Purple Aces	Division I independent	Midwestern City Conference
Florida A&M Rattlers	Division II independent	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Georgetown Hoyas	Division I independent	Big East Conference
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Metro Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Gonzaga Bulldogs	Big Sky Conference	West Coast Athletic Conference
Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors	Division I independent	Western Athletic Conference
Holy Cross Crusaders	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
Loyola Chicago Ramblers	Division I independent	Midwestern City Conference
Maine Black Bears	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	Division II independent
Morgan State Bears	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	Division II independent
Nevada Wolf Pack	West Coast Athletic Conference	Big Sky Conference
New Hampshire Wildcats	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
Niagara Purple Eagles	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
North Carolina Central Eagles	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	Division II independent
Northeastern Huskies	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
Oklahoma City Chiefs	Trans America Athletic Conference	Midwestern City Conference
Oral Roberts Titans	Division I independent	Midwestern City Conference
Providence Friars	Division I independent	Big East Conference
Rhode Island Rams	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
St. Bonaventure Brown Indians	Division I independent	Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8)
St. John's Redmen	Division I independent	Big East Conference
San Diego Toreros	Division I independent	West Coast Athletic Conference
Seton Hall Pirates	Division I independent	Big East Conference
Syracuse Orangemen	Division I independent	Big East Conference
Vermont Catamounts	Division I independent	ECAC North Conference
VCU Rams	Division I independent	Sun Belt Conference
Xavier Musketeers	Division I independent	Midwestern City Conference

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Maryland	Albert King, Maryland	1980 ACC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	Duke
Big East Conference	Georgetown, St. John's & Syracuse	John Duren, Georgetown	1980 Big East men's basketball tournament	Providence Civic Center (Providence, Rhode Island)	Georgetown
Big Eight Conference	Missouri	Rolando Blackman, Kansas State	1980 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament	Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri) (Semifinals and Finals)	Kansas State
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	Don Newman, Idaho	1980 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament	Dee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)	Weber State
Big Ten Conference	Indiana	None Selected	No Tournament
East Coast Conference	St. Joseph's (East) Lafayette (West)	Michael Brooks, La Salle	1980 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament	The Palestra (Philadelphia)	La Salle
Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8)	Villanova, Duquesne & Rutgers	Earl Belcher, St. Bonaventure	1980 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament	Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)	Villanova
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)	Division I ECAC members played as independents during the regular season (see note)		1980 ECAC Metro men's basketball tournament	Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, New York)	Iona
			1980 ECAC South men's basketball tournament	Hampton Coliseum (Hampton, Virginia)	Old Dominion
ECAC North	Boston University & Northeastern	Rufus Harris, Maine & Ron Perry, Holy Cross	1980 ECAC North men's basketball tournament	Hart Center (Worcester, Massachusetts)	Holy Cross
Ivy League	Penn	Peter Moss, Brown	No Tournament
Metro Conference	Louisville	Darrell Griffith, Louisville	1980 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament	Freedom Hall (Louisville, Kentucky)	Louisville
Mid-American Conference	Toledo	Jim Swaney, Toledo	1980 MAC men's basketball tournament	Crisler Arena (Ann Arbor, Michigan)	Toledo
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	North Carolina A&T State	James Ratiff, Howard	1979 MEAC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	North Carolina A&T State
Midwestern City Conference	Loyola (IL)	Calvin Garrett, Oral Roberts	1980 Midwestern City Conference men's basketball tournament	Roberts Municipal Stadium (Evansville, Indiana)	Oral Roberts
Missouri Valley Conference	Bradley	Lewis Lloyd, Drake	1980 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Robertson Memorial Field House (Peoria, Illinois)	Bradley
Ohio Valley Conference	Murray State & Western Kentucky	Gary Hooker, Murray State	1980 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	E. A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, Kentucky)	Western Kentucky
Pacific-10 Conference	Oregon State	Don Collins, Washington State	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Utah State	Dean Hunger, Utah State	1980 PCAA men's basketball tournament	Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, California)	San Jose State
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky	Kyle Macy, Kentucky	1980 SEC men's basketball tournament	Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, Alabama)	LSU
Southern Conference	Furman	Jonathan Moore, Furman	1980 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Roanoke Civic Center (Roanoke, Virginia)	Furman
Southland Conference	Lamar	Andrew Toney, Southwestern Louisiana	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	Texas A&M	Terry Teagle, Baylor	1980 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament	HemisFair Arena (San Antonio, Texas)	Texas A&M
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Alcorn State	Larry Smith, Alcorn State	1980 SWAC men's basketball tournament		Alcorn State
Sun Belt Conference	South Alabama	James Ray, Jacksonville	1980 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament	Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals)	VCU
Trans America Athletic Conference	Northeast Louisiana	George Lett, Centenary	1980 TAAC men's basketball tournament	Ewing Coliseum (Monroe, Louisiana)	Centenary
West Coast Athletic Conference	St. Mary's & San Francisco	Kurt Rambis, Santa Clara	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	BYU	None Selected	No Tournament

Note: From 1975 to 1981, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1980 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did. The ECAC North was a separate, conventional conference.

Conference standings

1979–80 ACC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 8 Maryland 11 – 3   .786 24 – 7   .774 No. 15 North Carolina 9 – 5   .643 21 – 8   .724 NC State 9 – 5   .643 20 – 8   .714 Clemson 8 – 6   .571 23 – 9   .719 Virginia 7 – 7   .500 24 – 10   .706 No. 14 Duke † 7 – 7   .500 24 – 9   .727 Wake Forest 4 – 10   .286 13 – 14   .481 Georgia Tech 1 – 13   .071 8 – 18   .308 † 1980 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 Big East men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 6 Syracuse 5 – 1   .833 26 – 4   .867 No. 13 St. John's 5 – 1   .833 24 – 5   .828 No. 11 Georgetown† 5 – 1   .833 26 – 6   .813 Connecticut 3 – 3   .500 20 – 9   .690 Boston College 2 – 4   .333 19 – 10   .655 Seton Hall 1 – 5   .167 14 – 13   .519 Providence 0 – 6   .000 11 – 16   .407 † 1980 Big East tournament winner Rankings from AP poll	1979–80 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 16 Missouri 11 – 3   .786 25 – 6   .806 Kansas State † 8 – 6   .571 22 – 9   .710 Nebraska 8 – 6   .571 18 – 13   .581 Kansas 7 – 7   .500 15 – 14   .517 Colorado 7 – 7   .500 17 – 10   .630 Oklahoma 6 – 8   .429 15 – 12   .556 Iowa State 5 – 9   .357 11 – 16   .407 Oklahoma State 4 – 10   .286 10 – 17   .370 † 1980 Big Eight tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll
1979–80 Big Sky men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 17 Weber State † 13 – 1   .929 26 – 3   .897 Idaho 9 – 5   .643 17 – 10   .630 Montana 8 – 6   .571 17 – 11   .607 Montana State 7 – 7   .500 14 – 12   .538 Nevada 5 – 9   .357 10 – 19   .345 Idaho State 5 – 9   .357 9 – 17   .346 Northern Arizona 5 – 9   .357 14 – 12   .538 Boise State 4 – 10   .286 10 – 16   .385 † Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll	1979–80 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 7 Indiana 13 – 5   .722 21 – 8   .724 No. 10 Ohio State 12 – 6   .667 21 – 8   .724 No. 20 Purdue 11 – 7   .611 23 – 10   .697 Iowa 10 – 8   .556 23 – 10   .697 Minnesota 10 – 8   .556 21 – 11   .656 Illinois 8 – 10   .444 22 – 13   .629 Michigan 8 – 10   .444 17 – 13   .567 Wisconsin 7 – 11   .389 15 – 14   .517 Michigan State 6 – 12   .333 12 – 15   .444 Northwestern 5 – 13   .278 10 – 17   .370 Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 ECAC North men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Boston University 19 – 7   .731 21 – 9   .700 Northeastern 19 – 7   .731 19 – 8   .704 Holy Cross † 16 – 10   .615 19 – 11   .633 Rhode Island 14 – 12   .538 15 – 13   .536 Maine 14 – 12   .538 15 – 13   .536 Canisius 13 – 13   .500 13 – 14   .481 Vermont 4 – 4   .500 12 – 15   .444 Niagara 11 – 15   .423 11 – 16   .407 Colgate 8 – 17   .320 8 – 17   .320 New Hampshire 4 – 22   .154 4 – 22   .154 † 1980 ECAC North tournament winner
1979–80 ECC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East Saint Joseph's 10 – 1   .909 21 – 9   .700 Temple 8 – 3   .727 14 – 12   .538 La Salle † 7 – 4   .636 22 – 9   .710 Hofstra 6 – 5   .545 14 – 14   .500 American 5 – 6   .455 13 – 14   .481 Drexel 4 – 7   .364 12 – 15   .444 West Lafayette 13 – 3   .813 21 – 8   .724 Bucknell 13 – 3   .813 20 – 7   .741 Delaware 7 – 9   .438 9 – 19   .321 Rider 5 – 11   .313 10 – 18   .357 Lehigh 2 – 14   .125 5 – 20   .200 West Chester 1 – 15   .063 3 – 23   .115 † 1980 ECC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll	1979–80 Eastern 8 men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Villanova † 7 – 3   .700 23 – 8   .742 Duquesne 6 – 3   .667 18 – 10   .643 Rutgers 6 – 3   .667 14 – 14   .500 Pittsburgh 5 – 4   .556 17 – 12   .586 George Washington 5 – 5   .500 15 – 11   .577 St. Bonaventure 1 – 3   .250 16 – 11   .593 West Virginia 4 – 4   .500 15 – 14   .517 UMass 0 – 9   .000 2 – 24   .077 † 1980 Eastern 8 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 Ivy League men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Penn 11 – 3   .786 17 – 12   .586 Princeton 11 – 3   .786 15 – 15   .500 Brown 9 – 5   .643 12 – 14   .462 Yale 8 – 6   .571 16 – 10   .615 Harvard 6 – 8   .429 11 – 15   .423 Columbia 5 – 9   .357 10 – 16   .385 Dartmouth 3 – 11   .214 6 – 20   .231 Cornell 3 – 11   .214 5 – 19   .208 Rankings from AP Poll
1979–80 Metro Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Louisville † 12 – 0   1.000 33 – 3   .917 Virginia Tech 8 – 4   .667 21 – 8   .724 Florida State 7 – 5   .583 22 – 9   .710 Memphis State 5 – 7   .417 13 – 14   .481 Saint Louis 4 – 8   .333 12 – 15   .444 Cincinnati 3 – 9   .250 13 – 15   .464 Tulane 3 – 9   .250 10 – 17   .370 † 1980 Metro Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Toledo † 14 – 2   .875 23 – 6   .793 Bowling Green State 11 – 5   .688 20 – 10   .667 Northern Illinois 9 – 7   .563 16 – 13   .552 Kent State 7 – 9   .438 16 – 11   .593 Ball State 7 – 9   .438 14 – 15   .483 Miami (Ohio) 7 – 9   .438 9 – 18   .333 Eastern Michigan 7 – 9   .438 11 – 16   .407 Western Michigan 7 – 9   .438 12 – 14   .462 Central Michigan 6 – 10   .375 12 – 13   .480 Ohio 5 – 11   .313 8 – 18   .308 † 1980 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 Midwestern City Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Loyola-Chicago 5 – 0   1.000 19 – 10   .655 Oral Roberts † 4 – 1   .800 18 – 10   .643 Oklahoma City 3 – 2   .600 13 – 15   .464 Butler 2 – 3   .400 12 – 15   .444 Evansville 1 – 4   .200 18 – 10   .643 Xavier 0 – 5   .000 8 – 18   .308 † 1980 MCC tournament winner
1979–80 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Bradley † 13 – 3   .813 23 – 10   .697 Creighton 9 – 7   .563 16 – 12   .571 West Texas State 9 – 7   .563 19 – 11   .633 Wichita State 9 – 7   .563 17 – 12   .586 Indiana State 8 – 8   .500 16 – 11   .593 New Mexico State 8 – 8   .500 17 – 10   .630 Drake 6 – 10   .375 15 – 12   .556 Tulsa 5 – 11   .313 8 – 19   .296 Southern Illinois 5 – 11   .313 9 – 17   .346 † 1980 MVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Western Kentucky † 10 – 2   .833 21 – 8   .724 Murray State 10 – 2   .833 23 – 8   .742 Morehead State 7 – 5   .583 15 – 12   .556 Eastern Kentucky 7 – 5   .583 15 – 12   .556 Middle Tennessee 5 – 7   .417 13 – 13   .500 Austin Peay State 2 – 10   .167 8 – 18   .308 Tennessee Tech 1 – 11   .083 5 – 21   .192 † 1980 OVC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll	1979–80 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT ^#5 Oregon State 16 – 2   .889 26 – 3   .897 No. 18 Arizona State 15 – 3   .833 22 – 7   .759 Washington State 14 – 4   .778 22 – 6   .786 *UCLA 12 – 6   .667 17 – 9   .654 Washington 9 – 9   .500 18 – 10   .643 Arizona 6 – 12   .333 12 – 15   .444 USC 5 – 13   .278 12 – 15   .444 Oregon 5 – 13   .278 10 – 17   .370 Stanford 5 – 13   .278 7 – 19   .269 California 3 – 15   .167 8 – 19   .296 As of April 15, 1980 *Oregon State vacated all tournament games (0–1) due to NCAA sanctions. Disputed record (16-2, 26-4) ^UCLA vacated all tournament games (5–1) due to NCAA sanctions. Disputed record (22-10, 12-6) Rankings from AP Poll
1979–80 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Utah State 11 – 2   .846 18 – 9   .667 Long Beach State 11 – 3   .786 22 – 12   .647 Fresno State 8 – 4   .667 17 – 7   .708 San Jose State† 7 – 6   .538 17 – 12   .586 Pacific 7 – 7   .500 15 – 16   .484 UC Santa Barbara 5 – 9   .357 11 – 16   .407 Cal State Fullerton 4 – 10   .286 10 – 17   .370 UC Irvine 1 – 13   .071 9 – 18   .333 † 1980 PCAA tournament winner	1979–80 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 4 Kentucky 15 – 3   .833 29 – 6   .829 No. 3 LSU † 14 – 4   .778 26 – 6   .813 Alabama 12 – 6   .667 18 – 12   .600 Tennessee 12 – 6   .667 18 – 11   .621 Ole Miss 9 – 9   .500 17 – 13   .567 Mississippi State 7 – 11   .389 13 – 14   .481 Vanderbilt 7 – 11   .389 13 – 13   .500 Georgia 7 – 11   .389 14 – 13   .519 Auburn 5 – 13   .278 10 – 18   .357 Florida 2 – 16   .111 7 – 21   .250 † 1980 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 Southern Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Furman † 14 – 1   .933 23 – 7   .767 Marshall 10 – 6   .625 17 – 12   .586 Western Carolina 9 – 7   .563 17 – 10   .630 East Tennessee State 8 – 7   .533 15 – 13   .536 Chattanooga 7 – 9   .438 13 – 14   .481 Appalachian State 6 – 10   .375 12 – 16   .429 The Citadel 6 – 10   .375 14 – 13   .519 VMI 6 – 10   .375 11 – 16   .407 Davidson 4 – 11   .267 8 – 18   .308 † 1980 Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll
1979–80 Southland Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Lamar 8 – 2   .800 22 – 11   .667 Southwestern Louisiana 5 – 5   .500 21 – 9   .700 Arkansas State 5 – 5   .500 15 – 12   .556 McNeese State 5 – 5   .500 15 – 12   .556 Louisiana Tech 4 – 6   .400 17 – 10   .630 Texas-Arlington 3 – 7   .300 14 – 13   .519 Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas A&M † 14 – 2   .875 26 – 8   .765 Arkansas 13 – 3   .813 21 – 8   .724 Texas 10 – 6   .625 19 – 11   .633 Texas Tech 8 – 8   .500 16 – 13   .552 Houston 8 – 8   .500 14 – 14   .500 SMU 7 – 9   .438 16 – 12   .571 Baylor 6 – 10   .375 11 – 16   .407 Rice 4 – 12   .250 7 – 19   .269 TCU 2 – 14   .125 7 – 19   .269 † 1980 SWC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1979–80 SWAC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Alcorn State † 8 – 0   1.000 28 – 2   .933 Grambling 6 – 4   .600 22 – 8   .733 Jackson State 3 – 5   .375 15 – 14   .517 Southern 3 – 6   .333 14 – 15   .483 Texas Southern 2 – 7   .222 9 – 17   .346 Prairie View –   – 10 – 18   .357 Mississippi Valley State –   – 3 – 24   .111 † 1980 SWAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll
1979–80 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT South Alabama 12 – 2   .857 23 – 6   .793 UAB 10 – 4   .714 18 – 12   .600 Jacksonville 10 – 4   .714 20 – 9   .690 UNC Charlotte 9 – 5   .643 15 – 12   .556 VCU † 8 – 6   .571 18 – 12   .600 Georgia State 4 – 10   .286 6 – 21   .222 New Orleans 2 – 12   .143 5 – 21   .192 South Florida 1 – 13   .071 6 – 21   .222 † 1980 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll	1977–80 Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Northeast Louisiana 6 – 0   1.000 18 – 10   .643 Pan American 4 – 2   .667 19 – 9   .679 Mercer 3 – 3   .500 16 – 12   .571 Centenary† 3 – 3   .500 15 – 14   .517 Samford 3 – 3   .500 8 – 19   .296 Houston Baptist 2 – 4   .333 14 – 13   .519 Hardin–Simmons 0 – 6   .000 5 – 21   .192 Arkansas–Little Rock –   – 16 – 10   .615 Northwestern State –   – 5 – 20   .200 Georgia Southern –   – 5 – 22   .185 † 1980 TAAC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll
1979–80 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT San Francisco 11 – 5   .688 22 – 7   .759 Loyola Marymount 10 – 6   .625 14 – 14   .500 Pepperdine 9 – 7   .563 17 – 10   .630 Portland 9 – 7   .563 17 – 11   .607 Saint Mary's 9 – 7   .563 13 – 14   .481 Gonzaga 8 – 8   .500 13 – 13   .500 Santa Clara 8 – 8   .500 13 – 14   .481 Seattle 7 – 9   .438 11 – 16   .407 San Diego 1 – 15   .063 5 – 20   .200 Rankings from AP Poll	1979-80 WAC men's basketball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT BYU 13 – 1   .929 24 – 5   .828 UTEP 10 – 4   .714 20 – 8   .714 Utah 10 – 4   .714 18 – 10   .643 Wyoming 5 – 9   .357 18 – 10   .643 Colorado State 5 – 9   .357 10 – 17   .370 Hawaii 4 – 10   .286 13 – 14   .481 New Mexico 3 – 11   .214 7 – 21   .250 San Diego State 3 – 11   .214 6 – 21   .222 Air Force –   – 8 – 17   .320 Rankings from AP Poll

Division I independents

A total of 43 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, DePaul (26–2) had both the best winning percentage (.929) and the most wins.

1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 1 DePaul –   – 26 – 2   .929 No. 19 Iona* –   – 28 – 4   .875 Old Dominion –   – 25 – 5   .833 No. 9 Notre Dame –   – 23 – 8   .742 Tennessee State –   – 19 – 7   .731 UNLV –   – 23 – 9   .719 Saint Peter's –   – 22 – 9   .710 Cleveland State –   – 18 – 8   .692 James Madison –   – 18 – 8   .692 Illinois State –   – 20 – 9   .690 Marquette –   – 18 – 9   .667 UNC Wilmington –   – 19 – 10   .655 Penn State –   – 18 – 10   .643 Southern Mississippi –   – 17 – 10   .630 South Carolina –   – 16 – 11   .593 Campbell –   – 15 – 12   .556 East Carolina –   – 15 – 12   .556 Stetson –   – 15 – 12   .556 Long Island –   – 14 – 12   .538 Detroit –   – 14 – 13   .519 Navy –   – 14 – 13   .519 Wagner –   – 14 – 13   .519 Siena –   – 14 – 14   .500 Dayton –   – 13 – 14   .481 Fairleigh Dickinson –   – 13 – 14   .481 North Texas State –   – 13 – 14   .481 Richmond –   – 13 – 14   .481 Baltimore –   – 12 – 15   .444 William & Mary –   – 12 – 15   .444 Fordham** –   – 12 – 16   .429 St. Francis (Pa.) –   – 12 – 16   .429 St. Francis (N.Y.) –   – 11 – 15   .423 Fairfield –   – 11 – 16   .407 Army –   – 9 – 17   .346 Milwaukee –   – 9 – 17   .346 Towson State –   – 9 – 17   .346 Valparaiso –   – 8 – 18   .308 Catholic –   – 8 – 19   .296 Robert Morris –   – 7 – 19   .269 George Mason –   – 5 – 21   .192 Portland State –   – 5 – 21   .192 Manhattan –   – 4 – 22   .154 Baptist –   – 2 – 23   .080 * –Iona's 1980 NCAA Tournament games were vacated due to NCAA sanctions; disputed record 29–5. **Disputed record 11–17. Rankings from AP Poll

Informal championships

Conference	Regular season winner	Most Valuable Player
Philadelphia Big 5	Saint Joseph's	Michael Brooks, La Salle

Saint Joseph's finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Points per game				Rebounds per game				Field-goal percentage				Free-throw percentage
Player	School	PPG		Player	School	RPG		Player	School	FG%		Player	School	FT%
Tony Murphy	Southern	32.1		Larry Smith	Alcorn St.	15.1		Steve Johnson	Oregon St.	71.0		Brian Magid	George Washington	92.9
Lewis Lloyd	Drake	30.2		Lewis Lloyd	Drake	15.0		Ron Charles	Michigan St.	67.6		Randy Nesbit	The Citadel	92.5
Harry Kelly	TX Southern	29.0		Rickey Brown	Mississippi St.	14.4		Cherokee Rhone	Centenary	66.6		Kyle Macy	Kentucky	91.2
Ken Page	New Mexico	28.0		Monti Davis	Tenn. St.	13.3		Roosevelt Bouie	Syracuse	65.4		Greg Manning	Maryland	90.8
James Tillman	Eastern Kentucky	27.2		Gary Hooker	Murray St.	12.3		Murray Brown	Florida St.	64.6		Eddie White	Gonzaga	89.2

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Main article: 1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Final Four

Played at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana

	National semifinals					National finals
	E5	Iowa	72
	MW2	Louisville	80
						MW2	Louisville	59
						W8	UCLA	54
	ME6	Purdue	62
	W8	UCLA	67			Third place
						E5	Iowa	58
						ME6	Purdue	75

National Invitation tournament

Main article: 1980 National Invitation Tournament

NIT semifinals and finals

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

	Semifinals				Finals
	UNLV	71
	Virginia	90
					Virginia	58
					Minnesota	55
	Minnesota	65
	Illinois	63			Third place
					UNLV	74
					Illinois	84

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1980 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Consensus First Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Mark Aguirre	F	Sophomore	DePaul
Michael Brooks	F	Senior	La Salle
Joe Barry Carroll	C	Senior	Purdue
Darrell Griffith	G	Senior	Louisville
Kyle Macy	G	Senior	Kentucky

Consensus Second Team

Player	Position	Class	Team
Mike Gminski	C	Senior	Duke
Albert King	F	Junior	Maryland
Mike O'Koren	F	Senior	North Carolina
Kelvin Ransey	G	Senior	Ohio State
Sam Worthen	G	Senior	Marquette

Major player of the year awards

• Wooden Award: Darrell Griffith, Louisville
• Naismith Award: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• Helms Player of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Louisville
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• UPI Player of the Year: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• NABC Player of the Year: Michael Brooks, La Salle
• Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• Adolph Rupp Trophy: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
• Sporting News Player of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Louisville

Major coach of the year awards

• Associated Press Coach of the Year: Ray Meyer, DePaul
• Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Ray Meyer, DePaul
• NABC Coach of the Year: Lute Olson, Iowa
• UPI Coach of the Year: Ray Meyer, DePaul
• Sporting News Coach of the Year: Lute Olson, Iowa

Other major awards

• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Jim Sweeney, Boston College
• Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Michael Brooks, La Salle
• NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Jeff Ruland, Iona

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after the season ended.

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Alabama	C. M. Newton		Wimp Sanderson	Newton resigned to take the same position at Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt
Akron	Ken Cunningham		Bob Rupert
Army	Mike Krzyzewski		Pete Gaudet
Baptist	David Reese		Phil Carter
Boise State	Bus Connor		Dave Leach
Cal State Fullerton	Bobby Dye		George McQuarn
Colorado State	Jim Williams		Tony McAndrews
Cornell	Ben Bluitt		Tom Miller
Duke	Bill Foster		Mike Krzyzewski	Duke hired the untested Krzyzewski after a 9–17 season at Army.
Fairleigh Dickinson	Al Lobalbo		Don Feeley
Florida	Ed Visscher		Norm Sloan
George Mason	John Linn		Joe Harrington
Georgia Southern	J. B. Scearce		John Nelson
Hofstra	Joe Harrington		Dick Berg
Iona	Jim Valvano		Pat Kennedy
Iowa State	Lynn Nance	Rick Samuels	Johnny Orr	Nance resigned mid-season after an 8–10 start.
Lafayette	Roy Chipman		Will Rackley
Lamar	Billy Tubbs		Pat Foster
Loyola (IL)	Jerry Lyne		Gene Sullivan
Loyola Marymount	Ron Jacobs		Ed Goorjian
Michigan	Johnny Orr		Bill Frieder
Navy	Bob Hamilton		Paul Evans
Nebraska	Joe Cipriano		Moe Iba	Iba took the helm after Cipriano died of cancer in November 1980.
Nevada-Reno	Jim Carey		Sonny Allen
Niagara	Dan Raskin		Peter Lonergan
NC State	Norm Sloan		Jim Valvano	Sloan resigned at NC State to take over at Florida, his alma mater, to rebuild the Gators as they moved into their new arena.
Northwestern Louisiana	Tynes Hildebrand		Wayne Yates
Ohio	Dale Bandy		Danny Nee
Oklahoma	Dave Bliss		Billy Tubbs
Pittsburgh	Tim Grgurich		Roy Chipman
Purdue	Lee Rose		Gene Keady
San Francisco	Dan Belluomini		Pete Barry
South Carolina	Frank McGuire		Bill Foster	Hall of Fame coach McGuire retired after 30 years of coaching.
South Carolina State	Tim Autry		Johnny Jones
South Florida	Chip Conner	Gordon Gibbons	Lee Rose	Conner was fired in January and later replaced with Rose – fresh off of a Final Four at Purdue.
Southern Methodist	Sonny Allen		Dave Bliss
Southern Utah	Stan Jack		Tom McCracken
Tennessee Tech	Cliff Malpass		Tom Deaton
Tulsa	Jim King	Bill Franey	Nolan Richardson	King resigned due to family concerns in February. Tulsa hired reigning NJCAA championship coach Richardson.
UC Irvine	Tim Tift		Bill Mulligan
Valparaiso	Ken Rochlitz		Tom Smith
Western Kentucky	Gene Keady		Clem Haskins
Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Bob Gottlieb		Bob Voight