The 1978–79 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team represented the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

in the 1978–79 college basketball season. The Razorbacks played their home games in

Barnhill Arena Barnhill Arena is a 10,000-seat multipurpose arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas, now used primarily for volleyball. The arena opened in 1954 and was home to the University of Arkansas Razorbacks (men's) and (women's) basketball teams before they mo ...

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

. Arkansas competed in the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

. It was

Eddie Sutton Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...

's fifth season as head coach of the Razorbacks. The Razorbacks won a share of the Southwest Conference championship, going 13–3 in league play and finishing with an overall record of 25–5. Arkansas shared the league crown with

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, whom they beat in the 1979 SWC tournament championship game to clinch a berth to the NCAA tournament. Arkansas earned the 2 seed in the tournament's Midwest region, receiving a first-round bye and advancing to the Elite Eight after beating Weber State in the second round and #13

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

in the Sweet Sixteen before losing to

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

and #1 Indiana State in a controversial outcome after a missed tripping call late in the game. 1979 was Arkansas's third consecutive and seventeenth overall SWC championship, as well as its second SWC Tournament championship. The run to the Elite Eight came as part of the Razorbacks' seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament, also making the tournament the previous two seasons. 1979 was Sutton's third conference title with Arkansas out of the five he would eventually win in his tenure at Arkansas. Arkansas entered the polls at #20 on December 25, 1978, and would remain ranked the whole season, coming in at #5 in the final AP Poll for the second consecutive year. As the last remaining member of the famed "Triplets" following the departure of All-Americans and NBA Draft picks Ron Brewer and Marvin Delph,

Sidney Moncrief Sidney Alvin Moncrief (born September 21, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. As an NCAA college basketball player from 1975 to 1979, Moncrief played for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, leading them to the 1978 F ...

was named an All-American for the second consecutive year and was drafted fifth overall by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the

1979 NBA draft The 1979 NBA draft was the 33rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Monday, June 25. In this draft, the 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players a ...

, the highest pick in Arkansas history. Senior center Steve Schall was drafted in the fifth round by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Marvin Delph, a senior on the previous year's team was drafted for a second time by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in the sixth round.

Roster

Roster retrieved from HogStats.com.

Schedule and Results

Schedule retrieved from HogStats.com. , - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, SWC tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978-79 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball seasons

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...