The 1978–79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team represented

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

during the

1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1978, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on March 26 ...

. They were led by head coach

Ray Meyer Raymond Joseph Meyer (December 18, 1913 – March 17, 2006) was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record. Care ...

, in his 37th season, and played their home games at the Alumni Hall in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. After starting the regular season unranked, the Blue Demons won 22 of 27 games to earn a top ten ranking and the #2 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament. DePaul began tournament play by defeating USC and Marquette, then knocked off #1 seed

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, avenging a season-opening loss, to earn the program's second trip to the Final Four. Though the team fell to the #1 ranked and unbeaten Indiana State – led by NCAA Player of the Year

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 ...

– in the National semifinals, they bounced back to defeat Penn to claim third place. They finished the season with an overall record of 26–6. As of 2025, this is the latest Final Four to include DePaul, as well as the last time the program has made the Elite Eight. The program would make three Sweet Sixteens in the 1980s, and has not ventured past the first weekend since then.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA Tournament

Rankings

^Coaches did not release Week 1 or Week 2 polls. Source sports-reference.com 1978-79 Independent Season Summary
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Awards and honors

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NABC Coach of the Year The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978-79 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball seasons DePaul 1978 in sports in Illinois 1979 in sports in Illinois DePaul NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons