The 1979–89 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team represented

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private university, private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Bapt ...

as a member of the

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located primarily in the state of New York, with a single ...

during the

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 Mar ...

. The team was led by head coach Lefty Ervin and played their home games at

The Palestra The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 So ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. After finishing third in the ECC East division standings, the Explorers won the ECC tournament to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 11 seed in the Mideast region, La Salle lost to No. 6 seed eventual Final Four participant

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

in the opening round. The team finished with a record of 22–9 (7–4 ECC).

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, ECC Tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA Tournament

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1979-80 La Salle Explorers Men's Basketball Team La Salle Explorers men's basketball seasons

La Salle Explorers The La Salle Explorers are the varsity sports teams from La Salle University in Philadelphia. The Explorers compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The men's and women's basketball teams also participate in the Phi ...

La Salle La La 1980 in Philadelphia 1970s in Philadelphia