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1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

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The 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1976, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1977 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 27, 1977, at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. The Marquette Warriors won their first NCAA national championship with a 67–59 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Rule changes

The slam dunk, prohibited in NCAA basketball games and warm-ups since the 1967–68 season because of criticism that it rewarded height rather than skill, once again became legal after a nine-season absence.[3][4]

Season headlines

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[5][6]

'Associated Press'
Ranking Team
1 Michigan (21)
2 Marquette (6)
3 North Carolina (9)
4 UCLA (2)
5 Indiana (7)
6 Kentucky (2)
7 UNLV
8 Maryland
9 Louisville (1)
10 Arizona
11 San Francisco (1)
12 Cincinnati
13 Alabama
14 Notre Dame
15 NC State
16 Tennessee
17 Rutgers
18 DePaul
19 UNC Charlotte
20 Missouri
UPI Coaches
Ranking Team
1 Marquette
2 Michigan
3 North Carolina
4 UCLA
5 Indiana
6 Kentucky
7 UNLV
8 Louisville
9 Arizona
10 Cincinnati
11 Maryland
12 San Francisco
13 Tennessee
14 NC State
15 Missouri
16 Wichita State
17 Georgetown
18 Rutgers
19 Penn
20 Purdue

Conference membership changes

The Eastern Collegiate Basketball League, with eight members, and the Sun Belt Conference, with six members, both began play this season. The ECBL, popularly known as the "Eastern 8," became the Eastern Athletic Association the following season and eventually became the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The Yankee Conference dropped all sports except football at the end of the previous season, and seven of its members left the conference before this season began.

Although Chattanooga joined the Southern Conference this season, it still was considered a Division II program. It completed its transition to Division I status after the conclusion of the season.

School Former conference New conference
Boston University Terriers Yankee Conference Division I independent
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Division I independent Pacific Coast Athletic Association
UNC Charlotte 49ers Division I independent Sun Belt Conference
Chattanooga Mocs Division II independent Southern Conference
Connecticut Huskies Yankee Conference Division I independent
Creighton Bluejays Division I independent Missouri Valley Conference
Duquesne Dukes Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League
Florida State Seminoles Division I independent Metro Conference
George Washington Colonials Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League
Georgia State Panthers Division I independent Sun Belt Conference
Indiana State Sycamores Division I independent Missouri Valley Conference
Jacksonville Dolphins Division I independent Sun Belt Conference
Maine Black Bears Yankee Conference Division I independent
Marshall Thundering Herd Division I independent Southern Conference
Massachusetts Minutemen Yankee Conference Eastern Collegiate Basketball League
New Hampshire Wildcats Yankee Conference Division I independent
New Orleans Privateers Division I independent Sun Belt Conference
Penn State Nittany Lions Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League
Pittsburgh Panthers Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League
Portland Pilots Division I independent West Coast Athletic Conference
Rhode Island Rams Yankee Conference Division I independent
Richmond Spiders Southern Conference Division I independent
Rutgers Scarlet Knights Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League
South Alabama Jaguars Division I independent Sun Belt Conference
South Florida Bulls Division I independent Sun Belt Conference
Rhode Island Rams Yankee Conference Division I independent
Vermont Catamounts Yankee Conference Division I independent
West Virginia Mountaineers Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League
Western Carolina Catamounts Non-Division I independent Southern Conference

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of Northeastern colleges and universities, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1977 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.[7]

Conference Regular
season winner[8]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Atlantic Coast Conference North Carolina Rod Griffin, Wake Forest[9] 1977 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
North Carolina
Big Eight Conference Kansas State Kim Anderson, Missouri, &
Mike Evans, Kansas State[10]
1977 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena
(Kansas City, Missouri)
(Semifinals and Finals)
Kansas State
Big Sky Conference Idaho State None selected 1977 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament ISU Minidome
(Pocatello, Idaho)
Idaho State
Big Ten Conference Michigan None Selected No Tournament
East Coast Conference Hofstra & Temple (East)
Lafayette (West)
Rich Laurel, Hofstra 1977 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Kirby Sports Center
(Easton, Pennsylvania)
Hofstra
Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (Eastern 8) Rutgers (East)
Penn State & West Virginia (West)
Norm Nixon, Duquesne 1977 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament The Spectrum
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Duquesne
Eastern College Athletic
Conference (ECAC)
Division I ECAC members
played as independents
during the regular season
Tony Hanson, Connecticut[11] 1977 ECAC Metro Region tournament Madison Square Garden
(New York, New York)
St. John's
1977 ECAC New England Region tournament Hartford Civic Center
(Hartford, Connecticut)
Holy Cross
1977 ECAC Southern Region tournament Campus sites Syracuse
Ivy League Princeton Frank Sowinski, Princeton[12] No Tournament
Metro Conference Louisville Gary Yoder, Cincinnati 1977 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament Mid-South Coliseum
(Memphis, Tennessee)
Cincinnati
Mid-American Conference Central Michigan Matt Hicks, Northern Illinois[13] No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference New Mexico State & Southern Illinois Roger Phegley, Bradley 1977 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Levitt Arena
(Wichita, Kansas)
Southern Illinois
Ohio Valley Conference Austin Peay Otis Howard, Austin Peay 1977 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Dunn Center
(Clarksville, Tennessee)
(Semifinals and Finals)
Middle Tennessee
Pacific-8 Conference UCLA Marques Johnson, UCLA No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association Long Beach State & San Diego State Lloyd McMillian, Long Beach State 1977 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament Anaheim Convention Center
(Anaheim, California)
Long Beach State
Southeastern Conference Kentucky & Tennessee Ernie Grunfeld, Tennessee, & Bernard King, Tennessee[14] No Tournament
Southern Conference Furman & VMI Ron Carter, VMI[15] 1977 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Roanoke Civic Center
(Roanoke, Virginia)
(Semifinals and Finals)
VMI[16]
Southland Conference Southwest Louisiana Dan Henderson, Arkansas State[17] No Tournament
Southwest Conference Arkansas Otis Birdsong, Houston 1977 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament The Summit
(Houston, Texas)
Arkansas
Sun Belt Conference UNC Charlotte Cedric Maxwell, UNC Charlotte[18] 1977 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Charlotte Coliseum
(Charlotte, North Carolina) (Finals)
UNC Charlotte
West Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Bill Cartwright, San Francisco No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference Utah None Selected No Tournament

Informal championships

Conference Regular
season winner
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Philadelphia Big 5 Penn & Temple None selected No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four

National Semifinals National Finals
      
E North Carolina 84
W UNLV 83
E North Carolina 59
MW Marquette 67
ME UNC Charlotte 49
MW Marquette 51
  • Third Place – UNLV 106, UNC Charlotte 94

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals Finals
      
  Alabama 76
  Houston 82
  Houston 91
  St. Bonaventure 94
  Villanova 82
  St. Bonaventure 86
  • Third Place – Villanova 102, Alabama 89

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Kent Benson C Senior Indiana
Otis Birdsong G Senior Houston
Phil Ford G Junior North Carolina
Rickey Green G Senior Michigan
Marques Johnson F Senior UCLA
Bernard King F Junior Tennessee


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Greg Ballard F Senior Oregon
Bill Cartwright C Sophomore San Francisco
Rod Griffin G Junior Wake Forest
Ernie Grunfeld F Senior Tennessee
Phil Hubbard F Senior Michigan
Butch Lee G Junior Marquette
Mychal Thompson F/C Junior Minnesota

Major player of the year awards

Major coach of the year awards

Other major awards

Coaching changes

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

Team Former
Coach
Interim
Coach
New
Coach
Reason
Austin Peay Lake Kelly Ed Thompson
Hardin–Simmons Preston Vice Jim Shuler
Marquette Al McGuire Hank Raymonds
Marshall Bob Daniels Stu Aberdeen
Oral Roberts Jerry Hale Lake Kelly
Penn Chuck Daly Bob Weinhauer
Tennessee Ray Mears Cliff Wettig Don DeVoe

References

  1. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  2. ^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank, "When college basketball outlawed the dunk," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 2014 Accessed April 6, 2021
  4. ^ "Burnsed, Brian, "A Brief History of Men's College Basketball," Champion, Fall 2018 Accessed April 6, 2021". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  5. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  6. ^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
  8. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  9. ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009-02-14
  10. ^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
  11. ^ Carson, Chris, "UConn Basketball: The Top 50 Players in School History," Bleacher Report, November 8, 2011 Accessed April 3, 2021
  12. ^ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01
  13. ^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
  14. ^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
  15. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  16. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  17. ^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
  18. ^ 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07