1982–83 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

1982–83 La Salle Explorers men's basketball
1982–83 La Salle Explorers men's basketball
ECC East co-champion; ECC tournament champion
NCAA Division I tournament, First Round
Conference	East Coast Conference
Record	18–14 (7–2 ECC)
Head coach	Lefty Ervin (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Joe Mihalich; Marcel Arribi; Sam Rines;
Home arena	Convention Hall
	Seasons ← 1981–82 1983–84 →

1982–83 ECC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
American	7	–	2	.778	20	–	10	.667
Hofstra	7	–	2	.778	18	–	9	.667
La Salle †	7	–	2	.778	18	–	14	.563
Drexel	5	–	4	.556	14	–	15	.483
Towson	2	–	7	.222	7	–	21	.250
West
Rider	10	–	3	.769	20	–	9	.690
Bucknell	8	–	5	.615	17	–	11	.607
Delaware	4	–	9	.308	11	–	14	.440
Lafayette	3	–	10	.231	7	–	21	.250
Lehigh	2	–	11	.154	10	–	16	.385

† 1983 ECC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1982–83 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team represented La Salle University as a member of the East Coast Conference during the 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Lefty Ervin and played their home games at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After finishing in a three-way tie atop the ECC East division standings, the Explorers won the ECC tournament to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. As one of two No. 12 seeds in the East region, La Salle defeated Boston University in the Play-in round before losing to No. 5 seed VCU in the first round. The team finished with a record of 18–14 (7–2 ECC).

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G/F	10	Phil Burton	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Benjamin Franklin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G/F	11	Ralph Lewis	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Frankford	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G	21	Dallas Philson	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	So	South Philadelphia	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G	22	Steve Black	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)		Overbrook	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
F/C	24	Albert Butts	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	South Philadelphia	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
C	54	Tom Piotrowski	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Great Valley	West Chester, Pennsylvania

Head coach

Lefty Ervin

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

^[1]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1982*		Bucknell	W 68–66	1–0	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 4, 1982*		at Delaware	W 55–54	2–0	Delaware Field House Newark, Delaware
Dec 8, 1982*		Rhode Island	L 82–84	2–1	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 10, 1982*		vs. Texas A&M	L 74–82	2–2
Dec 11, 1982*		vs. Brown	W 61–59	3–2
Dec 18, 1982*		vs. Penn	L 72–78	3–3
Dec 22, 1982*		Niagara	W 82–65	4–3	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 27, 1982*		vs. Cincinnati	L 73–76	4–4
Dec 28, 1982*		vs. Wisconsin–Green Bay	W 62–51	5–4
Jan 3, 1983*		at Western Kentucky	W 62–56	6–4	E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky
Jan 8, 1983*		Duke	L 60–61^[2]	6–5	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 12, 1983*		Towson	W 79–78	7–5	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 15, 1983*		Duquesne	W 67–61	8–5	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 22, 1983*		vs. No. 13 Villanova	L 71–72^[3]	8–6
Jan 26, 1983*		Hofstra	W 78–62	9–6	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 29, 1983*		at Canisius	L 54–55	9–7	Koessler Athletic Center Buffalo, New York
Jan 31, 1983*		Rider	L 69–71	9–8	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 2, 1983*		at Notre Dame	L 56–68^[4]	9–9	Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 5, 1983*		vs. Saint Joseph's	W 79–60	10–9
Feb 9, 1983*		at Xavier	L 85–109	10–10	Schmidt Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 14, 1983*		Dayton	L 73–79	10–11	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 16, 1983*		at Lehigh	W 46–44	11–11	Stabler Arena Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Feb 19, 1983*		at American	L 63–65	11–12	Fort Myer Ceremonial Hall Washington, D.C.
Feb 23, 1983*		Lafayette	W 79–61	12–12	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 26, 1983*		vs. Temple	L 79–84	12–13
Mar 3, 1983*		at Drexel	W 63–61	13–13	Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 5, 1983*		at Vermont	W 87–73	14–13	Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium Burlington, Vermont
ECC Tournament
Mar 9, 1983*		Delaware Quarterfinals	W 102–62	15–13	Tom Gola Arena
Mar 11, 1983*		vs. Rider Semifinals	W 68–57	16–13	Kirby Sports Center
Mar 12, 1983*		vs. American Championship game	W 75–73	17–13	Kirby Sports Center
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1983*	(12 MW)	vs. (12 MW) Boston University Play-in game	W 70–58^[5]	18–13	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 17, 1983*	(12 E)	vs. (5 E) VCU First round	L 67–76^[6]	18–14	Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East.

^[7]

References

^ "La Salle 1982-83" (PDF). La Salle University. p. 2. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
^ "Duke 61, La Salle 60". UPI Archives. January 9, 1983. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
^ "Villanova 72, La Salle 71". The New York Times. January 23, 1983. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
^ "Notre Dame 68, La Salle 56". UPI Archives. February 3, 1983. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
^ "La Salle vs. Boston University Box Score". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
^ "Virginia Commonwealth vs. La Salle Box Score". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
^ "La Salle Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). La Salle Athletics. Retrieved March 27, 2022.

[1] "La Salle 1982-83" (PDF). La Salle University. p. 2. Retrieved April 25, 2022.

[2] "Duke 61, La Salle 60". UPI Archives. January 9, 1983. Retrieved April 25, 2022.

[3] "Villanova 72, La Salle 71". The New York Times. January 23, 1983. Retrieved April 25, 2022.

[4] "Notre Dame 68, La Salle 56". UPI Archives. February 3, 1983. Retrieved April 25, 2022.

[5] "La Salle vs. Boston University Box Score". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 27, 2022.

[6] "Virginia Commonwealth vs. La Salle Box Score". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 27, 2022.

[7] "La Salle Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). La Salle Athletics. Retrieved March 27, 2022.

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v t e La Salle Explorers men's basketball
Venues	Wister Hall (19??–1955) Palestra (1955–1989) Civic Center (1989–1996) First Union Spectrum (1996–1998) Tom Gola Arena (1998–present) TruMark Financial Center (facilities)
Culture & lore	"Fight On, Explorers" City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 (Robert V. Geasey Trophy) Gambling scandal Rape scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics