1979 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament
| 1979 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 1978–79 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Champions | Rutgers (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Tom Young (1st title) |
| MVP | James Bailey (Rutgers) |
Eastern 8 men's basketball tournaments | |
The 1979 Eastern 8 Men's Basketball Tournament was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the Civic Arena from February 27, 1979, to March 3, 1979. Rutgers defeated Pittsburgh 61-57 in the final.
Bracket
| Quarterfinals February 27, 1979 | Semi-Finals March 1, 1979 | Finals March 3, 1979 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Villanova | 78* | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Massachusetts | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Villanova | 64 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 77 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | George Washington | 80 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Rutgers | 61 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Rutgers | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Penn State | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | West Virginia | 52 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Rutgers | 55 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | West Virginia | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Duquesne | 59 | ||||||||||||
Final standings
| Villanova | 9 1 | 15 13 |
| West Virginia | 7 3 | 16 12 |
| Rutgers | 7 3 | 22 9 |
| Pittsburgh | 6 4 | 18 11 |
| George Washington | 5 5 | 13 14 |
| Penn State | 4 6 | 12 18 |
| Duquesne | 2 8 | 13 13 |
| Massachusetts | 0 10 | 5 22 |
| Overall Non-Conference Record 74-72 |