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1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

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The 1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team were coached by Joe B. Hall. The team finished the season with a 30–2 record and SEC Championship and won the 1978 NCAA Championship over the Duke Blue Devils, 94–88. Noting the all-or-nothing pressure exhibited on the team by Kentucky fans, Hall remarked before the title game that "This season was without celebration for us."[2]

1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
SEC regular season champions
ConferenceSoutheast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record30–2 (16–2 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
CaptainJack Givens
Rick Robey
Home arenaRupp Arena
Seasons
1977–78 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Kentucky 16 – 2   .889 30 – 2   .938
Mississippi State 13 – 5   .722 18 – 9   .667
LSU 12 – 6   .667 18 – 9   .667
Alabama 11 – 7   .611 17 – 10   .630
Florida 8 – 10   .444 15 – 12   .556
Auburn 8 – 10   .444 13 – 14   .481
Tennessee 6 – 12   .333 11 – 16   .407
Vanderbilt 6 – 12   .333 10 – 17   .370
Georgia 5 – 13   .278 11 – 16   .407
Ole Miss 5 – 13   .278 10 – 17   .370
Rankings from AP Poll[1]
Rick Robey, James Lee and Jack Givens celebrate winning the title.

Season summary

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Those who witnessed it call Jack Givens' 41 point game against Duke in the 1978 NCAA championship game one of the finest performances in the game's history. Givens made 18-of-27 shots in leading Kentucky to its fifth national championship and first in 20 years. This team also had a pair of bruising frontcourt players in Mike Phillips and Rick Robey and a great point guard in Kyle Macy. The Wildcats went on exhibition tour of Japan in June following the season's end.

Schedule

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Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
November 26*
 No. 2 SMU W 110–86  1–0
 Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 5*
 No. 1 Indiana
Indiana–Kentucky rivalry 		W 78–64  2–0
 Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 10*
 No. 1 at No. 19 Kansas W 73–66  3–0
 Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
December 12*
 No. 1 South Carolina W 84–65  4–0
 Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 16*
 No. 1 Portland State
UK Invitation Tournament 		W 114–88  5–0
 Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 17*
 No. 1 St. John's
UK Invitation Tournament 		W 102–72  6–0
 Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 23*
 No. 1 Iona W 104–65  7–0
 Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 31*
 NBC 		No. 1 No. 4 Notre Dame W 73–68[3]  8–0
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
January 2
 No. 1 Vanderbilt W 72–59  9–0
(1–0) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
January 7
 No. 1 at Florida W 86–67  10–0
(2–0) 		O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
January 9
 No. 1 at Auburn W 101–77  11–0
(3–0) 		Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, AL
January 14
 No. 1 LSU W 96–76  12–0
(4–0) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
January 16
 No. 1 Ole Miss W 76–56  13–0
(5–0) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
January 21
 No. 1 at Mississippi State W 75–65  14–0
(6–0) 		Humphrey Coliseum 
Starkville, MS
January 23
 No. 1 at Alabama L 62–78  14–1
(6–1) 		Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, AL
January 30
 No. 1 Georgia W 90–73  15–1
(7–1) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 4
 No. 1 Florida W 88–61  16–1
(8–1) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 6
 No. 1 Auburn W 104–81  17–1
(9–1) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 11
 No. 1 at LSU L 94–95 OT 17–2
(9–2) 		LSU Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, LA
February 13
 No. 1 at Ole Miss W 64–52  18–2
(10–2) 		Tad Smith Coliseum 
Oxford, MS
February 15
 No. 3 Tennessee W 90–77  19–2
(11–2) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 18
 No. 3 Mississippi State W 58–56  20–2
(12–2) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 20
 No. 3 Alabama W 97–84  21–2
(13–2) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 25
 No. 2 at Tennessee W 68–57  22–2
(14–2) 		Stokely Athletic Center 
Knoxville, TN
February 27
 No. 2 at Georgia W 78–67  23–2
(15–2) 		Georgia Coliseum 
Athens, GA
March 4*
 NBC 		No. 1 UNLV W 92–70  24–2
 Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
March 6
 No. 1 at Vanderbilt W 78–68  25–2
(16–2) 		Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, TN
March 11*
 NBC 		No. 1 vs. No. 13 Florida State
NCAA tournament 		W 85–76  26–2
 Stokely Athletic Center 
Knoxville, TN
March 16*
 NCAA Productions 		No. 1 vs. No. 19 Miami (OH)
NCAA Tournament 		W 91–69  27–2
 University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, OH
March 18*
 NBC 		No. 1 vs. No. 4 Michigan State
NCAA Tournament 		W 52–49  28–2
 University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, OH
March 25*
 NBC 		No. 1 vs. No. 5 Arkansas
NCAA Tournament 		W 64–59  29–2
 Checkerdome 
St. Louis, MO
March 27*
 NBC 		No. 1 vs. No. 7 Duke
NCAA Championship 		W 94–88  30–2
 Checkerdome 
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[4]

Statistics

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[4]

Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 3 Rick Robey Indiana Pacers
1 16 Jack Givens Atlanta Hawks
2 39 James Lee Seattle SuperSonics

[6]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1977-78 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "A Season Without Celebration: Hall." Schenectady Gazette. 1978 Mar 27. Retrieved 2015-May-24.
  3. ^ "Kentucky Rally Tops Notre Dame, 73-68". The New York Times. January 1, 1978. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball media guide Archived 2014-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-May-24.
  5. ^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  6. ^ "1978 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
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