1979–80 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

American college basketball season

1979–80 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record18–11 (12–6 SEC)
Head coach
  • Don DeVoe (2nd season)
Home arenaStokely Athletic Center
Seasons
1979–80 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
  • v
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Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Kentucky 15 3   .833 29 6   .829
No. 3 LSU 14 4   .778 26 6   .813
Alabama 12 6   .667 18 12   .600
Tennessee 12 6   .667 18 11   .621
Ole Miss 9 9   .500 17 13   .567
Mississippi State 7 11   .389 13 14   .481
Vanderbilt 7 11   .389 13 13   .500
Georgia 7 11   .389 14 13   .519
Auburn 5 13   .278 10 18   .357
Florida 2 16   .111 7 21   .250
1980 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1979–80 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1979–80 college basketball season. Led by second-year head coach Don DeVoe, the team played their home games at the Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers finished with a record of 18–11 (12–6 SEC, T-3rd) and received an at-large bid to the 1980 NCAA tournament as the 7 seed in the East region. After an opening round win over No. 10 seed Furman, Tennessee was defeated by No. 2 seed Maryland, 86–75.

This was the second of five straight seasons of NCAA Tournament basketball for the Tennessee men's program.

Roster

1979–80 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 14 Dale Ellis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Marietta, Georgia
F 32 Reggie Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Atlanta, Georgia
F 44 Howard Wood 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Southampton, New York
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Current redshirt

Roster

[2]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
SEC tournament
Feb 28, 1980*
 Chesley-TPC
vs. Ole Miss
Quarterfinals
L 74–76  17–10
BJCC Coliseum 
Birmingham, Alabama
NCAA tournament
Mar 6, 1980*
(7 E) vs. (10 E) Furman
First round
W 80–69  18–10
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, North Carolina
Mar 8, 1980*
(7 E) vs. (2 E) No. 8 Maryland
Second round
L 75–86  18–11
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[3] [4]

Rankings

[5]

NBA draft

Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 15 Reggie Johnson San Antonio Spurs

[6]

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1979-80 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1979-80 Men's Basketball Roster". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "1979-80 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "2019-20 Tennessee Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  5. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 867–868. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  6. ^ "1980 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
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