1977-78
27-7
Spanarkel, Gminski and a freshman named Gene Banks take Duke from 2-10 in the ACC to the national championship game.
Coach: Bill Foster • Foster Era • National Runner-Up (beat Rhode Island 63-62, Penn 84-80, Villanova 90-72, Notre Dame 90-86; lost to Kentucky 94-88 in final)
1977-78 Duke Roster
14
Total Roster
4
Profiled
6
New Arrivals
8
Returning
New Arrivals
20
Gene BanksNewProfile
Forward • 6'7" • Philadelphia, PA
31
Jim SuddathNewProfile
Forward • 6'8" • East Point, GA
34
Kenny DennardNewProfile
Forward • 6'8" • King, NC
30
Larry LinneyNewProfile
Forward • 6'6" • Winston-Salem, NC
21
Bob BenderNew
Guard • 6'2" • River Forest, IL
22
John HarrellNew
Guard • 6'0" • Durham, NC
Returning Players
15
Bruce Bell
Guard • 6'0" • Lexington, KY
35
Cameron Hall
Forward • 6'9" • Dundas, Ontario
24
Harold Morrison
Forward • 6'7" • West Orange, NJ
34
Jim Spanarkel
Guard • 6'5" • Jersey City, NJ
43
Mike Gminski
Center • 6'11" • Monroe, CT
14
Rob Hardy
Guard • 6'3" • Columbus, OH
44
Scott Goetsch
Center • 6'9" • Chatsworth, CA
23
Steve Gray
Guard • 6'2" • Woodland Hills, CA
1977-78 Season Overview
27-7
Record
8-4
ACC
NR
Preseason
#7
Final
ACC Tournament
Champions (beat Clemson 83-72, Maryland 81-69, Wake Forest 85-77; first ACC title since 1966)
NCAA Tournament
National Runner-Up (beat Rhode Island 63-62, Penn 84-80, Villanova 90-72, Notre Dame 90-86; lost to Kentucky 94-88 in final)
Season Overview
Foster added Indiana transfer Bob Bender, a member of the Hoosiers' unbeaten 1976 national champions, and landed one of the most sought-after high school players in the country in Gene Banks of Philadelphia. Freshman Kenny Dennard came with him. Three players averaged at least 17 points: Jim Spanarkel at 20.8, Mike Gminski at 20.0 and Banks at 17.1.
The turn came on January 14, 1978, when Duke beat second-ranked North Carolina 92-84 at Cameron. Duke finished second in the ACC at 8-4, then won the ACC Tournament in Greensboro over Clemson, Maryland and Wake Forest for its first conference title since 1966.
In the NCAA Tournament Duke survived Rhode Island 63-62 in Charlotte, beat Penn and Villanova in Providence to win the East Regional, and beat sixth-ranked Notre Dame 90-86 in the national semifinal in St. Louis. Top-ranked Kentucky won the final 94-88. Duke finished 27-7 and seventh in the final AP poll, and Foster was named national Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
1977-78 Schedule and Results
27-7
34 games
8-4
ACC
14-0
Home
5-5
Away
| Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 26, 1977 | vsJohns Hopkins | W 95-49 | 1-0 |
| Nov 29, 1977 | vsWashington College | W 110-66 | 2-0 |
| Dec 2, 1977 | vs#2North Carolinaneutral | L 66-79 | 2-1 |
| Dec 3, 1977 | vs#18Wake Forestneutral | W 97-84 | 3-1 |
| Dec 8, 1977 | atSMU | W 91-67 | 4-1 |
| Dec 10, 1977 | atSouthern Cal | L 81-87OT | 4-2 |
| Dec 13, 1977 | vsChicago | W 99-61 | 5-2 |
| Dec 28, 1977 | vsDuquesne | W 74-65 | 6-2 |
| Dec 29, 1977 | vsSt. Joseph's | W 74-61 | 7-2 |
| Jan 2, 1978 | atVirginia Tech | W 86-79 | 8-2 |
| Jan 4, 1978 | at#15Maryland | W 88-78 | 9-2 |
| Jan 7, 1978 | atNC State | L 50-74 | 9-3 |
| Jan 9, 1978 | vsLehigh | W 105-63 | 10-3 |
| Jan 11, 1978 | atClemson | W 107-85 | 11-3 |
| Jan 14, 1978 | vs#2North Carolina | W 92-84 | 12-3 |
| Jan 18, 1978 | vsWake Forest | W 81-72 | 13-3 |
| Jan 21, 1978 | atLa Salle | W 91-81 | 14-3 |
| Jan 25, 1978 | at#18Virginia | L 73-74 | 14-4 |
| Jan 28, 1978 | vsEast Carolina | W 105-82 | 15-4 |
| Feb 2, 1978 | atWake Forest | L 60-79 | 15-5 |
| Feb 8, 1978 | vs#13Virginia | W 100-75 | 16-5 |
| Feb 11, 1978 | vsDavidson | W 104-88 | 17-5 |
| Feb 15, 1978 | vsNC State | W 76-64 | 18-5 |
| Feb 18, 1978 | vsMaryland | W 81-70 | 19-5 |
| Feb 22, 1978 | vsClemson | W 78-62 | 20-5 |
| Feb 25, 1978 | at#8North Carolina | L 83-87 | 20-6 |
| Mar 1, 1978 | vsClemsonACC Tourneyneutral | W 83-72 | 21-6 |
| Mar 2, 1978 | vsMarylandACC Tourneyneutral | W 81-69 | 22-6 |
| Mar 4, 1978 | vsWake ForestACC Tourneyneutral | W 85-77 | 23-6 |
| Mar 12, 1978 | vsRhode IslandNCAAneutral | W 63-62 | 24-6 |
| Mar 17, 1978 | vs#20PennNCAAneutral | W 84-80 | 25-6 |
| Mar 19, 1978 | vsVillanovaNCAAneutral | W 90-72 | 26-6 |
| Mar 25, 1978 | vs#6Notre DameNCAAneutral | W 90-86 | 27-6 |
| Mar 27, 1978 | vs#1KentuckyNCAAneutral | L 88-94 | 27-7 |
1977-78 Team and Player Statistics
Team Averages
85.6
PPG
74.4
Opp PPG
+11.2
Margin
38.1
RPG
17.7
APG
52.7%
FG%
—
3PT%
79.1%
FT%
9.9
SPG
4.1
BPG
Individual Leaders
Scoring
1Jim Spanarkel
20.8 ppg708
2Mike Gminski
20 ppg640
17.1 ppg581
9.7 ppg331
5John Harrell
7.9 ppg174
Rebounding
1Mike Gminski
10 rpg319
8.6 rpg292
6.3 rpg215
4Jim Spanarkel
3.4 rpg116
5Scott Goetsch
2.2 rpg69
Assists
1Jim Spanarkel
3.7 apg126
3.5 apg120
3Bob Bender
2.6 apg82
4John Harrell
2.5 apg54
2.1 apg72
Blocks
1Mike Gminski
2.9 bpg93
0.4 bpg13
3Cameron Hall
0.4 bpg3
4Jim Spanarkel
0.2 bpg7
0.2 bpg8
Player Stats
| Player | Cl | GP | GS | MPG | PTS ▾ | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim SpanarkelGuard | Jr | 34 | — | 35.1 | 20.8 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 3.4 | 53.0 | — | 86.3 |
| Mike GminskiCenter | So | 32 | — | 31.6 | 20 | 10 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 54.7 | — | 84.1 |
| Gene BanksForward | Fr | 34 | — | 33.4 | 17.1 | 8.6 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 3.9 | 52.8 | — | 71.9 |
| Kenny DennardForward | Fr | 34 | — | 29.1 | 9.7 | 6.3 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 55.1 | — | 67.1 |
| John HarrellGuard | So | 22 | — | 37.4 | 7.9 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 2 | 48.6 | — | 82.6 |
| Bob BenderGuard | So | 32 | — | 14.3 | 3.5 | 1 | 2.6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 48.8 | — | 73.8 |
| Cameron HallForward | So | 7 | — | 7.1 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 56.2 | — | 85.7 |
| Steve GrayGuard | Jr | 25 | — | 12 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0 | 1.4 | 46.4 | — | 85.7 |
| Scott GoetschCenter | Jr | 32 | — | 9.8 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 62.1 | — | 63.2 |
| Jim SuddathForward | Fr | 31 | — | 8.4 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 48.4 | — | 72.0 |
| Harold MorrisonForward | Jr | 22 | — | 7.6 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 40.0 | — | 76.5 |
| Bruce BellGuard | Sr | 21 | — | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.1 | 40.0 | — | 50.0 |
| Rob HardyGuard | Jr | 13 | — | 7.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 57.1 | — | 0.0 |
| Team Totals | — | 34 | — | — | 85.6 | 38.1 | 17.7 | 9.9 | 4.1 | 17.9 | 52.7 | — | 79.1 |
| Opponents | — | 34 | — | — | 74.4 | 33.2 | 12.2 | — | — | — | 46.8 | — | 68.5 |
Gold border = starter (20+ games started) · Bold = team leader (10+ GP) · Click column to sort
1977-78 Duke vs. North Carolina
1-2
vs UNC
GTHC
L 66-79vs #2 UNC
Dec 2, 1977Greensboro Memorial Coliseum, Greensboro
W 92-84vs #2 UNC
Jan 14, 1978Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
L 83-87vs #8 UNC
Feb 25, 1978Carmichael Auditorium, Chapel Hill
1977-78 ACC and NCAA Tournament
ACC Tournament
Champions (beat Clemson 83-72, Maryland 81-69, Wake Forest 85-77; first ACC title since 1966)First RoundW 83-72vs Clemson
SemifinalW 81-69vs Maryland
ChampionshipW 85-77vs Wake Forest
NCAA Tournament
National Runner-Up (beat Rhode Island 63-62, Penn 84-80, Villanova 90-72, Notre Dame 90-86; lost to Kentucky 94-88 in final)First Round (East)W 63-62vs Rhode Island
Regional Semifinal (East)W 84-80vs Penn
Regional Final (East)W 90-72vs Villanova
National SemifinalW 90-86vs Notre Dame
National ChampionshipL 88-94vs Kentucky