1978-79
22-8
Preseason No. 1. A 9-3 ACC record, an ACC final, and an 80-78 loss to St. John's in Raleigh.
Coach: Bill Foster • Foster Era • Second Round (#2 seed East, first-round bye; lost to #10 St. John's 80-78)
1978-79 Duke Roster
13
Total Roster
5
Profiled
1
New Arrivals
12
Returning
Returning Players
20
Gene BanksProfile
Forward • 6'7" • Philadelphia, PA
31
Jim SuddathProfile
Forward • 6'8" • East Point, GA
34
Kenny DennardProfile
Forward • 6'8" • King, NC
30
Larry LinneyProfile
Forward • 6'6" • Winston-Salem, NC
21
Bob Bender
Guard • 6'2" • River Forest, IL
24
Harold Morrison
Forward • 6'7" • West Orange, NJ
34
Jim Spanarkel
Guard • 6'5" • Jersey City, NJ
22
John Harrell
Guard • 6'0" • Durham, NC
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
1978-79 Season Overview
22-8
Record
9-3
ACC
#1
Preseason
#11
Final
ACC Tournament
Runner-up (beat Wake Forest 58-56, NC State 62-59; lost to North Carolina 71-63 in final)
NCAA Tournament
Second Round (#2 seed East, first-round bye; lost to #10 St. John's 80-78)
Season Overview
With Spanarkel, Gminski and Banks all back, Duke opened the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. It won the Big Four Tournament over sixth-ranked NC State and 14th-ranked North Carolina, beat 12th-ranked USC, ninth-ranked Louisville and 13th-ranked Marquette outside the league, and went 9-3 in the ACC, second in the standings. On February 24, 1979, Duke beat fourth-ranked North Carolina 47-40 at Cameron.
Duke beat Wake Forest and NC State in the ACC Tournament before losing the final to Carolina 71-63. Seeded second in the East, Duke had a first-round bye and then lost 80-78 to 10th-seeded St. John's at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. Gminski led the team at 18.8 points and 9.2 rebounds; Spanarkel, a senior, averaged 15.9 and was a first-round pick in the 1979 NBA draft.
Duke finished 22-8 and 11th in the final AP poll.
1978-79 Schedule and Results
22-8
30 games
9-3
ACC
13-1
Home
5-4
Away
| Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 25, 1978 | atWestern Kentucky | W 78-53 | 1-0 |
| Nov 27, 1978 | vsSMU | W 86-80 | 2-0 |
| Dec 1, 1978 | vs#6NC Stateneutral | W 65-63 | 3-0 |
| Dec 2, 1978 | vs#14North Carolinaneutral | W 78-68 | 4-0 |
| Dec 5, 1978 | vsLa Salle | W 66-42 | 5-0 |
| Dec 13, 1978 | vs#12Southern Cal | W 79-65 | 6-0 |
| Dec 29, 1978 | vsOhio Stateneutral | L 84-90OT | 6-1 |
| Dec 30, 1978 | atSt. John's | L 66-69 | 6-2 |
| Jan 2, 1979 | atDavidson | W 77-59 | 7-2 |
| Jan 5, 1979 | vs#15Long Beach State | W 79-78 | 8-2 |
| Jan 6, 1979 | vsTulane | W 74-64 | 9-2 |
| Jan 10, 1979 | vsClemson | W 73-54 | 10-2 |
| Jan 13, 1979 | at#3North Carolina | L 68-74 | 10-3 |
| Jan 18, 1979 | vsWake Forest | W 81-69 | 11-3 |
| Jan 21, 1979 | at#14NC State | W 75-69 | 12-3 |
| Jan 24, 1979 | atVirginia | W 84-66 | 13-3 |
| Jan 28, 1979 | vs#13Marquette | W 69-64 | 14-3 |
| Jan 31, 1979 | atWake Forest | W 75-60 | 15-3 |
| Feb 3, 1979 | vs#17Maryland | W 87-78 | 16-3 |
| Feb 6, 1979 | vsVirginia | W 64-63 | 17-3 |
| Feb 10, 1979 | vsPittsburgh | L 69-71 | 17-4 |
| Feb 14, 1979 | vsNC State | W 66-48 | 18-4 |
| Feb 16, 1979 | atMaryland | L 68-70 | 18-5 |
| Feb 18, 1979 | vs#9Louisville | W 88-72 | 19-5 |
| Feb 21, 1979 | atClemson | L 49-70 | 19-6 |
| Feb 24, 1979 | vs#4North Carolina | W 47-40 | 20-6 |
| Mar 1, 1979 | vsWake ForestACC Tourneyneutral | W 58-56 | 21-6 |
| Mar 2, 1979 | vsNC StateACC Tourneyneutral | W 62-59 | 22-6 |
| Mar 3, 1979 | vs#7North CarolinaACC Tourneyneutral | L 63-71 | 22-7 |
| Mar 11, 1979 | vsSt. John'sNCAAneutral | L 78-80 | 22-8 |
1978-79 Team and Player Statistics
Team Averages
71.9
PPG
65.5
Opp PPG
+6.4
Margin
33.4
RPG
15.3
APG
51.3%
FG%
—
3PT%
69.8%
FT%
—
SPG
—
BPG
Individual Leaders
Scoring
1Mike Gminski
18.8 ppg565
2Jim Spanarkel
15.9 ppg478
14.3 ppg429
4Bob Bender
6.8 ppg191
6.4 ppg187
Rebounding
1Mike Gminski
9.2 rpg275
8.5 rpg255
4.3 rpg124
4Jim Spanarkel
3 rpg90
5Bob Bender
1.5 rpg42
Assists
1Jim Spanarkel
3.7 apg112
2Bob Bender
3.2 apg91
3 apg89
1.9 apg54
5John Harrell
1.5 apg44
Player Stats
| Player | Cl | GP | GS | MPG | PTS ▾ | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike GminskiCenter | Jr | 30 | — | — | 18.8 | 9.2 | 0.8 | — | — | — | 51.9 | — | 72.9 |
| Jim SpanarkelGuard | Sr | 30 | — | — | 15.9 | 3 | 3.7 | — | — | — | 51.6 | — | 73.4 |
| Gene BanksForward | So | 30 | — | — | 14.3 | 8.5 | 3 | — | — | — | 49.6 | — | 62.7 |
| Bob BenderGuard | Jr | 28 | — | — | 6.8 | 1.5 | 3.2 | — | — | — | 59.5 | — | 86.9 |
| Kenny DennardForward | So | 29 | — | — | 6.4 | 4.3 | 1.9 | — | — | — | 48.2 | — | 54.3 |
| Vince TaylorGuard | Fr | 30 | — | — | 3.8 | 1 | 0.6 | — | — | — | 54.4 | — | 54.8 |
| John HarrellGuard | Jr | 29 | — | — | 2 | 0.7 | 1.5 | — | — | — | 53.3 | — | 56.2 |
| Jim SuddathForward | So | 28 | — | — | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.4 | — | — | — | 50.0 | — | 66.7 |
| Steve GrayGuard | Sr | 26 | — | — | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | — | — | — | 61.5 | — | 81.0 |
| Scott GoetschCenter | Sr | 29 | — | — | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | — | — | — | 44.0 | — | 81.8 |
| Harold MorrisonForward | Sr | 27 | — | — | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | — | — | — | 31.2 | — | 66.7 |
| Rob HardyGuard | Sr | 9 | — | — | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0 | — | — | — | 25.0 | — | 50.0 |
| Team Totals | — | 30 | — | — | 71.9 | 33.4 | 15.3 | — | — | — | 51.3 | — | 69.8 |
| Opponents | — | 30 | — | — | 65.5 | 29.1 | 11.2 | — | — | — | 47.4 | — | 69.2 |
Gold border = starter (20+ games started) · Bold = team leader (10+ GP) · Click column to sort
1978-79 Duke vs. North Carolina
2-2
vs UNC
GTHC
W 78-68vs #14 UNC
Dec 2, 1978Greensboro Memorial Coliseum, Greensboro
L 68-74vs #3 UNC
Jan 13, 1979Carmichael Auditorium, Chapel Hill
W 47-40vs #4 UNC
Feb 24, 1979Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
L 63-71vs #7 UNC
Mar 3, 1979Greensboro Memorial Coliseum, Greensboro
1978-79 ACC and NCAA Tournament
ACC Tournament
Runner-up (beat Wake Forest 58-56, NC State 62-59; lost to North Carolina 71-63 in final)First RoundW 58-56vs Wake Forest
SemifinalW 62-59vs NC State
ChampionshipL 63-71vs North Carolina
NCAA Tournament
Second Round (#2 seed East, first-round bye; lost to #10 St. John's 80-78)Second Round (East)L 78-80vs St. John's