1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball team

1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball
ConferenceIndependent
Record22–6
Head coach
Home arenaCalihan Hall
Seasons
1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Syracuse   26 4   .867
Georgetown   24 5   .828
No. 6 DePaul   26 6   .813
No. 4 Notre Dame   24 6   .800
VCU   20 5   .800
Iona   23 6   .793
Detroit   22 6   .786
Tennessee State   20 6   .769
Old Dominion   23 7   .767
No. 10 Marquette   22 7   .759
Wagner   21 7   .750
Connecticut   21 8   .724
UNLV   21 8   .724
UNC Wilmington   19 8   .704
Boston College   21 9   .700
James Madison   18 8   .692
Rhode Island   20 9   .690
George Mason   17 8   .680
St. Bonaventure   19 9   .679
Illinois State   20 10   .667
St. John's   21 11   .656
Dayton   19 10   .655
Boston University   17 9   .654
Fairfield   17 9   .654
Georgia Tech   17 9   .654
Oral Roberts   17 10   .630
Holy Cross   17 11   .607
Seton Hall   16 11   .593
Cleveland State   15 10   .600
Maine   14 10   .583
Army   14 11   .560
Denver   15 12   .556
South Carolina   15 12   .556
Stetson   15 12   .556
Siena   14 12   .538
St. Francis (NY)   14 12   .538
Navy   13 12   .520
Xavier   14 13   .519
Northeastern   13 13   .500
Saint Francis (PA)   13 13   .500
Robert Morris   13 14   .481
Southern Miss   13 14   .481
Air Force   12 13   .480
Long Island University   12 13   .480
Canisius   12 14   .462
Colgate   12 14   .462
Evansville   13 16   .448
East Carolina   12 15   .444
Loyola-Chicago   12 15   .444
Butler   11 16   .407
North Texas State   11 16   .407
Saint Peter's   10 15   .400
Campbell   10 16   .385
New Hampshire   10 16   .385
Providence   10 16   .385
Richmond   10 16   .385
Hawaii   10 17   .370
William & Mary   9 17   .346
Georgia Southern   9 18   .333
Fairleigh Dickinson   8 18   .308
Wisconsin-Milwaukee   8 18   .308
Vermont   8 18   .308
Northwestern State   7 19   .269
Fordham   7 22   .241
Catholic   6 20   .231
Arkansas-Little Rock   6 20   .231
Manhattan   6 20   .231
Niagara   6 20   .231
Portland State   6 21   .222
Baltimore   4 20   .167
Valparaiso   4 21   .160
Baptist   2 25   .074
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball team represented the University of Detroit in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played at Calihan Hall in Detroit.

The Titans were led by second-year head coach Smokey Gaines, a former assistant coach serving under Dick Vitale. After missing out on a bid the previous season, the Titans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Playing as the No. 7 seed in the Mideast region, Detroit fell to No. 10 seed Lamar in the opening round to finish the season with a 22–6 record.

Roster

1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F Earl Cureton 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Detroit, Michigan
G Terry Duerod 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Royal Oak, Michigan
F Jeff Whitlow 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Sr
G Wilbert McCormick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Jr
G Dave Niles 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Jr
F Joe Kopicki 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Warren, Michigan
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 25, 1978*
Toledo W 67–64  1–0
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Dec 4, 1978*
at No. 14 North Carolina L 76–93  1–1
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 7, 1978*
at Oregon W 75–74  2–1
McArthur Court 
Eugene, Oregon
Dec 16, 1978*
at Ball State L 81–82  2–2
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Dec 19, 1978*
Marshall W 92–61  3–2
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Dec 21, 1978*
at Iona W 76–72  4–2
John A. Mulcahy Campus Events Center 
New Rochelle, New York
Dec 23, 1978*
Central Michigan W 79–72  5–2
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Dec 28, 1978*
New Hampshire W 108–70  6–2
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Dec 29, 1978*
Rhode Island L 67–69  6–3
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Jan 4, 1979*
at Long Island University W 84–63  7–3
Schwartz Athletic Center 
Brooklyn, New York
Jan 6, 1979*
at Rhode Island W 77–76  8–3
Providence Civic Center 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Jan 10, 1979*
Loyola (IL) W 83–74  9–3
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Jan 13, 1979*
Illinois State W 92–81  10–3
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Jan 15, 1979*
Western Michigan W 92–77  11–3
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Jan 18, 1979*
at East Carolina W 81–69  12–3
Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum 
Greenville, North Carolina
Jan 24, 1979*
Xavier L 70–74  12–4
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Jan 31, 1979*
at Eastern Michigan W 80–75  13–4
Bowen Field House 
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Feb 3, 1979*
No. 9 Georgetown W 91–71[1]  14–4
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Feb 6, 1979*
at No. 9 Marquette W 64–63[2]  15–4
MECCA Arena 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 14, 1979*
St. Bonaventure W 106–101  16–4
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Feb 17, 1979*
Colgate W 86–66  17–4
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
Feb 22, 1979*
at Duquesne L 84–93  17–5
Civic Arena 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 24, 1979*
at Loyola (IL) W 72–69  18–5
Alumni Gym 
Chicago, Illinois
Feb 28, 1979*
Xavier W 88–69  22–5
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, Michigan
NCAA Tournament
Mar 9, 1979*
(7 ME) vs. (10 ME) Lamar
First round
L 87–95  22–6
Murphy Center 
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
ME=Mideast.

Rankings

[3]

References

  1. ^ "Detroit Shocks Hoyas, 91-71". The Washington Post. February 4, 1979. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "U-D stuns Marquette". The Battle Creek Enquirer. February 7, 1979. Retrieved February 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 856–857. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.