1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

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]

Season summary

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

^[4]

Statistics

Jack Givens (6'4", Sr, F) 18.1 ppg
Rick Robey (6'10", Sr, F) 14.4 ppg
Kyle Macy (6'3", So, G) 12.5 ppg
James Lee (6'5", Sr, F) 11.3 ppg
Mike Phillips (6'10", Sr, C) 10.2 ppg
Truman Claytor (6'1", Jr, G) 6.9 ppg

^[4]

Awards and honors

Jack Givens, NCAA Men's MOP Award^[5]

Team players drafted into the NBA

^[6]

References

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