1976–77 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 1976–77 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 63rd season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Metro Conference and were coached by Denny Crum. The team played home games at Freedom Hall.

1976–77 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Metro Conference Champions
ConferenceMetro Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 19
Record21–7 (6–1 Metro)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFreedom Hall
Seasons
1976–77 Metro Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 19 Louisville 6 1   .857 21 7   .750
Cincinnati 4 2   .667 25 5   .833
Georgia Tech 3 3   .500 13 10   .565
Tulane 3 3   .500 10 17   .370
Memphis State 3 4   .429 20 9   .690
Saint Louis 1 5   .167 7 19   .269
Florida State 0 2   .000 16 11   .593
1977 Metro Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The team completed a 21–7 record and reached the 1977 NCAA Tournament.

Roster

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1976–77 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 13 Ricky Gallon 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Jr Tampa, Florida
G 23 Tony Branch 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Elston Michigan City, Indiana
G 30 Phil Bond 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr duPont Manual Louisville, Kentucky
G 35 Darrell Griffith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Louisville Male Louisville, Kentucky
G 42 Rick Wilson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Atherton Louisville, Kentucky
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1976*
No. 7 at Vanderbilt W 81–76  1–0
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 4, 1976*
No. 7 Syracuse L 75–76  1–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 6, 1976*
No. 14 VCU W 89–60  2–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 8, 1976*
No. 14 Idaho State W 89–68  3–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 11, 1976*
No. 14 at Purdue L 70–72  3–2
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana
Dec 18, 1976*
No. 17 at No. 2 Marquette W 78–75 OT 4–2
MECCA Arena 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 22, 1976*
No. 13 Chattanooga W 81–71  5–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 28, 1976*
No. 14 Rutgers W 76–68  6–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 29, 1976*
No. 14 Creighton W 69–66  7–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 3, 1977*
No. 14 Florida State W 78–75  8–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 8, 1977*
No. 14 at Tulane W 90–81  9–2
Avron B. Fogelman Arena 
New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 15, 1977*
No. 13 Marshall W 104–85  10–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 19, 1977*
No. 12 No. 2 Cincinnati W 83–77  11–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 25, 1977
No. 10 Georgia Tech W 91–80  21–4
(6–1)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 27, 1977*
No. 10 at No. 9 North Carolina L 89–96  21–5
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Metro Conference Tournament
Mar 4, 1977*
No. 10 vs. Georgia Tech
Semifinals
L 55–56  21–6
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1977*
No. 14 vs. No. 2 UCLA
First round
L 79–87  21–7
ISU Minidome 
Pocatello, Idaho
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Eastern.

[1]

Rankings

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[2]

References

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  1. ^ "1976-77 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  2. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 836–837. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.