1978–79 Alcorn State Braves basketball team

The 1978–79 Alcorn State Braves basketball team represented Alcorn State University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by head coach Davey Whitney, played their home games at the Davey Whitney Complex and were members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 27–0, 12–0 in SWAC, but did not receive a bid to the NCAA tournament because the SWAC was in a transition period and did not have an automatic qualifier. Instead, the Braves accepted a bid to play in the NIT where they lost in the second round to eventual NIT champion Indiana.

1978–79 Alcorn State Braves basketball
SWAC tournament champions
NIT tournament, Second round
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Record	28–1 (12–0 SWAC)
Head coach	Davey Whitney (10th season)
Home arena	Physical Education Complex

1978–79 SWAC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Alcorn State †	12	–	0		1.000			28	–	1		.966
Grambling	6	–	6		.500			16	–	11		.593
Southern	6	–	6		.500			16	–	12		.571
Texas Southern	6	–	6		.500			13	–	14		.481
Jackson State	4	–	8		.333			13	–	14		.481
Mississippi Valley State		–			–			15	–	16		.484
Prairie View		–			–			17	–	14		.548
† 1979 SWAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1978–79 Alcorn State Braves men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F Larry Smith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Simmons Rolling Fork, Mississippi G James Horton 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) — Sr   C Alfredo Monroe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Sr   G Ronnie Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr   G Joe Jenkins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr   F Cornelius Jenkins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Sr   F Clinton Wyatt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr   C Eddie Baker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — So   G E.J. Bell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr   G Richard Horton 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) — Fr   F Bill Howard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Jr   W. Anderson — —   M. Washington — —   F Albert Irving 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Fr   G Dwight Alexander 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Fr   G Gilbert Thompson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — So	Head coach Davey Whitney Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 25, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1978*		at Xavier (LA)	W 104–91	1–0	The Barn  New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 8, 1978*		Savannah State	W 98–60	2–0	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Dec 11, 1978*		at Dillard	W 103–89	3–0
Dec 14, 1978*		at Tougaloo	W 98–76	4–0
Dec 20, 1978*		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 116–85	5–0	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Dec 29, 1978*		vs. Kentucky State	W 82–75 OT	6–0	College Park Auditorium
Dec 30, 1978*		vs. Alabama State	W 83–80	7–0	College Park Auditorium
Jan 3, 1979*		Dillard	W 94–83	8–0	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Jan 6, 1979		at Jackson State	W 82–70	9–0 (1–0)	College Park Auditorium
Jan 8, 1979		at Southern	W 107–101 OT	10–0 (2–0)	F. G. Clark Center  Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 11, 1979		at Mississippi Valley State	W 92–64	11–0 (3–0)	Harrison HPER Complex  Itta Bena, Mississippi
Jan 13, 1979		Grambling	W 100–86	12–0 (4–0)	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Jan 15, 1979*		Xavier (LA)	W 85–80	13–0	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Jan 17, 1979*		at Bishop College	W 100–82	14–0
Jan 20, 1979		Texas Southern	W 92–74	15–0 (5–0)	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Jan 22, 1979		Prairie View	W 103–89	16–0 (6–0)	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Jan 27, 1979		at Prairie View	W 78–74	17–0 (7–0)	William J. Nicks Building  Prairie View, Texas
Jan 29, 1979		at Texas Southern	W 81–63	18–0 (8–0)	University Auditorium
Jan 31, 1979*		at Tougaloo	W 92–74	19–0
Feb 1, 1979*		at Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 95–89	20–0	Convention Center
Feb 5, 1979		Mississippi Valley State	W 90–69	21–0 (9–0)	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Feb 10, 1979		Jackson State	W 84–71	22–0 (10–0)	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Feb 12, 1979		Southern	W 88–84	23–0 (11–0)	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Feb 14, 1979*		Bishop College	W 98–81	24–0	Physical Education Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Feb 17, 1979		at Grambling	W 76–74	25–0 (12–0)	Tiger Memorial Gym  Grambling, Louisiana
SWAC tournament
Feb 23, 1979	(1)	vs. (4) Mississippi Valley State Semifinals	W 88–84	26–0	Baton Rouge River Center  Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 24, 1979	(1)	at (2) Southern Championship game	W 108–89	27–0	Baton Rouge River Center  Baton Rouge, Louisiana
NIT tournament
Mar 8, 1979*		at Mississippi State First round	W 80–78	28–0	Humphrey Coliseum  Mississippi State, Mississippi
Mar 12, 1979*		at Indiana Second round	L 69–73	28–1	Assembly Hall  Bloomington, Indiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.