1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball team

1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball
1978–79 Detroit Titans men's basketball
NCAA tournament
Conference	Independent
Record	22–6
Head coach	Smokey Gaines (2nd season);
Home arena	Calihan Hall
	Seasons ← 1977–78 1979–80 →

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.

1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
v t e	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 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

Smokey Gaines (LeMoyne–Owen)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

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

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

[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.

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