1979–80 Furman Paladins men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Furman Paladins men's basketball team represented Furman University in the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Paladins, led by second-year head coach Eddie Holbrook, played their home games at Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina, as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the regular season with a 14–1 record in SoCon play, to finish in first place. In the SoCon tournament, they defeated VMI, and East Tennessee State, and Marshall to win the title and make the NCAA tournament. In the opening round, the Paladins were beaten by No. 7 seed Tennessee to finish the season at 23–7.

1979–80 Furman Paladins men's basketball
SoCon regular season and tournament champion
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	23–7 (14–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Eddie Holbrook (2nd season)
Home arena	Greenville Memorial Auditorium

1979–80 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Furman †	14	–	1		.933			23	–	7		.767
Marshall	10	–	6		.625			17	–	12		.586
Western Carolina	9	–	7		.563			17	–	10		.630
East Tennessee State	8	–	7		.533			15	–	13		.536
Chattanooga	7	–	9		.438			13	–	14		.481
Appalachian State	6	–	10		.375			12	–	16		.429
The Citadel	6	–	10		.375			14	–	13		.519
VMI	6	–	10		.375			11	–	16		.407
Davidson	4	–	11		.267			8	–	18		.308
† 1980 Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The Furman men's basketball program would not make a return to the NCAA tournament until 2023.

Roster

1979–80 Furman Paladins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown PF 25 Jonathan Moore 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Charleston, South Carolina	Head coach Eddie Holbrook 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 (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1979*		Central Florida	L 77–84	0–1	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Dec 3, 1979*		Rollins	W 88–73	1–1	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Dec 5, 1979*		Coastal Carolina	W 89–65	2–1	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Dec 8, 1979		at The Citadel	W 89–88	3–1 (1–0)	McAlister Field House  Charleston, South Carolina
Dec 15, 1979		at Davidson	W 91–81	4–1 (2–0)	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 17, 1979		Western Carolina	W 96–90	5–1 (3–0)	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Dec 20, 1979*		at UNC Charlotte	L 76–91	5–2	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 28, 1979*		Indiana State–Evansville Poinsettia Classic	W 93–64	6–2	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Dec 29, 1979*		Austin Peay Poinsettia Classic	W 93–89	7–2	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Jan 3, 1980*		Presbyterian	W 90–61	8–2	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Jan 5, 1980		Appalachian State	W 76–65	9–2 (4–0)	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Jan 7, 1980		at Western Carolina	W 92–83	10–2 (5–0)	Reid Gymnasium  Cullowhee, North Carolina
Jan 10, 1980		Chattanooga	W 88–74	11–2 (6–0)	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Jan 12, 1980		Davidson	W 84–68	12–2 (7–0)	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Jan 16, 1980		at East Tennessee State	W 86–84 OT	13–2 (8–0)	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Jan 19, 1980		The Citadel	W 82–55	14–2 (9–0)	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Jan 21, 1980		at Appalachian State	W 75–71	15–2 (10–0)	Varsity Gym  Boone, North Carolina
Jan 23, 1980*		at No. 12 Clemson	L 67–85	15–3	Littlejohn Coliseum  Clemson, South Carolina
Jan 26, 1980		at VMI	W 84–67	16–3 (11–0)	VMI Field House  Lexington, Virginia
Jan 28, 1980		at Marshall	L 67–83	16–4 (11–1)	Memorial Field House  Huntington, West Virginia
Feb 1, 1980*		at NC State North-South Doubleheader	L 56–76	16–5	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 2, 1980*		No. 11 North Carolina North-South Doubleheader	L 63–75	16–6	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 13, 1980		at Chattanooga	W 67–65	17–6 (12–1)	Maclellan Gym  Chattanooga, Tennessee
Feb 16, 1980		Marshall	W 61–57	18–6 (13–1)	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Feb 18, 1980		VMI	W 107–75	19–6 (14–1)	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Feb 20, 1980*		South Carolina	W 61–53	20–6	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
SoCon tournament
Feb 23, 1980*		VMI Quarterfinals	W 87–75	21–6	Memorial Auditorium  Greenville, South Carolina
Feb 24, 1980*		vs. East Tennessee State Semifinals	W 93–81	22–6	Roanoke Civic Center  Roanoke, Virginia
Feb 25, 1980*		vs. Marshall Championship game	W 80–62	23–6	Roanoke Civic Center  Roanoke, Virginia
NCAA tournament
Mar 6, 1980*	(E 10)	vs. (E 7) Tennessee First round	L 69–80	23–7	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern.

Source