1979–80 San Jose State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1979–80 San Jose State Spartans men's basketball team represented San Jose State University during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans were led by first-year head coach Bill Berry and played their home games at the San Jose Civic Auditorium. SJSU was a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.

1979–80 San Jose State Spartans men's basketball
Cable Car Classic champions PCAA tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Record	17–12 (7–6 PCAA)
Head coach	Bill Berry (1st season)
Home arena	San Jose Civic Auditorium (Capacity: 2,850)

1979–80 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Utah State	11	–	2		.846			18	–	9		.667
Long Beach State	11	–	3		.786			22	–	12		.647
Fresno State	8	–	4		.667			17	–	7		.708
San Jose State†	7	–	6		.538			17	–	12		.586
Pacific	7	–	7		.500			15	–	16		.484
UC Santa Barbara	5	–	9		.357			11	–	16		.407
Cal State Fullerton	4	–	10		.286			10	–	17		.370
UC Irvine	1	–	13		.071			9	–	18		.333
† 1980 PCAA tournament winner

The Spartans finished 17–12 overall, and 7–6 in the conference. During the season, San José State was invited and participated in the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, California. San José State defeated Virginia and Santa Clara to earn 1st place. San José State also lost to North Texas and Oklahoma City but won against St. Francis Brooklyn to earn 7th place in the All-College Basketball Classic in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In the postseason, San José State defeated Pacific, Utah State, and Long Beach State in the 1980 PCAA Conference men's basketball tournament in Anaheim, California. The Spartans were invited and participated in the 1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, where they lost to Missouri in Lincoln, Nebraska in the first round.

Roster

1979–80 San José State Spartans roster

Name	#	Position	Height
Wally Rank	30	Guard	6–6
Mickey Jackson	33	Forward	6–7
Arthur Graham	40	Center	6–8
Doug Murrey	35	Forward	6–5
Michael Mendez	25	Guard	6–4
Sid Williams	42	Center	6–7
Dan Sullivan	44	Guard	6–6
Ed Saunders	14	Guard	6–1
David Byrd	15	Guard	6–4
John Russo	24	Guard	6–4
Steve Swarbick	32	Center	6–9
Ron Chisholm	10	Guard	6–4

Bill Berry, Michigan State alumnus, was the Spartans' head coach in 1979–80.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 30, 1979*		Missouri Western	W 58–54	1–0	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
December 3, 1979*		at Arizona	L 70–72	1–1	McKale Center  Tucson, AZ
December 5, 1979*		Montana	L 72–74	1–2	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
December 7, 1979*		Portland	L 72–73	1–3	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
December 15, 1979*		at Stanford Rivalry	W 67–66	2–3	Maples Pavilion  Stanford, CA
December 18, 1979*		at Saint Mary's	W 61–57	3–3	McKeon Pavilion  Moraga, CA
December 21, 1979*		vs. No. 12 Virginia Cable Car Classic	W 83–79	4–3	Leavey Center  Santa Clara, CA
December 22, 1979*		at Santa Clara Cable Car Classic	W 77–62	5–3	Leavey Center  Santa Clara, CA
December 26, 1979*		vs. North Texas All-College Basketball Classic	L 61–72	5–4	Cox Center  Oklahoma City, OK
December 28, 1979*		at Oklahoma City All-College Basketball Classic	L 75–77	5–5	Cox Center  Oklahoma City, OK
December 29, 1979*		vs. St. Francis Brooklyn All-College Basketball Classic	W 78–63	6–5	Cox Center  Oklahoma City, OK
January 3, 1980*		Sacramento State	W 90–46	7–5	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
PCAA regular season
January 10, 1980		Pacific	W 65–59	8–5 (1–0)	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
January 13, 1980		Fresno State Rivalry	L 44–48	8–6 (1–1)	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
January 17, 1980		Long Beach State	W 64–61	9–6 (2–1)	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
January 19, 1980		at UC Santa Barbara	L 66–76	9–7 (2–2)	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 24, 1980		at Utah State	L 92–95	9–8 (2–3)	Smith Spectrum  Logan, UT
January 27, 1980		Utah State	W 69–67	10–8 (3–3)	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
January 31, 1980		UC Irvine	W 82–47	11–8 (4–3)	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
February 2, 1980		Cal State Fullerton	W 72–69	12–8 (5–3)	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
February 7, 1980		at Cal State Fullerton	W 66–58	13–8 (6–3)	Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
February 9, 1980		at UC Irvine	W 74–59	14–8 (7–3)	Crawford Hall  Irvine, CA
February 14, 1980		UC Santa Barbara	L 51–52	14–9 (7–4)	San Jose Civic Auditorium  San Jose, CA
February 16, 1980		at Long Beach State	L 74–82	14–10 (7–5)	Long Beach Arena  Long Beach, CA
February 23, 1980		at Pacific	L 73–83	14–11 (7–6)	Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium  Stockton, CA
PCAA tournament
February 28, 1980	(4)	vs. (6) UC Santa Barbara Quarterfinals	W 73–66	15–11	Anaheim Convention Center  Anaheim, CA
March 1, 1980	(4)	vs. (1) Utah State Semifinals	W 94–68	16–11	Anaheim Convention Center  Anaheim, CA
March 2, 1980	(4)	vs. (2) Long Beach State Championship	W 57–55	17–11	Anaheim Convention Center  Anaheim, CA
NCAA tournament
March 6, 1980	(MW 12)	vs. (MW 5) No. 16 Missouri First Round	L 51–61	17–12	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, NE
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.