1979–80 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Bill Cofield, coaching his fourth season with the Badgers. The team played their home games at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison, Wisconsin and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.

1979–80 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record15–14 (7–11 Big Ten)
Head coach
Home arenaUW Fieldhouse
Seasons
1979–80 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 Indiana 13 5   .722 21 8   .724
No. 10 Ohio State 12 6   .667 21 8   .724
No. 20 Purdue 11 7   .611 23 10   .697
Iowa 10 8   .556 23 10   .697
Minnesota 10 8   .556 21 11   .656
Illinois 8 10   .444 22 13   .629
Michigan 8 10   .444 17 13   .567
Wisconsin 7 11   .389 15 14   .517
Michigan State 6 12   .333 12 15   .444
Northwestern 5 13   .278 10 17   .370
Rankings from AP Poll

Guard Wes Matthews was the team's leading scorer with 549 points in 28 games. Other statistical leaders included forward Joe Chrnelich with 209 rebounds and Danny Hastings with 72 assists.[1]

Late in the season, coach Cofield suspended Matthews for arguing with a coach, a decision that was believed to have cost the Badgers an invitation to play in the National Invitation Tournament. Cofield said of his decision: "The young man had to be taught a lesson. While we may have had a shot at postseason play, the basketball program at Wisconsin is more important than whether we win or lose a game."[2]

Roster

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1979–80 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 50 Joe Chrnelich 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G 10 Arnold Gaines 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Baltimore, Maryland
F 35 Claude Gregory 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Washington, D. C.
G 21 Dan Hastings 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Drexel Hill, PA
G 14 Steve Jacobson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Pardeeville, Wisconsin
G 32 Robert Jenkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Sr Milwaukee, Wisconsin
F 30 Mike Kreklow 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Neenah, Wisconsin
G 11 Wes Matthews 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Bridgeport, Connecticut
C 44 Mark Newberg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr La Crosse, Wisconsin
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
November 30*
Oklahoma City W 99–92  1–0
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
December 1*
East Tennessee State W 68–56  2–0
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
December 5*
 ESPN
at DePaul L 77–90  2–1
Alumni Hall 
Chicago, IL
December 8*
Alabama L 62–66  2–2
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
December 12*
Eastern Michigan W 69–57  3–2
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
December 15*
at Marquette W 57–56  4–2
MECCA Arena 
Milwaukee, WI
December 22*
Cleveland State W 103–78  5–2
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
December 23*
Morgan State W 94–42  6–2
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
December 27*
vs. Nebraska L 82–83  6–3
Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
December 28*
vs. Nevada W 86–61  7–3
Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
December 28*
vs. Army W 78–54  8–3
Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
January 3
Northwestern W 75–66  9–3
(1–0)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
January 5
Indiana W 52–50  10–3
(2–0)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
January 10
at Minnesota L 76–82  10–4
(2–1)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 12
at Iowa L 65–66  10–5
(2–2)
Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, Iowa
January 15
at Michigan State L 61–62  10–6
(2–3)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
January 19
Illinois L 64–69  10–7
(2–4)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
January 24
Purdue L 60–73[3]  10–8
(2–5)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
January 26
No. 4 Ohio State W 72–71[4]  11–8
(3–5)
St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
January 31
Michigan L 69–73  11–9
(3–6)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
February 2
Ohio State W 70–67[5]  12–9
(4–6)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
February 7
at Illinois L 50–67  12–10
(4–7)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
February 9
at Michigan L 59–68  12–11
(4–8)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
February 14
Michigan State W 80–66  13–11
(5–8)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
February 16
at Purdue L 61–69[6]  13–12
(5–9)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana
February 21
Iowa W 62–58  14–12
(6–9)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
February 23
Minnesota W 70–55  15–12
(7–9)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
February 28
at Indiana L 52–61  15–13
(7–10)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
March 1
at Northwestern L 50–53  15–14
(7–11)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[7][8]

Team players drafted into the NBA

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 14 Wes Matthews Washington Bullets
4 82 Joe Chrnelich New York Knicks

References

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  1. ^ "1979-80 Wisconsin Badgers Roster and Stats". SR/CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  2. ^ "Absence of two starting guards may have cost Badgers NIT berth". Wausau Daily Herald. March 3, 1980. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Purdue outlasts Wisconsin, deceitful Badger fans". News-Journal. January 25, 1980. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Wisconsin badgers Bucks". The Daily Sentinel. January 27, 1980. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Badgers again baffle Buckeyes, 70-67". The Des Moines Register. February 3, 1980. p. 3D – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Boilers save the day on clutch free throws". Journal and Courier. February 17, 1980. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "1979–80 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  8. ^ "Wisconsin Record Book" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2019.