1979 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1979 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from February 24–March 4, 1979. The quarterfinal round was hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals were hosted at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. The Appalachian State Mountaineers, led by head coach Bobby Cremins, won their first Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1979 NCAA tournament.

1979 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1978–79
Teams	8
Site	Roanoke Civic Center Roanoke, VA
Champions	Appalachian State (1st title)
Winning coach	Bobby Cremins (1st title)
Southern Conference men's basketball tournaments

1978–79 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Appalachian State †	11	–	3		.786			23	–	6		.793
Furman	9	–	3		.750			20	–	9		.690
The Citadel	10	–	4		.714			20	–	7		.741
Western Carolina	5	–	7		.417			14	–	14		.500
Marshall	5	–	8		.385			11	–	16		.407
Davidson	3	–	7		.300			8	–	19		.296
Chattanooga	3	–	8		.273			14	–	13		.519
VMI	2	–	8		.200			12	–	15		.444
East Tennessee State	0	–	0		–			16	–	11		.593
† 1979 Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Format

All of the conference's eight members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals February 24					Semifinals March 3					Finals March 4
	1	Appalachian State	73
	8	VMI	63
						1	Appalachian State	65
						4	Western Carolina	43
	4	Western Carolina	67
	5	Marshall	50
											1	Appalachian State	86
											2	Furman	83
	2	Furman	86
	7	Chattanooga	68
						2	Furman	105
						3	The Citadel	94
	3	The Citadel	86
	6	Davidson	79

* Overtime game

See also

• List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions