1979–80 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team represented Rutgers University as a member of the Eastern Athletic Association during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Tom Young, then in his seven season with the Scarlet Knights. The team played its home games in Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey.

1979–80 Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball
Conference	Eastern Athletic Association
Record	14–14 (7–3 EAA)
Head coach	Tom Young (7th season)
Home arena	Louis Brown Athletic Center

1979–80 Eastern 8 men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Villanova †	7	–	3		.700			23	–	8		.742
Duquesne	6	–	3		.667			18	–	10		.643
Rutgers	6	–	3		.667			14	–	14		.500
Pittsburgh	5	–	4		.556			17	–	12		.586
George Washington	5	–	5		.500			15	–	11		.577
St. Bonaventure	1	–	3		.250			16	–	11		.593
West Virginia	4	–	4		.500			15	–	14		.517
UMass	0	–	9		.000			2	–	24		.077
† 1980 Eastern 8 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Dec 3, 1979*		Drexel	W 69–62 OT	1–0	Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,910) Piscataway, NJ
Dec 7, 1979*		Manhattan	W 67–57	2–0	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Dec 8, 1979*		Saint Peter's	W 58–50	3–0	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Dec 11, 1979		UMass	W 84–68	4–0 (1–0)	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Dec 15, 1979*		No. 15 St. John's	L 64–75	4–1	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Dec 22, 1979		Villanova	L 64–75	4–2 (1–1)	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Dec 28, 1979*		at Minnesota	L 59–98	4–3	Williams Arena  Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 29, 1979*		at Loyola (IL)	L 87–98	4–4	Williams Arena  Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jan 5, 1980		at UMass	W 76–70	5–4 (2–1)	Curry Hicks Cage  Amherst, Massachusetts
Jan 8, 1980*		Lehigh	W 81–63	6–4	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Jan 12, 1980		George Washington	W 69–59	7–4 (3–1)	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Jan 15, 1980*		Cleveland State	L 69–78	7–5	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Jan 17, 1980*		Long Island	L 67–68 OT	7–6	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Jan 19, 1980*		at Penn State	L 66–75	7–7	Rec Hall  University Park, Pennsylvania
Jan 21, 1980*		at Columbia	W 65–49	8–7	Levien Gymnasium  Manhattan, NY
Jan 24, 1980*		Syracuse	L 66–69	8–8	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Jan 27, 1980		at Duquesne	W 75–73 OT	9–8 (4–1)	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan 29, 1980*		Biscayne	W 78–58	10–8	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Feb 2, 1980		at George Washington	L 71–76	10–9 (4–2)	Charles E. Smith Center  Washington, D. C.
Feb 5, 1980*		at Princeton	L 63–65	10–10	Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, NJ
Feb 9, 1980		West Virginia	W 82–80 OT	11–10 (5–2)	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Feb 12, 1980		at Villanova	L 68–70	11–11 (5–3)	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Feb 14, 1980*		No. 11 North Carolina	L 70–73 OT	11–12	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Feb 16, 1980*		at Fordham	L 39–42	11–13	Rose Hill Gymnasium  The Bronx, New York
Feb 20, 1980*		Seton Hall	W 75–66	12–13	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Feb 23, 1980		Pittsburgh	W 83–76	13–13 (6–3)	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
EAAC Tournament
Feb 26, 1980	(3)	(6) St. Bonaventure Quarterfinals	W 76–74	14–13	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Feb 29, 1980	(3)	vs. (7) West Virginia Semifinals	L 66–77	14–14	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Team players drafted into the NBA

Main article: 1980 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
5	105	Daryl Strickland	Washington Bullets