1978–79 New Mexico State Aggies basketball team
{{short description|American college basketball season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college sports team season
|year=1978–79
|team=New Mexico State Aggies
|sport=Basketball
|image=
|conference=Missouri Valley Conference
|division=
|short_conf=MVC
|CoachRank=
|APRank=
|record=22–10
|conf_record=11–5
|head_coach=Ken Hayes
|hc_year=5th
|asst_coach1=
|asst_coach2=
|asst_coach3=
|stadium=Pan American Center
|champion=
|tourney=NCAA tournament
|tourney_result = first round
}}
{{1978–79 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings}}
The 1978–79 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University in the 1978–79 college basketball season. This was Ken Hayes's 5th season as head coach. The Aggies played their home games at Pan American Center and competed in the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 22–10, 11–5 in MVC play. Though they finished second in the conference standings, the Aggies were five games behind Larry Bird's No. 1 Indiana State Sycamores. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, but fell in the first round to Weber State, a team they had beaten earlier in the season, 81–78 in overtime.
Roster
{{CBB roster/Header|year=1978|team=New Mexico State Aggies|teamcolors=y}}
{{CBB roster/Player|first=Albert|last=Slab Jones|dab=|num=|pos=C|ft=6|in=7|lbs=|class=Jr|link=|home=}}
{{CBB roster/Player|first=Robert|last=Gunn|num=|pos=F|ft=6|in=7|lbs=|class=Sr|link=|home=}}
{{CBB roster/Footer
|head_coach=
- Ken Hayes ({{college|Northeastern State}})
|asst_coach=
}}
{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/new-mexico-state/1979.html|title=1978-79 New Mexico State Aggies Roster and Stats|website=Sports Reference |access-date=February 20, 2023}}
Schedule and results
{{CBB schedule start |attend=yes}}
|-
!colspan=9 style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|New Mexico State Aggies}}| Regular season
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 15, 1979
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Indiana State
| opprank = 5
| site_stadium = Hulman Center
| site_cityst = Terre Haute, Indiana
| gamename =
| score = 69–73
| overtime =
| attend = 10,226
| record = 8–5
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 1, 1979
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Indiana State
| opprank = 2
| site_stadium = Pan American Center
| site_cityst = Las Cruces, New Mexico
| gamename =
| score = 89–91
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 12–6
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 3, 1979
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = {{cbb link|year=1978|sex=men|team=Creighton Bluejays|title=Creighton}}
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Omaha Civic Auditorium
| site_cityst = Omaha, Nebraska
| gamename =
| score = 71–77
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 12–7
}}
|-
!colspan=9 style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|New Mexico State Aggies}}|1979 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 27, 1979
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Tulsa
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Pan American Center
| site_cityst = Las Cruces, New Mexico
| gamename = Quarterfinals
| score = 82–79
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 20–8
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Mar 1, 1979
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Wichita State
| opprank =
| site_stadium = Pan American Center
| site_cityst = Las Cruces, New Mexico
| gamename = Semifinals
| score = 85–81
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 21–8
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Mar 3, 1979
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| neutral =
| rank =
| opponent = Indiana State
| opprank = 1
| site_stadium = Hulman Center
| site_cityst = Terre Haute, Indiana
| gamename = Championship game
| score = 59–69
| overtime =
| attend =
| record = 22–9
}}
|-
!colspan=9 style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|New Mexico State Aggies}}|1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Mar 9, 1979
| time =
| nonconf = yes
| away =
| neutral = yes
| rank =
| seed = 10 MW
| opponent = Weber State
| opprank =
| oppseed = 7 MW
| site_stadium = Allen Fieldhouse
| site_cityst = Lawrence, Kansas
| gamename = First round
| score = 78–81
| overtime = OT
| attend =
| record = 22–10
}}
{{CBB schedule end|region=MW|regionname=Midwest|poll=AP Poll|timezone=Mountain Time}}
{{cite web |title=2019–20 New Mexico State Men's Basketball Media Guide |url=https://nmstatesports.com/documents/2020/4/6/2019_20_MBB_Media_Guide_FINAL.pdf |publisher=New Mexico State University Athletics |access-date=February 20, 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1978-79 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team}}