1979–80 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team
{{short description|American college basketball season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NCAA team season
|CoachRank=17
|mode=Basketball
|year=1979–80
|team=Weber State Wildcats
|image=
|image_size=
|conference=Big Sky Conference
|division=
|short_conf=Big Sky
|record=26–3
|conf_record=13–1
|head_coach=Neil McCarthy
|hc_year = 5th
|asst_coach1=
|asst_coach2=
|mvp=
|stadium=Dee Events Center
|champion=Big Sky champions
|bowl=
|bowl_result=
}}
{{1979–80 Big Sky men's basketball standings}}
The 1979–80 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Weber State College during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Wildcats were led by fifth-year head coach Neil McCarthy and played their home games on campus at Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.
They were {{nowrap|24–2}} overall in the regular season and {{nowrap|13–1}} in conference play,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aAtWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4298%2C835731 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |title=College standings |date=March 3, 1980 |page=4B}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Sf4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZYMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7005%2C8538913 |work=Deseret News |location=(Salt Lake City, Utah) |last=Ewer |first=Bill |title=Weber puts record on line in BSC playoffs |date=February 28, 1980 |page=B9}} won the regular season title (by four games), and the conference tournament.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7rZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZjAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3906%2C451631 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Weber rallies for tournament title |date=March 2, 1980 |page=3D}}{{cite web| title=1979-80 Big Sky Conference Season Summary| work =sports-reference.com| publisher =Sports Reference LLC| year=2016| url =https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-sky/1980.html | accessdate =April 10, 2016}} The sole conference loss was at Idaho, the league runner-up,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Of4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZYMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6585%2C125752 |work=Deseret News |location=(Salt Lake City, Utah) |last=Robinson |first=Doug |title=UI stops Weber win streak |date=February 1, 1980 |page=4B}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H6QSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MvkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6819%2C129506 |work=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |last=Van Sickel |first=Charlie |title=Monson outcoaches rival in big Idaho upset |date=February 1, 1980 |page=23}}
which broke an {{nowrap|18-game}} winning streak and dropped Weber's poll ranking (AP, UPI) from 15 to 17.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zv0OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZYMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7090%2C685418 |work=Deseret News |location=(Salt Lake City, Utah) |last=Robinson |first=Doug |title=Weber starting a new streak |date=February 4, 1980 |page=B3}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=O_4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZYMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4900%2C890461 |work=Deseret News |location=(Salt Lake City, Utah) |agency=wire services |title=DePaul reigns, BYU up to 14th |date=February 5, 1980 |page=2B}}
The Wildcats appeared in the first five finals of the conference tournament and this was the third consecutive title.
Ranked seventeenth in both major polls, Weber State earned the Big Sky's berth in the expanded 48-team NCAA tournament. They were seeded seventh in the West region and hosted the subregional in Ogden, but were upset by a point by Lamar.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Vt0oAAAAIBAJ&sjid=V4MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6662%2C1705271 |work=Deseret News |location=(Salt Lake City, Utah) |last=Rock |first=Brad |title=Comeback 'Cats fall a point short |date=March 7, 1980 |page=4B}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=87ZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZjAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3165%2C2357512 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Lamar surprises struggling Weber State |date=March 7, 1980 |page=4C}}
All-conference
Senior guard Bruce Collins was a unanimous selection to the all-conference team, becoming the seventh player to be named in three consecutive years. Joining him for a second straight year was senior forward David Johnson. On the second team was senior center Richard Smith and senior guard Mark Mattos; forward Gerald Mattinson and sophomore reserve guard Todd Harper were honorable mention.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8rZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZjAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5624%2C2037606 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |title=Newman named All Big Sky |date=March 6, 1980 |page=3C}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eudPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gQgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1860%2C3079146 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Collins, Newman picked for Big Sky All-Stars |date=March 6, 1980 |page=25}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Vd0oAAAAIBAJ&sjid=V4MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2637%2C1537845 |work=Deseret News |location=(Salt Lake City, Utah) |agency=Associated Press |title=Collins tops all Big Sky cage team |date=March 6, 1981 |page=D1}}{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/uidahodigital/docs/gem1980/244 |publisher=Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook |title=Intercollegiate athletics |year=1980 |page=22, part 4}}
A four-year starter, Collins scored over two thousand points for the Wildcats, including 32 in his final game, the NCAA loss to Lamar. He was edged out for player of the year honors by guard Don Newman of Idaho,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9LZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZjAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2289%2C2766130 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |title=MVP: Idaho's Newman named top player in Big Sky |date=March 8, 1980 |page=2C}} which had finished last in each of the previous five seasons.
Postseason results
{{CBB schedule start |attend=yes|rank=yes|tv=}}
|-
!colspan=6 style={{NCAA color cell|Weber State Wildcats}}| 1980 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Fri, Feb 29
| time = 7:00 pm
| nonconf =
| homecoming =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank = 16
| seed = 1
| opponent = Montana State
| opprank =
| oppseed = 4
| site_stadium = Dee Events Center
| site_cityst = Ogden, Utah
| gamename = Semifinal
| tv =
| score = 93–70
| overtime =
| record = 25–2
| attend = 8,089
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Sat, March 1
| time = 8:00 pm
| nonconf =
| homecoming =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank = 16
| seed = 1
| opponent = Montana
| opprank =
| oppseed = 3
| site_stadium = Dee Events Center
| site_cityst = Ogden, Utah
| gamename = Final
| tv =
| score = 50–42
| overtime =
| record = 26–2
| attend = 8,247
}}
|-
!colspan=6 style={{NCAA color cell|Weber State Wildcats}}| 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament#West region
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Thu, March 6
| time = 9:37 pm
| nonconf = yes
| homecoming =
| away =
| neutral =
| rank = 17
| seed = 7W
| opponent = Lamar
| opprank =
| oppseed = 10W
| site_stadium = Dee Events Center
| site_cityst = Ogden, Utah
| gamename = First round
| tv =
| score = 86–87
| overtime =
| record = 26–3
| attend = 11,505
}}
{{CBB schedule end|ncg=no|rank=|poll=AP poll |timezone=Mountain time}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/weber-state/1980-schedule.html Sports Reference] – Weber State Wildcats: 1979–80 basketball season
{{Weber State Wildcats men's basketball navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1979-80 Weber State Wildcats men's basketball team}}