The 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1976, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1977 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 28, 1977, at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. The Marquette Warriors won their first NCAA national championship with a 67–59 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Rule changes The slam dunk, prohibited in NCAA basketball games and warm-ups since the 1967–68 season because of criticism that it rewarded height rather than skill, once again became legal after a nine-season absence.Fitzpatrick, Frank, "When college basketball outlawed the dunk," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 2014 Accessed April 6, 2021
Season headlines The National Invitation Tournament expanded from 12 to 16 teams. In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its 11th of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.
'Associated Press'RankingTeam1Michigan (21)2Marquette (6)3North Carolina (9)4UCLA (2)5Indiana (7)6Kentucky (2)7UNLV8Maryland9Louisville (1)10Arizona11San Francisco (1)12Cincinnati13Alabama14Notre Dame15NC State16Tennessee17Rutgers18DePaul19UNC Charlotte20Missouri UPI CoachesRankingTeam1Marquette2Michigan3North Carolina4UCLA5Indiana6Kentucky7UNLV8Louisville9Arizona10Cincinnati11Maryland12San Francisco13Tennessee14NC State15Missouri16Wichita State17Georgetown18Rutgers19Penn20Purdue
Conference membership changes
The Eastern Collegiate Basketball League, with eight members, and the Sun Belt Conference, with six members, both began play this season. The ECBL, popularly known as the "Eastern 8," became the Eastern Athletic Association the following season and eventually became the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Yankee Conference dropped all sports except football at the end of the previous season, and seven of its members left the conference before this season began.
Although Chattanooga joined the Southern Conference this season, it still was considered a Division II program. It completed its transition to Division I status after the conclusion of the season.
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Yankee Conference Division I independent Mason–Dixon (D–II) Division I independent Division I independent Sun Belt Conference Yankee Conference Division I independent Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League Division I independent Metro Conference Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League Division I independent Sun Belt Conference Division I independent Sun Belt Conference Division II independent Division I independent Yankee Conference Division I independent Yankee Conference Eastern Collegiate Basketball League Yankee Conference Division I independent Division I independent Sun Belt Conference NAIA Independent Division I independent Division II independent Division I independent Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League Division I independent West Coast Athletic Conference Yankee Conference Division I independent Southern Conference Division I independent No program Division I independent Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League Division II independent Division I independent Division I independent Sun Belt Conference Division I independent Sun Belt Conference Division I independent Pacific Coast Athletic Association NAIA Independent Division I independent Indiana Collegiate Conference (D–II) Division I independent Yankee Conference Division I independent Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League Division II independent Division I independent Division I independent Eastern Collegiate Basketball League NAIA Independent Division I independent
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference North Carolina Rod Griffin, Wake Forest2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2009-02-14 1977 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina) North CarolinaBig Eight Conference Kansas State Kim Anderson, Missouri, &Mike Evans, Kansas State2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04 1977 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena(Kansas City, Missouri)(Semifinals and Finals) Kansas StateBig Sky Conference Idaho State None selected 1977 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament ISU Minidome(Pocatello, Idaho) Idaho StateBig Ten Conference Michigan None Selected No TournamentEast Coast Conference Hofstra & Temple (East)Lafayette (West) Rich Laurel, Hofstra 1977 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Kirby Sports Center(Easton, Pennsylvania) HofstraEastern Collegiate Basketball League (Eastern 8) Rutgers (East)Penn State & West Virginia (West) Norm Nixon, Duquesne 1977 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament The Spectrum (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Duquesne Eastern College AthleticConference (ECAC) Division I ECAC membersplayed as independentsduring the regular season(see note) Tony Hanson, ConnecticutCarson, Chris, "UConn Basketball: The Top 50 Players in School History," Bleacher Report, November 8, 2011 Accessed April 3, 2021 1977 ECAC Metro Region tournament Madison Square Garden(New York, New York) St. John's 1977 ECAC New England Region tournament Hartford Civic Center(Hartford, Connecticut) Holy Cross 1977 ECAC Southern Region tournament Campus sites SyracuseIvy League Princeton Frank Sowinski, PrincetonMen's Ivy League Outstanding performers , Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01 No TournamentMetro Conference Louisville Gary Yoder, Cincinnati 1977 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament Mid-South Coliseum(Memphis, Tennessee) CincinnatiMid-American Conference Central Michigan Matt Hicks, Northern Illinois2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14 No TournamentMissouri Valley Conference New Mexico State & Southern Illinois Roger Phegley, Bradley 1977 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Levitt Arena(Wichita, Kansas) Southern IllinoisOhio Valley Conference Austin Peay Otis Howard, Austin Peay 1977 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Dunn Center(Clarksville, Tennessee)(Semifinals and Finals) Middle TennesseePacific-8 Conference UCLA Marques Johnson, UCLANo TournamentPacific Coast Athletic Association Long Beach State & San Diego State Lloyd McMillian, Long Beach State 1977 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament Anaheim Convention Center(Anaheim, California) Long Beach StateSoutheastern Conference Kentucky & Tennessee Ernie Grunfeld, Tennessee, & Bernard King, Tennessee2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06 No TournamentSouthern Conference Furman & VMI Ron Carter, VMI2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09 1977 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Roanoke Civic Center(Roanoke, Virginia)(Semifinals and Finals) VMI2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09Southland Conference Southwest Louisiana Dan Henderson, Arkansas State2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 No TournamentSouthwest Conference Arkansas Otis Birdsong, Houston 1977 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament The Summit(Houston, Texas) ArkansasSun Belt Conference UNC Charlotte Cedric Maxwell, UNC Charlotte2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07 1977 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Charlotte Coliseum(Charlotte, North Carolina) (Finals) UNC CharlotteWest Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Bill Cartwright, San Francisco No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference Utah None Selected No Tournament NOTE: From 1975 to 1981, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1977 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
Conference standings
Division I independents A total of 78 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, UNLV (29–3) had both the best winning percentage (.906) and the most wins.
Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerNew Jersey-New York 7 Conference & None selected
Columbia and Seton Hall both finished with 3–2 records in head-to-head competition among members of the New Jersey-New York 7 Conference.
ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Penn & Temple Keven McDonald, Penn Penn and Temple both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Statistical leaders Player School PPG Player School RPG Player School FG% Player School TS% Freeman Williams Portland State 38.8 Glenn Mosley Seton Hall 16.3 Jeff Jonas Utah 10.7 Cedric Maxwell Charlotte .682 Anthony Roberts Oral Roberts 34.0 John Irving Hofstra 16.3 Kenny Higgs LSU 8.9 Dave Montgomery VMI .680 Larry BirdIndiana State 32.8 Robert Elmore Wichita State 15.8 Johnny Darden Tennessee 8.2 Joe Senser West Chester .670 Otis Birdsong Houston 30.3 Bob Stephens Drexel 14.8 Nick Pappageorge Saint Mary's 7.9 Frank Sowinski Princeton .669 Rich Laurel Hofstra 30.3 Mark Landsberger Arizona State 14.4 Oscar Williams Utah State 7.7 Sidney Moncrief Arkansas .667
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four
National Invitation tournament
Semifinals & finals
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
+ Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Kent Benson C Senior Indiana Otis Birdsong G Senior Houston Phil Ford G Junior North Carolina Rickey Green G Senior Michigan Marques Johnson F Senior UCLA Bernard King F Junior Tennessee
+ Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Greg Ballard F Senior Oregon Bill Cartwright C Sophomore San Francisco Rod Griffin G Junior Wake Forest Ernie Grunfeld F Senior Tennessee Phil Hubbard F Senior Michigan Butch Lee G Junior Marquette Mychal Thompson F/C Junior Minnesota
Major player of the year awards
Wooden Award: Marques Johnson, UCLA Naismith Award: Marques Johnson, UCLA Helms Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA Associated Press Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA UPI Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA NABC Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Marques Johnson, UCLA Adolph Rupp Trophy: Marques Johnson, UCLA Sporting News Player of the Year: Marques Johnson, UCLA
Major coach of the year awards
Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bob Gaillard, San Francisco Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Eddie Sutton, Arkansas NABC Coach of the Year: Dean Smith, North Carolina UPI Coach of the Year: Bob Gaillard, San Francisco Sporting News Coach of the Year: Lee Rose, UNC Charlotte
Other major awards
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Jeff Jonas, Utah Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Keven McDonald, Penn NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Rich Laurel, Hofstra
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.