1979 Notre Dame Basketball: Just A Step Short Of Magic
Notre Dame basketball was on a high coming into the 1979 season. They were coming off of five straight trips to the Sweet 16 and had gotten the major breakthrough with a Final Four run in 1978. With a lot of talent left on hand, it was a year of great expectation in South Bend.
A DEEP AND BALANCED FRONTCOURT
The two notable losses from the ’78 team were point guard Duck Williams and center Dave Batton. But head coach Digger Phelps went seven-deep with quality players.
The forwards were the focal point of the team. Kelly Tripucka and Tracy Jackson had been impact freshmen a year ago. In 1979 as sophomores, they were the leading scorers, averaging 14ppg and 12ppg respectively. Another sophomore forward, Orlando Woolridge, began coming into his own averaged 11 points/5 rebounds. Bruce Flowers was another banger underneath, averaging 10 points/5 rebounds.
On a team that was loaded in the frontcourt, ironically it was Bill Laimbeer—by far the most successful of anyone on this team in the NBA—who was almost an afterthought. He only averaged six points a game, although the 6’11” senior did good work on the boards. Rich Branning ran the floor show and chipped in 10ppg himself, joined by Bill Hanzlik at the two-guard spot.
The Irish were ranked #3 in the nation to start the season and cruised through three tuneup games, setting up their first showcase game on December 9—a visit to ninth-ranked UCLA.
WE LOVE L.A.
Branning was a SoCal boy who loved UCLA growing up when the John Wooden Dynasty was at its peak. Branning came into Pauley Pavillion and knocked down 21 points. So did Tripucka. The Irish built a 13-point lead in the second half. The Bruins countered with full-court pressure and wiped the lead away, pulling even 62-62 with just over six minutes to play.
Branning and Tripucka did their best work down the stretch. They combined for 19 of the final 21 points Notre Dame scored. The Irish pulled out an 81-78 win. It was the third straight year they had gone into Pauley Pavillion and come out with a win. Ever the showman, Digger told his players “You own this town!”
THE RISE TO #1
After blowing out St. Francis, the Irish took a 5-0 record to Freedom Hall in Louisville for a road-neutral game against Kentucky on December 30. The Wildcats, coming off the national championship, did not have a great team this year and they would end up missing the NCAA Tournament. But that’s not how they looked on this Saturday afternoon for an NBC national audience.
While Tripucka delivered another 21-point game and Notre Dame led 40-37 at the half, the Irish were getting beaten up on the boards, losing rebounding 37-27 in spite of all their size. Branning struggled to hit from the outside. On a weekend when top-ranked Duke was faltering, Notre Dame missed a chance to move up in the polls with an 81-76 loss.
The Irish bounced back with two wins, setting up a January 13 visit to Marquette. It was the off-week prior to the Super Bowl, so college basketball had center stage in the world of sports. The Irish were ranked #2, and with top-ranked Michigan State having lost on Thursday night in Illinois, the opportunity to move to the top of the polls was right there.
Notre Dame was sharp offensively, and shot 58 percent compared to just 41 percent for the Warriors. Laimbeer chipped in 12 for Notre Dame, but the star of the show was Tracy Jackson. The sophomore scored 21 points, including a dozen in the final 12 minutes. It was enough for the Irish to win 65-60.
When the new rankings came out on Monday, Notre Dame was on top.
A BUMP IN THE ROAD
Notre Dame followed up their win over Marquette, by racking up four more victories. That included a win over San Francisco. The Dons were unranked at the time of the game, but they would end up a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Irish were still #1 in the country as they got set to go to Maryland.
The Terps were fighting for a bid to what was then just a 40-team NCAA Tournament field and, they needed this game. Notre Dame trailed by as many twelve points in the second half before rallying to take a 66-62 lead with 1:39 left. They were poised to escape College Park with a win. But a big missed free throw swung momentum the other way one last time and the Irish dropped a 67-66 loss. Although with chaos at the top of the polls this week, Notre Dame was able to stay #1 in the rankings.
After cruising through a soft five-game part of the schedule, Notre Dame hosted UCLA, the home portion of what was then a customary home-and-home arrangement between the two high-profile programs. In a tense affair, the Irish dropped a tough 56-52 decision. This time there was no cushioning a fall in the polls, as Notre Dame slipped to #3.
A LENTEN LESSON
The Irish again came off the mat from a tough loss by rolling to five straight wins. It set up their March 2 road game with DePaul, who was ranked #15 and starting to come on strong in a season that would see them ultimately make the Final Four. This was the first Friday in Lent. There might not have been meat on the menu, but the two Catholic schools put on a feast of high-level basketball.
After trailing by double-digits for much of the second half, Notre Dame had a rally left in them. Woolridge poured in 22 points, but they couldn’t quite close the deal. They dropped a 76-72 decision. On Selection Sunday, the Irish finished the season perhaps looking ahead to the postseason, as they dumped a 62-59 decision to a pedestrian Michigan squad. They closed the year with a record of 22-5.
ONE OF THE FIRST 1-SEEDS
The ending hadn’t been ideal, but Notre Dame still had high hopes in what was a new era for NCAA Tournament. For the first time, the bracket would be formally seeded. In the first batch of 1-seeds ever announced, the Irish heard their name called. They were on the top line in the Mideast Regional (the bracket forerunner of today’s South Regional).
With a 40-team field, they were automatically into the Round of 32—and they could look across the bracket and see 2-seed Michigan State, with a sophomore guard named Magic Johnson. The Irish and Spartans were set up on a collision course for the regional final.
THE TENNESSEE CHALLENGE
The journey began in Murfreesboro against 8-seed Tennessee. The Vols had only gone 17-11 during the regular season, but they stepped up and won the SEC Tournament. Tennessee was led by 6’9” forward Reggie Johnson, who scored 21 points per game, and pulled down eight rebounds. The backcourt of Terry Crosby and Gary Carter were both double-digit scorers. Tennessee was balanced, hot, well-coached by Don DeVoe and playing just a three-hour drive away from their campus. It wasn’t much of a reward for Notre Dame as the #1 seed.
The Irish got a tough battle, and the game was tied 32-32 at the half. Notre Dame was getting good games from Hanzlik, who scored 16 points and Laimbeer, who posted a 12/12 line. They surged out to a lead in the second half. The Vols never quit, outrebounding the Irish and forcing 16 turnovers. They closed to within five points several times and kept it a game.
Tripucka took matters into his hands down the stretch. The sophomore forward finished with 21 points and hit several key free throws to help salt away the 73-67 win. Notre Dame was returning closer to home, to play in Indianapolis for the regionals.
TESTED BY TOLEDO
Toledo had won its first Mid-American Conference (MAC) title since 1967. Their center, Jim Swaney, was a little undersized at 6’7”, but he averaged 16 points/8 rebounds per game in winning MAC Player of the Year honors. Sophomore forward Harry Knuckles was a double-digit scorer. So was 6’6” Dick Miller. The Rockets were not only in the NCAA field, but they were a 5-seed.
Both teams shot the ball well, albeit not sizzling, with percentages in the low 50s. The game was close for much of the first half, but shortly before intermission, Notre Dame went on a burst that gave them a 43-33 lead at the half.
Swaney and Miller didn’t let their team quit. They kept chipping away, and by the time there was 4:50 left, the lead was down to 62-61. Notre Dame was facing the pressure.
What the Irish were doing was getting to the free throw line. They would convert 23/29 free throws, compared to 9/14 for the Rockets. That was too much to overcome. Much like the first half, the Irish had a late burst in them. Ten straight points, keyed by two baskets and two free throws from Tripucka pushed the lead to 72-61 and effectively ended Toledo’s upset threat. Tripucka finished with 24 points, while Hanzlik chipped in 14. The final was 79-71.
Notre Dame was moving on to Sunday’s highly anticipated regional final with Magic and Michigan State.
MAGIC ENDS THE DREAM
Alas, the bid for a return to the Final Four would crest here. The Spartans were surging and would ultimately win the national championship. The anticipated showdown was not particularly competitive. Jackson played well with 19 points/6 rebounds, but Tripucka struggled to 4-for-11 shooting. Bill Hanzlik scored 19 of his own, but Branning was just 4-for-14 from the floor.
Meanwhile, the Notre Dame defense couldn’t contain Michigan State big man Gregory Kelser. The invaluable foil for Magic, Kelser ate up the quality Irish interior with 34 points/13 rebounds. Magic dropped 19 and handed out 13 assists. The Irish trailed 34-23 by halftime and ultimately dropped an 80-68 decision.
STILL AMONG THE ELITE
A season that starts with the expectations Notre Dame had isn’t going to be considered a success unless it ends in the Final Four, especially when you get a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. But knowing what we now know about Magic, it’s fair to cut this ’79 Irish squad a bit of a break. They played to expectations over the long regular season. They got big wins and also played consistently against teams they were expected to beat.
Notre Dame’s only shortcoming was that they just weren’t as good as the ultimate NCAA champs, who weren’t seriously challenged by anyone else in the bracket. But they were as good, if not better, than everyone else.
Originally published in 2016. Substantially revised and republished in 2025 to align with upgraded editorial standards.