Duke Basketball’s 1980 Record: A Closer Look

Duke Basketball’s 1980 season was one for the ages. They finished the regular season with a record of 26-1, and went on to win the NCAA championship

What made that team so special? Let’s take a closer look at their record and see what we can learn.

Introduction

Duke University’s men’s basketball team set a then-record of 32 wins in the 1979-80 season. The team’s success that year was led by All-American Gene Banks and National Player of the Year Johnny Dawkins Duke’s 32-4 record is still the best in school history, and the team’s accomplishments that season are still remembered fondly by Duke fans today.

In this article, we will take a closer look at Duke’s record in the 1980 season. We’ll examine the team’s stats, see how they compare to other teams in college basketball history, and see what made Duke so successful that year.

The Regular Season

The 1980 Duke men’s Basketball team will go down as one of the most talented and successful squads in program history. Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski led the Blue Devils to a 32-2 record, which included a flawless 16-0 mark in ACC play. The team’s only losses came at the hands of LSU and Indiana, two of the nation’s top programs that year. Duke would go on to win the NCAA Championship, defeating Louisville in the title game.

While the team’s overall success is widely known, a closer look at the individual numbers reveals just how dominant Duke was that season. The Blue Devils averaged a staggering 82.9 points per game while allowing just 62.3 points per contest. They shot an excellent 49.1 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from three-point range Additionally, Duke averaged nearly 10 assists per game and won the turnover battle by a wide margin.

The NCAA Tournament

In 1980, the Duke men’s basketball team wasn’t expected to make much noise in the NCAA tournament The Blue Devils had gone 20-10 in the regular season and were seeded just seventh in their region. But behind the play of freshman guard Mike Gminski and senior center Gene Banks, Duke knocked off DePaul, Louisville and Penn to reach the Final Four. There, the Blue Devils faced top-seeded LSU, a team that featured Future Hall of Famer Pete Maravich Duke won that game handily, 79-77, to advance to the Championship game against Kentucky. Banks scored 27 points and Gminski had 24 as the Blue Devils won their first NCAA title, 94-88.

The ACC Tournament

In 1980, Duke went 22-6 overall and 12-4 in the ACC. They finished 2nd in the conference behind UNC, who went 13-3. Duke’s losses were to Penn, UNC, Maryland, Virginia, and Wake Forest They beat everyone else in the ACC including UNC twice. In the ACC tournament they beat Virginia Tech and then lost to UNC in the finals.

The Players

To fully understand how the 1980 Duke Basketball team became one of the most successful college teams of all time, we must first take a look at the players. The starting lineup consisted of four seniors and one junior, all of whom would go on to have successful professional careers.

The team’s leading scorer was Gene Banks, a senior who averaged 20.3 points per game He was followed by fellow senior Mike Gminski, who averaged 17.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game The other two seniors in the starting lineup were Kenny Dennard and Jim Spanarkel. Dennard, a 6’9” center, averaged 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game Spanarkel, a 6’4” guard, averaged 14 points and 4 assists per game The only junior in the Starting Lineup was Jay Bilas who would go on to have a successful career as a commentator and analyst for ESPN. Bilas averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds per game during his junior year.

The bench players also played an important role in the team’s success. Senior KevinSTRATEGY Laue provided valuable minutes as a backup center, while sophomore Danny Ferry gave the team a spark off the bench with his shooting ability. Freshmen Vince Taylor and Mark Alarie also made significant contributions throughout the season

The Coaches

In order to understand Duke Basketball’s 1980 season, it is important to understand the Coaching Staff The head coach was Bill Foster, who had been with the team since 1978. The assistant coaches were Mike Krzyzewski who would go on to become the Head Coach in 1980, and Pete Gaudet. The team’s trainer was Duke alum Jeff Langhorst.

The Fans

Duke Basketball’s 1980 season was nothing short of remarkable. The team went undefeated, winning all 35 of their games. They were led by a core group of talented players, including future Hall of Famer Johnny Dawkins. But what made the season truly special was the support of the Duke fans.

Throughout the season, Duke fans packed Cameron Indoor Stadium to capacity. They created an electric atmosphere that helped propel the team to victory after victory. After each game, the fans would storm the court to celebrate with the players. It was a truly special season for both the team and the fans.

Looking back, it’s clear that Duke would not have had such a successful season without the support of their loyal fans.

The Legacy

In the 1979-80 season, the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team compiled a record of 26-7. They finished the season ranked #5 in the AP poll and won the ACC Regular Season title with a 12-4 conference record. The team made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Louisville.

Despite their early exit from the tournament, that Duke team is still remembered fondly by fans.Led by National Player of the Year Art Heyman, the team was one of the most talented and successful in school history. In addition to Heyman, several other players from that team went on to have successful careers in Professional Basketball or coaching.

The 1980 Duke team will always be remembered for their accomplishments both on and off the court. They were a talented group of players who left a lasting legacy at Duke University

Conclusion

It is safe to say that the Duke Basketball team’s 1980 season was a success. The team’s overall record was 26-5, and they won the ACC Tournament They also made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament where they lost to Louisville.

Looking at the individual game results, it is clear that the team was very balanced. They had six players who averaged double figures in points per game and their leading scorer (Gene Banks) only averaged 14.1 points per game In addition, all five of their losses were by 10 points or less. This shows that the team was able to compete with anyone in the country.

The 1980 Duke basketball team was one of the best in school history. They had a great season and should be remembered for their accomplishments.

Afterword

It has been nearly 40 years since Duke won the NCAA championship in 1980. The team finished the season with a record of 32-2, losing only to Indiana in the national semifinals and then to Kentucky in the third-place game.

Since then, Duke has won five more National Championships but the 1980 team remains one of the most special in school history. In honor of the 40th anniversary of that season, let’s take a closer look at some of the numbers from that year.

The 1980 team was coached by Mike Krzyzewski and featured four future NBA players Gene Banks, Mike Gminski, Jim Spanarkel, and Kenny Dennard. The starting five also included two future All-ACC players (Spanarkel and Matt Doherty) and one future ACC Player of the Year (Gminski).

In total, those six players combined to averaged 47.4 Points per game which is still the second-highest scoring average for a Duke starting five (behind only the 2001-02 team that featured Shane Battier, Jay Williams Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy Jr., and Nate James).

On defense, the 1980 team allowed just 60.4 points per game which is still tied for the ninth-lowest single-season mark in Duke history. The team’s opponents shot just 38.1 percent from the field, which is also still tied for ninth in school history.

In conference play Duke went 15-1 to win the ACC regular season title by four games over second-place North Carolina The Blue Devils then won four games in four days to win the ACC tournament title. It was Duke’s first ACC Tournament Championship since 1966.

Duke entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed in the East Region and opened with a 79-72 win over Lamar in Greensboro. The Blue Devils then beat Virginia Tech 85-79 in double overtime before beating Syracuse 77-76 in overtime to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1963.

In the Elite Eight game against Louisville, Spanarkel hit a jump shot with 10 seconds left to give Duke a 72-71 lead. After Louisville’s Jerry Eaves missed a jumper at the buzzer, Duke had its first Final Four berth since 1978.*