1977–78 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

1977–78 La Salle Explorers men's basketball
1977–78 La Salle Explorers men's basketball
ECC tournament champion
NCAA Division I tournament, First round
Conference	East Coast Conference
Record	18–12 (7–0 ECC)
Head coach	Paul Westhead (8th season);
Home arena	The Palestra

1977–78 ECC men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
†	5	–	0	1.000	18	–	12	.600
Temple	4	–	1	.800	24	–	4	.857
American	2	–	3	.400	16	–	12	.571
Drexel	2	–	3	.400	13	–	15	.464
Saint Joseph's	2	–	3	.400	13	–	15	.464
Hofstra	0	–	5	.000	8	–	19	.296
West
Lafayette	10	–	0	1.000	23	–	8	.742
Delaware	5	–	5	.500	16	–	11	.593
Bucknell	5	–	5	.500	13	–	15	.464
Lehigh	5	–	5	.500	8	–	18	.308
Rider	4	–	6	.400	11	–	16	.407
West Chester	2	–	8	.200	6	–	19	.240

† 1978 ECC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977–78 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team represented La Salle University as a member of the East Coast Conference during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Paul Westhead and played their home games at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After finishing atop the ECC East division standings, the Explorers won the ECC tournament to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 4 at-large seed in the East region, La Salle lost to the No. 2 qualifying seed Villanova in the opening round. The team finished with a record of 18–12 (7–0 ECC).

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	32	Michael Brooks	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	So		Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
		Tony DiLeo	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Sr	Cinnaminson
G		Darryl Gladden	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	So
G		Kurt Kanaskie	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	So	Cumberland Valley	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
G		Kevin Lynam	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Fr
F		Greg Metzinger	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Sr
G		Joe Mihalich	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	—	Sr
F		Reggie Miller	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	So
F		James Mo Connolly	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	So
		Tony Plakis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr
F		Mark Spain	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	So
G		Greg Webster	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Fr
F		Stanley Williams	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Fr
F		Jim Wolkiewicz	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Sr

Head coach

Paul Westhead

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

^[1]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 25, 1977*		at Widener	W 83–75	1–0	Pride Recreation Center Chester, Pennsylvania
Nov 30, 1977*		at Bucknell	W 92–77	2–0	Davis Gym Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Dec 7, 1977*		Rhode Island	L 73–78	2–1	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 9, 1977*		vs. East Carolina First Union Invitational	W 96–95 ^2OT	3–1	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 10, 1977*		at UNC Charlotte First Union Invitational	L 67–68	3–2	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 17, 1977*		Penn	L 75–78	3–3	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 28, 1977*		at No. 7 Louisville Louisville Classic	L 85–113	3–4	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 29, 1977*		vs. Ohio State Louisville Classic	L 83–86	3–5	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 4, 1978*		at Western Kentucky	W 78–64	4–5	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
Jan 6, 1978*		at Niagara	W 116–97	5–5	Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center Niagara Falls, New York
Jan 9, 1978		at Hofstra	W 97–87	6–5 (1–0)	Hofstra Physical Fitness Center Hempstead, New York
Jan 11, 1978* 5:00 p.m.		Drexel	W 80–79	7–5 (2–0)	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 14, 1978*		at Duquesne	W 79–74	8–5	Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan 16, 1978*		West Chester	W 116–84	9–5	Hollinger Field House West Chester, Pennsylvania
Jan 19, 1978*		at No. 11 Syracuse	L 96–106	9–6	Manley Field House Syracuse, New York
Jan 21, 1978*		No. 17 Duke	L 81–91	9–7	Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 24, 1978*		at Biscayne	W 89–84	10–7	Fernandez Family Center Miami Gardens, Florida
Jan 28, 1978		Temple	W 82–75	11–7 (3–0)	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 1, 1978*		No. 4 Notre Dame	L 90–95	11–8	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 4, 1978		Saint Joseph's	W 82–74	12–8 (4–0)	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 8, 1978		American	W 64–62	13–8 (5–0)	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 11, 1978*		at Canisius	L 77–78	13–9	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo, New York
Feb 15, 1978*		Stetson	W 77–72	14–9	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 18, 1978*		Villanova	L 79–82	14–10	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 22, 1978*		at St. Bonaventure	L 95–108	14–11	Reilly Center St. Bonaventure, New York
Feb 25, 1978*		at Vermont	W 100–67	15–11	Patrick Gym Burlington, Vermont
ECC Tournament
Mar 2, 1978*	(1E)	(5E) Saint Joseph's Quarterfinals	W 89–82	16–11	Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 3, 1978*	(1E)	vs. (2W) Delaware Semifinals	W 97–85	17–11	Allan P. Kirby Field House Easton, Pennsylvania
Mar 4, 1978*	(1E)	vs. (2E) Temple Championship game	W 73–72	18–11	Allan P. Kirby Field House Easton, Pennsylvania
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1978*	(E 4L)	vs. (E 2Q) Villanova First round	L 97–103	18–12	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

^[2]

References

^ "La Salle 1977-78" (PDF). La Salle University. p. 2. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
^ "La Salle Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). La Salle Athletics. Retrieved October 1, 2023.

[1] "La Salle 1977-78" (PDF). La Salle University. p. 2. Retrieved October 1, 2023.

[2] "La Salle Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). La Salle Athletics. Retrieved October 1, 2023.

[1]

[2]

La Salle Explorers men's basketball
Venues	Wister Hall (19??–1955) Palestra (1955–1989) Civic Center (1989–1996) First Union Spectrum (1996–1998) John Glaser Arena (1998–present) TruMark Financial Center (facilities)
Culture & lore	City 6 Gambling scandal Philadelphia Big 5 Big 5 Classic Robert V. Geasey Trophy Rape scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics