1977–78 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

American college basketball season

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
Seasons ← 1976–77 1978–79 →

1977–78 ECC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
La Salle †	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

1977–78 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	32	Michael Brooks	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	So		Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 28, 1977*	at No. 7 Louisville	L 85–113	2–4	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
ECC Tournament
Mar 2, 1978*	Saint Joseph's Quarterfinals	W 89–82	16–11	Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 3, 1978*	vs. Delaware Semifinals	W 97–85	17–11	Allan P. Kirby Field House Easton, Pennsylvania
Mar 4, 1978*	vs. Temple Championship game	W 73–72	18–11	Allan P. Kirby Field House Easton, Pennsylvania
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1978*	vs. 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.

^[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.

v t e La Salle Explorers men's basketball
Venues	Wister Hall (19??–1955) Palestra (1955–1989) Civic Center (1989–1996) First Union Spectrum (1996–1998) Tom Gola Arena (1998–present) TruMark Financial Center (facilities)
Culture & lore	"Fight On, Explorers" City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 (Robert V. Geasey Trophy) 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 1977–78 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
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics