1975–76 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

1975–76 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
1975–76 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 7
Record	23–6
Head coach	Digger Phelps (5th season);
Home arena	Joyce Center

1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Rutgers		–		–	31	–	2	.939
No. 3 UNLV		–		–	29	–	2	.935
No. 2 Marquette		–		–	27	–	2	.931
North Texas State		–		–	22	–	4	.846
No. 19 Centenary		–		–	22	–	5	.815
UNC Charlotte		–		–	24	–	6	.800
Pan American		–		–	20	–	5	.800
No. 7		–		–	23	–	6	.793
St. John's		–		–	23	–	6	.793
Florida State		–		–	21	–	6	.778
Oral Roberts		–		–	20	–	6	.769
Georgetown		–		–	21	–	7	.750
Virginia Tech		–		–	21	–	7	.750
George Washington		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Illinois State		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Creighton		–		–	19	–	7	.731
Northeast Louisiana		–		–	18	–	7	.720
Detroit		–		–	19	–	8	.704
South Florida		–		–	19	–	8	.704
New Orleans		–		–	18	–	8	.692
No. 17 DePaul		–		–	20	–	9	.690
Syracuse		–		–	20	–	9	.690
Holy Cross		–		–	22	–	10	.688
Seton Hall		–		–	18	–	9	.667
South Alabama		–		–	18	–	9	.667
South Carolina		–		–	18	–	9	.667
Providence		–		–	21	–	11	.656
Stetson		–		–	17	–	9	.654
UC Santa Barbara		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Air Force		–		–	16	–	9	.640
VCU		–		–	16	–	9	.640
St. Peter's		–		–	19	–	11	.633
Portland State		–		–	17	–	10	.630
St. Bonaventure		–		–	17	–	10	.630
Mercer		–		–	15	–	10	.600
Villanova		–		–	16	–	11	.593
Niagara		–		–	17	–	12	.586
Long Island		–		–	15	–	12	.556
Colgate		–		–	13	–	11	.542
Xavier		–		–	14	–	12	.538
West Virginia		–		–	15	–	13	.536
Georgia State		–		–	12	–	11	.522
Indiana State		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Dayton		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Hardin–Simmons		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Jacksonville		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Manhattan		–		–	14	–	14	.500
St. Francis (PA)		–		–	14	–	14	.500
St. Francis (NY)		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Marshall		–		–	13	–	14	.481
Duquesne		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Northeastern		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Fairfield		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Utah State		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Butler		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Denver		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Pittsburgh		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Army		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Iona		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Milwaukee		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Southern Miss		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Navy		–		–	10	–	14	.417
Fairleigh Dickinson		–		–	9	–	13	.409
Georgia Southern		–		–	11	–	16	.407
Hawaii		–		–	11	–	16	.407
Penn State		–		–	10	–	15	.400
Buffalo		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Loyola (IL)		–		–	10	–	16	.385
Canisius		–		–	10	–	17	.370
Boston College		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Oklahoma City		–		–	9	–	18	.333
Portland		–		–	9	–	18	.333
Fordham		–		–	7	–	19	.269
Cleveland State		–		–	6	–	19	.240
Houston Baptist		–		–	5	–	21	.192
Baptist		–		–	3	–	23	.115
Samford		–		–	3	–	23	.115

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1975–76 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1975–76 season. The team was coached by Digger Phelps and was ranked in the Associated Press poll for the entirety of the season. The Fighting Irish finished the regular season with a record of 23–6. In the 1976 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, the Fighting Irish defeated Cincinnati in the first round, 79–78 and then lost to Michigan in the second round.

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
C	54	Roger Anderson	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	St. Paul, Minnesota
F/C	45	Dave Batton	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Springfield, PA
G	10	Jeff Carpenter	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	So	Oak Park, IL
F	44	Adrian Dantley	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Washington, D. C.
F/C	34	Bruce Flowers	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Huntington Woods, MI
F	22	Randy Haefner	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Milford, OH
F/C	43	Toby Knight	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Shoreham, NY
G	23	Dave Kuzmicz	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	South Bend, IN
C	52	Bill Laimbeer	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Toledo, Ohio
G	21	Ray Martin	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Long Island City, NY
F	55	Bill Paterno	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Spring Lake, NJ
G	25	Don Williams	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Washington, D.C.

Head coach

Digger Phelps

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
November 29		Kent State	W 90–61	1–0	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
December 2		Valparaiso	W 117–83	2–0	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
December 6		Texas Tech	W 88–63	3–0	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
December 8	No. 9	at Kansas	W 72–64	4–0	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
December 11	No. 8	at No. 1 Indiana	L 60–63	4–1	Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana
December 13		Saint Francis (PA)	W 103–73	5–1	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
December 30		at Kentucky	L 77–79	5–2	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
January 3	No. 5	at No. 4 UCLA	W 66–63	5–3	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
January 10		Manhattan	W 88–71	6–3	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
January 12		at Pittsburgh	W 77–66	7–3	Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
January 14		Ball State	W 119–78	8–3	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
January 17		at Xavier	W 90–79	9–3	Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio
January 21		Saint Joseph (IN)	W 97–60	10–3	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
January 24	No. 15	No. 6 UCLA	W 95–85	11–3	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
January 28		DePaul	W 89–68	12–3	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
January 31		Maryland	L 63–69	12–4	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
February 4		at La Salle	W 108–89	13–4	Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 7		Davidson	W 117–74	14–4	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
February 9		St. Bonaventure	W 95–80	15–4	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
February 11		Villanova	W 84–57	16–4	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
February 14		West Virginia	W 97–77	17–4	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
February 16		vs. Butler	W 92–79	18–4
February 19		vs. Fordham	W 91–78	19–4
February 21		at South Carolina	W 90–83	20–4	Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC
February 25		at Dayton	W 85–79	21–4	University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio
February 28	No. 6	Marquette	L 75–81	21–5	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
March 1		Western Michigan	W 95–88 ^OT	22–5	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
March 13		Cincinnati NCAA Tournament • First Round	W 79–78	23–5	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
March 18		Michigan NCAA Tournament • Second Round	L 76–80	23–6	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

^[1]^[2]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	6	Adrian Dantley	Buffalo Braves

^[3]

References

^ "1975-76 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule". sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ "2018_19_MBB_Media_Guide_season" (PDF). Notre Dame Athletics. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
^ "1976 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019.

[1] "1975-76 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule". sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2019.

[2] "2018_19_MBB_Media_Guide_season" (PDF). Notre Dame Athletics. Retrieved July 21, 2019.

[3] "1976 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
Venues	Notre Dame Fieldhouse (1898–1968) Joyce Center (1968–present)
Rivalries	UCLA
Culture & lore	Notre Dame Leprechaun Crossroads Classic
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1907 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 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 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 2024–25
Helms national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics