1978-79 Ohio State Buckeyes — schedule and results

The 1978-79 Ohio State Buckeyes went 19-12 (12-6 in the Big Ten) under head coach Eldon Miller. The team peaked at #7 in the AP poll. Simple Rating System: 12.05.

Game-by-game results (31 games)

DateOpponentResultArena
1978-11-25at Butler BulldogsL 86–87Hinkle Fieldhouse
1978-11-27vs Miami (OH) RedHawksW 85–69St. John Arena
1978-11-30at Toledo RocketsL 58–64John F. Savage Hall
1978-12-02at West Virginia MountaineersW 69–64WVU Coliseum
1978-12-09at Tennessee VolunteersW 86–78Stokely Center
1978-12-12vs Louisville CardinalsW 85–69St. John Arena
1978-12-18vs Washington State CougarsL 67–74St. John Arena
1978-12-29neutral Duke Blue DevilsW 90–84 (OTOT)Madison Square Garden (IV)
1978-12-30neutral Rutgers Scarlet KnightsL 96–97 (3OTOT)Madison Square Garden (IV)
1979-01-04vs Purdue BoilermakersW 75–71St. John Arena
1979-01-06vs Wisconsin BadgersW 82–71St. John Arena
1979-01-11at Iowa HawkeyesW 72–67Iowa Field House
1979-01-13at Illinois Fighting IlliniW 69–66 (OTOT)Assembly Hall
1979-01-18vs Minnesota Golden GophersW 83–80St. John Arena
1979-01-20at Michigan WolverinesW 78–69Crisler Arena
1979-01-25vs Northwestern WildcatsW 73–61St. John Arena
1979-01-27vs Indiana HoosiersW 66–63 (OTOT)St. John Arena
1979-02-01at Michigan State SpartansL 79–84 (OTOT)Jenison Field House
1979-02-03at Indiana HoosiersL 62–70Assembly Hall
1979-02-08vs Michigan WolverinesW 63–60St. John Arena
1979-02-10vs Michigan State SpartansL 57–73St. John Arena
1979-02-15at Minnesota Golden GophersW 74–68Williams Arena
1979-02-17at Northwestern WildcatsW 88–73McGaw Memorial Hall
1979-02-22vs Illinois Fighting IlliniW 73–55St. John Arena
1979-02-24vs Iowa HawkeyesL 68–83St. John Arena
1979-03-01at Wisconsin BadgersL 73–76Wisconsin Field House
1979-03-03at Purdue BoilermakersL 66–74Mackey Arena
1979-03-07vs Saint Joseph's HawksW 80–66St. John Arena
1979-03-12at Maryland TerrapinsW 79–72Cole Fieldhouse
1979-03-19vs Indiana HoosiersL 55–64Madison Square Garden (IV)
1979-03-21vs Alabama Crimson TideL 86–96Madison Square Garden (IV)

Game recaps

1978-11-25: Butler Bulldogs survived Ohio State Buckeyes 87–86 as Joe Maloney scored a team-high 22. Herb Williams had 17 for Ohio State Buckeyes.

1978-11-27: Ohio State Buckeyes handled Miami (Ohio) RedHawks 85–69. Ramsey led the winners with 31 points. Datos had 16 for Miami (Ohio) RedHawks.

1978-12-02: Ohio State Buckeyes beat West Virginia Mountaineers 69–64. Kelvin Ramsey led the winners with 24 points. Lowes Moore had 22 for West Virginia Mountaineers.

1978-12-09: Ohio State Buckeyes got past Tennessee Volunteers 86–78 as Kelvin Ransey scored a team-high 18. Reggie Johnson had 20 for Tennessee Volunteers.

1978-12-12: Behind Williams's 22 points, Ohio State Buckeyes pulled away from Louisville Cardinals 85–69. Griffith had 28 for Louisville Cardinals.

1978-12-30: Behind James Bailey's 31 points, Rutgers Scarlet Knights held off Ohio State Buckeyes 97–96. Kelvin Ransey had 38 for Ohio State Buckeyes. Herb Williams grabbed 16 rebounds.

1979-01-06: Ohio State Buckeyes handled Wisconsin Badgers 82–71. Ramsey led the winners with 24 points. Matthews had 21 for Wisconsin Badgers. Williams grabbed 15 rebounds.

1979-01-11: Ohio State Buckeyes got past Iowa Hawkeyes 72–67 as Kelvin Ransey scored a team-high 24. Ronnie Lester had 25 for Iowa Hawkeyes. Herb Williams grabbed 16 rebounds.

1979-01-13: Behind Herb Williams's 29 points, Ohio State Buckeyes held off Illinois Fighting Illini 69–66. Mark Smith had 28 for Illinois Fighting Illini.

1979-01-25: Ohio State Buckeyes handled Northwestern Wildcats 73–61. Ramsey led the winners with 17 points. Gibson had 16 for Northwestern Wildcats.

1979-02-01: Behind Earvin Johnson's 23 points, Michigan State Spartans defeated Ohio State Buckeyes 84–79. Kelvin Ransey had 25 for Ohio State Buckeyes.

1979-02-15: Ohio State Buckeyes beat Minnesota Golden Gophers 74–68. Herb Williams led the winners with 26 points. Kevin McHale had 28 for Minnesota Golden Gophers.

1979-03-01: Wisconsin Badgers edged Ohio State Buckeyes 76–73. Claude Gregory led the winners with 23 points. Herb Williams had 23 for Ohio State Buckeyes.

1979-03-12: Ohio State Buckeyes got past Maryland Terrapins 79–72 as Ransey, Kelvin scored a team-high 23. King, Albert had 27 for Maryland Terrapins.

1979-03-19: Indiana Hoosiers beat Ohio State Buckeyes 64–55. Mike Woodson led the winners with 20 points. Kelvin Ransey had 25 for Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State Buckeyes program history · All Division I programs · Hoopsipedia home

Hoopsipedia
Hpsipedia
EST. 2025 · VOL. II · NCAA OFFICIAL RECORDS
● 360 PROGRAMS · VERIFIED
★ ★ ★ The complete record of college basketball ★ ★ ★
Hpsipedia
★ Built for banter. Backed by the record book. ★
THE MAIN EVENT
Program 1
?
VS
since 1900
Program 2
?
Try:
✦ Ask Hoopsipedia AI
THE RECORD BOOK

All-time wins

Full leaderboard →
Rank Team All-Time Wins

On this day

SPOTLIGHT

AP Top 25

All rankings →
DISCOVER

More to argue about

Rankings Deep Dive
Who's REALLY a blue blood?
Our composite HTSS ranking of all-time program strength. See how every team stacks up across 100+ years.
EXPLORE →
Time Machine
Travel back to any season
See who was #1, who was rising, and who was falling. Every season from 1949 to today.
EXPLORE →
Coach Trees
The coaching lineages
From Dean Smith to Roy Williams to Hubert Davis — trace the family trees of college basketball's greatest coaches.
EXPLORE →

2026 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Last updated: --:--:--
For the best bracket experience, view on a desktop or rotate your device to landscape.

Team Rankings

Rank Team Conference All-Time Wins

Teams

★ ★ The architects ★ ★

COACHES

Top 100 by all-time D1 wins. Verified against the NCAA record book — and tiered so you can argue properly.

SETTLE A DEBATE
Compare Coaches
VS
FILTER BY TIER:
# COACH RECORD WIN % SCHOOL(S) YEARS BEST SEASON / LEGACY
Ask Hoopsipedia BETA
Hi! I'm the Hoopsipedia Assistant. I can look up team histories, compare programs, explore rankings, and more. Try asking: