1979–80 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1979–80 college basketball season. The team was coached by Sonny Smith, who was in his second season.

1979–80 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	10–18 (5–13 SEC)
Head coach	Sonny Smith (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Herbert Greene Mack McCarthy Herman Williams
Captains	Bubba Price (2nd year) Rich Valavicius (2nd year)
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1978–79 1980–81 →

1979–80 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 Kentucky	15	–	3		.833			29	–	6		.829
No. 3 LSU †	14	–	4		.778			26	–	6		.813
Alabama	12	–	6		.667			18	–	12		.600
Tennessee	12	–	6		.667			18	–	11		.621
Ole Miss	9	–	9		.500			17	–	13		.567
Mississippi State	7	–	11		.389			13	–	14		.481
Vanderbilt	7	–	11		.389			13	–	13		.500
Georgia	7	–	11		.389			14	–	13		.519
Auburn	5	–	13		.278			10	–	18		.357
Florida	2	–	16		.111			7	–	21		.250
† 1980 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Newcomers to the team this season included freshman signees Darrell Lockhart, Frank Poindexter, Alvin Mumphord, and Byron Henson.

The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 10–18, 5–13 in SEC play. They defeated Georgia in the opening round of the SEC tournament, but lost to Kentucky in the next round.^[2]

Roster

1979–80 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 3 Taylor Hart 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Eufaula High School Eufaula, AL G 4 Lewis Card 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Auburn High School Auburn, AL F 14 Roy McGrew 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Fairfield High School Fairfield, AL G 21 Bubba Price 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Carver High School Birmingham, AL G 22 Eric Stringer 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Oxford High School Hobson City, AL F 41 Benny Anthony 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Bainbridge High School Bainbridge, GA F 42 Rich Valavicius 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Hammond High School Hammond, IN F 44 Earl Banks 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Holy Family High School Birmingham, AL C 45 Bobby Cattage 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr J.O. Johnson High School Huntsville, AL C 32 Darrell Lockhart 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Robert E. Lee High School Thomaston, GA C 33 Frank Poindexter 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Fr G 24 Alvin Mumphord 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Fr G 3 Byron Henson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr	Head coach Sonny Smith Assistant coach(es) Herbert Greene Mack McCarthy Herman Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

^[3]