1976-77 & 1977-78 Men's Basketball teams
The 1976-77 and 1977-78 men's basketball teams made back-to-back NCAA Division II play-off appearances and were inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame in 2001.
1976-77 Men’s Basketball
NCAA DII Tournament Quarterfinals
NCAA Division II Poll Champions
NCAA Regional Champions
Mason-Dixon Conference Champions
The 1976-77 Tigers spent the final three weeks of the season as the number one-ranked team in the nation. Towson finished the regular season as the number one team in Division II and hosted the South Atlantic regional tournament for the first time. The Tigers beat Winston-Salem in the semifinals and the University of Baltimore in the regional championship game, 92-87, in overtime.
The regional title was the fifth and final meeting between the teams that season. Towson won four of the five games with UB, also a nationally ranked team. More than 17,000 fans attended the five games. Baltimore finished the season with a 25-4 record, with all four losses coming against Towson.
The Tigers’ season came to an end in the national quarterfinals with an 85-82 loss to Sacred Heart. Towson finished the season with a 27-3 record, the best mark in school history.
The 1976-77 Tigers were the most dominant team in program history. They won the Mason-Dixon Conference regular season title with a perfect 10-0 record. On the season, the Tigers outscored their opponents by 12.8 points per game.
1977-78 Men’s Basketball
NCAA Division II Regional Runners Up
Mason-Dixon Conference Champions
In 1977-78, Towson once again ran through the Mason-Dixon conference schedule with a perfect 10-0 mark and won the league title with a 74-66 decision over Mount St. Mary’s. Despite a pair of early season losses, the Tigers finished the regular season as the third-ranked team in the Division II. Highlighting the regular season was an 80-78 win over eventual national champion Cheyney State.
Hosting the NCAA South Atlantic regionals for the second straight year, the Tigers beat Albany, 106-89, in the semifinals. The season ended with an 84-73 upset loss to Elizabeth City in the regional finals. Towson finished the year with a 26-4 record, giving the Tigers a two-year mark of 53-7.
Two members of the squad were named All-Americans: Roger Dickens (third team All-American by Basketball Weekly) and Brian Matthews (first team All-American from the American Basketball Coaches Association (ABCA)). Towson Hall of Famer and Head Coach Vince Angotti was named as a regional Coach of the Year in 1978.
