The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) former Big Eight Conference at that time.

[2] The team was led by Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year John McCullough.

The team also played Nebraska three times, only winning the home game.

The team reached the sweet sixteen round of the 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament by beating Texas before losing to Indiana State.

[3] The Sooners' appearance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament marked their first participation in the event since 1947.