1979–80 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 120 4th Basketball 1979–80 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Spartans script.svg Big Ten Conference Ronald Charles Terry Donnelly Big Ten 12–15 6–12 Jud Heathcote William Berry Dave Harshman Edgar Wilson Fred Paulsen Jenison Field House The 1979–80 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Jud Heathcote in his fourth year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished the season 12–15, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place in conference. Previous season The Spartans finished the 1978–79 season 26–6, 13–5 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten and ranked No. 3 in the country. The Spartans received a No. 2 seed in the Mideast of the NCAA Tournament. MSU defeated Lamar, Louisiana State, and Notre Dame to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four, they defeated Penn by 34 points to face overall No. 1 Indiana State. The Spartans won the National Championship as Magic Johnson led MSU over Larry Bird and the Sycamores. Roster and statistics 1979–80 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball teamNoNamePosYearHeightPtsReb5Kevin SmithGSO6–18.41.811Terry DonnellyGSR6–28.81.412Mike BrkovichGJR6–48.82.715Ron CharlesFSR6–814.58.921Don BrkovichFSO6–61.022Bill CawoodGFR6–60.523Mike LongakerGSR6–21.20.230Kurt JamesFJR6–71.52.631Jay VincentCJR6–821.57.735Rob GonzalezFSO6–72.31.141 Derek PerryFFR6–62.41.242Richard KayeFJR6–61.044Herb BosticFFR6–41.10.652Steve BatesCSO6–100.70.8 Sourcehttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1975-schedule.html 1979–80 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com 2017-02-21http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/16-17MediaGuide.pdf 16-17 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State University April 16, 2022 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20190415035346/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/16-17MediaGuide.pdf April 15, 2019 Schedule and results no no |- !colspan=9 style=Michigan State Spartans| Non-conference regular season Nov 30, 1979 yes yes Princeton Carnesecca Arena Jamaica, NY Lapchick Memorial Tournament semifinal 60–46 1–0 Dec 1, 1979 yes yes St. John's 16 Carnesecca Arena Jamaica, NY Lapchick Memorial Tournament championship 73–88 1–1 Dec 6, 1979 yes Long Beach State Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 87–73 2–1 Dec 10, 1979 yes Portland State Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 88–54 3–1 Dec 14, 1979 yes yes Wichita State Levitt Arena Wichita, KS 54–55 3–2 Dec 18, 1979 yes yes Central Michigan Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, MI 95–76 4–2 Dec 20, 1979 yes yes Detroit Mercy Calihan Hall Detroit, MI 63–57 5–2 Dec 28, 1979 yes yes Weber State Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas Holiday Classic semifinal 61–63 5–3 Dec 29, 1979 yes yes Loyola Marymount Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas Holiday Classic third place game 82–65 6–3 |- !colspan=9 style=Michigan State Spartans|Big Ten regular season Jan 3, 1980 Purdue 8 Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 73–71 6–4 0–1 Jan 5, 1980 Minnesota Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 80–93 6–5 0–2 Jan 10, 1980 yes Northwestern Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL 61–65 6–6 0–3 Jan 12, 1980 yes Indiana 19 Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN 64–72 6–7 0–4 Jan 17, 1980 Wisconsin Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 62–61 7–7 1–4 Jan 19, 1980 Iowa 13 Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 75–67 8–7 2–4 Jan 24, 1980 yes Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI Rivalry 59–58 9–7 3–4 Jan 26, 1980 yes Illinois Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 65–74 9–8 3–5 Jan 31, 1980 Ohio State 6 Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 74–54 10–8 4–5 Feb 2, 1980 Illinois Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 68–59 11–8 5–5 Feb 7, 1980 yes Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 39–44 11–9 5–6 Feb 9, 1980 yes Ohio State 13 St. John Arena Columbus, OH 59–71 11–10 5–7 Feb 14, 1980 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 66–80 11–11 5–8 Feb 16, 1980 Michigan Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI Rivalry 82–74 12–11 6–8 Feb 21, 1980 Indiana 19 Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 72–75 12–12 6–9 Feb 23, 1980 Northwestern Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 73–75 12–13 6–10 Feb 28, 1980 yes Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 73–87 12–14 6–11 Mar 1, 1980 yes Purdue 18 Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN 73–91 12–15 6–12 AP Poll, Sourcehttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1980-schedule.html 1979-80 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results Awards and honors Jay Vincent – All-Big Ten First Team Jay Vincent – Big Ten Scoring Champion (22.1 ppg in-conference) See also 1980 in Michigan References Category:Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons Michigan State Michigan State Spartans men's b Michigan