1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 120 4 3 1978–79 Michigan State Spartans Basketball Michigan State Spartans script.svg Big Ten Conference Big Ten 26–6 13–5 Jud Heathcote 3rd Bill Berry Fred Paulsen Dave Harshman Earvin Johnson Greg Kelser Jenison Fieldhouse NCAA tournament National ChampionsBig Ten championsFar West Classic champions National Championship Game W Won 75–64 vs. Indiana State The 1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans were coached by Jud Heathcote in his third year and played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan. They were members of the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans finished the season 26–6, 13–5 in Big Ten play to earn a share of the Big Ten championship. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Mideast region. They defeated Lamar, LSU, and No. 1-seeded Notre Dame to advance to the Final Four, only the school's second trip to the Final Four. They defeated Penn to advance to the national championship game where they defeated Indiana State to win the school's first national championship in basketball. Previous season The Spartans finished the 1977–78 season 25–5, 15–3 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten championship. They beat Providence in the first round of the NCAA tournament and Western Kentucky in the Mideast Regional semifinal. However, they lost to Kentucky in the Regional Final. Season summary MSU was led by star sophomore, Earvin "Magic" Johnson (16.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game), senior Greg Kelser (18.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game), and sophomore Jay Vincent (13.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game).https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1979.html 1979 Michigan State Spartans College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com 2016-03-23 The Spartans started the season well, finishing the non-conference season with an 8–1 record including a loss to No. 13 ranked North Carolina. They entered conference play as the No. 1-ranked team in the country. After winning their first two conference games, they lost four of their next six games to fall to a 4–4 record in the Big Ten, trailing first-place Ohio State by four games in the standings. However, Michigan State then won their next 10 games with wins over No. 7 Ohio State, at No. 15 Iowa, at No. 13 Ohio State, and No. 18 Purdue. A loss on the final day of the season to Wisconsin resulted in the Spartans slipping into a tie for the Big Ten championship with Iowa and Purdue. MSU received a bid to the NCAA tournament because of a better head-to-head performance against Big Ten rivals and a superior overall record (21–6).Magic Moment: Ten years later, Johnson vs. Bird still special March 21, 1989 Bill Halls The Detroit News 1E, 7E The Spartans finished the season ranked No. 3 in the country. Michigan State advanced to the Final Four by defeating Lamar, LSU and No. 1-seeded Notre Dame. In the Final Four, the second Final Four appearance in school history, they faced Penn, blowing them out 101–67 to earn a trip to the Championship. There, the Spartans faced No. 1-ranked and undefeated Indiana State led by senior Larry Bird. In what was the most-watched college basketball game ever, Michigan State defeated Indiana State 75–64 to win the school's first ever basketball National Championship.https://www.espn.com/endofcentury/s/century/katz.html From coast to coast, a magical pair Katz Andy ESPN 2008-05-06 Magic Johnson was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. After two years in college, in which he averaged 17.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game, Johnson declared for the 1979 NBA draft.Sports Reference LLC Magic Johnson Statistics https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsma02.html 2007-09-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20070912004911/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsma02.html 12 September 2007 live Roster and stats 1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball teamNoNamePosYearHeightPtsRebAst32Gregory KelserFSR6–718.18.51.533Earvin JohnsonGSO6–816.17.48.231Jay VincentCSO6–813.75.61.415Ron CharlesFJR6–78.84.70.411Terry DonnellyGJR6–26.51.42.112Mike BrkovichFSO6–46.51.61.035Rob GonzalezFFR6–71.50.81.025Gerald BusbyFFR6–42.30.90.210Greg LloydGFR6–11.20.40.323Mike LongakerGFR6–11.30.50.042Rich KayeFSO6–70.90.20.021Don BrkovichFFR6–60.30.20.043Gerald GilkieFSO6–71.01.00.024Jaime HufffmanGSO6–30.30.50.0 Sourcehttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1979.html 1978-79 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Statshttp://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| Regular season Nov 27, 1978 yes 7 Central Michigan Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 71–54 1–0 Dec. 9, 1978 yes 4 Cal State Fullerton Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 92–89 2–0 Dec 13, 1978 yes yes 3 Western Michigan University Arena Kalamazoo, Michigan 109–69 3–0 Dec 16, 1978 yes yes 3 North Carolina 13 Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 69–70 3–1 Dec 19, 1978 yes 3 Cincinnati Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan 63–52 4–1 Dec 28, 1978 yes yes 4 Washington State Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon Far West Classic 98–52 5–1 Dec 29, 1978 yes yes 4 Oregon State Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon Far West Classic championship 65–57 6–1 Dec 30, 1978 yes yes 4 Indiana Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon 74–57 7–1 Jan 4, 1979 1 Wisconsin Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 84–55 8–1 1–0 Jan 6, 1979 1 Minnesota Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 69–62 9–1 2–0 Jan 11, 1979 yes 1 Illinois 4 Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 55–57 9–2 2–1 Jan 13, 1979 yes 1 Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana 50–52 9–3 2–2 Jan 18, 1979 6 Indiana Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 82–58 10–3 3–2 Jan 20, 1979 6 Iowa Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 83–72 OT 11–3 4–2 Jan 25, 1979 yes 4 Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan Rivalry 48–49 11–4 4–3 Jan 27, 1979 yes 4 Northwestern Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois 65–83 11–5 4–4 Feb 1, 1979 14 Ohio State 7 Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 84–79 OT 12–5 5–4 Feb 3, 1979 14 Northwestern Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 61–50 13–5 6–4 Feb 4, 1979 yes 14 Kansas Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 85–61 14–5 Feb 8, 1979 yes 10 Iowa 15 Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa 60–57 15–5 7–4 Feb 10, 1979 yes 10 Ohio State 13 St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio 73–57 16–5 8–4 Feb 15, 1979 yes 8 Indiana Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana 59–47 17–5 9–4 Feb 17, 1979 8 Michigan Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan Rivalry 80–57 18–5 10–4 Feb 22, 1979 7 Purdue 18 Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 73–67 19–5 11–4 Feb 24, 1979 4 Illinois Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan 76–62 20–5 12–4 Mar 1, 1979 yes 4 Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota 76–63 21–5 13–4 Mar 3, 1979 yes 4 Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin 81–83 21–6 13–5 |- !colspan=9 style=Michigan State Spartans|NCAA Tournament Mar 10, 1979 yes yes 3 2 ME Lamar 10 ME Second Round Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee 95–64 22–6 Mar 16, 1979 yes yes 3 2 ME LSU 3 ME 7 Regional semifinal Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana 87–71 23–6 Mar 18, 1979 yes yes 3 2 ME Notre Dame 1 ME 4 Regional Final Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana 80–68 24–6 Mar 22, 1979 yes yes 3 2 ME Penn 9 E 14 Final Four Special Events Center Salt Lake City 101–67 25–6 Mar 26, 1979 yes yes 3 2 ME Indiana State Special Events Center Salt Lake City 1 MW 1 National Championship 75–64 26–6 ME MidEast Region Sourcehttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1979-schedule.html 1978-79 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results Rankings 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings AP 0 16 7 7 4 3 5 4 1 1 6 4 15 10 8 7 4 4 3 Coaches 0 15 4 – – 3 4 4 1 1 6 4 13 9 8 8 4 4 ^Coaches did not release week 1 or week 2 polls. Awards and honors Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Consensus All-American teams Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball Earvin "Magic" Johnson, All-Big Ten First Team Gregory Kelser, All-Big Ten First Team Team players drafted into the NBA Year Round Pick Player NBA Team 1979 1 1 Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers 1979 1 4 Greg Kelser Detroit Pistons 1980 4 74 Ron Charles Chicago Bulls 1981 2 24 Jay Vincent Dallas Mavericks 1981 8 181 Mike Brkovich Milwaukee Bucks Sourcehttp://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1979&lg=N 1979 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com 2011-03-25 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20110520154458/http://databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1979&lg=N 2011-05-20 https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1980.html 1980 NBA draft https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1981.html 1981 NBA draft References Category:Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons Michigan State Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Michigan State Michigan Michigan