1977–78 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1977–78 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Spartans script.svg Big Ten Conference Big Ten 5 4 25–5 15–3 Jud Heathcote 2nd Bill Berry Don Monson Robert McGriff Robert Chapman Greg Kelser Jenison Fieldhouse Big Ten championsOld Dominion Classic champions NCAA Tournament Elite Eight 120 The 1977–78 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as members of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by second-year head coach, Jud Heathcote. MSU finished the season 25–5, 15–3 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten Championship. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Providence and Western Kentucky before losing to Kentucky in the Mideast Regional Final. The team was led by freshman Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Gregory Kelser. Previous season The Spartans finished the 1976–77 season with a record of 10–17, 7–11 to finish in fifth place in Big Ten play. Roster and stats 1977–78 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball teamNoNamePosYearHeightPtsRebAst32Gregory KelserFJR6–717.79.11.333Earvin JohnsonFFR6–817.07.97.444Robert ChapmanGSR6–212.32.72.031Jay VincentCFR6–811.33.71.015Ron CharlesFSO6–76.31.40.311Terry DonnellyGSO6–26.01.42.412Mike BrkovichGFR6–42.30.60.743Sten FeidrechCFR7–01.61.90.445James CoutureCSR6–91.81.20.025Alfred BrownGSR6–61.41.00.324Len WilliamsGSO6–02.20.40.421Donald FlowersGSR6–21.00.10.041Dan RiewaldGSR6–50.50.80.222Nate PhilipsGSR6–40.00.30.323Mike LongakerGSO6–10.00.00.042Rick KayeGFR6–70.00.00.0 Sourcehttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1978.html 1977-78 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| Non-conference regular season Nov 28, 1977 yes Central Michigan Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 68–61 1–0 Dec. 2, 1977 yes yes Rhode Island Manley Field House Syracuse, NY Carrier Classic 92–64 2–0 Dec 3, 1977 yes yes Syracuse 12 Manley Field House Syracuse, NY Carrier Classic 67–75 2–1 Dec 8, 1977 yes Wichita State Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 84–57 3–1 Dec 10, 1977 yes Western Michigan Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 79–57 4–1 Dec 19, 1977 yes Middle Tennessee Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 72–51 5–1 Dec 21, 1977 yes yes Detroit 15 Calihan Hall Detroit, MI 103–74 6–1 Dec 29, 1977 yes yes SMU Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA Old Dominion Classic semifinal 95–69 7–1 Dec 30, 1977 yes yes New Hampshire Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA Old Dominion Classic championship 102–65 8–1 |- !colspan=9 style=Michigan State Spartans| Big Ten regular season Jan 5, 1978 18 Minnesota Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 87–83 9–1 1–0 Jan 7, 1978 yes 18 Wisconsin Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 74–63 10–1 2–0 Jan 12, 1978 yes 12 Illinois Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 82–70 11–1 3–0 Jan 14, 1978 12 Northwestern Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL 67–63 12–1 4–0 Jan 19, 1978 10 Purdue Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 60–51 13–1 5–0 Jan 21, 1978 10 Iowa Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 68–58 14–1 6–0 Jan 26, 1978 yes 7 Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, OH 70–60 15–1 7–0 Jan 28, 1978 yes 7 Indiana Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN 58–59 15–2 7–1 Feb 2, 1979 7 Michigan Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI Rivalry 63–65 15–3 7–2 Feb 4, 1978 10 Indiana Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 68–59 16–3 8–2 Feb 9, 1978 yes 10 Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 71–70 17–3 9–2 Feb 11, 1978 yes 10 Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI Rivalry 73–62 18–3 10–2 Feb 16, 1978 yes 10 Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN 80–99 18–4 10–3 Feb 18, 1978 10 Ohio State Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 66–56 19–4 11–3 Feb 23, 1978 10 Northwestern Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 66–56 20–4 12–3 Feb 25, 1978 10 Illinois Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI 89–67 21–4 13–3 Mar 2, 1978 yes 9 Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 89–75 22–4 14–3 Mar 4, 1978 yes 9 Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 71–70 23–4 15–3 |- !colspan=9 style=Michigan State Spartans|NCAA Tournament Mar 11, 1978 yes yes 6 Providence First Round Market Square Arena Indianapolis, IN 77–63 24–4 Mar 16, 1978 yes yes 4 Western Kentucky Sweet Sixteen University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH 90–69 25–4 Mar 18, 1978 yes yes 4 Kentucky 1 Elite Eight University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH 49–52 25–5 ME MidEast Region Sourcehttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1978-schedule.html 1977-78 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results Awards and honors Earvin "Magic" Johnson – All-Big Ten First Team References Category:Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons Michigan State Michigan State Michigan Michigan