1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
NCAA Tournament Champions
Big Ten Regular Season Champions
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 4
AP No. 3
1978–79 record 26–6 (13–5 Big Ten)
Head coach Jud Heathcote
Assistant coach Bill Berry
Assistant coach Fred Paulsen
Assistant coach Dave Harshman
Home arena Jenison Fieldhouse
1978–79 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#3 Michigan State 13 5   .722     26 6   .813
#15 Purdue 13 5   .722     27 8   .771
#20 Iowa 13 5   .722     20 8   .714
Ohio State 12 6   .667     19 12   .613
Indiana 10 8   .556     22 12   .647
Michigan 8 10   .444     15 12   .556
Illinois 7 11   .389     19 11   .633
Wisconsin 6 12   .333     12 15   .444
Minnesota 6 12   .333     11 16   .407
Northwestern 2 16   .111     6 21   .222
Rankings from AP Poll)

The 1978–1979 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. They were members of the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans finished the season with a record of 26–6, 13–5 in Big Ten play, finishing in a tie for first place. They earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Indiana State for the National Championship. This marked the school's first National Championship in basketball.

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1977–78 season with a record of 25–5, 15–3 in conference 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 lostl to Kentucky in the Regional Final.

Season Summary

MSU was led by star sophomore, Ervin "Magic" Johnson (16.1 PPG), senior Greg Kelser (18.1 PPG), and sophomore Jay Vincent (13.7 PPG).[1] The Spartans started the season well, finishing the non-conference season with an 8–1 recorded including a loss to #13 ranked North Carolina. They entered conference play as the #1 ranked team in the country.

After winning their first two conference games, they lost 4 of their next 6 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 #7 Ohio State, at #15 Iowa, at #13 Ohio State, and #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. Michigan State received a bid to NCAA Tournament because of a better head-to-head performance against Big Ten rivals and a superior overall record (21–6).[2]

Michigan State advanced to the Final Four by defeating Lamar, LSU and #1 seeded Notre Dame. In the Final Four, the second in school history, they faced Penn, blowing them out 101–67 to earn a trip to the championship. There, the Spartans faced #1 ranked and undefeated Indiana State led by senior Larry Bird. In what was the most-watched college basketball game ever,[3] Michigan State defeated Indiana State 75–64 to win the school's first ever basketball National Championship. 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 himself eligible for the 1979 NBA draft.[4]

Roster

1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
Name Position Summary
Gregory Kelser F 18.1 Pts, 8.5 Reb, 1.5 Ast
Earvin Johnson G 16.1 Pts, 7.4 Reb, 8.2 Ast
Jay Vincent C 13.7 Pts, 5.6 Reb, 1.4 Ast
Ron Charles F 8.8 Pts, 4.7 Reb, 0.4 Reb
Terry Donnelly G 6.5 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 2.1 Ast
Mike Brkovich F 6.5 Pts, 1.6 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Rob Gonzalez F 1.5 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Gerald Busby F 2.3 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Greg Lloyd G 1.2 Pts, 0.4 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Mike Longaker G 1.3 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Rich Kaye F 0.9 Pts, 0.2 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Don Brkovich F 0.3 Pts, 0.2 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Gerald Gilkie F 1.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Jaime Hufffman G 0.3 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Source[5]

Schedule and results

Date
Time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
City, State
Regular season

Nov 27, 1978*
No. 7 Central Michigan W 71–54  1–0
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Dec. 9, 1978*
No. 4 Cal State Fullerton W 92–89  2–0
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Dec 13, 1978*
No. 3 at Western Michigan W 109–69  3–0
University Arena 
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Dec 16, 1978*
No. 3 at No. 13 North Carolina L 69–70  3–1
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Dec 19, 1978*
No. 3 Cincinnati W 63–52  4–1
Pontiac Silverdome 
Pontiac, Michigan

Dec 28, 1978*
No. 4 vs. Washington State W 98–52  5–1
Memorial Coliseum 
Portland, Oregon

Dec 29, 1978*
No. 4 at Oregon State W 65–57  6–1
Memorial Coliseum 
Portland, Oregon

Dec 30, 1978*
No. 4 vs. Indiana W 74–57  7–1
Memorial Coliseum 
Portland, Oregon

Jan 4, 1979
No. 1 Wisconsin W 84–55  8–1
(1–0)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Jan 6, 1979
No. 1 Minnesota W 69–62  9–1
(2–0)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Jan 11, 1979
No. 1 at No. 4 Illinois L 55–57  9–2
(2–1)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, Illinois

Jan 13, 1979
No. 1 at Purdue L 50–52  9–3
(2–2)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana

Jan 18, 1979
No. 6 Indiana W 82–58  10–3
(3–2)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Jan 20, 1979
No. 6 Iowa W 83–72 OT 11–3
(4–2)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Jan 25, 1979
No. 4 at Michigan
Rivalry
L 48–49  11–4
(4–3)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Jan 27, 1979
No. 4 at Northwestern L 65–83  11–5
(4–4)
Welsh–Ryan Arena 
Evanston, Illinois

Feb 1, 1979
No. 14 No. 7 Ohio State W 84–79 OT 12–5
(5–4)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Feb 3, 1979
No. 14 Northwestern W 61–50  13–5
(6–4)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Feb 4, 1979*
No. 14 Kansas W 85–61  14–5
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Feb 8, 1979
No. 10 at No. 15 Iowa W 60–57  15–5
(7–4)
Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, Iowa

Feb 10, 1979
No. 10 at No. 13 Ohio State W 73–57  16–5
(8–4)
St. John Arena 
Columbus, Ohio

Feb 15, 1979
No. 8 at Indiana W 59–47  17–5
(9–4)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana

Feb 17, 1979
No. 8 Michigan
Rivalry
W 80–57  18–5
(10–4)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Feb 22, 1979
No. 7 No. 18 Purdue W 73–67  19–5
(11–4)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Feb 24, 1979
No. 4 Illinois W 76–62  20–5
(12–4)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, Michigan

Mar 1, 1979
No. 4 at Minnesota W 76–63  21–5
(13–4)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mar 1, 1979
No. 4 at Wisconsin L 81–83  21–6
(13–5)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, Wisconsin
NCAA Tournament

Mar 10, 1979*
(2 ME) No. 3 vs. (10 ME) Lamar
Second Round
W 95–64  22–6
Murphy Center 
Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Mar 16, 1979*
(2 ME) No. 3 vs. (3 ME) No. 7 LSU
Regional Semifinal
W 87–71  23–6
Market Square Arena 
Indianapolis, Indiana

Mar 18, 1979*
(2 ME) No. 3 vs. (1 ME) No. 4 Notre Dame
Regional Final
W 80–68  24–6
Market Square Arena 
Indianapolis, Indiana

Mar 22, 1979*
(2 ME) No. 3 vs. (9 E) No. 14 Penn
Final Four
W 101–67  25–6
Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City

Mar 26, 1979*
(2 ME) No. 3 vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Indiana State
National Championship
W 75–64  26–6
Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=MidEast Region.

Source[6]

Awards and honors

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

[7] [8] [9]

References

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