1979 NCAA Tournament Review
Magic Gives Michigan State First Men's Basketball Title Over Bird
Apr 2, 2009
The rivalry between future Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had its beginning in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game as Johnson's Michigan State collected its first national title by beating Bird's previously undefeated and number one ranked Indiana State.
40 Teams With Sights Set On Salt Lake City
The 1979 NCAA tournament included 40 teams and was the first in which all teams were seeded, with the top six seeds in each regional receiving byes for the second round. It was also the final Final Four to be played in an on-campus arena, at the University of Utah.
No. 2 Seed In Mideast Behind Notre Dame
Jud Heathcote's Michigan State Spartans were a second seed in the Mideast regional behind Notre Dame. After a first round bye, Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser went to work early, helping the Spartans to a convincing 95-64 win over Lamar in the second round and then an 87-71 victory against LSU in the Sweet 16. MSU reached the Final Four with an 80-68 win over top seeded Notre Dame.
Surprise Company In Salt Lake City
While Magic and his Spartans and Larry Bird's undefeated, number one ranked Indiana State Sycamores were hardly surprises to reach the Final Four, their national semifinals opponents were. Penn came into the tournament unranked and the ninth seed in the East but beat North Carolina in Raleigh and eventually clinched the Ivy League's first Final Four appearance since Princeton in 1965 and last one since. DePaul knocked off UCLA in returning to the Final Four for the first time since 1943, head coach Ray Meyer's second season with the Blue Demons.
Johnson And Bird Dominant In Semis
Johnson and the Spartans jumped ahead 38-8 in the semifinals and cruised past Penn 101-67 thanks to a triple-double of 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists by Magic. Bird meanwhile turned the ball over 11 times to allow DePaul to stay in the game but he collected 35 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists in a 76-74 Sycamores win.
Doubling Bird To Title
In the final, Heathcote ordered his Spartans to double-team Bird and deny him the ball and shut down the Indiana State attack. Bird scored 19 points but shot just 7 of 21 while grabbing 13 rebounds but turning the ball over six times. Magic and Kelser meanwhile were too much for the Sycamores with Johnson totaling 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Kelser collected 19 points, eight rebounds, nine assists. A big key otherwise was Michigan State guard Terry Donnelly, who came into the final averaging just 6.3 points but scored 15 against Indiana State.
Magic vs. Bird
The showdown between Magic and Bird led to a television rating of 24.1 and a 38 share, making it the highest-rated final ever. The future Hall of Famers would enter the NBA later in 1979 and continue their rivalry into the 1990s with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.
