1979 NCAA Division I
basketball tournament
Season1978–79
Teams40
Finals siteSpecial Events Center
Salt Lake City, Utah
ChampionsMichigan State Spartans (1st title, 1st title game,
2nd Final Four)
Runner-upIndiana State Sycamores (1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJud Heathcote (1st title)
MOPMagic Johnson (Michigan State)
Attendance262,101
Top scorerTony Price (Penn)
(142 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1978 1980»

The 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 40 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 9 and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Salt Lake City. A total of 40 games were played, including a national third-place game. This was the tournament's only edition with forty teams; the previous year's had 32,[1] and it expanded to 48 in 1980. The 1979 Indiana State team was the most recent squad to reach a national title game with an undefeated record, holding that distinction for 42 years until the 2021 Gonzaga Bulldogs team won a 93-90 OT national semifinal over UCLA to reach the 2021 title contest vs. Baylor with a 31-0 record.

Michigan State, coached by Jud Heathcote, won the national title with a 75–64 victory in the final game over Indiana State, coached by Bill Hodges.[2] Indiana State came into the game undefeated, but couldn't extend their winning streak. Magic Johnson of Michigan State was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.[3][4] Michigan State's victory over Indiana State was its first over a top-ranked team, and remained its only victory over a number one ranked team until 2007 (Wisconsin).[5]

The final game marked the beginning of the rivalry between future Hall of Famers Johnson and Larry Bird. As of 2016, it remains the highest-rated game in the history of televised college basketball.[6] Both Johnson and Bird would enter the NBA in the fall of 1979, and the rivalry between them and their teams (respectively, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics) was a major factor in the league's renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s. The game also led to the "modern era" of college basketball, as it introduced a nationwide audience to a sport that was once relegated to second-class status in the sports world.

With the loss in the championship game, Indiana State has finished as the national runner-up in the NAIA (1946, 1948), NCAA Division II (1968), and NCAA Division I (1979) tournaments, making them the only school to do so.

This was the first tournament in which all teams were seeded by the Division I Basketball Committee.[1] The top six seeds in each regional received byes to the second round, while seeds 7–10 played in the first round.

It is also notable as the last Final Four played in an on-campus arena, at the University of Utah. (The most recent tournament to be held on a university's premises (i.e. not on the university's main campus, but on a satellite or branch campus) was in 1983, as the University of New Mexico (UNM) hosted that year's tournament in The Pit (then officially known as University Arena), which is located on the UNM South Campus.) It has, however, been played in a team's regular off-campus home arena three times since then: in 1985 at Rupp Arena, Kentucky's home court, in 1994 at Charlotte Coliseum, UNCC’s home court, and in 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena, then Seton Hall's home court. Given the use of domed stadiums for Final Fours for the foreseeable future, it is likely this will be the last Final Four on a college campus. This tournament was the last until the 2019 tournament to see two finalists playing for the national championship for the first time. The 1979 Final Four was the first in which all four schools came from east of the Mississippi River.

This was the first NCAA tournament where three officials were assigned to all games. Several conferences, including the Big Ten and Southeastern, used three officials for its regular season games prior to the NCAA adopting it universally.

Schedule and venues

1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament is located in the United States
Raleigh
Raleigh
Providence
Providence
Bloomington
Bloomington
Murfreesboro
Murfreesboro
Dallas
Dallas
Lawrence
Lawrence
Tucson
Tucson
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
1979 sites for first and second round games
1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament is located in the United States
Greensboro
Greensboro
Cincinnati
Cincinnati
Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Provo
Provo
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City
1979 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1979 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)

Tournament notes

In the East, the Round of 32 was called Black Sunday because of Penn's upset of #1 North Carolina and St. John's upset of #2-seeded Duke, both in Raleigh. Penn went all the way to the Final Four before losing to eventual champion Michigan State. Both teams had to defeat higher-seeded opponents in the Round of 40 to have the chance to beat UNC and Duke. Penn beat three higher-seeded opponents to reach the Final Four, a feat which was later bettered in 1986 by LSU, 2006 by George Mason, and 2011 by Virginia Commonwealth, who each beat four higher-seeded opponents on the way to the Final Four.

Teams

RegionSeedTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
East1North CarolinaDean SmithAtlantic CoastRound of 329 PennL 72–71
East2DukeBill E. FosterAtlantic CoastRound of 3210 St. John'sL 80–78
East3GeorgetownJohn ThompsonIndependentRound of 326 RutgersL 64–58
East4SyracuseJim BoeheimIndependentSweet Sixteen9 PennL 84–76
East5ConnecticutDom PernoIndependentRound of 324 SyracuseL 89–81
East6RutgersTom YoungEastern AthleticSweet Sixteen10 St. John'sL 67–65
East7TempleDon CaseyEast CoastRound of 4010 St. John'sL 75–70
East8IonaJim ValvanoIndependentRound of 409 PennL 73–69
East9PennBob WeinhauerIvy LeagueFourth Place2 Michigan StateL 101–67
East10St. John'sLou CarneseccaNew Jersey-New York 7Regional Runner-up9 PennL 64–62
Mideast
Mideast1Notre DameDigger PhelpsIndependentRegional Runner-up2 Michigan StateL 80–68
Mideast2Michigan StateJud HeathcoteBig TenChampion1 Indiana StateW 75–64
Mideast3LSUDale BrownSoutheasternSweet Sixteen2 Michigan StateL 87–71
Mideast4IowaLute OlsonBig TenRound of 325 ToledoL 74–72
Mideast5ToledoBob NicholsMid-AmericanSweet Sixteen1 Notre DameL 79–71
Mideast6Appalachian StateBobby CreminsSouthernRound of 323 LSUL 71–57
Mideast7DetroitSmokey GainesIndependentRound of 4010 LamarL 95–87
Mideast8TennesseeDon DeVoeSoutheasternRound of 321 Notre DameL 73–67
Mideast9Eastern KentuckyEd ByhreOhio ValleyRound of 408 TennesseeL 97–81
Mideast10LamarBilly TubbsSouthlandRound of 322 Michigan StateL 95–64
Midwest
Midwest1Indiana StateBill HodgesMissouri ValleyRunner Up2 Michigan StateL 75–64
Midwest2ArkansasEddie SuttonSouthwestRegional Runner-up1 Indiana StateL 73–71
Midwest3LouisvilleDenny CrumMetroSweet Sixteen2 ArkansasL 73–62
Midwest4TexasAbe LemonsSouthwestRound of 325 OklahomaL 90–76
Midwest5OklahomaDave BlissBig EightSweet Sixteen1 Indiana StateL 93–72
Midwest6South AlabamaCliff EllisSun BeltRound of 323 LouisvilleL 69–66
Midwest7Weber StateNeil McCarthyBig SkyRound of 322 ArkansasL 74–63
Midwest8Virginia TechCharles MoirMetroRound of 321 Indiana StateL 86–69
Midwest9JacksonvilleTates LockeSun BeltRound of 408 Virginia TechL 70–53
Midwest10New Mexico StateKen HayesMissouri ValleyRound of 407 Weber StateL 81–78
West
West1UCLAGary CunninghamPacific-10Regional Runner-up2 DePaulL 95–91
West2DePaulRay MeyerIndependentThird Place1 Indiana StateL 76–74
West3MarquetteHank RaymondsIndependentSweet Sixteen2 DePaulL 62–56
West4San FranciscoDan BelluominiWest CoastSweet Sixteen1 UCLAL 99–81
West5BYUFrank ArnoldWestern AthleticRound of 324 San FranciscoL 86–63
West6PacificStan MorrisonPacific CoastRound of 323 MarquetteL 73–48
West7USCBob BoydPacific-10Round of 322 DePaulL 89–78
West8UtahJerry PimmWestern AthleticRound of 409 PepperdineL 92–88
West9PepperdineGary ColsonWest CoastRound of 321 UCLAL 76–71
West10Utah StateRod TuellerPacific CoastRound of 407 USCL 86–67

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

First round Quarter-finals Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
7 Temple 70
10 St. John's 75
10 St. John's 80
2 Duke 78
10 St. John's 67
6 Rutgers 65
3 Georgetown 58
6 Rutgers 64
10 St. John's 62
9 Penn 64
8 Iona 69
9 Penn 73
9 Penn 72
1 North Carolina 71
9 Penn 84
4 Syracuse 76
4 Syracuse 89
5 Connecticut 81

Mideast region

First round Quarter-finals Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
7 Detroit 87
10 Lamar 95
10 Lamar 64
2 Michigan State 95
2 Michigan State 87
3 LSU 71
3 LSU 71
6 Appalachian State 57
2 Michigan State 80
1 Notre Dame 68
8 Tennessee 97
9 Eastern Kentucky 81
8 Tennessee 67
1 Notre Dame 73
1 Notre Dame 79
5 Toledo 71
4 Iowa 72
5 Toledo 74

Midwest region

First round Quarter-finals Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
7 Weber State 81
10 New Mexico State 78
7 Weber State 63
2 Arkansas 74
2 Arkansas 73
3 Louisville 62
3 Louisville 69
6 South Alabama 66
2 Arkansas 71
1 Indiana State 73
8 Virginia Tech 70
9 Jacksonville 53
8 Virginia Tech 69
1 Indiana State 86
1 Indiana State 93
5 Oklahoma 72
4 Texas 76
5 Oklahoma 90

West region

First round Quarter-finals Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
7 USC 86
10 Utah State 67
7 USC 78
2 DePaul 89
2 DePaul 62
3 Marquette 56
3 Marquette 73
6 Pacific 48
2 DePaul 95
1 UCLA 91
8 Utah 88*
9 Pepperdine 92
9 Pepperdine 71
1 UCLA 76
1 UCLA 99
4 San Francisco 81
4 San Francisco 86
5 BYU 63

Final Four

National semifinals National Championship Game
      
E9 Penn 67
ME2 Michigan State 101
ME2 Michigan State 75
MW1 Indiana State 64
MW1 Indiana State 76
W2 DePaul 74 National third-place game
E9 Penn 93*
W2 DePaul 96

Announcers

  • Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, and Al McGuire – Final Four at Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Dick Enberg and Al McGuire – Second Round at Providence, Rhode Island (Georgetown–Rutgers, Syracuse–Connecticut); Second Round at Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Michigan State–Lamar, Notre Dame–Tennessee); Mideast Regional Final at Indianapolis, Indiana; West Regional Final at Provo, Utah
  • Jim Simpson and Billy Packer – Second Round at Tucson, Arizona (San Francisco–Brigham Young, Marquette–Pacific); Second Round at Lawrence, Kansas (Indiana State–Virginia Tech, Arkansas–Weber State); East Regional Final at Greensboro, North Carolina; Midwest Regional Final at Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Jay Randolph and Gary Thompson – Midwest Regional semifinals at Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Connie Alexander and Bill Strannigan – West Regional semifinals at Provo, Utah
  • Marv Albert and Bucky Waters – Second Round at Raleigh, North Carolina (North Carolina–Pennsylvania, Duke–St. John's)
  • Merle Harmon and Fred Taylor – Second Round at Bloomington, Indiana (Iowa–Toledo, LSU–Appalachian State)
  • Jim Thacker and Gary Thompson – Second Round at Dallas, Texas (Louisville–South Alabama, Texas–Oklahoma)
  • Jay Randolph and Lynn Shackelford – Second Round at Los Angeles, California (UCLA–Pepperdine, DePaul–USC)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "NCAA hoop event expands". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). Associated Press. August 15, 1978. p. 9.
  2. ↑ Keith, Larry (August 2, 1979). "They caged the Bird". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  3. ↑ "Michigan State grounds Bird – wins title". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 27, 1979. p. 17.
  4. ↑ "Sparts cast final vote for No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. March 27, 1979. p. 1D.
  5. ↑ "Wisconsin vs. Michigan State - Game Recap - February 20, 2007 - ESPN".
  6. ↑ Larry Bird; Earvin Johnson; Jackie MacMullan (November 4, 2009). When the Game Was Ours. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-0-547-41681-6. 24.1 Nielsen rating
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