1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team explained

Coachrank:4
Aprank:3
Mode:Basketball
Year:1978–79
Team:Michigan State Spartans
Conference:Big Ten Conference
Short Conf:Big Ten
Record:26–6
Conf Record:13–5
Hc Year:3rd
Asst Coach2:Fred Paulsen
Asst Coach3:Dave Harshman
Champion:NCAA tournament National Champions
Big Ten champions
Far West Classic champions
Bowl Result:
W 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).[1] 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).[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Roster and stats

-1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
NoNamePosYearHeightPtsRebAst
32Gregory KelserFSR6–718.18.51.5
33Earvin JohnsonGSO6–816.17.48.2
31Jay VincentCSO6–813.75.61.4
15Ron CharlesFJR6–78.84.70.4
11Terry DonnellyGJR6–26.51.42.1
12Mike BrkovichFSO6–46.51.61.0
35Rob GonzalezFFR6–71.50.81.0
25Gerald BusbyFFR6–42.30.90.2
10Greg LloydGFR6–11.20.40.3
23Mike LongakerGFR6–11.30.50.0
42Rich KayeFSO6–70.90.20.0
21Don BrkovichFFR6–60.30.20.0
43Gerald GilkieFSO6–71.01.00.0
24Jaime HufffmanGSO6–30.30.50.0
Source[5] [6]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=9 style=| Regular season|-!colspan=9 style=|NCAA Tournament

Rankings

See main article: 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. ^Coaches did not release week 1 or week 2 polls.

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

style= width="10%"Yearstyle= width="10%"Roundstyle= width="10%"Pickstyle= width="20%"Playerstyle= width="20%"NBA Team
197911Magic JohnsonLos Angeles Lakers
197914Greg KelserDetroit Pistons
1980474Ron CharlesChicago Bulls
1981224Jay VincentDallas Mavericks
19818181Mike BrkovichMilwaukee Bucks
Source[7] [8] [9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1979 Michigan State Spartans. College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. 2016-03-23.
  2. News: Magic Moment: Ten years later, Johnson vs. Bird still special. March 21, 1989. Bill. Halls. The Detroit News. 1E, 7E.
  3. Web site: From coast to coast, a magical pair . Katz . Andy . ESPN. 2008-05-06.
  4. Web site: Sports Reference LLC . Magic Johnson Statistics . 2007-09-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20070912004911/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsma02.html. 12 September 2007 . live.
  5. Web site: 1978-79 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats.
  6. Web site: 16-17 Michigan State Spartans . . 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.
  7. Web site: 1979 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com . 2011-03-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110520154458/http://databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1979&lg=N . 2011-05-20 .
  8. Web site: 1980 NBA draft.
  9. Web site: 1981 NBA draft.