1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament
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.
Season | 1978–79 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teams | 40 | ||||
Finals site | Special Events Center Salt Lake City, Utah | ||||
Champions | Michigan State Spartans (1st title, 1st title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
Runner-up | Indiana State Sycamores (1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
Semifinalists |
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Winning coach | Jud Heathcote (1st title) | ||||
MOP | Magic Johnson (Michigan State) | ||||
Attendance | 262,101 | ||||
Top scorer | Tony Price Penn (142 points) | ||||
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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 two times since then: in 1985 at Rupp Arena, Kentucky'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.
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.
Locations
First & Second Rounds
Regional Sites and Final Four
Region | Site | Venue | Host |
---|---|---|---|
East | Greensboro, North Carolina | Greensboro Memorial Coliseum | Atlantic Coast Conference |
Mideast | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | Butler/IUPUI |
Midwest | Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverfront Coliseum | Cincinnati/Xavier |
West | Provo, Utah | Marriott Center | Brigham Young |
Final Four | Salt Lake City, Utah | Special Events Center | Utah |
Salt Lake City became the eighteenth different site of the Final Four, and the eighth Final Four to be held on a college campus. Due to the current setup of the Final Four, both of these are likely not to be repeated. Two new host cities, Cincinnati, Ohio and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, were included for the first time, hosting at the Riverfront Coliseum (the then-home arena of the Cincinnati Bearcats) and MTSU's Murphy Center, respectively. This year also marked the last time tournament games were held at the University of Kansas's legendary Allen Fieldhouse and at SMU's Moody Coliseum. As more and more tournament games are being held in large cities and NBA-caliber arenas, this was most likely the last time the Tournament will be held in Lawrence.
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
Region | Seed | Team | Coach | Finished | Final Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East | ||||||
East | 1 | North Carolina | Dean Smith | Round of 32 | 9 Penn | L 72–71 |
East | 2 | Duke | Bill E. Foster | Round of 32 | 10 St. John's | L 80–78 |
East | 3 | Georgetown | John Thompson | Round of 32 | 6 Rutgers | L 64–58 |
East | 4 | Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | Sweet Sixteen | 9 Penn | L 84–76 |
East | 5 | Connecticut | Dom Perno | Round of 32 | 4 Syracuse | L 89–81 |
East | 6 | Rutgers | Tom Young | Sweet Sixteen | 10 St. John's | L 67–65 |
East | 7 | Temple | Don Casey | Round of 40 | 10 St. John's | L 75–70 |
East | 8 | Iona | Jim Valvano | Round of 40 | 9 Penn | L 73–69 |
East | 9 | Penn | Bob Weinhauer | Fourth Place | 2 Michigan State | L 101–67 |
East | 10 | St. John's | Lou Carnesecca | Regional Runner-up | 9 Penn | L 64–62 |
Mideast | ||||||
Mideast | 1 | Notre Dame | Digger Phelps | Regional Runner-up | 2 Michigan State | L 80–68 |
Mideast | 2 | Michigan State | Jud Heathcote | Champion | 1 Indiana State | W 75–64 |
Mideast | 3 | LSU | Dale Brown | Sweet Sixteen | 2 Michigan State | L 87–71 |
Mideast | 4 | Iowa | Lute Olson | Round of 32 | 5 Toledo | L 74–72 |
Mideast | 5 | Toledo | Bob Nichols | Sweet Sixteen | 1 Notre Dame | L 79–71 |
Mideast | 6 | Appalachian State | Bobby Cremins | Round of 32 | 3 LSU | L 71–57 |
Mideast | 7 | Detroit | Smokey Gaines | Round of 40 | 10 Lamar | L 95–87 |
Mideast | 8 | Tennessee | Don DeVoe | Round of 32 | 1 Notre Dame | L 73–67 |
Mideast | 9 | Eastern Kentucky | Ed Byhre | Round of 40 | 8 Tennessee | L 97–81 |
Mideast | 10 | Lamar | Billy Tubbs | Round of 32 | 2 Michigan State | L 95–64 |
Midwest | ||||||
Midwest | 1 | Indiana State | Bill Hodges | Runner Up | 2 Michigan State | L 75–64 |
Midwest | 2 | Arkansas | Eddie Sutton | Regional Runner-up | 1 Indiana State | L 73–71 |
Midwest | 3 | Louisville | Denny Crum | Sweet Sixteen | 2 Arkansas | L 73–62 |
Midwest | 4 | Texas | Abe Lemons | Round of 32 | 5 Oklahoma | L 90–76 |
Midwest | 5 | Oklahoma | Dave Bliss | Sweet Sixteen | 1 Indiana State | L 93–72 |
Midwest | 6 | South Alabama | Cliff Ellis | Round of 32 | 3 Louisville | L 69–66 |
Midwest | 7 | Weber State | Neil McCarthy | Round of 32 | 2 Arkansas | L 74–63 |
Midwest | 8 | Virginia Tech | Charles Moir | Round of 32 | 1 Indiana State | L 86–69 |
Midwest | 9 | Jacksonville | Tates Locke | Round of 40 | 8 Virginia Tech | L 70–53 |
Midwest | 10 | New Mexico State | Ken Hayes | Round of 40 | 7 Weber State | L 81–78 |
West | ||||||
West | 1 | UCLA | Gary Cunningham | Regional Runner-up | 2 DePaul | L 95–91 |
West | 2 | DePaul | Ray Meyer | Third Place | 1 Indiana State | L 76–74 |
West | 3 | Marquette | Hank Raymonds | Sweet Sixteen | 2 DePaul | L 62–56 |
West | 4 | San Francisco | Dan Belluomini | Sweet Sixteen | 1 UCLA | L 99–81 |
West | 5 | BYU | Frank Arnold | Round of 32 | 4 San Francisco | L 86–63 |
West | 6 | Pacific | Stan Morrison | Round of 32 | 3 Marquette | L 73–48 |
West | 7 | USC | Bob Boyd | Round of 32 | 2 DePaul | L 89–78 |
West | 8 | Utah | Jerry Pimm | Round of 40 | 9 Pepperdine | L 92–88 |
West | 9 | Pepperdine | Gary Colson | Round of 32 | 1 UCLA | L 76–71 |
West | 10 | Utah State | Rod Tueller | Round of 40 | 7 USC | L 86–67 |
Bracket
* – Denotes overtime period
East region
First round | Second round | 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 | Second round | 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 | Second round | 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 | Second round | 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
- "NCAA hoop event expands". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). Associated Press. August 15, 1978. p. 9.
- Keith, Larry (August 2, 1979). "They caged the Bird". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
- "Michigan State grounds Bird – wins title". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 27, 1979. p. 17.
- "Sparts cast final vote for No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. March 27, 1979. p. 1D.
- http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=270510127
- Larry Bird; Earvin Johnson; Jackie MacMullan (4 November 2009). When the Game Was Ours. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-0-547-41681-6. 24.1 Nielsen rating