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1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament

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See also: 1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game

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 last squad to reach a national title game with an undefeated record for 42 years; their achievement was finally matched by the 2021 Gonzaga Bulldogs, who reached that year's title contest against 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 could not 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 2021, it remains the highest-rated game in the history of televised college basketball.[6][7] 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. This was also the first tournament where unique logos for the event were introduced, creating a diversity of branding which lasts to the present day.

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

[edit]
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
class=notpageimage|
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
class=notpageimage|
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

[edit]

In the East, the Round of 32 was called Black Sunday because of Penn's upset of number 1 North Carolina and St. John's upset of number 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

[edit]
Region Seed Team Coach Conference Finished Final Opponent Score
East
East 1 North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic Coast Round of 32 9 Penn L 72–71
East 2 Duke Bill E. Foster Atlantic Coast Round of 32 10 St. John's L 80–78
East 3 Georgetown John Thompson Independent Round of 32 6 Rutgers L 64–58
East 4 Syracuse Jim Boeheim Independent Sweet Sixteen 9 Penn L 84–76
East 5 Connecticut Dom Perno Independent Round of 32 4 Syracuse L 89–81
East 6 Rutgers Tom Young Eastern Athletic Sweet Sixteen 10 St. John's L 67–65
East 7 Temple Don Casey East Coast Round of 40 10 St. John's L 75–70
East 8 Iona Jim Valvano Independent Round of 40 9 Penn L 73–69
East 9 Penn Bob Weinhauer Ivy League Fourth Place 2 Michigan State L 101–67
East 10 St. John's Lou Carnesecca New Jersey-New York 7 Regional Runner-up 9 Penn L 64–62
Mideast
Mideast 1 Notre Dame Digger Phelps Independent Regional Runner-up 2 Michigan State L 80–68
Mideast 2 Michigan State Jud Heathcote Big Ten Champion 1 Indiana State W 75–64
Mideast 3 LSU Dale Brown Southeastern Sweet Sixteen 2 Michigan State L 87–71
Mideast 4 Iowa Lute Olson Big Ten Round of 32 5 Toledo L 74–72
Mideast 5 Toledo Bob Nichols Mid-American Sweet Sixteen 1 Notre Dame L 79–71
Mideast 6 Appalachian State Bobby Cremins Southern Round of 32 3 LSU L 71–57
Mideast 7 Detroit Smokey Gaines Independent Round of 40 10 Lamar L 95–87
Mideast 8 Tennessee Don DeVoe Southeastern Round of 32 1 Notre Dame L 73–67
Mideast 9 Eastern Kentucky Ed Byhre Ohio Valley Round of 40 8 Tennessee L 97–81
Mideast 10 Lamar Billy Tubbs Southland Round of 32 2 Michigan State L 95–64
Midwest
Midwest 1 Indiana State Bill Hodges Missouri Valley Runner Up 2 Michigan State L 75–64
Midwest 2 Arkansas Eddie Sutton Southwest Regional Runner-up 1 Indiana State L 73–71
Midwest 3 Louisville Denny Crum Metro Sweet Sixteen 2 Arkansas L 73–62
Midwest 4 Texas Abe Lemons Southwest Round of 32 5 Oklahoma L 90–76
Midwest 5 Oklahoma Dave Bliss Big Eight Sweet Sixteen 1 Indiana State L 93–72
Midwest 6 South Alabama Cliff Ellis Sun Belt Round of 32 3 Louisville L 69–66
Midwest 7 Weber State Neil McCarthy Big Sky Round of 32 2 Arkansas L 74–63
Midwest 8 Virginia Tech Charles Moir Metro Round of 32 1 Indiana State L 86–69
Midwest 9 Jacksonville Tates Locke Sun Belt Round of 40 8 Virginia Tech L 70–53
Midwest 10 New Mexico State Ken Hayes Missouri Valley Round of 40 7 Weber State L 81–78
West
West 1 UCLA Gary Cunningham Pacific-10 Regional Runner-up 2 DePaul L 95–91
West 2 DePaul Ray Meyer Independent Third Place 1 Indiana State L 76–74
West 3 Marquette Hank Raymonds Independent Sweet Sixteen 2 DePaul L 62–56
West 4 San Francisco Dan Belluomini West Coast Sweet Sixteen 1 UCLA L 99–81
West 5 BYU Frank Arnold Western Athletic Round of 32 4 San Francisco L 86–63
West 6 Pacific Stan Morrison Pacific Coast Round of 32 3 Marquette L 73–48
West 7 USC Bob Boyd Pacific-10 Round of 32 2 DePaul L 89–78
West 8 Utah Jerry Pimm Western Athletic Round of 40 9 Pepperdine L 92–88
West 9 Pepperdine Gary Colson West Coast Round of 32 1 UCLA L 76–71
West 10 Utah State Rod Tueller Pacific Coast Round of 40 7 USC L 86–67

Bracket

[edit]

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
National semifinals
Saturday, March 24 		National Championship Game
Monday, March 26
      
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

[edit]
  • 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

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ a b "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". Archived from the original on February 24, 2007.
  6. ^ NCAA Men's Final Four Ratings Hub Sports Media Watch.
  7. ^ 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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