1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament

Last updated
1979 NCAA Division I
Basketball Tournament
1979FinalFourLogo.png
Season 197879
Teams40
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
Winning coach Jud Heathcote (1st title)
MOP Magic Johnson (Michigan State)
Attendance262,101
Top scorer Tony 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.

Contents

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

Usa edcp location map.svg
Green pog.svg
Raleigh
Green pog.svg
Providence
Green pog.svg
Bloomington
Green pog.svg
Murfreesboro
Green pog.svg
Dallas
Green pog.svg
Lawrence
Green pog.svg
Tucson
Green pog.svg
Los Angeles
1979 sites for first and second round games
Usa edcp location map.svg
Blue pog.svg
Greensboro
Blue pog.svg
Cincinnati
Blue pog.svg
Indianapolis
Blue pog.svg
Provo
Red pog.svg
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)

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

RegionSeedTeamCoachConferenceFinishedFinal OpponentScore
East
East1 North Carolina Dean Smith Atlantic CoastRound of 329 Penn L 72–71
East2 Duke Bill E. Foster Atlantic CoastRound of 3210 St. John's L 80–78
East3 Georgetown John Thompson IndependentRound of 326 Rutgers L 64–58
East4 Syracuse Jim Boeheim IndependentSweet Sixteen9 Penn L 84–76
East5 Connecticut Dom Perno IndependentRound of 324 Syracuse L 89–81
East6 Rutgers Tom Young Eastern AthleticSweet Sixteen10 St. John's L 67–65
East7 Temple Don Casey East CoastRound of 4010 St. John's L 75–70
East8 Iona Jim Valvano IndependentRound of 409 Penn L 73–69
East9 Penn Bob Weinhauer Ivy LeagueFourth Place2 Michigan State L 101–67
East10 St. John's Lou Carnesecca New Jersey-New York 7Regional Runner-up9 Penn L 64–62
Mideast
Mideast1 Notre Dame Digger Phelps IndependentRegional Runner-up2 Michigan State L 80–68
Mideast2 Michigan State Jud Heathcote Big TenChampion1 Indiana State W 75–64
Mideast3 LSU Dale Brown SoutheasternSweet Sixteen2 Michigan State L 87–71
Mideast4 Iowa Lute Olson Big TenRound of 325 Toledo L 74–72
Mideast5 Toledo Bob Nichols Mid-AmericanSweet Sixteen1 Notre Dame L 79–71
Mideast6 Appalachian State Bobby Cremins SouthernRound of 323 LSU L 71–57
Mideast7 Detroit Smokey Gaines IndependentRound of 4010 Lamar L 95–87
Mideast8 Tennessee Don DeVoe SoutheasternRound of 321 Notre Dame L 73–67
Mideast9 Eastern Kentucky Ed Byhre Ohio ValleyRound of 408 Tennessee L 97–81
Mideast10 Lamar Billy Tubbs SouthlandRound of 322 Michigan State L 95–64
Midwest
Midwest1 Indiana State Bill Hodges Missouri ValleyRunner Up2 Michigan State L 75–64
Midwest2 Arkansas Eddie Sutton SouthwestRegional Runner-up1 Indiana State L 73–71
Midwest3 Louisville Denny Crum MetroSweet Sixteen2 Arkansas L 73–62
Midwest4 Texas Abe Lemons SouthwestRound of 325 Oklahoma L 90–76
Midwest5 Oklahoma Dave Bliss Big EightSweet Sixteen1 Indiana State L 93–72
Midwest6 South Alabama Cliff Ellis Sun BeltRound of 323 Louisville L 69–66
Midwest7 Weber State Neil McCarthy Big SkyRound of 322 Arkansas L 74–63
Midwest8 Virginia Tech Charles Moir MetroRound of 321 Indiana State L 86–69
Midwest9 Jacksonville Tates Locke Sun BeltRound of 408 Virginia Tech L 70–53
Midwest10 New Mexico State Ken Hayes Missouri ValleyRound of 407 Weber State L 81–78
West
West1 UCLA Gary Cunningham Pacific-10Regional Runner-up2 DePaul L 95–91
West2 DePaul Ray Meyer IndependentThird Place1 Indiana State L 76–74
West3 Marquette Hank Raymonds IndependentSweet Sixteen2 DePaul L 62–56
West4 San Francisco Dan Belluomini West CoastSweet Sixteen1 UCLA L 99–81
West5 BYU Frank Arnold Western AthleticRound of 324 San Francisco L 86–63
West6 Pacific Stan Morrison Pacific CoastRound of 323 Marquette L 73–48
West7 USC Bob Boyd Pacific-10Round of 322 DePaul L 89–78
West8 Utah Jerry Pimm Western AthleticRound of 409 Pepperdine L 92–88
West9 Pepperdine Gary Colson West CoastRound of 321 UCLA L 76–71
West10 Utah State Rod Tueller Pacific CoastRound of 407 USC L 86–67

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East region

First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
7 Temple 70
10 St. John's75
10 St. John's80
2 Duke 78
10 St. John's67
6 Rutgers 65
3 Georgetown 58
6 Rutgers64
10 St. John's 62
9 Penn64
8 Iona 69
9 Penn73
9 Penn72
1 North Carolina 71
9 Penn84
4 Syracuse 76
4 Syracuse89
5 Connecticut 81

Mideast region

First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
7 Detroit 87
10 Lamar95
10 Lamar 64
2 Michigan State95
2 Michigan State87
3 LSU 71
3 LSU71
6 Appalachian State 57
2 Michigan State80
1 Notre Dame 68
8 Tennessee97
9 Eastern Kentucky 81
8 Tennessee 67
1 Notre Dame73
1 Notre Dame79
5 Toledo 71
4 Iowa 72
5 Toledo74

Midwest region

First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
7 Weber State81
10 New Mexico State 78
7 Weber State 63
2 Arkansas74
2 Arkansas73
3 Louisville 62
3 Louisville69
6 South Alabama 66
2 Arkansas 71
1 Indiana State73
8 Virginia Tech70
9 Jacksonville 53
8 Virginia Tech 69
1 Indiana State86
1 Indiana State93
5 Oklahoma 72
4 Texas 76
5 Oklahoma90

West region

First round Second round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals
            
7 USC86
10 Utah State 67
7 USC 78
2 DePaul89
2 DePaul62
3 Marquette 56
3 Marquette73
6 Pacific 48
2 DePaul95
1 UCLA 91
8 Utah 88*
9 Pepperdine92
9 Pepperdine 71
1 UCLA76
1 UCLA99
4 San Francisco 81
4 San Francisco86
5 BYU 63

Final Four

National Semifinals National Championship Game
      
E9 Penn 67
ME2 Michigan State 101
ME2 Michigan State75
MW1 Indiana State 64
MW1 Indiana State76
W2 DePaul 74 National Third Place Game
E9 Penn 93*
W2 DePaul96

Announcers

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1982

The 1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1982, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. A total of 47 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1986

The 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Dallas, Texas. A total of 63 games were played.

The 1970 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1970, and ended with the championship game on March 21 in College Park, Maryland. A total of 29 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game. This tournament was notable for the number of small schools that reached the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4, and Championship Game. Another notable aspect of the tournament was that Marquette became the first team to turn down an announced NCAA Tournament bid for the National Invitation Tournament. Coach Al McGuire took issue with being seeded in the Midwest regional instead of the geographically closer Mideast. They were replaced in the field by Dayton. As a result of this action, the NCAA forbid its members from playing in other postseason tournaments if offered an NCAA bid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament</span>

The 1972 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of NCAA University Division college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 11, and ended with the championship game in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 25. A total of 29 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament</span>

The 1974 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It was the first tournament to be designated as a Division I championship—previously, NCAA member schools had been divided into the "University Division" and "College Division". The NCAA created its current three-division setup, effective with the 1973–74 academic year, by moving all of its University Division schools to Division I and splitting the College Division members into Division II and Division III. Previous tournaments would retroactively be considered Division I championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament</span>

The 1976 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1976, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in Philadelphia. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third place game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament</span>

The 1977 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 American schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the National Champion of Men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 12, 1977, and ended with the championship game on Monday, March 28 in Atlanta. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third place game. This was the final tournament in which teams were not seeded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1978

The 1978 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1978, and ended with the championship game on March 27 in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third place game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1980

The 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 6th, 1980, and ended with the championship game on March 24th at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. A total of 48 games were played, including a national third-place game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1981

The 1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1981, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in Philadelphia. A total of 48 games were played, including a national third place game. It was also the last tournament to be televised on NBC, before CBS took over the following year. Additionally, it was the last season in which the NCAA sponsored championships only in men's sports; the first Division I Women's Tournament would be played the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1983

The 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 52 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 17, 1983, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at The Pit, then officially known as University Arena, on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. A total of 51 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1984

The 1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 53 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1984, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Seattle. A total of 52 games were played. This was the last tournament in which some teams earned first-round byes as the field expanded to 64 teams beginning in the 1985 tournament when each team played in the first round. It was also the second year with a preliminary round; preliminary games would not be played again until 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1985

The 1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. This was the first year the field was expanded to 64 teams, from 53 in the previous year's tournament. It began on March 14, 1985, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Lexington, Kentucky. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1987

The 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1987, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> US collegiate basketball tournament

The 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 50th annual edition of the tournament began on March 17, 1988, and ended with the championship game on April 4 returning to Kansas City, Missouri for the 10th time. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1991

The 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1991, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1992

The 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 1993

The 1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1993, and ended with the championship game on April 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 2000

The 2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 2000, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the RCA Dome. A total of 63 games were played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament</span>

The 1997 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 14, 1997, and concluded on March 30, 1997, when Tennessee won the national title. The Final Four was held at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on March 28–30, 1997. Tennessee, Old Dominion, Stanford, and Notre Dame qualified to the Final Four. Tennessee and Old Dominion won their semi-final Final Four matchups and continued on to the championship. Tennessee defeated Old Dominion 68-59 for their fifth national title.

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 (4 November 2009). When the Game Was Ours . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp.  13–. ISBN   978-0-547-41681-6. 24.1 Nielsen rating