Mar. 24, 1979 – Larry Bird scored 35 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists as Indiana State advances to the NCAA finals. Magic Johnson of Michigan State recorded a triple double 29 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists as they advance to NCAA finals.
NCAA finals:
To this day, the 1979 NCAA finals remains the highest-rated game in the history of televised college basketball. Michigan State, coached by Jud Heathcote, defeated Indiana State coached by Bill Hodges, 75–64.
The final game marked the beginning of the rivalry between future Hall of Famers Johnson and Larry Bird. Both Magic 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 the first tournament in which all teams were seeded by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. The top six seeds in each regional received byes to the second round, while seeds 7-10 played in the first round.
Larry Bird, 1978-79 NCAA season:
Before Bird, the Sycamores had never been to the Division I NCAA tournament; he led the team to the NCAA championship game in 1979, his senior season, only to lose to the Michigan State University Spartans, who were led by his future NBA rival, Earvin “Magic” Johnson. The Sycamores finished the season 33–1. That year, Bird won the USBWA College Player of the Year, Naismith and Wooden Awards, given to the year’s top male college basketball player. After his three seasons at Indiana State, he left as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. Bird finished his collegiate career with an average of 30.3 points per game. In 2007, he was voted as one of the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball 50 greatest players.
Magic Johnson, 1978-79 NCAA season:
Michigan State again qualified for the NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the championship game and faced Indiana State University, which was led by senior Larry Bird. Magic Johnson was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. After two years in college, during which he averaged 17.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game, Johnson was drafted in the 1979 NBA Draft.
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