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

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). 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). 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. 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.

## Roster and stats

1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team :
| No | Name | Pos | Year | Height | Pts | Reb | Ast |
| 32 | Gregory Kelser | F | SR | 6–7 | 18.1 | 8.5 | 1.5 |
| 33 | Earvin Johnson | G | SO | 6–8 | 16.1 | 7.4 | 8.2 |
| 31 | Jay Vincent | C | SO | 6–8 | 13.7 | 5.6 | 1.4 |
| 15 | Ron Charles | F | JR | 6–7 | 8.8 | 4.7 | 0.4 |
| 11 | Terry Donnelly | G | JR | 6–2 | 6.5 | 1.4 | 2.1 |
| 12 | Mike Brkovich | F | SO | 6–4 | 6.5 | 1.6 | 1.0 |
| 35 | Rob Gonzalez | F | FR | 6–7 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| 25 | Gerald Busby | F | FR | 6–4 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| 10 | Greg Lloyd | G | FR | 6–1 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| 23 | Mike Longaker | G | FR | 6–1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| 42 | Rich Kaye | F | SO | 6–7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| 21 | Don Brkovich | F | FR | 6–6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| 43 | Gerald Gilkie | F | SO | 6–7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| 24 | Jaime Hufffman | G | SO | 6–3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1978* | No. 7 | Central Michigan | W 71–54 | 1–0 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Dec. 9, 1978* | No. 4 | Cal State Fullerton | W 92–89 | 2–0 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Dec 13, 1978* | No. 3 | at Western Michigan | W 109–69 | 3–0 | University Arena Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| Dec 16, 1978* | No. 3 | at No. 13 North Carolina | L 69–70 | 3–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 19, 1978* | No. 3 | Cincinnati | W 63–52 | 4–1 | Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan |
| Dec 28, 1978* | No. 4 | vs. Washington State Far West Classic | W 98–52 | 5–1 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 29, 1978* | No. 4 | at Oregon State Far West Classic championship | W 65–57 | 6–1 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 30, 1978* | No. 4 | vs. Indiana | W 74–57 | 7–1 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 4, 1979 | No. 1 | Wisconsin | W 84–55 | 8–1 (1–0) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Jan 6, 1979 | No. 1 | Minnesota | W 69–62 | 9–1 (2–0) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Jan 11, 1979 | No. 1 | at No. 4 Illinois | L 55–57 | 9–2 (2–1) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| Jan 13, 1979 | No. 1 | at Purdue | L 50–52 | 9–3 (2–2) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Jan 18, 1979 | No. 6 | Indiana | W 82–58 | 10–3 (3–2) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Jan 20, 1979 | No. 6 | Iowa | W 83–72 $^{OT}$ | 11–3 (4–2) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Jan 25, 1979 | No. 4 | at Michigan Rivalry | L 48–49 | 11–4 (4–3) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Jan 27, 1979 | No. 4 | at Northwestern | L 65–83 | 11–5 (4–4) | Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| Feb 1, 1979 | No. 14 | No. 7 Ohio State | W 84–79 $^{OT}$ | 12–5 (5–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Feb 3, 1979 | No. 14 | Northwestern | W 61–50 | 13–5 (6–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Feb 4, 1979* | No. 14 | Kansas | W 85–61 | 14–5 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Feb 8, 1979 | No. 10 | at No. 15 Iowa | W 60–57 | 15–5 (7–4) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Feb 10, 1979 | No. 10 | at No. 13 Ohio State | W 73–57 | 16–5 (8–4) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Feb 15, 1979 | No. 8 | at Indiana | W 59–47 | 17–5 (9–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Feb 17, 1979 | No. 8 | Michigan Rivalry | W 80–57 | 18–5 (10–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Feb 22, 1979 | No. 7 | No. 18 Purdue | W 73–67 | 19–5 (11–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Feb 24, 1979 | No. 4 | Illinois | W 76–62 | 20–5 (12–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Mar 1, 1979 | No. 4 | at Minnesota | W 76–63 | 21–5 (13–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Mar 3, 1979 | No. 4 | at Wisconsin | L 81–83 | 21–6 (13–5) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 1979* | (2 ME) No. 3 | vs. (10 ME) Lamar Second Round | W 95–64 | 22–6 | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Mar 16, 1979* | (2 ME) No. 3 | vs. (3 ME) No. 7 LSU Regional semifinal | W 87–71 | 23–6 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 18, 1979* | (2 ME) No. 3 | vs. (1 ME) No. 4 Notre Dame Regional Final | W 80–68 | 24–6 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 22, 1979* | (2 ME) No. 3 | vs. (9 E) No. 14 Penn Final Four | W 101–67 | 25–6 | Special Events Center Salt Lake City |
| Mar 26, 1979* | (2 ME) No. 3 | vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Indiana State National Championship | W 75–64 | 26–6 | Special Events Center Salt Lake City |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=MidEast Region. Source ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Coaches | 4 | — | — | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | Not released |
^Coaches did not release week 1 or week 2 polls.

## Awards and honors

* Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Consensus All-American teams
* Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball
* Earvin "Magic" Johnson, All-Big Ten First Team
* Gregory Kelser, All-Big Ten First Team

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 1979 | 1 | 1 | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1979 | 1 | 4 | Greg Kelser | Detroit Pistons |
| 1980 | 4 | 74 | Ron Charles | Chicago Bulls |
| 1981 | 2 | 24 | Jay Vincent | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1981 | 8 | 181 | Mike Brkovich | Milwaukee Bucks |
Source