1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

Infobox NCAA Basketball Tournament
Year=1979


ImageSize=
Caption=
Teams=40
FinalFourArena=Special Events Center
FinalFourCity=Salt Lake City, Utah
Champions=Michigan State
TitleCount=1st
RunnerUp=Indiana State
GameCount=1st
Semifinal1=DePaul
FinalFourCount=2nd
Semifinal2=Penn
FinalFourCount2=1st
Coach=Jud Heathcote
CoachCount=1st
MOP=Magic Johnson
MOPTeam=Michigan State
Attendance=262,101
OneTopScorer=*
TwoTopScorers=
TopScorer=Tony Price
TopScorerTeam=Penn
Points=142

The 1979 NCAA Men's 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, 1979, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Salt Lake City, Utah. A total of 40 games were played, including a national third place game.

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. Indiana State came into the game without a loss all season, but couldn't win their final game. Magic Johnson of Michigan State was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The final game marked the beginning of the rivalry between future Hall of Famers Johnson and Larry Bird. To this day, it remains the highest-rated game in the history of televised college basketball. 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. It is also notable as the last Final Four played in an on-campus arena, at the University of Utah. It has, however, been played in a team's regular off-campus home arena three times since then: 1983 at University Arena, New Mexico's home court; 1985 at Rupp Arena, Kentucky's home court; and 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena, Seton Hall's home court. Given the use of domed stadiums for modern Final Fours, it is highly likely this will be the "last" Final Four on a college campus.

Locations

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.

Teams

Bracket

East region

4RoundBracket-Byes | RD3=Sweet Sixteen | RD4=Elite Eight | RD1-seed01=7
RD1-team01=Temple
RD1-score01=70
RD1-seed02=10
RD1-team02=St. John's
RD1-score02=75
RD1-seed09=8
RD1-team09=Iona
RD1-score09=69
RD1-seed10=9
RD1-team10=Penn
RD1-score10=73
RD2-seed01=10
RD2-team01=St. John's
RD2-score01=80
RD2-seed02=2
RD2-team02=Duke
RD2-score02=78
RD2-seed03=3
RD2-team03=Georgetown
RD2-score03=58
RD2-seed04=6
RD2-team04=Rutgers
RD2-score04=64
RD2-seed05=9
RD2-team05=Penn
RD2-score05=72
RD2-seed06=1
RD2-team06=North Carolina
RD2-score06=71
RD2-seed07=4
RD2-team07=Syracuse
RD2-score07=89
RD2-seed08=5
RD2-team08=Connecticut
RD2-score08=81
RD3-seed01=10
RD3-team01=St. John's
RD3-score01=67
RD3-seed02=6
RD3-team02=Rutgers
RD3-score02=65
RD3-seed03=9
RD3-team03=Penn
RD3-score03=84
RD3-seed04=4
RD3-team04=Syracuse
RD3-score04=76
RD4-seed01=10
RD4-team01=St. John's
RD4-score01=62
RD4-seed02=9
RD4-team02=Penn
RD4-score02=64

Mideast region

4RoundBracket-Byes | RD3=Sweet Sixteen | RD4=Elite Eight | RD1-seed01=7
RD1-team01=Detroit
RD1-score01=87
RD1-seed02=10
RD1-team02=Lamar
RD1-score02=95
RD1-seed09=8
RD1-team09=Tennessee
RD1-score09=97
RD1-seed10=9
RD1-team10=E Kentucky
RD1-score10=81
RD2-seed01=10
RD2-team01=Lamar
RD2-score01=64
RD2-seed02=2
RD2-team02=Michigan State
RD2-score02=95
RD2-seed03=3
RD2-team03=LSU
RD2-score03=71
RD2-seed04=6
RD2-team04=Appalachian State
RD2-score04=57
RD2-seed05=8
RD2-team05=Tennessee
RD2-score05=67
RD2-seed06=1
RD2-team06=Notre Dame
RD2-score06=73
RD2-seed07=4
RD2-team07=Iowa
RD2-score07=72
RD2-seed08=5
RD2-team08=Toledo
RD2-score08=74
RD3-seed01=2
RD3-team01=Michigan State
RD3-score01=87
RD3-seed02=3
RD3-team02=LSU
RD3-score02=71
RD3-seed03=1
RD3-team03=Notre Dame
RD3-score03=79
RD3-seed04=5
RD3-team04=Toledo
RD3-score04=71
RD4-seed01=2
RD4-team01=Michigan State
RD4-score01=80
RD4-seed02=1
RD4-team02=Notre Dame
RD4-score02=68

Midwest region

4RoundBracket-Byes | RD3=Sweet Sixteen | RD4=Elite Eight | RD1-seed01=7
RD1-team01=Weber State
RD1-score01=81
RD1-seed02=10
RD1-team02=New Mexico State
RD1-score02=78*
RD1-seed09=8
RD1-team09=Virginia Tech
RD1-score09=70
RD1-seed10=9
RD1-team10=Jacksonville
RD1-score10=53
RD2-seed01=7
RD2-team01=Weber State
RD2-score01=63
RD2-seed02=2
RD2-team02=Arkansas
RD2-score02=74
RD2-seed03=3
RD2-team03=Louisville
RD2-score03=69
RD2-seed04=6
RD2-team04=South Alabama
RD2-score04=66
RD2-seed05=8
RD2-team05=Virginia Tech
RD2-score05=69
RD2-seed06=1
RD2-team06=Indiana State
RD2-score06=86
RD2-seed07=4
RD2-team07=Texas
RD2-score07=76
RD2-seed08=5
RD2-team08=Oklahoma
RD2-score08=90
RD3-seed01=2
RD3-team01=Arkansas
RD3-score01=73
RD3-seed02=3
RD3-team02=Louisville
RD3-score02=62
RD3-seed03=1
RD3-team03=Indiana State
RD3-score03=93
RD3-seed04=5
RD3-team04=Oklahoma
RD3-score04=72
RD4-seed01=2
RD4-team01=Arkansas
RD4-score01=71
RD4-seed02=1
RD4-team02=Indiana State
RD4-score02=73

West region

4RoundBracket-Byes | RD3=Sweet Sixteen | RD4=Elite Eight | RD1-seed01=7
RD1-team01=USC
RD1-score01=86
RD1-seed02=10
RD1-team02=Utah State
RD1-score02=67
RD1-seed09=8
RD1-team09=Utah
RD1-score09=88*
RD1-seed10=9
RD1-team10=Pepperdine
RD1-score10=92
RD2-seed01=7
RD2-team01=USC
RD2-score01=78
RD2-seed02=2
RD2-team02=DePaul
RD2-score02=89
RD2-seed03=3
RD2-team03=Marquette
RD2-score03=73
RD2-seed04=6
RD2-team04=Pacific
RD2-score04=48
RD2-seed05=9
RD2-team05=Pepperdine
RD2-score05=71
RD2-seed06=1
RD2-team06=UCLA
RD2-score06=76
RD2-seed07=4
RD2-team07=San Francisco
RD2-score07=86
RD2-seed08=5
RD2-team08=BYU
RD2-score08=63
RD3-seed01=2
RD3-team01=DePaul
RD3-score01=62
RD3-seed02=3
RD3-team02=Marquette
RD3-score02=56
RD3-seed03=1
RD3-team03=UCLA
RD3-score03=99
RD3-seed04=4
RD3-team04=San Francisco
RD3-score04=81
RD4-seed01=2
RD4-team01=DePaul
RD4-score01=95
RD4-seed02=1
RD4-team02=UCLA
RD4-score02=91

Final Four

4TeamBracket | RD1=National Semifinals | RD2=National Finals
RD1-seed1=E9
RD1-team1=Penn
RD1-score1=67
RD1-seed2=ME2
RD1-team2=Michigan State
RD1-score2=101
RD1-seed3=MW1
RD1-team3=Indiana State
RD1-score3=76
RD1-seed4=W2
RD1-team4=DePaul
RD1-score4=74
RD2-seed1=ME2
RD2-team1=Michigan State
RD2-score1=75
RD2-seed2=MW1
RD2-team2=Indiana State
RD2-score2=64

External links

* [http://www.shrpsports.com/collbask/1979.htm 1979 NCAA Basketball Tournament] on Shrp Sports (source for the bracket)
* [http://www.hoopstournament.net/index.html HoopsTournament.Net] , source for much of the information on this page.