1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament
Season | 1978–79 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teams | 40 | ||||
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 |
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Winning coach | Jud Heathcote (1st title) | ||||
MOP | Magic Johnson (Michigan State) | ||||
Attendance | 262,101 | ||||
Top scorer | Tony Price (Penn) (142 points) | ||||
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The 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 40 schools playing in
The final game marked the beginning of the rivalry between future
With the loss in the championship game,
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
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
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1979 tournament:
First and Second Rounds
- March 9 and 11
- East Region
- Mideast Region
- Midwest Region
- West Region
- UCLA)
- March 10 (second round only)
- East Region
- Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College)
- Mideast Region
- Midwest Region
- West Region
- East Region
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
- March 15 and 17
- Midwest Regional, )
- West Regional, Marriott Center, Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young University)
- March 16 and 18
- East Regional, Greensboro Memorial Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference)
- Mideast Regional, Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana (Host: Butler University)
National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship)
- March 24 and 26
Tournament notes
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
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
* – Denotes overtime period
East region
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
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
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
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
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
- 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
- 1979 NCAA Division II basketball tournament
- 1979 NCAA Division III basketball tournament
- 1979 National Invitation Tournament
- 1979 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
- 1979 National Women's Invitation Tournament
References
- ^ a b "NCAA hoop event expands". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). Associated Press. August 15, 1978. p. 9.
- ^ Keith, Larry (August 2, 1979). "They caged the Bird". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
- ^ "Michigan State grounds Bird – wins title". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 27, 1979. p. 17.
- ^ "Sparts cast final vote for No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. March 27, 1979. p. 1D.
- ^ "Wisconsin vs. Michigan State - Game Recap - February 20, 2007 - ESPN".
- ^ NCAA Men's Final Four Ratings Hub Sports Media Watch.
- ISBN 978-0-547-41681-6. 24.1 Nielsen rating