The 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship Game by the Numbers

The 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship game was a matchup of two great teams. The Indiana Hoosiers led by eventual NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird took on the Michigan State Spartans Here’s a look at the game by the numbers.

The game by the numbers

The glorious upset of the Indiana State Sycamores by the Michigan State Spartans in the 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship game is one of the most iconic moments in sports history. Here are some numbers that help tell the story of that unforgettable game.

-33: The number of years since a team from outside thePower Five conferences won the NCAA tournament before Loyola-Chicago accomplished the feat in 2018.

-75: The number of points scored by Magic Johnson still the record for a Championship game

-20,918: The attendance at Madison Square Garden which stood as the record for a basketball game until 2010.

2: The Number of players from each team who would go on to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (Johnson and Larry Bird for Indiana State and Earvin Johnson and Greg Kelser for Michigan State)

52: The margin by which Johnson outscored Bird in what would be their only collegiate matchup.

1: The number of seconds remaining on the clock when Kelser made the game-winning layup.

79: The final score, giving Michigan State its first ever National Championship

The teams by the numbers

The 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship game was a battle between the Indiana State Sycamores and the Michigan State Spartans Here’s a look at how the two teams measured up by the numbers:

-Indiana State had an overall record of 33-1, while Michigan State was 26-6.
-The Sycamores were led by eventual NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird who averaged 28.6 points per game The Spartans’ top scorer was Greg Kelser, with 16.9 points per game
-Indiana State outscored its opponents by an average of 16.4 points per game while Michigan State won by an average margin of 10.7 points.
-The Sycamores shot 48.5% from the field as a team, while the Spartans shot 44.9%.
– Indiana State made it to the Championship game by defeating DePaul, Marquette, and Virginia, while Michigan State beat Notre Dame Penn State and Kentucky en route to the championship matchup.

The players by the numbers

In the 1979 NCAA championship game, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson faced off for the first time as college basketball’s biggest stars. Here’s a look at how the two players stacked up, by the numbers.

Johnson:
-Points: 17
-Rebounds: 7
-Assists: 3
-Blocks: 2
-Steals: 1

Bird:
-Points: 18
-Rebounds: 8
-Assists: 6
-Blocks: 0
-Steals: 1

The coaches by the numbers

The 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship game was a rematch between the Michigan Wolverines and the Indiana State Sycamores. The game was played on March 26, 1979, at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Wolverines were coached by Johnny Orr, who was in his 12th season as Head Coach of the Michigan Basketball program. Orr’s record at Michigan was 218-114, which included four 20-win seasons and two trips to the NCAA Tournament

Indiana State was coached by Bill Hodges, who was in his second season as head coach of the Sycamores. Hodges’ record at Indiana State was 32-9, which included a trip to the Elite Eight of the 1978 NCAA tournament

The fans by the numbers

In the 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship Game, a total of 32,428 fans were in attendance. Of those fans, 23,536 were at the game in person, while 8,892 were watching on television. The game was played at the Special Events Center on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City

The broadcast by the numbers

Arguably one of the most iconic basketball games in NCAA history, the 1979 NCAA championship game between Michigan State and Indiana State was watched by millions of people around the world. Here are some fun facts and figures about the broadcast by the numbers:

-It was the first NCAA Championship game to be broadcast on national television in the United States
-The game was aired on CBS, with announcers Dick Stockton and Billy Packer calling the action.
-An estimated 35 million people tuned in to watch the game making it the most-watched basketball game in television history at that time.
-The game featured two future Hall of Fame players: Magic Johnson of Michigan State and Larry Bird of Indiana State.
--Michigan State outscored Indiana State 75-64 in the game, winning their second NCAA championship.

The aftermath by the numbers

The NCAA Division I men’s Basketball Championship game was played on Monday, April 2, 1979, at the Special Events Center on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City The game was a rematch of the previous year’s championship contest, which had been won by Michigan State In that game, Indiana had upset top-ranked Michigan State to become the first team to win the championship as a number-seven seed.

In the 1979 title game, Michigan State again faced Indiana. This time, however, the Hoosiers were the better team. Led by tournament MVP Larry Bird Indiana won 73-67 to claim its third National Championship

Here are some numbers that help tell the story of that game:

76 – The total number of points scored by both teams in the first half. It was a defensive struggle early on, as neither team was able to get into an offensive rhythm.

39 – The number of points scored by Indiana in the second half. The Hoosiers turned up their offense after halftime and took control of the game.

16 – The margin of victory for Indiana. It was a close game throughout, but the Hoosiers made key plays down the stretch to seal the victory.

2 – The number of times that Michigan State and Indiana had met in the NCAA tournament prior to 1979. In addition to their meeting in last year’s championship game, they also faced each other in an Elite Eight matchup in 1975. Michigan State won both games.