Bird vs. Magic -- the origins of the matchup began March 26, 1979, when Indiana State faced Michigan State in the Division I Men's Basketball championship game. The second-seeded Spartans defeated the No. 1-seed Sycamores 75-64 -- but it was the matchup between the "Hick from French Lick," Larry Bird, and Earvin "Magic" Johnson -- the tournament's most outstanding player, that remains the indelible memory.
The 1979 tournament was the first in which all teams were seeded by the men's basketball committee: The top six teams in each regional were awarded a bye into the second round; seeds 7-10 played first-round games.
The tournament also marked the last Final Four played in an on-campus arena, at the University of Utah's Special Events Center in Salt Lake City.
NCAA.com is reliving that magical moment with the #MMVault Watch Party at 3:30 p.m. ET Wednesday. Fans can watch the 1979 classic on NCAA.com and follow @marchmadness for tweets related to the game action.
| 1978-79 Indiana State Roster | 1978-79 Michigan State Roster | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach: Bill Hodges | Head coach: Jud Heathcote | |||||
| No. | Name | No. | Name | |||
| 5 | Bob Ritter | 21 | Don Brkovich | |||
| 10 | Scott Turner | 12 | Mike Brkovich | |||
| 15 | Dave McNally | 15 | Ron Charles | |||
| 20 | Rich Nemcek | 11 | Terry Donnelly | |||
| 22 | Carl Nicks | 43 | Gerald Gilkie | |||
| 23 | Steve Reed | 35 | Rob Gonzales | |||
| 24 | Tom Crowder | 24 | Jaimie Huffman | |||
| 30 | Bob Heaton | @bobheaton | 33 | Magic Johnson | @MagicJohnson | |
| 32 | Eric Curry | 42 | Rick Kaye | |||
| 33 | Larry Bird | 32 | Greg Kelser | @gkelser32 | ||
| 40 | Brad Miley | 10 | Greg Lloyd | |||
| 42 | Alex Gilbert | 23 | Mike Longaker | |||
| 44 | Leroy Staley | 31 | Jay Vincent | |||
