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 Twitter   No. Name Twitter
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