Zach Pekale | NCAA.com | January 8, 2021 1979 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records Magic vs. Bird: Top plays from their legendary 1979 NCAA title game battle Share In 1979, Michigan State won their first national championship, keeping Indiana State from a perfect season. The Sycamores had Larry Bird, the tournament's leading scorer and rebounder, while the Spartans countered with Magic Johnson. Michigan State won the title game 75-64 as Johnson was named Most Outstanding Player. Both Michigan State and Indiana State made their first appearances in the national final in 1979. It would be the last tournament featuring a pair of first-time finalists until 2019. This was also the first tournament where the entirety of the field was seeded and the only postseason with a 40-team bracket. Indiana State was the lone No. 1 seed at the Final Four while Michigan State was a No. 2 seed. DePaul made it to Salt Lake City as a 2 seed, winning the third-place game. Ivy League member Pennsylvania pulled off multiple upsets to reach the national semifinals as a 9-seed. 1979 NCAA tournament: Bracket Click or tap here for a closer look at the bracket. 1979 NCAA tournament: Scores First Round East Regional No. 9 Pennsylvania 73, No. 8 Iona 69 No. 10 St. John's 75, No. 7 Temple 70 West Regional No. 7 Southern California 86, No. 10 Utah State 67 No. 9 Pepperdine 92, No. 8 Utah 88 (OT) Mideast Regional No. 10 Lamar 95, No. 7 Detroit 87 No. 8 Tennessee 97, No. 9 Eastern Kentucky 81 Midwest Regional No. 7 Weber State 81, No. 10 New Mexico State 78 (OT) No. 8 Virginia Tech 70, No. 9 Jacksonville 53 Second Round East Regional No. 9 Pennsylvania 72, No. 1 North Carolina 71 No. 10 St. John's 80, No. 2 Duke 78 No. 6 Rutgers 64, No. 3 Georgetown 58 No. 4 Syracuse 89, No. 5 Connecticut 81 West Regional No. 1 UCLA 76, No. 9 Pepperdine 71 No. 2 DePaul 89, No. 7 Southern California 78 No. 3 Marquette 73, No. 6 Pacific 48 No. 4 San Francisco 86, No. 5 BYU 63 Mideast Regional No. 1 Notre Dame 73, No. 8 Tennessee 67 No. 2 Michigan State 95, No. 10 Lamar 64 No. 3 LSU 71, No. 6 Appalachian State 57 No. 5 Toledo 74, No. 4 Iowa 72 Midwest Regional No. 1 Indiana State 86, No. 8 Virginia Tech 69 No. 2 Arkansas 74, No. 7 Weber State 63 No. 3 Louisville 69, No. 6 South Alabama 66 No. 5 Oklahoma 90, No. 4 Texas 76 Regional Semifinals East Regional No. 10 St. John's 67, No. 6 Rutgers 65 No. 9 Pennsylvania 84, No. 4 Syracuse 76 West Regional No. 1 UCLA 99, No. 4 San Francisco 81 No. 2 DePaul 62, No. 3 Marquette 56 Mideast Regional No. 1 Notre Dame 79, No. 5 Toledo 71 No. 2 Michigan State 87, No. 3 LSU 71 Midwest Regional No. 1 Indiana State 93, No. 5 Oklahoma 72 No. 2 Arkansas 73, No. 3 Louisville 62 Elite Eight East Regional No. 9 Pennsylvania 64, No. 10 St. John's 62 West Regional No. 2 DePaul 95, No. 1 UCLA 91 Mideast Regional No. 2 Michigan State 80, No. 1 Notre Dame 68 Midwest Regional No. 1 Indiana State 73, No. 2 Arkansas 71 Final Four (Salt Lake City, Utah) National semifinals No. 1 Indiana State 76, No. 2 DePaul 74 No. 2 Michigan State 101, No. 9 Pennsylvania 67 National championship No. 2 Michigan State 75, No. 1 Indiana State 64 | Watch full game Third-place game No. 2 DePaul 96, No. 9 Penn 93 (OT) 1979 NCAA tournament: Upsets The following double-digit seeds won games: TEAM SCORE OPPONENT FIRST ROUND No. 10 Lamar 95-87 No. 7 Detroit No. 10 St. John's 75-70 No. 7 Temple SECOND ROUND No. 10 St. John's 80-78 No. 2 Duke REGIONAL SEMIFINALS No. 10 St. John's 67-65 No. 6 Rutgers 1979 NCAA tournament: Stats, records Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses (minimum three games): Individual scoring Larry Bird, Indiana State (5) — 27.2 Individual rebounding Larry Bird, Indiana State (5) — 13.4 How Duke's new head coach Jon Scheyer is already impacting the program after replacing Coach K New Duke men's basketball head coach Jon Scheyer talked to Andy Katz about the future of the program. Watch the full interview here. READ MORE Jaden Ivey: College basketball stats, highlights, best moments at Purdue Essential stats and highlights from Jaden Ivey's college basketball career at Purdue, where he averaged 17.3 points his sophomore season and led the Boilermakers to the Sweet 16. READ MORE NCAA Officiating Coordinator J.D. Collins announces retirement NCAA national coordinator of men's basketball officiating, J.D. Collins announced that he will be stepping down this fall. READ MORE
Individual scoring Larry Bird, Indiana State (5) — 27.2 Individual rebounding Larry Bird, Indiana State (5) — 13.4