1978–79 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team















1978–79 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
Missouri Valley Conference champions

NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Finalist
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
1978–79 record33–1 (16–0 MVC)
Head coachBill Hodges
Home arenaHulman Center

Seasons


← 1977–78


1979–80 →


The 1978–79 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team is considered the greatest in the school's history. The Sycamores were undefeated in the regular season and were led by Larry Bird. He led an undefeated team to the national title game versus a Magic Johnson-led Michigan State Spartans team, and ended the season as National Runner-Up with a record of 33–1. To date, the 1978-79 Sycamores are the only team to advance this far in their first-ever NCAA appearance.




Contents





  • 1 Season summary


  • 2 Offseason

    • 2.1 Exhibition vs. Soviet National Team



  • 3 Regular season


  • 4 Roster


  • 5 NCAA basketball tournament


  • 6 Schedule and results


  • 7 Awards and honors


  • 8 References




Season summary


In 1979, the NCAA tournament championship game was the most-watched game in the history of the sport, in no small part because of Indiana State star Larry Bird. Bird wasn’t a one-man show, but the unheralded Sycamores rode him to a 33-0 record heading into the title game. The well-rounded Bird averaged 29 points, 14.8 rebounds, and, most significantly, six assists as he changed the way the game was played.



Offseason


Head coach Bob King suffered a stroke and was unable to continue as head coach of the Sycamores. Assistant Bill Hodges was elevated to the position of head coach.



Exhibition vs. Soviet National Team


On November 20, the touring Soviet National team came to Hulman Center to play Indiana State. ISU defeated the Soviets, 83–79, to become one of only four college teams to beat them that season.[1]



Regular season


During the 1978–79 season, Indiana State qualified for the NCAA Tournament. ISU finished the regular season 29–0, 16–0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, and earned the top ranking in the country.[1]


The only time that the perfect regular season was in jeopardy was on Feb. 1. The Sycamores were 18–0 against New Mexico State. With three seconds remaining, the Sycamores were down 83–81. New Mexico State was at the free throw line and the shot was missed. The missed shot was rebounded by Brad Miley and passed to Bob Heaton. Heaton launched a 50-foot desperation shot which banked through the net to send the game into overtime.[1]


Bird received several honors at the end of regular season. He won the USBWA College Player of the Year, Naismith[2] and Wooden Awards,[3] given to the year's top male college basketball player.



Roster


The Sycamores were led by Bird, the NCAA Player of the Year, and his 28.6 scoring average. He was followed by Carl Nicks’ 19.3 average. The starting lineup also included Miley, Alex Gilbert and Steve Reed. Heaton and Leroy Staley were key reserves. The remainder of the roster consisted of Tom Crowder, Eric Curry, Rod McNelly, Rich Nemcek, Bob Ritter and Scott Turner.






















































































No.NamePositionHt.YearHometown
5Bob RitterG6–3Jr.
Indianapolis, Indiana
10Scott TurnerF6–6Fr.
Bedford, Indiana
15Rod McNellyG6–2Fr.
Speedway, Indiana
20Rich NemcekG6–6Jr.
Hammond, Indiana
22Carl NicksG6–1Jr.
Chicago, Illinois
23Steve ReedG6–3So.
Warsaw, Indiana
24Tom CrowderF6–5Sr.
Cayuga, Indiana
30Bob HeatonF6–5Jr.
Clay City, Indiana
32Eric CurryC6–9Jr.
Chicago, Illinois
33Larry BirdC6–9Sr.
French Lick, Indiana
40Brad MileyF6–8Jr.
Rushville, Indiana
42Alex GilbertF6–8Jr.
East St Louis, Illinois
44Leroy StaleyF6–5Sr.
Tampa, Florida


NCAA basketball tournament


The top seed in the NCAA Midwest Regional was awarded to the Sycamores. The final game of the regional tournament was against Arkansas with a berth in the Final Four on the line. With the game tied at 71, the right-handed Heaton was the hero again with a last second left-handed shot in the lane to win the game.[1] They advanced to the championship game and faced Michigan State University, which was led by sophomore Magic Johnson. In what was the most-watched college basketball game ever,[4] Michigan State defeated Indiana State 75–64, and Johnson was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.


  • West
    • Indiana State (#1 seed) 86, Virginia Tech (#8 seed) 69

    • Indiana State 93, Oklahoma (#5 seed) 72

    • Indiana State 73, Arkansas (#2 seed) 71

[5]


  • Final Four
    • Indiana State 76, DePaul 74

    • Michigan State 75, Indiana State 64

[5]



Schedule and results




















































































































































































































Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#Result
Record
Site
city, state
Regular Season

11/25/1978*




Lawrence College

W 99-56 
1-0

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

11/27/1978*




at Purdue

W 63-53 
2-0

Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana

12/2/1978*




at Evansville

W 74-70 
3-0

Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, Indiana

12/4/1978*




Illinois State

W 78-76 
4-0

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

12/8/1978*




vs. East Carolina
Hatter Classic

W 102-79 
5-0

Edmunds Center 
Deland, Florida

12/9/1978*




vs. Cleveland State
Hatter Classic

W 102-71 
6-0

Edmunds Center 
Deland, Florida

12/12/1978*


No. 20

at Ball State

W 93-85 
7-0

Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana

12/16/1978*


No. 20

Butler

W 109-71 
8-0

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

12/30/1978*


No. 11

Morris Harvey

W 99-63 
9-0

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1/3/1979


No. 11

Tulsa

W 101-89 
10-0 (1-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1/6/1979


No. 11

West Texas State

W 98-77 
11-0 (2-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1/9/1979*


No. 9

North Carolina A&T

W 83-64 
12-0 (2-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1/13/1979


No. 9

Bradley

W 93-74 
13-0 (3-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1/15/1979


No. 9

New Mexico State

W 73-69 
14-0 (4-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1/18/1979


No. 5

at Wichita State

W 94-84 
15-0 (5-0)

Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas

1/20/1979


No. 5

at Creighton

W 90-80 
16-0 (6-0)

Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska

1/22/1979


No. 5

Southern Illinois

W 88-79 
17-0 (7-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1/27/1979


No. 3

Creighton

W 77-69 
18-0 (8-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

2/1/1979


No. 2

at New Mexico State

W 91-89 OT
19-0 (9-0)

Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, New Mexico

2/3/1979


No. 2

at Tulsa

W 66-56 
20-0 (10-0)

Tulsa Convention Center 
Tulsa, Oklahoma

2/6/1979


No. 2

Drake

W 100-79 
21-0 (11-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

2/10/1979


No. 2

at Bradley

W 91-72 
22-0 (12-0)

Robertson Memorial Field House 
Peoria, Illinois

2/12/1979


No. 2

West Texas State

W 100-75 
23-0 (13-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

2/15/1979


No. 1

at Southern Illinois

W 69-68 
24-0 (14-0)

SIU Arena 
Carbondale, Illinois

2/20/1979


No. 1

at Drake

W 76-68 
25-0 (15-0)

Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa

2/24/1979


No. 1

Wichita State

W 109-84 
26-0 (16-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1979 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

2/27/1979


No. 1

West Texas State
MVC Tournament

W 94-84 
27-0 (16-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

3/1/1979


No. 1

Southern Illinois
MVC Tournament

W 79-72 
28-0 (16-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

3/3/1979


No. 1

New Mexico State
MVC Tournament

W 74-69 
29-0 (16-0)

Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana

1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

3/11/1979*


No. 1

vs. Virginia Tech(8)
NCAA Second Round

W 86-69 
30-0 (16-0)

Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas

3/15/1979*


No. 1

vs. No. 16 Oklahoma(5)
NCAA Regional Semifinal

W 93-72 
31-0 (16-0)

Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas

3/17/1979*


No. 1

vs. No. 5 Arkansas(2)
NCAA Regional Final

W 73-71 
32-0 (16-0)

Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio

3/24/1979*


No. 1

vs. No. 6 DePaul(2)
NCAA Final Four

W 76-74 
33-0 (16-0)

Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah

3/26/1979*


No. 1

vs. No. 3 Michigan State(2)
NCAA National Championship

L 64-75 
33-1 (16-0)

Special Events Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah

*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.


Awards and honors


  • Larry Bird, Consensus All-American teams

  • Larry Bird, All-Missouri Valley Conference


  • Larry Bird – AP, UPI, USBWA, The Sporting News, Basketball Weekly All-American selections

  • Larry Bird, Missouri Valley Conference Most Valuable Player


  • Larry Bird – 1979 Oscar Robertson Trophy, Naismith Award, John R. Wooden Award, Adolph Rupp Trophy, Eastman Award

  • Bill Hodges, NCAA Coach of the Year[1]


References




  1. ^ abcde http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/wildcard_1/wildcard_01/in_isu_1978_79_Dream_Season_Recap_20090306


  2. ^ http://www.naismithawards.com/History/tabid/55/Default.aspx


  3. ^ http://woodenaward.cstv.com/ot/award-winners.html


  4. ^ Katz, Andy. "From coast to coast, a magical pair". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-05-06..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em


  5. ^ ab http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1979










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