1978–79 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team

1978–79 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
Missouri Valley Conference champions
Conference Missouri Valley Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 1
AP No. 1
1978–79 record 33–1 (16–0 MVC)
Head coach Bill Hodges
Home arena Hulman Center

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.

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]

[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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  5. 1 2 http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1979
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