Michigan State basketball: Series history vs. Indiana State

Michigan State basketball has faced Indiana State before but what does the series history look like between these two?

Michigan State basketball is back this weekend as the Spartans welcome the Indiana State Sycamore to the Breslin Center in their non-conference season finale. Before the game gets here, let’s dive into the series history between these two programs.

1979 National Championship

I’m sure you all remember this meeting between the Spartans and Sycamores. Michigan State defeated the Larry Bird-led Sycamores in 1979 in the NCAA Tournament Championship game to win our first NCAA National Championship. Surprisingly, this is the only matchup between these two programs.

This game took place on March 26, 1979, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spartans pulled away late in the first half to take a 37-28 lead at the break. They then cruised in the second half to beat the Sycamores 75-64.

Magic Johnson led the way for Michigan State with 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. However, it was Gregory Kelser who arguably had the better stat line. Kelser finished with a near triple-double with 19 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. Terry Donnelly was the only other double-digit scorer who poured in 15 of his own points. The star of Indiana State’s team, Larry Bird, finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

This game can be looked back at fondly by all basketball fans for many reasons. From an MSU fan’s perspective, this game really put the program on the map. Before this championship, we had only been to one Final Four and won the Big Ten only four times. However, this win was the turning point that led to Michigan State basketball becoming an elite program.

From a national perspective, this game had a lot of meaning in the Magic vs Larry rivalry. Magic Johnson would go to the NBA to play for the Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird played for the Boston Celtics. Those two teams are big rivals, and Magic and Bird turned into one of the biggest individual rivalries. This national championship game is where this rivalry began.

Indiana State season update

The Sycamores are off to a hot start this season. They are currently 11-1 on the season and riding a 10-game win streak. However, they have only played one Power Six opponent, Alabama, who they lost to by 22 points. Their 11 wins all came against sub-par competition, so that devalues their record some. Regardless, 11 wins are still 11 wins and a 10-game win streak will have their confidence through the roof.

Tom Izzo and Michigan State will have to be ready for this one. Will they be focused heading into this game? That’s always the question coming off a week-long Christmas break. But I question where our focus will be even more after the Fears injury news from this past weekend. Can MSU stay focused even with the outside noise and tragedy that occurred? Can they play for Jeremy Fears and lift their teammate up during this hard time?

We will find out on Saturday afternoon.