March Madness: 10 shining moments from historic Final Fours

March Madness: 10 shining moments in Final Four history

Michigan State guard Earvin Johnson and Indiana State forward Larry Bird answer questions for reporters during a press conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tomorrow, the two players will face off when their teams meet in the NCAA Final Four Championship, a game many feel will be a classic matchup of two collegiate superstars. /

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Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson & Larry Bird attending the Broadway Opening Night Performance After Party for Magic / Bird at the Edison Ballroom in New York City on April 11, 2012 (Photo by Walter McBride/Corbis via Getty Images) /

2. The birth of the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird rivalry

All basketball fans know that the best NBA rivalry in the 1980s was between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, specifically led by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Those teams dominated the sport, but the rivalry between the two legends began in the 1979 Final Four.

Johnson was the leader of the Michigan State Spartans, who went 21-6 during the regular season to earn a 2-seed in the Mideast Region. The Spartans had little trouble advancing to the Final Four under third-year coach Jud Heathcoate and blew out Penn 101-67 to earn a spot in the title game.

While Magic drew all the headlines, the breakout star of the tournament was Bird, who took Indiana State out of the Missouri Valley with a 29-0 record entering March Madness. The Sycamores had a tougher road to the finals, surviving with two-point wins over Arkansas and DePaul to earn a showdown with the Spartans.

The star power of Johnson and Bird, who averaged 29 points a game for Indiana State, led to a ton of hype for the championship showdown. Johnson and the Spartans went on to have the last laugh, winning 75-64 to claim Michigan State’s first national championship.

That matchup remains the most-watched college basketball game in history, and it showcased two future titans of the NBA in their formative years.