15 classic March Madness games you need to watch on YouTube

HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 04: Kris Jenkins #2 of the Villanova Wildcats shots the winning during the NCAA College Basketball Tournament Championship game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at NRG Stadium on April 04, 2016 in Houston, Texas. The Wildcats won 77-74. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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8. Indiana State vs. Michigan State – 1979 Championship Game

This contest is still, to this day, the most-watched basketball game in television history. If that seems shocking, it shouldn’t be. This championship game was the first chapter in the epic rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Johnson was the star point guard at Michigan State despite his 6-foot-9 height and head coach Jud Heathcoate built his team around Magic’s unique talents. The Spartans were awarded a two seed in the Mideast region and ended up cruising through their first three games to reach the Final Four.

Indiana State, on the other hand, entered the contest with a perfect 33-0 record. The unheralded school wasn’t even picked by its conference mates to win the Missouri Valley, but thanks to the superstar performance from Bird, also known as “the hick from French Lick”, the Sycamores dominated the season.

Bird and Johnson were without question the two best players in college basketball and their first-ever meeting was must-see TV. The moment wasn’t too big for either player, with Bird chipping in 19 points, but he did miss two-thirds of his shot attempts to get them.

Michigan State got 24 out of Johnson, who was 8-of-15 from the floor in the Spartans’ 75-64 win. The first round of the rivalry went to Magic, but it would set the stage for a breathtaking decade that helped save professional basketball as we know it.

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