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1979–80 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

1979–80 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball

Big Ten Conference
12–15 (6–12 Big Ten)
Jud Heathcote (4th season)
William Berry
Dave Harshman
Edgar Wilson
Fred Paulsen
Ronald Charles
Terry Donnelly
Jenison Field House

The 1979–80 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Jud Heathcote in his fourth year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished the season 12–15, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place in conference.

The Spartans finished the 1978–79 season 26–6, 13–5 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten and ranked No. 3 in the country. The Spartans received a No. 2 seed in the Mideast of the NCAA Tournament. MSU defeated Lamar, Louisiana State, and Notre Dame to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four, they defeated Penn by 34 points to face overall No. 1 Indiana State. The Spartans won the National Championship as Magic Johnson led MSU over Larry Bird and the Sycamores.

1979–80 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
5	Kevin Smith	G	SO	6–1	8.4	1.8
11	Terry Donnelly	G	SR	6–2	8.8	1.4
12	Mike Brkovich	G	JR	6–4	8.8	2.7
15	Ron Charles	F	SR	6–8	14.5	8.9
21	Don Brkovich	F	SO	6–6	1.0
22	Bill Cawood	G	FR	6–6	0.5
23	Mike Longaker	G	SR	6–2	1.2	0.2
30	Kurt James	F	JR	6–7	1.5	2.6
31	Jay Vincent	C	JR	6–8	21.5	7.7
35	Rob Gonzalez	F	SO	6–7	2.3	1.1
41	Derek Perry	F	FR	6–6	2.4	1.2
42	Richard Kaye	F	JR	6–6	1.0
44	Herb Bostic	F	FR	6–4	1.1	0.6
52	Steve Bates	C	SO	6–10	0.7	0.8

Source

Datetime, TV	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Nov 30, 1979*	vs. Princeton Lapchick Memorial Tournament semifinal	W 60–46	1–0	Carnesecca Arena Jamaica, NY
Dec 1, 1979*	at No. 16 St. John's Lapchick Memorial Tournament championship	L 73–88	1–1	Carnesecca Arena Jamaica, NY
Dec 6, 1979*	Long Beach State	W 87–73	2–1	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Dec 10, 1979*	Portland State	W 88–54	3–1	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Dec 14, 1979*	at Wichita State	L 54–55	3–2	Levitt Arena Wichita, KS
Dec 18, 1979*	at Central Michigan	W 95–76	4–2	Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, MI
Dec 20, 1979*	at Detroit Mercy	W 63–57	5–2	Calihan Hall Detroit, MI
Dec 28, 1979*	vs. Weber State Las Vegas Holiday Classic semifinal	L 61–63	5–3	Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV
Dec 29, 1979*	vs. Loyola Marymount Las Vegas Holiday Classic third place game	W 82–65	6–3	Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV
Jan 3, 1980	No. 8 Purdue	W 73–71	6–4(0–1)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Jan 5, 1980	Minnesota	L 80–93	6–5(0–2)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Jan 10, 1980	at Northwestern	L 61–65	6–6(0–3)	Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL
Jan 12, 1980	at No. 19 Indiana	L 64–72	6–7(0–4)	Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN
Jan 17, 1980	Wisconsin	W 62–61	7–7(1–4)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Jan 19, 1980	No. 13 Iowa	W 75–67	8–7(2–4)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Jan 24, 1980	at Michigan Rivalry	W 59–58	9–7(3–4)	Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 26, 1980	at Illinois	L 65–74	9–8(3–5)	Assembly Hall Champaign, IL
Jan 31, 1980	No. 6 Ohio State	W 74–54	10–8(4–5)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 2, 1980	Illinois	W 68–59	11–8(5–5)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 7, 1980	at Iowa	L 39–44	11–9(5–6)	Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA
Feb 9, 1980	at No. 13 Ohio State	L 59–71	11–10(5–7)	St. John Arena Columbus, OH
Feb 14, 1980	at Wisconsin	L 66–80	11–11(5–8)	Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI
Feb 16, 1980	Michigan Rivalry	W 82–74	12–11(6–8)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 21, 1980	No. 19 Indiana	L 72–75	12–12(6–9)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 23, 1980	Northwestern	L 73–75	12–13(6–10)	Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 28, 1980	at Minnesota	L 73–87	12–14(6–11)	Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
Mar 1, 1980	at No. 18 Purdue	L 73–91	12–15(6–12)	Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll,. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. Source

Jay Vincent – All-Big Ten First Team
Jay Vincent – Big Ten Scoring Champion (22.1 ppg in-conference)
1980 in Michigan

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