March Madness will soon be upon us, followed invariably by heated arguments about which were the best championship games. The latest entry to dive into the historical debate is Madness: The Ten Most Memorable NCAA Basketball Finals, which considers the quality of the games as well as their historical significance (see: Texas Western v. Kentucky).
The following is an excerpt from the story of the 1979 Michigan State–Indiana State championship game, best known for being the first time Larry Bird and Magic Johnson faced each other on the national stage.
Excerpted from Madness: The Ten Most Memorable NCAA Basketball Finals by Mark Mehler and Charles Paikert.