Everybody wanted it. Everybody was talking about it. And more people watched it unfold on national television than any college game before or since. On March 26, 1979, in the Special Events Center at the University of Utah, Magic Johnson squared off against Larry Bird for the first time. One year later, they would take their show to the NBA, but on this night the dream showdown between the two best players in the country was on college basketball's grandest stage - the NCAA Championship game.

Indiana State, the lesser-known school in the Hoosier State, came into the contest riding a 33- game winning streak thanks to the extraordinary skills of Bird. Johnson was just as impressive, and Michigan State had other college standouts Terry Donnelly and the powerful Jay Vincent. The great efforts and teamwork of Bird, Bobby Heaton, Carl Nix and the rest of the Sycamores kept them competitive, but in the end the Spartans won the game 75 - 64. The Magic - Bird duel is still as captivating now as it was then.