Every now and then, we get a moment in Sports that we know will be historical.  When Ali fought Frazier for the first time, we knew we were watching history.  When Michael Jordan played in his final basketball game ever, we knew it was a moment to savor.  However, in college basketball, we rarely get a moment that we know will be historical, but it does happen.

It was on this day, March 26th, 1979, that Magic Johnson played against Larry Bird in the NCAA finals.  Magic led Michigan State to a 75-64 victory over Larry Bird’s Indiana State.  The game was the most watched college basketball game in history with almost 1/4 of the nation watching the game live.

The two stars would go on to have memorable NBA careers.  And in 1984, they would meet in the NBA finals.  Larry Bird got his revenge as his Boston Celtics beat Magic’s Lakers in 7 games.  And while all of the NBA finals matchups between Magic and Larry were special, nothing was as special as seeing them compete as college students in that classic NCAA championship game.