Tag: 1979

Two Michigan State squads listed in Top-50 NCAA Basketball teams of all time

Two Michigan State teams from the past have been named in the top-50 NCAA teams of all time.

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Michigan State has been able to put together two of the greatest college basketball teams of all time, and now they are getting some recognition for those squads. On Tuesday, SB Nation dropped their Top 50 Men’s NCAA Basketball teams of all time, and MSU had two different units that made the list.

Coming in at No. 42 is the 2000 squad that beat Florida to win the NCAA Championship, led by Mateen Cleaves, Mo Peterson and the Flintstones. That squad has cemented Tom Izzo’s place in the history books.

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The second team is, of course, the 1979 squad that beat Indiana State, led by Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser and coached by Jud Heathcoate. That group of Spartans came in at No. 20.

The Issue:

Here is my biggest complaint about this list: Michigan’s Fab Five team is ranked at No. 20. That’s right, a Michigan squad that never won anything of consequence is ranked ahead of both of MSU’s Championship teams. It really makes no sense and is another example of the Fab Five being glorified despite not winning any titles, which is extremely frustrating to Spartan fans.

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Florida Gators 1979 football squad was among the worst in recent history

In a list from The Athletic ranking the 25 least dominant teams over the last 50 years, UF’s 0-10-1 team was ranked No. 25.

For the better part of the last three decades, Florida has been at the forefront of the college football world. Aside from a brief dip in the early 2000’s and a bigger decline during most of the 2010s, the Gators have been one of the preeminent programs in the nation.

But if you go back prior to Steve Spurrier’s hiring taking the team to another level, the school saw many seasons of frustration, none more so than in 1979. In a list from The Athletic ranking the 25 least dominant teams over the last 50 years, UF’s 0-10-1 team from coach Charlie Pell’s first season was ranked No. 25.

It was the worst season in program history in terms of total losses. Aside from a 7-7 tie against Georgia Tech, Florida lost every game, including blowout losses at the hands of Kentucky (31-3) and Alabama (40-0). Six of its 10 losses came by double-digit points with an average point differential of 14.5.

The Gators were in the bottom 10 in offense, averaging just 9.6 points per game. Defensively, they didn’t fare much better, sitting outside the top 100 allowing 24.1 points per game. In 11 games, the team turned the ball over an astounding 34 times.

Pell went on to achieve success over the next five years at Florida before his coaching legacy was tarnished by NCAA violations, and he was fired after the school received sanctions.

Though the team saw some recent struggles prior to the hiring of coach Dan Mullen in 2018, Gators fans can rejoice at the fact that the days of winless seasons appear to be a thing of the distant past.

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