The 1978–79 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans were coached by Jud Heathcote in his third year and played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan. They were members of the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans finished the season 26–6, 13–5 in Big Ten play to earn a share of the Big Ten championship. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Mideast region. They defeated Lamar, LSU, and No. 1-seeded Notre Dame to advance to the Final Four, only the school's second trip to the Final Four. They defeated Penn to advance to the national championship game where they defeated Indiana State to win the school's