1977-78 Michigan State Spartans — schedule and results

The 1977-78 Michigan State Spartans went 25-5 (15-3 in the Big Ten) under head coach Jud Heathcote. The team peaked at #4 in the AP poll. Simple Rating System: 16.3.

Game-by-game results (30 games)

DateOpponentResultArena
1977-11-28vs Central Michigan ChippewasW 68–61Jenison Field House
1977-12-02neutral Rhode Island RamsW 92–64Manley Field House
1977-12-03at Syracuse OrangeL 67–75Manley Field House
1977-12-08vs Wichita State ShockersW 84–57Jenison Field House
1977-12-10vs Western Michigan BroncosW 79–57Jenison Field House
1977-12-19vs Middle Tennessee Blue RaidersW 72–51Jenison Field House
1977-12-21at Detroit Mercy TitansW 103–74Calihan Hall
1977-12-29neutral SMU MustangsW 95–69Norfolk Scope
1977-12-30neutral New Hampshire WildcatsW 102–65Norfolk Scope
1978-01-05vs Minnesota Golden GophersW 87–83Jenison Field House
1978-01-07vs Wisconsin BadgersW 74–63Jenison Field House
1978-01-12at Illinois Fighting IlliniW 82–70Assembly Hall
1978-01-14at Northwestern WildcatsW 67–63McGaw Memorial Hall
1978-01-19vs Purdue BoilermakersW 60–51Jenison Field House
1978-01-21vs Iowa HawkeyesW 68–58Jenison Field House
1978-01-26at Ohio State BuckeyesW 70–60St. John Arena
1978-01-28at Indiana HoosiersL 66–71Assembly Hall
1978-02-02vs Michigan WolverinesL 63–65Jenison Field House
1978-02-04vs Indiana HoosiersW 68–59Jenison Field House
1978-02-09at Iowa HawkeyesW 71–70Iowa Field House
1978-02-11at Michigan WolverinesW 73–62Crisler Arena
1978-02-16at Purdue BoilermakersL 80–99Mackey Arena
1978-02-18vs Ohio State BuckeyesW 79–74Jenison Field House
1978-02-23vs Northwestern WildcatsW 66–56Jenison Field House
1978-02-25vs Illinois Fighting IlliniW 89–67Jenison Field House
1978-03-02at Wisconsin BadgersW 89–75Wisconsin Field House
1978-03-04at Minnesota Golden GophersW 71–70Williams Arena
1978-03-11neutral Providence FriarsW 77–63Market Square Arena
1978-03-16neutral Western Kentucky HilltoppersW 90–69University of Dayton Arena
1978-03-18neutral Kentucky WildcatsL 49–52University of Dayton Arena

Game recaps

1978-02-18: Behind Earvin Johnson's 32 points, Michigan State Spartans defeated Ohio State Buckeyes 79–74. Herb Williams had 24 for Ohio State Buckeyes. Greg Kelser grabbed 16 rebounds.

Michigan State Spartans program history · All Division I programs · Hoopsipedia home

Hoopsipedia
Hpsipedia
EST. 2025 · VOL. II · NCAA OFFICIAL RECORDS
● 360 PROGRAMS · VERIFIED
★ ★ ★ The complete record of college basketball ★ ★ ★
Hpsipedia
★ Built for banter. Backed by the record book. ★
THE MAIN EVENT
Program 1
?
VS
since 1900
Program 2
?
Try:
✦ Ask Hoopsipedia AI
THE RECORD BOOK

All-time wins

Full leaderboard →
Rank Team All-Time Wins

On this day

SPOTLIGHT

AP Top 25

All rankings →
DISCOVER

More to argue about

Rankings Deep Dive
Who's REALLY a blue blood?
Our composite HTSS ranking of all-time program strength. See how every team stacks up across 100+ years.
EXPLORE →
Time Machine
Travel back to any season
See who was #1, who was rising, and who was falling. Every season from 1949 to today.
EXPLORE →
Coach Trees
The coaching lineages
From Dean Smith to Roy Williams to Hubert Davis — trace the family trees of college basketball's greatest coaches.
EXPLORE →

2026 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Last updated: --:--:--
For the best bracket experience, view on a desktop or rotate your device to landscape.

Team Rankings

Rank Team Conference All-Time Wins

Teams

★ ★ The architects ★ ★

COACHES

Top 100 by all-time D1 wins. Verified against the NCAA record book — and tiered so you can argue properly.

SETTLE A DEBATE
Compare Coaches
VS
FILTER BY TIER:
# COACH RECORD WIN % SCHOOL(S) YEARS BEST SEASON / LEGACY
Ask Hoopsipedia BETA
Hi! I'm the Hoopsipedia Assistant. I can look up team histories, compare programs, explore rankings, and more. Try asking: