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The Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represents Michigan State University (MSU) and competes in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I College basketball. Their home games are hosted at the Breslin Student Events Center. Tom Izzo has been the head coach since 1995. The Spartans have won two NCAA championships and 13 Big Ten Conference Championships. Their two National Championships came in the 1979 NCAA Tournament and the 2000 NCAA Tournament. The 1979 National Championship Game was the most watched college basketball game in history, with 35.11 million television viewers.[1] The 1979 National Championship team was coached by Jud Heathcote and included tournament MVP Magic Johnson, Greg Kelser and Jay Vincent. The Spartans defeated the previously unbeaten Indiana State Sycamores, led by future NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird. The 2000 National Championship team defeated the Florida Gators in the final. The team was coached by Tom Izzo and led by players Morris Peterson, Charlie Bell, Jason Richardson and tournament MVP Mateen Cleaves. In 2016 the Spartans made a great run to win the tournament as the Midwest's No. 2 seed beating the No. Overall seed the Kansas Jayhawks. The team was led by Wooden Award winner who averaged 19.4 PPG Denzel Valentine, big center Matt Costello, and three point specialist Bryn Forbes. They were picked by 23% to win it all and didn't disappoint. In the championship game Denzel followed coach Tom Izzo's orders and had a fantastic 26 point game. That was Tom's second title, after winning one in 2000 with MSU. After almost losing to Middle Tennessee in the round of 64 there were doubts about Michigan State (They won that game in OT 98-97). The Spartans went on to a 96-74 victory vs. Syracuse in the round of 32 a few days later. And a victory vs. Utah and Virginia in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. They would eventually claim there 3rd title beating Kansas 82-78 in the title game.

The Spartans have participated in 30 NCAA tournaments and in 19 consecutive NCAA tournaments (1998–2016), which is the third longest active streak in college basketball, behind Kansas (27) and Duke (21). Michigan State has the fifth most all-time Final Four appearances with 10 (1957, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2015, 2016) and has made 30 NCAA Tournament appearances. The program is also 9thh all-time in NCAA tournament winning percentage (.692).

Coaches [ edit ]

Two Michigan State coaches have been inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame They are Pete Newell (class of 2006) and Jud Heathcote (class of 2009). On November 28, 2009, Tom Izzo passed Jud Heathcote's mark of 340 career wins by beating UMass 106-68.[2] Tom Izzo now leads all MSU basketball coaches in wins.[3] On February 12, 2016, Izzo was announced as one of 14 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[4]

Of all MSU coaches who have headed the Spartans basketball squad in at least a dozen games, Izzo is second in winning percentage and no MSU coach tops him since 1910. Former coach George E. Denman won all 11 games he coached between 1901–03 and Chester L. Brewer won 70 of 95 games from 1903 to 1910.[3]

Jud Heathcote era (1976–1995) [ edit ]

Jud Heathcote led the Spartans to the 1979 national championship and coached one of the game's all-time greats, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Heathcote succeeded Gus Ganakas, who is currently an MSU basketball radio announcer, as coach in 1976. Heathcote stepped down in 1995 with nine NCAA appearances, three Big Ten championships and three NIT appearances.

Results by season under Heathcote:[3]

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason Michigan State (Big Ten Conference) (1976–1995) 1976–1977 Michigan St. 12–15 9–9 6th 1977–1978 Michigan St. 25–5 15–3 1st NCAA Elite Eight 1978–1979 Michigan St. 26–6 13–5 1st NCAA Champions 1979–1980 Michigan St. 12–15 6–12 9th 1980–1981 Michigan St. 13–14 7–11 8th 1981–1982 Michigan St. 11–17 6–12 T-7th 1982–1983 Michigan St. 17–13 9–9 T-6th NIT Second Round 1983–1984 Michigan St. 16–12 9–9 5th 1984–1985 Michigan St. 19–10 10–8 T-5th NCAA First Round 1985–1986 Michigan St. 23–8 12–6 3rd NCAA Sweet Sixteen 1986–1987 Michigan St. 11–17 6–12 7th 1987-1988 Michigan St. 10–18 5–13 8th 1988-1989 Michigan St. 18–15 6–12 T-8th NIT Final Four 1989-1990 Michigan St. 28–6 15–3 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen 1990-1991 Michigan St. 19–11 11–7 T-3rd NCAA Second Round 1991-1992 Michigan St. 22–8 11–7 T-3rd NCAA Second Round 1992-1993 Michigan St. 15–13 7–11 T-8th NIT First Round 1993-1994 Michigan St. 20–12 10–8 T-4th NCAA Second Round 1994-1995 Michigan St. 22–6 14–4 2nd NCAA First Round Michigan St.: 340–220 (.607) 181–161 (.529) Total: 340–220 (.607) National champion Postseason invitational champion

Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion

Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion

Conference tournament champion

Tom Izzo era (1995–present) [ edit ]

Since 1995, the team has been coached by Tom Izzo, who has an overall record of 518–204 through the 2016 season as head coach at Michigan State. Izzo coached the Spartans to their second national championship in 2000 with an 89–76 victory over Florida. Izzo has guided the Spartans to seven NCAA Final Fours since 1999, an accomplishment unmatched by any other college basketball program during that span. The coach has also appeared in a postseason tournament every year he has headed the MSU basketball program, 2 years in the NIT and 18 straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. His teams have won 7 Big Ten Regular Season Championships and 4 Big Ten Tournament Championships and have reached the Sweet Sixteen 13 times, the Elite Eight 9 times, the Final Four 7 times, and played in 2 NCAA Championship games.

Izzo has received numerous awards including the 1998 Associated Press National Coach of the Year, the 1998 Basketball News National Coach of the Year, the 1998 United States Basketball Writers Association Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award (1998), three-time Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year (1998, 2009, 2012), the 1998 Basketball Times Mideast Coach of the Year, the 1999 Basketball News Coach of the Year Award, two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year Award (2001, 2012) and the 2005 Clair Bee Award.[6]

Izzo also helped his assistants secure head coaching jobs across the basketball world. Three current Division I head coaches served as assistants under Izzo: Brian Gregory at Georgia Tech, Tom Crean at Indiana, and Mark Montgomery at Northern Illinois. Current Izzo assistant coach Mike Garland spent three seasons as head coach at Cleveland State following an initial seven-year stint at MSU. Former assistant Stan Heath was head coach at Kent State, Arkansas, and South Florida.[7] Doug Wojcik was the head coach at Tulsa[8] and College of Charleston.[9]

Results by season under Izzo:[10]

Players [ edit ]

Retired numbers [ edit ]

NBA Players [ edit ]

Spartans formerly or currently in the NBA include Maurice Ager, Alan Anderson, Keith Appling Charlie Bell, Shannon Brown, Mateen Cleaves, Paul Davis, Branden Dawson, Terry Furlow, Jamie Feick, Draymond Green, Johnny Green, Gary Harris, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Greg Kelser, Adreian Payne, Mike Peplowski, Morris Peterson, Zach Randolph, Shawn Respert, Jason Richardson, Scott Skiles, Steve Smith, Eric Snow, Sam Vincent, Jay Vincent, and Kevin Willis.

Postseason history [ edit ]

NCAA Tournament [ edit ]

The Spartans have appeared in 30 NCAA basketball tournaments, with a current streak of 19 straight years, with two NCAA basketball national championships. They also count nine Final Fours and sport a 63–28 all-time NCAA tournament record.

National championships [ edit ]

1979 NCAA Tournament Results[11] Round Opponent Score Round #1 Bye Round #2 #10 Lamar 95–64 Sweet 16 #3 LSU 87–71 Elite 8 #1 Notre Dame 80–68 Final 4 #9 Penn 101–67 Championship #1 Indiana State 75–64

2000 NCAA Tournament Results[12] Round Opponent Score Round #1 #16 Valparaiso 65–38 Round #2 #8 Utah 73–61 Sweet 16 #4 Syracuse 75–58 Elite 8 #2 Iowa State 75–64 Final 4 #8 Wisconsin 53–41 Championship #5 Florida 89–76

Complete NCAA tournament results [ edit ]

Year Seed Round Opponent Results 1957 Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four

National 3rd Place Game Notre Dame

Kentucky

North Carolina

San Francisco W 85–83

W 80–68

L 70–74 3OT

L 60–67 1959 Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight Marquette

Louisville W 74–69

L 81–88 1978 First Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight Providence

WKU

Kentucky W 77–63

W 90–69

L 49–52 1979 #2 Second Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four

National Championship Game #10 Lamar

#3 LSU

#1 Notre Dame

#9 Penn

#1 Indiana State W 95–64

W 87–71

W 80–68

W 101–67

W 75–64 1985 #10 First Round #7 UAB L 68–70 1986 #5 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen #12 Washington

#4 Georgetown

#1 Kansas W 72–70

W 80–68

L 86–96 OT 1990 #1 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen #16 Murray State

#9 UC Santa Barbara

#4 Georgia Tech W 75–71 OT

W 62–58

L 80–81 OT 1991 #5 First Round

Second Round #12 Green Bay

#4 Utah W 60–58

L 84–85 2OT 1992 #5 First Round

Second Round #12 SW Missouri State

#4 Cincinnati W 61–54

L 65–77 1994 #7 First Round

Second Round #10 Seton Hall

#2 Duke W 84–73

L 74–85 1995 #3 First Round #14 Weber State L 72–79 1998 #4 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen #13 Eastern Michigan

#5 Princeton

#1 North Carolina W 83–71

W 63–56

L 58–73 1999 #1 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four #16 Mount St. Mary's

#9 Ole Miss

#13 Oklahoma

#3 Kentucky

#1 Duke W 76–53

W 74–66

W 54–46

W 73–66

L 62–68 2000 #1 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four

National Championship Game #16 Valparaiso

#8 Utah

#4 Syracuse

#2 Iowa State

#8 Wisconsin

#5 Florida W 65–38

W 73–61

W 75–58

W 75–64

W 53–41

W 89–76 2001 #1 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four #16 Alabama State

#9 Fresno State

#12 Gonzaga

#11 Temple

#2 Arizona W 69–35

W 81–65

W 77–62

W 69–62

L 61–80 2002 #10 First Round #7 NC State L 58–69 2003 #7 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight #10 Colorado

#2 Florida

#6 Maryland

#1 Texas W 79–64

W 68–46

W 60–58

L 76–85 2004 #7 First Round #10 Nevada L 66–72 2005 #5 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four #12 Old Dominion

#13 Vermont

#1 Duke

#2 Kentucky

#1 North Carolina W 89–81

W 72–61

W 78–68

W 94–88 2OT

L 71–87 2006 #6 First Round #11 George Mason L 65–75 2007 #9 First Round

Second Round #8 Marquette

#1 North Carolina W 61–49

L 67–81 2008 #5 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen #12 Temple

#4 Pittsburgh

#1 Memphis W 72–61

W 65–54

L 74–92 2009 #2 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four

National Championship Game #15 Robert Morris

#10 USC

#3 Kansas

#1 Louisville

#1 Connecticut

#1 North Carolina W 77–62

W 74–69

W 67–62

W 64–52

W 82–73

L 72–89 2010 #5 First Round

Second Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four #12 New Mexico State

#4 Maryland

#9 Northern Iowa

#6 Tennessee

#5 Butler W 70–67

W 85–83

W 59–52

W 70–69

L 50–52 2011 #10 Second Round #7 UCLA L 65–73 2012 #1 Second Round

Third Round

Sweet Sixteen #16 Long Island

#9 Saint Louis

#4 Louisville W 89–67

W 65–61

L 44–57 2013 #3 Second Round

Third Round

Sweet Sixteen #14 Valparaiso

#6 Memphis

#2 Duke W 65–54

W 70–48

L 61–71 2014 #4 Second Round

Third Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight #13 Delaware

#12 Harvard

#1 Virginia

#7 Connecticut W 93–78

W 80–73

W 61–59

L 54–60 2015 #7 Second Round

Third Round

Sweet Sixteen

Elite Eight

Final Four #10 Georgia

#2 Virginia

#3 Oklahoma

#4 Louisville

#1 Duke W 70–63

W 60–54

W 62–58

W 76–70 OT

L 61–81 2016 #2 First Round #15 Middle Tennessee

L 81-90

NCAA Tournament history & seeds [ edit ]

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

Years '79 '85 '86 '90 '91 '92 '94 '95 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 Seeds 2 10 5 1 5 5 7 3 4 1 1 1 10 7 7 5 6 9 5 2 5 10 1 3 4 7 2

Prior to seeding MSU appeared in the 1957, 1959, and 1978 NCAA Tournaments.[13]

NIT results [ edit ]

The Spartans have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) five times. Their combined record is 6–6.

Year Round Opponent Result 1983 First Round

Second Round Bowling Green

Fresno State W 72–71

L 58–72 1989 First Round

Second Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

3rd Place Game Kent State

Wichita State

Villanova

Saint Louis

UAB W 83–69

W 79–67

W 70–63

L 64–74

L 76–78 1993 First Round Oklahoma L 86–88 1996 First Round

Second Round Washington

Fresno State W 64–50

L 70–80 1997 First Round

Second Round George Washington

Florida State W 65–50

L 63–68

Uniforms [ edit ]

Tom Izzo's teams have worn many different styles of uniforms during his eighteen years at Michigan State. Nike, Inc. started making jerseys for the team at the start of the 2000-01 season.

The current home jersey, introduced as part of a rebranding effort by the athletic department in April 2010, is white with green uniform numbers and a green custom font "SPARTANS" across the chest.[14] The road jersey is green with white uniform numbers and a white custom font "SPARTANS" across the chest.[14] The Spartans do not currently wear an official alternate uniform but the team has worn a silver alternate, a 1979 throwback, and a MAC (Michigan Agricultural College) uniform in the past. The team also wore specially-made camouflage jerseys for the 2011 Carrier Classic, played on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier against North Carolina. Beginning in the 2014–15 season, the Spartans frequently wore their 1979 throwback jerseys as their home uniform. On January 23, 2016, MSU wore specially designed "Mean Green" uniforms.[15]

Home court [ edit ]

The Spartans play home games at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center on campus in East Lansing, Michigan. The arena is commonly referred to as "Breslin" and "the Bres", and was opened in 1989. It is named for Jacweir "Jack" Breslin, an MSU alumnus, former athlete and administrator, who first began pushing for the arena in 1969. Its capacity is 14,797 seats, and the stadium superseded Jenison Fieldhouse. The arena is currently undergoing a $50 million renovation to improve the visitor experience and to create a Michigan State University Basketball Hall of History.[16]

The arena's current basketball court is the same floor where the Spartans won the 2000 NCAA Tournament, which was at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The school purchased the floor from the NCAA and Final Four floor installer Horner Flooring after the title game. A plaque was installed on the baseline near the Michigan State tunnel to commemorate the floor's role in the school's history.[17]

The Breslin Center is home to the Izzone, a large student section named after Coach Izzo, the basketball team's head coach since 1995. The student section had been named Spartan Spirits and Jud's Jungle prior to Izzo's prominence at the school. The Izzone routinely gets mentioned in discussions of the nation's top student fan sections, and in 2006 was ranked as the 4th best in the country.[18] The section helped cheer the Spartans to a 53-game home win streak between 1998 and 2002 and also a 28-game winning streak from 2007 and 2009.[19]