The Spartans were led by All-American
Shawn Respert, who averaged 25.6 points per game. The Spartans began their season ranked No. 18 in the country and on the road, avenging a prior loss to
UIC a few years prior. A win over
Louisville preceded a trip to future Big Ten foe
Nebraska. In a high scoring game, the Spartans were outscored 96–91. MSU went on to win their next seven games including their first two conference games, wins over
Wisconsin and No. 22-ranked
Iowa moving the Spartans to No. 14 in the country. A loss at
Indiana led to another seven-games winning streak, including wins over non-conference foe
Oklahoma State and rival
Michigan pushing MSU to a No. 7 ranking.. A home loss to No. 25 Purdue and No. 24
Minnesota in two of their next four games dropped MSU out of the top ten rankings, slipping to 12th. The Spartans would rally to win four of their final five games to finish the regular season ranked No. 11 and one game behind conference champions Purdue. The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Southeast region. The Spartans overlooked No. 14 seed Weber State in the First Round and were stunned 79–72. MSU led by nine at the half against the Wildcats, but were outscored by 16 in the second half. == Roster and statistics ==