Juniors
Adreian Payne (10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game) and
Keith Appling (13.4 points per game), senior
Derrick Nix (9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game), and sophomore
Branden Dawson (8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) led the Spartans. Freshman
Gary Harris (12.9 points per game) also played a major role for the Spartans. The Spartans were stunned by UConn, but rebounded with a win over No. 7
Kansas in the
Champions Classic. Shortly thereafter, MSU fell to
Miami in the
ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Spartans defeated
Tuskegee at
Jenison Field House, their former basketball home on Michigan State's campus in a series of games held to commemorate the "Game of Change" that occurred during the
1963 NCAA tournament. The Spartans cruised through the remaining non-conference season to finish at 11–2 and ranked No. 18 in the country. Michigan State lost their first
Big Ten game to No. 9-ranked
Minnesota, but won their next six conference games. The streak included a win over No. 11
Ohio State. Following a loss to No. 7
Indiana, MSU again went on a winning streak, winning their next five games including wins against No. 18
Minnesota and No. 4
Michigan. The streak ended with losses to No. 1 Indiana, at No. 18 Ohio State, and at No. 4 Michigan in a three-game stretch leaving MSU at 11–5 in conference. MSU rebounded to win the final two games against No. 22
Wisconsin and Northwestern. The Spartans finished in a second place tie with Ohio State with a 13–5 conference record and ranked No. 8 in the country. As the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament, MSU faced
Iowa in the quarterfinals. After a brutal first half where the Spartans only mustered 20 points and trailed Iowa 30–20 at the break, MSU responded. Led by Keith Appling and Gary Harris' 13 points each, MSU rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to pull out the 59–56 victory. The win moved MSU to the semifinals of the tournament against Ohio State. In a hard fought battle, MSU was unable to pull out the victory, falling to OSU 61–58. The Spartans received a No. 3 seed in the
NCAA tournament, their 16th straight appearance in the Tournament. Led by Derrick Nix's 23 points and 15 rebounds in the game, as the Spartans cruised to a 65–54 win over
Valparaiso in the first round. In the second round, Gary Harris led the Spartans with 23 points as MSU blew out
Memphis to advance to their fifth Sweet Sixteen in six years. The trip to the Sweet Sixteen also marked the Spartans 11th trip in the prior 16 years. However, the Spartans were defeated by No. 2 seed Duke, who was led by
Seth Curry with 29 points, in the Sweet Sixteen. Appling's 16 points and Payne's 14 were not enough in the loss. ==Roster==