Non-conference regular season November The Spartans began their season at home against
Florida Atlantic on November 17, 2015. The Spartans won easily as
Matt Costello led the way with 15 points. The Champions Classic, an event that features four premier college programs:
Duke,
Kentucky,
Kansas, and
Michigan State, is an annual event where the four teams alternate playing each other. In this match-up of two major college programs, Denzel Valentine led the Spartans's from an 11-point deficit in the second half to an upset of Kansas with a
triple double, scoring 29 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists. It was only the 13th triple double in Spartan history and Valentine's first. Bryn Forbes added 13 points and freshman Matt McQuaid added 9 points on three of three shooting from behind the arc. MSU pulled out the win, 79–73 win. MSU followed this impressive neutral court win with a home court rout of
Arkansas–Pine Bluff, 92–46, on November 20. Javon Bess led the Spartans with 16 points while Valentine chipped in 11 assists. On November 23, as the Spartans moved up to No. 3 in boll polls, they routed
Eastern Michigan, 89–65. Davis led Spartan scorers with 16 points, while Costello notched 10 rebounds, and Valentine dished out seven assists. The Spartans then traveled to
Fullerton, California, to participate in the
DirecTV Wooden Legacy. In the first game of the tournament on Thanksgiving, a blowout of
Boston College, Valentine repeated his performance against Kansas, notching a triple double again (29 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists). The win marked Tom Izzo's 500th career win, all with Michigan State. The semifinals of the Wooden Legacy saw the Spartans facing
Boise State on November 27 for a chance to play in the championship game. The Spartans prevailed again for their sixth straight win to open the season. Valentine scored a career-high 32 points with nine rebounds and six assists as the Spartans won 77–67.
Bryn Forbes led the Spartans with 18 points. Valentine added 17 as MSU outlasted Providence 77–64. Denzel Valentine was included on the list. The Spartans returned home to open December by facing No. 24 ranked
Louisville in the
ACC-Big Ten Challenge on December 2. Louisville mixed defenses, going from man-to-man to zone, sometimes in the same possession, to take an early lead against MSU. The Spartans again rallied from behind, led by Valentine and Forbes, to beat Louisville 71–67. The Spartans demolished Binghamton 76–33. The Spartans held Binghamton to 12 points in the first half and started the game with an impressive display of passing which led to a dunk by Valentine. When the polls were released on December 7, the Spartans were ranked No. 1 in both polls for only the fourth time in school history. As the newly minted No. 1 team, the Spartans continued their impressive start by routing
Maryland–Eastern Shore, 78–35 on December 9 in East Lansing. On December 12,
Florida traveled to East Lansing to face the Spartans. Michigan State took advantage of the match-up to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their
2000 National Championship which they had won against
Florida. The Spartans encountered stiff competition from Florida, but prevailed again, winning 58–52, their lowest scoring output of the season. Valentine again led the way for the Spartans, totaling 17 points. The win made the Spartans 12–0, matching the best start in school history. The injury required surgery to repair torn cartilage the next day and Valentine was expected to miss two to three weeks of games, likely missing games against
Oakland,
Iowa,
Minnesota,
Illinois, and, perhaps,
Penn State. Though characterized as minor, the injury was expected to have a great effect on the Spartans as Valentine led the team in scoring, rebounds, and assists. The Spartans rallied in the second half to take the lead, but were forced to go to overtime to get the win, outlasting Oakland 99–93. Bryn Forbes led the way for the Spartans without Valentine, scoring 32 points and Eron Harris added 27. Carl and Izzo's mother, Dorothy, were common faces around the Michigan State program. They each accompanied him on
NCAA tournament trips over the years. Iowa led by as many as 19 points during the game and the Spartans never closed to within 10 in the second half. The Spartans closed 2015 with their first loss of the season, falling to 13–1 and 0–1 in conference play.
January After the loss to the Hawkeyes, the Spartans flew to
Texas to watch the Spartan football team take on
Alabama in the
College Football Playoff. While in Texas, they practiced in freshman Matt McQuaid's high school gym. Forbes led the way for the Spartans scoring 20 points and Matt Costello added 17. Izzo attended the funeral of his father the next day. Denzel Valentine was medically cleared to play for the game, but Izzo held him out of the game. The Spartans did not need him as they romped over a short-handed Illinois team, 79–52. MSU led by as many as 30 points. He came off the bench and had a rough start going 0–4 from the field in the first half. The Spartans led by 13 at the half and pushed the lead to as many as 31 in the second half. Iowa jumped out to an early lead and dominated the Spartans in East Lansing. Costello led the Spartans with 15 while Valentine had 14. Izzo used a completely new lineup to start, with freshmen
Deyonta Davis and McQuaid starting as well as Harris. The lineup made little difference as the Spartans trailed by five at half. Despite Michigan State playing better and taking the lead in the second half, Wisconsin found themselves within four points with less than a minute remaining.
Bronson Koenig made a three for the Badgers which was followed by a quick Spartan turnover by Harris. Down by one, the Badgers got a basket down low to take a one-point lead. MSU started off strong, going up 5–0 and leading Nebraska to call a timeout 50 seconds into the game. However, Nebraska rallied to take the lead and the teams were tied at the half. However, despite a Valentine circus shot three in the last 10 seconds and an open look for the win as the clock expired, the Spartans fell to Nebraska 72–71. The loss was the third straight for the Spartans, falling to 16–4 and 3–4 in conference. This marked the worst conference start for the Spartans since the
2002–03 season. The Spartans debuted "Mean Green" uniforms for the game against
Maryland. Costello also had a big game, scoring 15 points, racking up 12 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Valentine added 24 points, just missing his third triple double with 14 rebounds and eight assists. Maryland was led by
Melo Trimble, who scored 24 points but was limited to three assists with good defense by Harris. Valentine led all scorers with 19. McQuaid set a new career high with 17 points. The Spartans held Northwestern to a 20.7% shooting percentage from the field. Notably, Tom Izzo moved into second place all time for wins at a Big Ten school, breaking a tie with
Gene Keady. It was Izzo's 513th win at MSU. Forbes made six, all in the first half. Valentine also contributed six three-pointers, scoring a game-high 20. MSU led by as many as 27 on their way to an easy 89–73 win on Michigan's home floor. The Spartans kept up their hot shooting from behind the arc, shooting 63% and hitting 14 threes. When he returns, Izzo said he would likely be only a defensive replacement and point guard relief, playing only three to eight minutes a game. However, MSU showed toughness and fought its way back behind Valentine who again just missed a triple-double with 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. The Spartans took the lead with 1:59 remaining at 72–68, but didn't score for the remainder of regulation. On February 14, first-place Indiana paid a trip to Breslin Center. Indiana led for a good portion of the first half, but MSU rebounded to take a one-point lead at the half, 41–40. In the second half, the Spartans took control of the game behind Valentine's 30 points and career-high 13 assists. Kenny Goins, who had played a major role for the Spartans front line in the last few games, left the game in the first half with a knee injury and it was revealed after that he would miss two to four weeks. The win put MSU at 8–5 in conference and 21–5 overall while temporarily dropping Indiana out of first place. On February 15, Valentine was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the second consecutive week and fourth time overall. On February 16, Valentine was named Naismith Trophy Player of the Week. Wisconsin brought its seven-game win streak to Breslin Center on February 18. MSU took the lead early on a 14–3 run and never looked back, winning 69–57. Valentine scored 24 points with seven rebounds and 10 assists. Davis led the way with defense on Wisconsin's
Nigel Hayes who lit up the Spartans in their first meeting, holding Hayes to 1–13 from the floor as the
Izzone mercilessly chanted, "Nigel! Nigel! Nigel!" Forbes added 17 points and Harris added 10. Forbes got hot in the second half, hitting seven of 10 three-pointers in the game, for 20 points in the second half. The Spartans moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten at 11–5 and 23–5 overall. In the win, Valentine passed
Draymond Green for 17th all time in scoring at Michigan State. MSU started slow, beginning three of 15 from the field, but were still up 28–9 at one point and, with almost five minutes left in the first half, PSU head coach
Pat Chambers was ejected from the game with a double technical. Valentine had 19 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Davis and Forbes added 15 points each and Costello added 10 points and 11 rebounds. With Indiana's win over Iowa (clinching the sole Big Ten title), MSU was guaranteed the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with wins in its last two games. On March 2, MSU visited Rutgers looking to strengthen its hold on the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. However, MSU got off to a slow start and trailed for portions of the first half. However, Forbes got hot from the three-point line late in the half, making five including one with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half. As a result, MSU led by one at the half. In the second half, MSU ran away with the game, led by Forbes. On Senior Day at Breslin Center, March 5, the Buckeyes looked for revenge for their home loss to the Spartans the prior weekend. Ohio State started off well and led for portions of the first half, but MSU took a 47–37 lead to the half. In the second half, MSU ran away with it, shooting 66.7% from the field in the game. Senior Denzel Valentine led the way with 27 points and 13 assists.
Big Ten tournament In the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, MSU faced Ohio State for the third time in 18 days. And, like the prior two games, MSU blew out OSU, winning 81–54. Valentine led the way with 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. The win moved MSU to 27–5 overall as they moved on to the semifinals vs. Maryland. In the semifinals, MSU faced Maryland for the second time this season. The game was close throughout and offense was hard to come by in the second half. But, MSU was able to hold off Maryland to win 64–61. Valentine led the Spartans with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists. The Spartans moved to 28–5 overall and to the Big Ten Championship against Purdue. In the Big Ten Championship, MSU took an early lead at halftime and led by as many as 13 in the second half. However, Purdue came back to keep it close, but MSU again pulled out a close game, winning 66–62. With the win, MSU set the record for most Big Ten tournament Championships with five (Ohio State has also won five, but one has been vacated due to NCAA violations). Valentine again led the way with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. Costello also set MSU's career block record, passing Branden Dawson, with 145.
NCAA tournament Following the Big Ten Championship, MSU learned that it would not receive a No. 1 seed, instead receiving a No. 2 seed in the Midwest bracket. This marked the 19th consecutive year the Spartans have made the NCAA Tournament. Despite receiving the No. 2 seed, MSU was considered by many the favorite to win the NCAA Championship. Michigan State faced off against No. 15-seeded
Middle Tennessee in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18. Middle Tennessee led throughout the game and withstood every run made by the Spartans. MSU could not overcome the Blue Raiders and were upset by a score of 90–81. Costello led the Spartans with 22 points in his final MSU game. Valentine, disappointed in his performance, had 13 points and 12 assists. ==Roster==