Michigan State was led by sophomore
Kalin Lucas (14.7 points and 4.6 assists per game), junior
Raymar Morgan (10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game), and senior
Goran Suton (10.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game).
Regular season The team began the season ranked No. 6 in the country and began the season well with home wins against
Idaho and
IPFW (coached by future MSU assistant coach
Dane Fife). The Spartans next traveled to Florida to participate in the
Old Spice Classic. In the first round, they faced unranked
Maryland who controlled the game, defeating MSU 80–62. The Spartans rebounded from the loss to Maryland by beating
Oklahoma State 94–79 in the consolation bracket. In the consolation championship, MSU defeated
Wichita State 65–57 behind 12 points from Marquise Gray. The Spartans then faced No. 1 North Carolina in the
Big Ten-ACC Challenge at the site of the upcoming Final Four,
Ford Field. There, MSU was blown out, 98–63. Izzo took the blame for the loss, "The blame goes on me for the scheduling. We were dead." Michigan State returned home after playing five straight games away from the Breslin Center. Following easy wins over
Bradley,
Alcorn State, and
The Citadel, MSU then went on the road again to face No. 5-ranked
Texas at the
Toyota Center in
Houston, Texas. MSU, ranked 19th in the AP poll, were led by Goran Suton's 18 points, but still trailed as time wound down in the game. Durrell Summers hit a three-pointer with 18.6 second remaining to help pull out a 67–63 win. MSU opened conference play on New Year's Eve with a win over No. 21
Minnesota behind a career-high 24 points from Kalin Lucas. Wins over
Northwestern and
Ohio State followed before the Spartans stepped back out of conference to welcome defending national champion
Kansas to the Breslin Center on January 11. MSU fell behind early 7–1 and 11–6, but fought back before taking control of the game at the half with a 37–18 lead. Lucas again led the Spartans, scoring 22 points as the Spartans won 75–62 for their ninth straight win, pushing their record to 13–2 on the season. Wins over
Penn State and No. 20
Illinois pushed the win streak to 11. Prior to the win over Illinois, the Spartans retired
Morris Peterson's jersey. The win over Illinois also gave MSU a 5–0 record in Big Ten play, their best start in conference since 1978. Looking to extend their win streak to 12 games, MSU welcomed Northwestern to the Breslin Centeron January 21. The loss ended the Spartans 28-game home winning streak as well and left them at 5–1 in conference, 15–3 overall. MSU returned to their winning ways defeating Ohio State and
Iowa on the road to mark five straight Big Ten road wins. Another surprising loss at home, this time to Penn State, preceded a second win over No. 21-ranked Minnesota. At 18–4 and 8–2 on the season, the Spartans returned to the top ten rankings, moving to No. 9 in the AP poll. The Spartans then welcomed former Izzo assistant
Tom Crean, coach of
Indiana, to the Breslin Center on February 7. MSU, led by freshman
Draymond Green's 15 points and 12 rebounds, blew out the Hoosiers, 75–47. The Spartans then took their perfect road record to
Michigan. But Kalin Lucas, who scored 13 of his 15 points after half time, made a three to extend the lead and Delvon Roe scored a season-high 14 points as MSU won 54–42. The win over Michigan moved MSU to No. 6 in the AP poll (No. 5 in the Coaches Poll) and set up an important road game against No. 19
Purdue. The Boilermakers forced 22 Spartan turnovers, blocked eight shots and held MSU to 33% from the field. Lucas scored 13 for MSU, but it wasn't enough as they were blown out 72–54. and Iowa preceded the No. 9-ranked Spartans trip to No. 20 Illinois. Lucas led the Spartans again with 18 points as they defeated Illinois 74–66 clinching a share of the Big Ten regular season championship. With a 64–59 win at Indiana on March 3, the Spartans won their first Big Ten regular season title since
2001 and first outright title since
1999. In the final game of the season, a 62–51 win over No. 19 Purdue, Lucas scored 21 points to lead MSU to the
Big Ten championship by four games with a 15–3 record, 25–5 overall, and ranked No. 7 in the country. Following the conclusion of the regular season, Kalin Lucas was named
Big Ten Player of the Year and Tom Izzo was voted Big Ten Coach of the Year. The win moved the Spartans to the Big Ten semifinals to face Ohio State. However, Michigan State's hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament vanished as they were defeated by Ohio State, 82–70.
Evan Turner had 18 points to lead the Buckeyes to win the over the Spartans, who shot just 38 percent from the field. Though they only received a No. 2 seed, the path to the Final Four looked good for the Spartans with games in
Minneapolis, Minnesota and
Indianapolis, Indiana before the Final Four in Detroit. In the First Round, the Spartans defeated No. 15-seed
Robert Morris 77–62 behind Raymar Morgan's 16 points and Goran Suton's 11 points and 17 rebounds. Draymond Green added 16 points in the easy win. In the Second Round, MSU faced No. 10-seed
USC for the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. With a surprising offensive output by Travis Walton, scoring a career-high 18 points, the Spartans were able to hold off USC to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. In the Sweet Sixteen, MSU faced No. 14-ranked and No. 3-seeded
Kansas, marking MSU's eighth trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the previous 12 years. The game was held in Indianapolis where MSU was 5–0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games. In the Elite Eight, the Spartans faced overall No. 1 seed
Louisville with a chance to go to the Final Four in nearby Detroit, only 90 miles from MSU's campus. Led by MSU's rugged defense, Louisville, who had scored 103 points in their win over
Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen, was held to 52 points and lost for the first time in 14 games. The win sent MSU to the Final Four for the fifth time in 11 seasons. "Detroit, here we come," said coach Tom Izzo, a Michigan native. "I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that." In the national semifinals, Michigan State faced
Connecticut, another No. 1 seed, for the right to play for the national championship. Kalin Lucas led the Spartans with 21 points and Raymar Morgan added 18 as the smaller Spartans took it to the much bigger Huskies, led by
Hasheem Thabeet. MSU led by two at the half and pulled away in the second to win 82–73 to advance to the national championship game. In contrast to the slowed down play against Louisville in the Elite Eight, MSU pushed the ball and wore out Thabeet and the Huskies. Further, under Tom Izzo, MSU was 14–2 in the second game of a weekend in NCAA Tournament play. North Carolina scored more points than any team had ever scored in the first half of an NCAA championship game, scoring 55 and blowing out the Spartans 55–34 at the half. The Spartans held UNC in check more in the second half, outscoring the Tar Heels 38–34, but it was too little too late. The Spartans were defeated by North Carolina 89–72, marking the Spartans' first ever loss in the national championship game. The Spartans faced three No. 1 seeds (Louisville, UConn, and North Carolina) in the Tournament, only losing to North Carolina. ==Roster==