The 2000–01 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the

2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 8, 2000, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on April ...

Tom Izzo Tom Izzo (, ); born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has led the Spart ...

, in his sixth year as head coach, led the team that played their home games at

Breslin Center The Jack Breslin Student Events Center is a multi-purpose arena at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The arena opened in 1989, and is named for Jack Breslin, MSU alumnus, former athlete and administrator, who first began p ...

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

and were members of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The Spartans finished the season with a record of 28–5, 13–3 to finish in a tie for the Big Ten regular season championship for the fourth consecutive year. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. For the third consecutive year, they received a No. 1 seed and reached the Final Four before falling to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Previous season

The

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

finished the 1999–2000 season as NCAA National champions with an overall record of 32–7 and in first place in the Big Ten with a 13–3 record. Michigan State received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, their third straight trip to the Tournament, and won the National Championship, the second in school history, by beating

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the National Championship game. The Spartans lost

Mateen Cleaves Mateen Ahmad Cleaves (born September 7, 1977) is a retired American basketball player. He played parts of six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player for Michigan State, where he led the Sparta ...

(12.1 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 6.9 APG) and

Morris Peterson Morris Russell Peterson Jr. (born August 26, 1977) is an American retired professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Michigan State University, where in ...

(16.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.3 APG) to the NBA draft following the season.

Season summary

Following their National Championship in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Michigan State entered the regular season ranked No. 3 in both polls. The Spartans were led by freshman

Zach Randolph Zachary McKenley Randolph (born July 16, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Z-Bo", the 2-time NBA All-Star played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans before being drafted in the 2001 NBA draft by ...

(10.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.0 APG), sophomore

Jason Richardson Jason Anthoney Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pic ...

(14.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.2 APG), and seniors Charlie Bell (13.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.1 APG), and Andre Hutson (13.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.9 APG). MSU started the season strong, winning their first 12 games, including wins over No. 6

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, No. 8

, and No. 8

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

. After beating Seton Hall, the Spartans ascended to the No. 1 ranking which they held for two weeks. MSU finished the non-conference season at 12–0. After a loss in their second Big Ten game, MSU cruised through the Big Ten season with wins over No. 17

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, No. 25

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, and at No. 22 Wisconsin. finishing 13–3 and sharing the Big Ten Championship with

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The championship marked the fourth consecutive Big Ten championship for the Spartans. The Spartans remained ranked in the top 5 during the entire season, ultimately finishing with a 24–3 overall record and ranked No. 2 in the country. MSU suffered a surprise defeat by

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

in the Big Ten tournament in their attempt to win the tournament for the third consecutive year. The Spartans were awarded a No. 1 seed, their third consecutive No. 1 seed, in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament. Seeking a repeat National Championship, MSU easily dispatched Alabama State and

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. A win over Gonzaga and

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

led to the school's third straight trip to the Final Four. However, they were unable to repeat as National Champions, losing to Arizona in the National Semifinal. Following the season, Randolph and Richardson declared for the NBA draft.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big Ten regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big Ten tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll

Awards and honors

*Jason Richardson – All-Big Ten First Team *Jason Richardson – AP All-American Second Team *Charlie Bell – All-Big Ten First Team (Media), Second Team (Coaches) *Andre Hutson – All-Big Ten Second Team *Tom Izzo - NABC National Coach of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball Team Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

2000 in sports in Michigan 2001 in sports in Michigan