The 2009–10 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was

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 ...

who was in his 15th year. The Spartans played their home games at the

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 with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

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 ...

. MSU finished the season 28–9, 14–4 in Big Ten play to earn a share of the Big Ten regular season championship for the 12th time in school history. They lost to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament. The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 5 seed, their 13th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament under Izzo. They defeated

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Northern Iowa, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four, the Spartans' sixth trip to the Final Four under Izzo, they lost to Butler.

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 referr ...

finished the 2008–09 season 31–7, 15–3 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten regular season championship. Michigan State received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 12th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the National Championship game, their second trip to the title game under Tom Izzo, before losing to

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 ...

Offseason

The Spartans lost

Goran Suton Goran Suton (born 11 August 1985) is a Bosnian-Croat former professional basketball player who last played for Movistar Estudiantes of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball with the Michigan State Spartans. Early years Suton was born ...

(10.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game) to the NBA draft following the season.

2009 recruiting class

Season summary

Michigan State was led by junior

Kalin Lucas Kalin Jay Lucas (born May 24, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Al-Jahra SC of the Kuwaiti Division I Basketball League. He played college basketball for Michigan State University. High school career Considered a four-sta ...

(14.8 points and 4 assists per game), senior Raymar Morgan (11.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game), and sophomore

Draymond Green Draymond Jamal Green Sr. (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the power forward position, is a four-time N ...

(9.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3 assists per game). The Spartans began the season ranked No. 2 in the polls following their trip to the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

game in 2009. MSU competed in the Legends Classic and were upset by

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 semifinals. In the third place game, the Spartans routed UMass. MSU fell to again to No. 10

in the

ACC–Big Ten Challenge The ACC–Big Ten Challenge (or Big Ten–ACC Challenge as it was called in alternating years) was an in-season NCAA Division I men's college basketball series that matched up teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Big Ten Confer ...

in a rematch of the prior year's National Championship game. The Spartans finished the non-conference schedule at 10–3, also losing at No. 2

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The Spartans were ranked No. 11 in the country entering the Big Ten regular season. The Spartans began the Big Ten season on fire, winning their first nine games, with wins over No. 25 Northwestern and 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 ...

in the first two games. The winning streak ended with three straight losses to Wisconsin,

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

, and No. 6 Purdue. The Spartans rebounded to finish 14–4 in Big Ten play and capture a share of the Big Ten regular season title. Michigan State completed the regular season at 24–7 and ranked 11th in the country. As the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they were defeated in overtime by No. 6 seed

in the quarterfinals. The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, their 13th straight appearance, earning a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region. Lucas scored a career high 25 points to pull off a controversial win against

in the First Round. In the Second Round, Lucas went down with a serious knee injury and the Spartans needed a three-point shot from Korie Lucious at the buzzer to advance past

. Without Lucas for the remainder of the Tournament, MSU beat Northern Iowa and

to advance to their second consecutive Final Four and sixth in the last twelve years. In the National Semifinal, they were defeated by National Runner-Up, Butler.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big Ten regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big Ten tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, * All Big Ten Third Team

Kalin Lucas

* All Big Ten First Team * NABC All District First Team * USWBA All-District Team

Raymar Morgan

* All Big Ten Third Team (Coaches) * All Big Ten Honorable Mention (Media)

Durrell Summers

* Most Outstanding Player, NCAA Tournament, Midwest Region

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 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 ...

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 ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons 2009 in sports in Michigan 2010 in sports in Michigan