The 2012–13

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 ...

represented Michigan State University in the 2 012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 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 18th year. The team 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, MI 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 with a record of 27–9, 13–5 to finish in a tie for second place in Big Ten play. The Spartans lost in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament to

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. MSU received a bid to the NCAA tournament for the 16th straight year where they reached the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year, losing to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

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 2011–12 season with a record of 29–8, 13–5 to earn a share of the Big Ten Championship. They won the Big Ten tournament to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 15th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Offeseason

The Spartans lost

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 (basketball), power forward ...

(16.2 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.8 APG) to the NBA draft following the season.

2012 recruiting class

Michigan State's top-10 ranked recruiting class, was headlined by 6'4" SG

Gary Harris Gary Harris (born September 14, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. High school career Harris atte ...

. The rest of the class consisted of PF

Matt Costello Matthew Tyler Costello (born August 5, 1993) is an American-born naturalized Ivorian professional basketball player for Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for Michigan State. High school career Co ...

, PF Kenny Kaminski, and PG

Denzel Valentine Denzel Robert Valentine (born November 16, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. As a senior, Valentine became the first playe ...

. Notably, Matt Costello and Denzel Valentine finished first and second, respectively, in the voting for Michigan's

Mr. Basketball Mr. Basketball is an unofficial award given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in many U.S. states, regions, or metropolitan areas. Conversely, the title Miss Basketball or Ms. Basketball is used for the best high ...

, MSU's fourth straight Mr. Basketball signee (2011 winner Dwaun Anderson originally signed with Michigan State, but was released from his National Letter of Intent to go to

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

for personal reasons).

Season summary

Juniors

Adreian Payne Adreian DeAngleo Payne (February 19, 1991 – May 9, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Orlando Magic as well as for se ...

(10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game) and

Keith Appling Keith Damon Appling (born February 13, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Michigan State Spartans men's basketball, Michigan State University. High school career Appling played high school ...

(13.4 points per game), senior

Derrick Nix Derrick Nix (born December 11, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for Michigan State. High school career Nix attended Pershing High School where he aver ...

(9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game), and sophomore

Branden Dawson Branden James Dawson (born February 1, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for TaiwanBeer HeroBears of the T1 League. A native of Gary, Indiana, he attended Lew Wallace High School and played college basketball for the Michigan ...

(8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) led the Spartans. Freshman

(12.9 points per game) also played a major role for the Spartans. The Spartans began the season ranked No. 14 in both polls and traveled to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to play

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Ramstein Air Force Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

. The Spartans were stunned by UConn, but rebounded with a win over No. 7

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

in the

Champions Classic The Champions Classic is an event that tips off the NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It features four of the top college basketball programs in the United States: Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Duke, Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, ...

. Shortly thereafter, MSU fell to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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 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 ...

game to No. 9-ranked

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 ...

, but won their next six conference games. The streak included a win over No. 11

. Following a loss to No. 7

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, MSU again went on a winning streak, winning their next five games including wins against No. 18

and No. 4

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. 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 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 ...

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 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 ...

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 Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

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 Seth Adham Curry (born August 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one year at Liberty University before transferring to Duke. ...

with 29 points, in the Sweet Sixteen. Appling's 16 points and Payne's 14 were not enough in the loss.

Roster

Depth chart

Schedule and results

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Player statistics

Source

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings Source

Awards and honors

* Gary Harris - Big Ten Freshman of the Year * Gary Harris - All Big Ten Second Team * Adreian Payne - All Big Ten Second Team * Keith Appling - All Big Ten Second Team (Coaches); All Big Ten Third Team (Media) * Derrick Nix - All Big Ten Honorable Mention (Coaches) * Keith Appling - NABC All-District Second Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball Team Michigan State Spartans men's basketball 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 ...

2012 in sports in Michigan 2013 in sports in Michigan