The 2004–05 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented

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

in the

2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2004, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on Apr ...

. The Spartans, led by 10th-year head coach

Tom Izzo Thomas Michael 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 le ...

, 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 pus ...

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 47,741. The city is located immediate ...

and were members of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. MSU finished the season 25–7, 13–3 to finish in second place in the Big Ten. They received a bid to the NCAA tournament for the eighth consecutive year and advanced to the Final Four before losing to eventual National Champion

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Previous season

The

Spartans Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...

finished the 2003–04 season 18–12, 12–4 in Big Ten play to finish in third place. They lost in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament to

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. They received a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, their seventh straight trip to the Tournament, and lost in the First Round to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Season summary

The Spartans were led by senior Alan Anderson (13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game), juniors

Maurice Ager Maurice Darnell Ager (born February 9, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans from 2002 until 2006. Ager led the Spartans to the NCAA Final Four as a junior in 200 ...

(14.1 points per game) and Paul Davis (12.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game), and sophomore

Shannon Brown Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003, and played college basketball for Michigan State ...

(10.9 points per game). They began the season ranked No. 13 in the country. The Spartans struggled early in the non-conference schedule, beginning 3–2 with losses to No. 10

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

in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

in the BB&T Classic. MSU won their remaining non-conference games to finish the non-conference schedule with a record of 8–2 and ranked No. 20 in the country. The Spartans cruised through the Big Ten, only losing three games, including a loss to No. 1

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and finished second in conference to Illinois. MSU finished the regular season with a 13–3 conference record and 22–5 overall while being ranked No. 13 in the country. The Spartans lost in the quarterfinals in the Big Ten tournament to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Michigan State received an at-large bid as a No. 5 seed in the Austin Regional of the NCAA tournament, their eighth straight appearance in the Tournament under Tom Izzo. After having exited in the First Round the prior year, the Spartans faced Old Dominion in the First Round in the dreaded 5 vs. 12 seed matchup. The Spartans trailed by five at half time, 42–37, but rallied to pull out the victory, 89–81. In the Second Round, MSU faced No. 13 seed

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Led by Maurice Ager's 19 points, the Spartans won 72–61 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the sixth time in eight years. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Spartans beat No. 3-ranked and No. 1-seeded

, which MSU had not defeated since 1958. After a first half which saw the score tied at 32, MSU pulled out a rugged victory to advance to the Elite Eight, winning 78–68 behind Paul Davis' 20 points and 12 rebounds. The win marked Izzo's first and only win over Duke's

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...

until the Elite Eight victory over #1 seeded Duke in 2019. In the Elite Eight, MSU faced No. 7-ranked and No. 2-seeded

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

. The Spartans trailed 37–33 after the first half, but rallied to take the lead by eight with over five minutes remaining in regulation. However, Kentucky rallied to within three with seconds remaining. After missing two attempts to tie the game, Patrick Sparks got a desperation shot off with less than second remaining. After bouncing four times on the rim, the ball went through the hoop for a basket, but officials had to review the replay to determine if his foot was on the three-point line. After a five-minute review, Kentucky was given credit for the three to move the game to overtime. Both teams only managed six points in the overtime period, scoring none in the final minute to force double overtime. On the strength of free throw shooting in the second overtime, the Spartans pulled out the win, 94–88. The win meant the Spartans advanced to their fourth

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

in seven years. With Illinois also advancing to the Final Four to face

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, the Big Ten had two teams in the Final Four for the first time since

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

when

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

defeated

on the way to the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, 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 be ...

. No. 2-ranked and No. 1-seeded

loomed as the opponent for MSU in the Final Four. MSU took the halftime lead at 38–33, but North Carolina's

Sean May Sean Gregory May (born April 4, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina. May was born in Chicago, Illinois ...

scored 22 points and Spartans were outscored by 19 in the second half, losing 87–71.

Roster

Schedule and results

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Player statistics

Source

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Awards and honors

*Alan Anderson – All Big Ten Second Team (Media), All Big Ten Third Team (Coaches) *Alan Anderson – USBWA All-District Team *Maurice Ager – All Big Ten Second Team (Coaches), All Big Ten Third Team (Media) *Paul Davis – All Big Ten Third Team *Shannon Brown – All Big Ten Honorable Mention (Coaches) *Drew Neitzel – All Big Ten All-Freshman Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2004-05 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 team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team