The 2008–09 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

2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2008, and ended with the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 6, 2009, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The season saw six ...

. They were led by 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 ...

who was in his 14th year as head coach. The team played their home games at the Breslin Center in

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 member 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 31–7, 15–3 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten regular season championship by four games. They defeated

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before losing to

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

in the semifinals. The Spartans received their 12th-straight NCAA tournament bid, an at-large bid as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region. They defeated Robert Morris,

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and

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 ...

to advance to the Final Four for the fifth time under Izzo. In the Final Four, they defeated UConn to advance to the National Championship game where they lost to

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 2007–08 season 27–9, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. Michigan State received a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 11th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, their seventh trip under Tom Izzo, before losing to Memphis. The Spartans lost Drew Neitzel (13.9 points and 4 assists per game) to graduation following the season.

2008 recruiting class

Season summary

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 Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

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 Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

who controlled the game, defeating MSU 80–62. The Spartans rebounded from the loss to Maryland by beating

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

94–79 in the consolation bracket. In the consolation championship, MSU defeated

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

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 Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...

. 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 Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. T ...

, and

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

, MSU then went on the road again to face No. 5-ranked

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. 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. The Spartans next defeated

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

at the

Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly known as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Opened in 1988, it was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shock of the ...

in Detroit, 82–66, to move to 9–2 and were ranked No. 10 in the country to finish the non-conference schedule. MSU opened conference play on New Year's Eve with a win over No. 21

behind a career-high 24 points from Kalin Lucas. Wins over Northwestern and

followed before the Spartans stepped back out of conference to welcome defending national champion

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 #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 ca ...

and No. 20

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 ...

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 Spartans, hampered by Raymar Morgan's sickness, were stunned by Northwestern, losing 70–63. 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 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 ...

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 Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 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 Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. MSU led the majority of the game, but Michigan rallied to within four with under five minutes remaining. 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 Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. 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. The Purdue loss broke the road-winning streak, but still left MSU at 20–5 and 10–3 in conference. The Purdue loss would also mark the last regular season loss by the Spartans. Wins over

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 ...

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 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and first outright title since

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. 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. Travis Walton was named Defensive Player of the Year, while Goran Suton was a second team All-Big Ten selection. Delvon Roe was named to the Big Ten freshmen team.

Big Ten tournament

As the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament, MSU had a bye into the quarterfinals. Looking to make their case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, MSU defeated No. 8-seeded Minnesota 64–56 led by Chris Allen's 17 points. 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 Evan Marcel Turner (born October 27, 1988) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted second overall ...

had 18 points to lead the Buckeyes to win the over the Spartans, who shot just 38 percent from the field.

NCAA Tournament

Michigan State received an at-large bid as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament, their 12th straight appearance in the Tournament. Though they only received a No. 2 seed, the path to the Final Four looked good for the Spartans with games in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

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

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

, 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. Michigan State trailed by as many as 13 in the first half as Lucas struggled from the field. MSU trailed 36–29 at the half, but started strong in the second half as Draymond Green cut the Kansas lead to just one point just three minutes into the half. Lucas sealed the win by scoring seven points in the final 49 seconds of the game (going five for five from the free throw line) as MSU advanced to the Elite Eight with a 67–62 win. In the Elite Eight, the Spartans faced overall No. 1 seed

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 Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in the Sweet Sixteen, was held to 52 points and lost for the first time in 14 games. The Spartans, who slowed the game down, were led by Suton's 19 points and 10 rebounds and won 64–52. 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." Durrell Summers contributed 10 second-half points in the win. In Detroit for the Final Four, the Spartans practiced before a crowd of over 30,000 fans as they were clearly the hometown favorites. In the national semifinals, Michigan State faced

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, 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 Hasheem Thabeet (born Hashim Thabit Manka; 16 February 1987) is a Tanzanian professional basketball player who currently plays for Dar City. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies before being drafted second overall in the 2009 NBA ...

. 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. In the National Championship game, the Spartans were rematched with North Carolina, whom they had also lost to earlier in the season at Ford Field. Michigan State was appearing in only its third national championship game, going 2–0 in prior trips while winning the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

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 ...

Tournaments. Further, under Tom Izzo, MSU was 14–2 in the second game of a weekend in NCAA Tournament play. However, the game started horribly for MSU as North Carolina jumped out to a lead of 17–7 in the first five minutes and extend the lead to 24–7 with 14 minutes remaining in the half. 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. MSU's 14 turnovers in the first half aided the Tar Heels 52.9% shooting. The Spartans only made 12 baskets in the first 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

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big Ten tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Player statistics

Source

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
Source

Awards and honors

* Kalin Lucas – Big Ten Player of the Year * Kalin Lucas – NABC All District First Team * Kalin Lucas – USBWA All-District Team * Kalin Lucas – AP All-American honorable mention * Tom Izzo – Big Ten Coach of the Year (Coaches) * Travis Walton – Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year * Goran Suton – All Big Ten Second Team * Goran Suton – NABC All District Second Team * Raymar Morgan – All Big Ten Honorable Mention * Delvon Roe – Big Ten All-Freshman Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball Team Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons

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 ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons 2008 in sports in Michigan 2009 in sports in Michigan