The 2014–15 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 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 20th 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 ...

as 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 with a record of 27–12, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They defeated

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 ...

and

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 ...

to advance to the

Big Ten tournament Big Ten Tournament can refer to any Big Ten Conference sport that has a tournament or championship game: * Big Ten Football Championship Game * Big Ten men's basketball tournament * Big Ten women's basketball tournament * Big Ten baseball tournamen ...

championship where they lost 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 an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 7 seed in the East region. They defeated

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.They defeated

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

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 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 ...

for the seventh time under Tom Izzo. There the Spartans lost to eventual National Champion,

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 ...

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 2013–14 season with a record of 29–9, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. They won the

by defeating

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, ...

and received the conference's automatic bid as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 17th straight trip to the Tournament. They advanced to the Elite Eight, their eighth trip under Tom Izzo, before losing to eventual National Champion,

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. The Spartans lost

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 ...

(16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game) and

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

(16.7 points per game) to the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

and

Keith Appling Keith Damon Appling (born February 13, 1992) is an American former basketball player and convicted murderer. After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Appling appeared sporadically for the Orlando Magic before being waived in 2016. He played c ...

(11.2 points per game) to graduation (eventually to the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

) following the season.

Offseason

2014 recruiting class

Tom Izzo again went big in recruiting for the 2014 season and again was shunned. Michigan State made offers to

Cliff Alexander Cliffton Nirgel Alexander (born November 16, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Guaiqueríes de Margarita of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). He completed his freshman season at the University of Kansas f ...

Tyus Jones Tyus Robert Jones (born May 10, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The older brother of NBA player Tre Jones, he previously played for his hometown team, the Mi ...

Jahlil Okafor Jahlil Obika Okafor (; born December 15, 1995) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Noblesville Boom of the NBA G League. He played his freshman season of college basketball for the 2014–15 Duke Blue Devils men's baske ...

, and Tyler Ulis, but all went to other schools. As a result, MSU signed only one top 100 player, Lourawls Nairn, Jr. Analysts have argued that it is Izzo's unwillingness to cheat that has cost him some of these recruits.

Roster

Season summary

Michigan State was led by seniors

Travis Trice Travis Lamar Trice II (born January 22, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans, leading his tea ...

(15.3 points and 5.1 assists per game) and

Branden Dawson Branden James Dawson (born February 1, 1993) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Gary, Indiana, he attended Lew Wallace High School and played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. In his senior season ...

(11.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game) and junior

Denzel Valentine Denzel Robert Valentine (born November 16, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. As a senior, Valentin ...

(14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game). The Spartans started the season ranked No. 18 in the country. The Spartans had two players transfer to the team. Eron Harris transferred from

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Under NCAA transfer rules, Harris had to redshirt for the 2014–15 season.

Bryn Forbes Bryn Jerrel Forbes (born July 23, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Cleveland State and Michigan Sta ...

transferred from

Cleveland State Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school th ...

. The NCAA granted Forbes a waiver due to family hardship that allowed Forbes to play immediately without having sit out a season. MSU began the season with a trip to play

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

at the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

. The Spartans survived a scare to win a close game 64–59. The Spartans then traveled to

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 ...

to participate 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, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan State. The venue changes from year to ...

, but were unable to outlast Duke (whom they would later meet in the Final Four), losing 81–71. MSU won their next four games, including wins over Santa Clara, Rider, and Marquette in the Orlando Classic. In the championship game of the Orlando Classic, the Spartans fell to No. 11

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 ...

61–56. Despite the loss, MSU moved up to No. 19 in the polls. 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 ...

, MSU could not hold off Notre Dame, losing in overtime 79–78. Wins followed against smaller schools including

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 ...

and

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

before MSU was shocked by

Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...

at home in overtime. Following the loss, the Spartans went unranked the remainder of the season. They finished the non-conference season at 9–4. In the Big Ten season, the Spartans were swept by

and suffered bad losses to

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

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

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 overtime. However, the Spartans rallied late in the season, winning six of their last eight conference games including a win over No. 23

and wins at

and at Illinois. MSU finished the season in a three-way tie for third place in conference. The Spartans finished the season with an overall record of 21–10, 12–6 in the Big Ten regular season. The Spartans got hot in the Big Ten tournament beating Ohio State and No. 8 Maryland. They challenged No. 6

for the tournament title, eventually losing the Big Ten tournament Championship in overtime. The Spartans received an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed in the East Region. The bid was MSU's 18th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. MSU beat

in the First Round and surprised No. 2-seeded and No. 6-ranked

in the Second Round. With the win, the Spartans advanced to their fourth straight Sweet Sixteen and seventh Sweet Sixteen in eight years. In the Sweet Sixteen, they faced No. 3-seeded and No. 13-ranked

. MSU defeated Oklahoma by four. Valentine scored 18 points and Trice contributed 24. The win sent MSU to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year and their fourth trip since 2009.

awaited the Spartans in the Elite Eight. The Spartans were pushed to overtime, but again came up with the victory, earning a trip to their seventh Final Four under Tom Izzo. Trice was named the Regional's MVP. In the Final Four, the Spartans fell to the eventual National Champions for the second straight season, losing a rematch of their Champions Classic game to

in the National Semifinal.

Schedule and results

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

Player statistics

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Awards and honors

Post-season awards

Branden Dawson

* All Big Ten Second Team * Big Ten All-Defensive Team * NABCA All-District Second Team * USBWA All-District Team

Travis Trice

* All Big Ten Third Team * NCAA Tournament East Region Most Outstanding Player

Denzel Valentine

* All Big Ten Third Team * USBWA All-District Team * NCAA Tournament All-East Regional Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2014-15 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 2014 in sports in Michigan 2015 in sports in Michigan