By the beginning of the 2008 – 09 season , Izzo 's teams , though having great success in the NCAA Tournament , had not won the Big Ten regular season title since 2001 . A solid non-conference start left them at 9 – 2 and were ranked No. 10 in the country . MSU routed the Big Ten , winning their first five conference games , their best start in conference since 1978 . MSU finished the conference season well , winning 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 . As the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament , the Spartans defeated Minnesota . However , Michigan State 's hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament likely vanished as they were defeated by Ohio State , 82 – 70 . 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 . With wins over Robert Morris and USC , the Spartans were able to advance to the Sweet Sixteen , the school 's eighth trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the previous 12 years . MSU advanced to the Elite Eight with a win over No. 14-ranked and No. 3-seeded Kansas . In the Elite Eight , the Spartans defeated Louisville to advance to Final Four in nearby Detroit , only 90 miles from MSU 's campus . The Spartans defeated UConn in the national semifinals to earn their third-ever trip to the National Championship game . With Izzo 1 – 0 in championship games and the Spartans 2 – 0 all-time , 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 89 – 72 , marking the Spartans first ever loss in the National Championship game
Big Ten Tournament
2008 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball