1997 – 98 Michigan State Spartans men 's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1997 – 98 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing , Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference . They were coached by third-year head coach , Tom Izzo . The Spartans finished the season 22 – 8 , 13 – 3 in Big Ten play to win a share the regular season Big Ten regular season championship . As the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big Ten tournament , they were upset by Minnesota in the quarterfinals . MSU received a bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East region , marking the school 's first appearance in the Tournament since 1995 . They defeated Eastern Michigan in the First Round which marked their first Tournament win since 1994 . They then defeated Princeton to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1990 . There they lost to No. 1-ranked North Carolina
Big Ten tournament
1998 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team