In 1998 , MSU welcomed freshman recruit Charlie Bell , the fourth of Izzo 's " Flintstones " and started slow . They lost to No. 7 Temple , and suffered surprising losses to UIC and Detroit in non-conference . However , MSU would win nine of their first 10 conference games before losing to eventual conference co-champion Illinois . In January , MSU entered the AP and Coaches rankings for the first time since the end of the 1994 – 95 season . The Spartans finished in a tie for the conference championship , their first since 1990 , with a record of 13 – 3 in conference play . The Spartans earned the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big Ten Tournament , but lost their first game in the quarterfinals to Minnesota . Izzo 's team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed in the East Region , their first trip to the Tournament since 1995 . MSU advanced to their first Sweet Sixteen since 1990 by beating Eastern Michigan and No. 8 Princeton . The Spartans were eliminated from the Tournament by No. 1 North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen
Big Ten Tournament
1998 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball