The Spartans finished the 1997 – 98 season 22 – 8 , 13 – 3 in Big Ten play to earn a share of the Big Ten regular season championship . They lost in the quarterfinals of the inaugural Big Ten Tournament to Minnesota . Michigan State received an at-large bid as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament , their first trip to the Tournament under Tom Izzo . They defeated Eastern Michigan and Princeton to advance to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to No. 1-seeded North Carolina
Big Ten Tournament
1998 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
1998–99 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team