It wasn’t simple, but Michigan State has made it into the Big Dance, locking in a nine-seed in the West Region.
The Spartans have thus extended their streak of NCAA Tournament appearances, which is currently the NCAA’s longest active one. To be exact, they’ve now made 26 NCAA Tournaments in a row. This streak dates back all the way to the last century. It started in 1998.
Before heading into the NCAAB betting sites for this year’s March Madness season, here is a historical overview of the Spartans basketball program and the streak that they’ve prolonged.
Pre-Izzo Overview
Michigan State has a long and successful history that extends to well before the arrival of current head coach Tom Izzo. While Izzo won a national championship with the Spartans in 2000, the program’s first one came in 1979.
In 1979, a certain former Los Angeles Laker played for Michigan State whose name you might know: Magic Johnson. He had to battle against Larry Bird-led Indiana State, but the Hall-of-Famer helped his team triumph over the previously undefeated Sycamores.
Before Izzo’s arrival in 1995, the Spartans achieved two Final Four appearances, with the other one taking place in 1957, and ten NCAA Tournament appearances.
Izzo Era Overview
It would be inaccurate to say that Tom Izzo transformed the Spartan program. It was already a strong program with a tremendous history. However, it would also be inaccurate to deny that Izzo elevated Michigan State’s basketball program.
Since arriving in 1995, Izzo has taken his Spartans to the Final Four eight times. He led his Spartans to the program’s second-ever national championship in 2000. Michigan State also achieved a runner-up finish in 2009.
Izzo is the all-time winningest coach at Michigan State, so he carries a lot of responsibility for the team’s triumphs over the years.
His teams are known for being disciplined, and he is visibly a high-strung and energetic coach who is also highly emotional. He’ll yell at his players but also hug them even in between plays. Michigan State keeps making the NCAA Tournament because Izzo keeps getting the best out of his guys.
Here are some highlights from Izzo’s tenure, in the third year of which (1998) this NCAA Tournament streak began.
1999: Back In the Final Four
1999 is worth highlighting because it was the Spartans’ first Final Four appearance under Izzo and their first Final Four appearance since Magic Johnson led them 20 years ago.
To get to the Final Four, they had to defeat Kentucky, which they did with a score of 73-66.
2000: National Championship
The Spartans won the title this year.
What is impressive about their success this year was the injury-luck that they had to deal with. One of their seniors, Mateen Cleaves, had to miss Michigan State’s non-conference games. He also suffered an injury with a few minutes to go in the national title game.
Still, the Spartans were able to become champions by beating Florida 89-76.
2005: Back to the Final Four
After Michigan State suffered some disappointing NCAA Tournament exits, Izzo took his Spartans back to the Final Four.
They again beat Kentucky in the Elite Eight. This game was an absolute thriller. Kentucky launched a desperation shot at the end of the regulation that, after a long review, referees determined did count as a three-pointer.
This game ended up going into double overtime where the Spartans relied on clutch free throw shooting to advance with a score of 94-88.
2009: Huge Win Over UConn
In 2009, the Spartans advanced to the national title game by upsetting a difficult UConn team. Izzo’s team relied on depth pressure and prowess in transition.
Close Calls
Michigan State has fielded a lot of superior teams that had no problem making it into the Big Dance. But what is, in a sense, perhaps most impressive about its ongoing NCAA Tournament streak, is the close calls.
A lot of these close calls seem to have come lately, but they are not confined to Michigan State’s most recent history.
In 2002, for example, the Spartans were a ten seed and lost in the first round after having to deal with losing Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson to the NBA in the previous offseason.
In 2021, Michigan State was an 11 seed. A highlight component of its streak extension was its 60-58 win over Penn State. Struggling to make shots, the Spartans were down by four with just three minutes to go but triumphed by scoring the final six points of the game.
They lost to 11-seed UCLA in the play-in game, which it had to participate in after suffering a first-round Big Ten exit at the hands of Maryland.
This year, Michigan State suffered a late-season slump filled with struggles to score. The Spartans ended up being a nine seed, perhaps securing their spot away from the play-in game after defeating Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.
