The team played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were member of the Big Ten Conference.

They defeated Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Ohio State in the semifinals.

They defeated Robert Morris, USC, Kansas, and Louisville to advance to the Final Four for the fifth time under Izzo.

In the Final Four, they defeated UConn to advance to the National Championship game where they lost to North Carolina.

[3][4] The Spartans rebounded from the loss to Maryland by beating Oklahoma State 94–79 in the consolation bracket.

1 North Carolina in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge at the site of the upcoming Final Four, Ford Field.

"[8] Michigan State returned home after playing five straight games away from the Breslin Center.

[13] MSU, ranked 19th in the AP poll, were led by Goran Suton's 18 points, but still trailed as time wound down in the game.

[17] Wins over Northwestern and Ohio State followed before the Spartans stepped back out of conference to welcome defending national champion Kansas to the Breslin Center on January 11.

[18] MSU fell behind early 7–1 and 11–6, but fought back before taking control of the game at the half with a 37–18 lead.

[23] The win over Illinois also gave MSU a 5–0 record in Big Ten play, their best start in conference since 1978.

[24] Looking to extend their win streak to 12 games, MSU welcomed Northwestern to the Breslin Centeron January 21.

The Spartans then welcomed former Izzo assistant Tom Crean, coach of Indiana, to the Breslin Center on February 7.

[38] Lucas led the Spartans again with 18 points as they defeated Illinois 74–66 clinching a share of the Big Ten regular season championship.

19 Purdue, Lucas scored 21 points to lead MSU to the Big Ten championship by four games with a 15–3 record, 25–5 overall, and ranked No.

[43] Travis Walton was named Defensive Player of the Year, while Goran Suton was a second team All-Big Ten selection.

[44] The win moved the Spartans to the Big Ten semifinals to face Ohio State.

[45] Evan Turner had 18 points to lead the Buckeyes to win the over the Spartans, who shot just 38 percent from the field.

With a surprising offensive output by Travis Walton, scoring a career-high 18 points, the Spartans were able to hold off USC to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

1 seed Louisville with a chance to go to the Final Four in nearby Detroit, only 90 miles from MSU's campus.

[53] MSU led by two at the half and pulled away in the second to win 82–73 to advance to the national championship game.

[54] In contrast to the slowed down play against Louisville in the Elite Eight, MSU pushed the ball and wore out Thabeet and the Huskies.

[53] In the National Championship game, the Spartans were rematched with North Carolina, whom they had also lost to earlier in the season at Ford Field.

Michigan State was appearing in only its third national championship game, going 2–0 in prior trips while winning the 1979 and 2000 Tournaments.

[57] The Spartans held UNC in check more in the second half, outscoring the Tar Heels 38–34, but it was too little too late.