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Associate head coach Dwayne Stephens (11th year) | ||
The 2013–14 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2013–14 college basketball season. The Spartans, led by 19th year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at the Breslin Center and were members of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished the season with a record of 29–9, 12–6 to finish in a tie for second place in Big Ten play. The Spartans won the Big Ten Tournament Championship and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, MSU's 17th straight trip. MSU reached the Elite Eight losing to eventual National Champion, Connecticut.
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Previous season
The Spartans finished the 2012–13 season with an overall record of 27–9, 13–5 to finish in second place in the Big Ten. Michigan State received a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, their 16th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Duke.
The Spartans lost Derrick Nix (9.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.6 APG) to graduation following the season.
Season summary
Michigan State began the season looking to continue Tom Izzo's Final Four streak: every player who had played four years for Izzo had made at least one Final Four. For the first time under Izzo, the team selected no captains.
Seniors Adreian Payne (16.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.3 APG) and Keith Appling (11.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 4.5 APG), junior Branden Dawson (11.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.6 APG), and sophomore Gary Harris (16.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.7 APG) led the Spartans as they looked to continue the Final Four streak.
MSU started the preseason ranked No. 2 overall and after beating No. 1 Kentucky in the Champions Classic, the Spartans moved to the No. 1 spot. The Spartans held the No. 1 spot for three weeks before losing to North Carolina in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Spartans cruised through the remaining non-conference schedule, finishing 11–1, to begin the Big Ten season ranked No. 5 in the country.
The Spartans won their first seven conference games including a win over No. 3 Ohio State. After a loss to No. 21 Michigan in East Lansing on a College Gameday game, the Spartans also lost to Georgetown in a non-conference game at Madison Square Garden. Due to injuries to Appling, Payne, and Dawson, MSU lost five of their last eight conference games to finish in a second-place tie with Wisconsin at 12–6. Michigan State finished the regular season at 23–8 overall and ranked No. 22 in the country.
The Spartans, finally healthy and at full strength, beat Northwestern, No. 12 Wisconsin, and No. 8 Michigan to capture the Big Ten Tournament Championship. This marked Michigan State's fourth tournament championship, tying them with Ohio State for the conference record. As a result, MSU earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for 17th consecutive year.
Michigan State earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament's East Region. With wins against Delaware and Harvard, they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the third straight year and the 12th time in 17 years. They defeated No. 1-seeded Virginia in the Sweet Sixteen to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2010. There they fell to No. 7 seed and eventual National Champion, Connecticut. With the loss, the Tom Izzo's Final Four streak ended.
Shortly after the season, Gary Harris declared for the NBA Draft.
2013 recruiting class
Coach Tom Izzo heavily recruited number two overall recruit Jabari Parker for his 2013 class hoping to make it the centerpiece for the recruiting class. Michigan State, however, lost out to Duke on Parker and other top recruits.