Spartans Wrapped: A Recap of 2024 Michigan State Basketball
With the year winding down, let’s reflect on the rollercoaster 2024 for Michigan State Basketball.
Michigan State started the new year with optimism, even with a record of 8-5. It seemed like the Spartans had recovered from the nightmare start to the season with a win over No. 6 Baylor in Detroit.
However, once Big Ten play got into full swing the Spartans regressed to the team they were at the beginning of the season.
After back-to-back road losses to Northwestern and Illinois, the Spartans were at rock bottom, 1-4 in conference play and 9-7 overall, on the wrong side of the tournament bubble with two months remaining.
On Jan. 30, Michigan State beat the Michigan Wolverines 81-62, clinching Coach Tom Izzo's 700th win as head coach.
By the middle of February, The Spartans proved they could hang with the best in the conference after beating No. 10 Illinois 88-80 at the Breslin Center.
Then the Spartans regressed again, losing three straight games by less than 7 points. Their season would conclude with a frustrating loss to two-time Naismith Player of the Year, Zach Edey, and the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers.
Despite a 30-point effort from Walker, Michigan State lost their final regular season game to the Indiana Hoosiers, 65-64. Finishing the regular season 18-13 and 10-10 in conference play.
The Spartans needed at least one win in the Big Ten Tournament to feel confident about their chances of making the NCAA tournament for the 26th straight season under Tom Izzo.
They would avenge their regular season loss against the Golden Gophers, beating them in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament and solidifying a trip to March Madness.
After starting the season as the No. 4 team in the country, the Spartans ended with the No. 9 seed in their region, a far fall from contention for a national title.
But Michigan State handled the No. 8 seed Mississippi State out of the SEC. With the first-round win, the Spartans were rewarded with playing the No.1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Spartans came out hot, taking an early 12-point lead; it looked like another vintage Izzo upset in March until the Tar Heels woke up. Eventually, North Carolina caught fire from range and took care of Michigan State, ending a wild season for the Spartans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Izzo came under fire for his squad not living up to expectations. Many fans criticized his reluctance to use the transfer portal as a reason why the Spartans floundered.
So over the summer, Izzo changed his recruiting philosophy and dipped into the portal. He didn’t pick up big names but found players like forward Frankie Fiddler from Omaha and center Syzmon Zapala from Utah State.
The overall sentiment from critics was that these additions wouldn’t be enough to replace the departing talent from seniors like Hall and Walker. As well as losing guard A.J. Hoggard and center Mady Sissoko to the portal.
But Izzo stayed the course, trusting that his young squad would develop over the course of the season.
There were a lot of questions heading into the 2024-25 season and the picture wasn't so clear early on.
Especially after scraping by with a close win against Bowling Green and getting crushed by Kansas in the Champions Classic, there wasn’t much hope for Michigan State to get back to the top of the sport.
Then there was a turning point for the mood of fans at the Maui Invitational. Izzo made a few lineup adjustments and perimeter shots started to fall. After beating North Carolina in the third-place game, the Spartans reached a high that hadn’t been felt in a while.
The development of the 2023 recruiting class entering their second season and the rise of freshman Jase Richardson have flipped the expectations for this team.
Michigan State continued to impress, taking care of business against mid-majors. The Spartans re-entered the AP Top 25 for the first time in over a year in early December and currently sit at No. 18 in the country with a record of 10-2.
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