The 2008–09 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Tom Izzo who was in his 14th year as head coach. The team played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were member of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished the season 31–7, 15–3 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten regular season championship by four games. They defeated Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Ohio State in the semifinals. The Spartans received their 12th-straight NCAA tournament bid, an at-large bid as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region. 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.
Previous season
The Spartans finished the 2007–08 season 27–9, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. Michigan State received a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 11th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, their seventh trip under Tom Izzo, before losing to Memphis.
The Spartans lost Drew Neitzel (13.9 points and 4 assists per game) to graduation following the season.
2008 recruiting class
Season summary
Michigan State was led by sophomore Kalin Lucas (14.7 points and 4.6 assists per game), junior Raymar Morgan (10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game), and senior Goran Suton (10.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game).
Regular season
The team began the season ranked No. 6 in the country and began the season well with home wins against Idaho and IPFW (coached by future MSU assistant coach Dane Fife).
The Spartans next traveled to Florida to participate in the Old Spice Classic. In the first round, they faced unranked Maryland who controlled the game, defeating MSU 80–62. The Spartans rebounded from the loss to Maryland by beating Oklahoma State 94–79 in the consolation bracket. In the consolation championship, MSU defeated Wichita State 65–57 behind 12 points from Marquise Gray.
The Spartans then faced No. 1 North Carolina in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge at the site of the upcoming Final Four, Ford Field. There, MSU was blown out, 98–63. Izzo took the blame for the loss, "The blame goes on me for the scheduling. We were dead."
Michigan State returned home after playing five straight games away from the Breslin Center. Following easy wins over Bradley, Alcorn State, and The Citadel, MSU then went on the road again to face No. 5-ranked Texas at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. 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. Durrell Summers hit a three-pointer with 18.6 second remaining to help pull out a 67–63 win.
The Spartans next defeated Oakland at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, 82–66, to move to 9–2 and were ranked No. 10 in the country to finish the non-conference schedule.
MSU opened conference play on New Year's Eve with a win over No. 21 Minnesota behind a career-high 24 points from Kalin Lucas. 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. 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. Lucas again led the Spartans, scoring 22 points as the Spartans won 75–62 for their ninth straight win, pushing their record to 13–2 on the season.
Wins over Penn State and No. 20 Illinois pushed the win streak to 11. Prior to the win over Illinois, the Spartans retired Morris Peterson's jersey. The win over Illinois also gave MSU a 5–0 record in Big Ten play, their best start in conference since 1978. Looking to extend their win streak to 12 games, MSU welcomed Northwestern to the Breslin Centeron January 21. The Spartans, hampered by Raymar Morgan's sickness, were stunned by Northwestern, losing 70–63. The loss ended the Spartans 28-game home winning streak as well and left them at 5–1 in conference, 15–3 overall.