Michigan State University Men's Basketball Tickets

Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball History

Michigan State University first fielded a men's basketball team in 1898, less than a decade after the sport's invention. By 1957, the school won its first Big Ten title and made its first appearance in the Final Four under coach Forrest "Forddy" Anderson. Michigan State won its first national championship under Jud Heathcote in 1979 when Earvin "Magic" Johnson helped lead the Spartans to a 75-64 victory over Larry Bird and the Indiana State Sycamores, in the most-watched men’s college basketball game of all-time.

Current head coach Tom Izzo, a former assistant at MSU, replaced Heathcote upon his retirement in 1995 and guided MSU to its second national championship victory in 2000. With the Spartans, Izzo has netted an additional National Championship game appearance in 2009, eight Final Four runs, six Big Ten tournament titles, over 700 career wins and a record for 11 Big Ten regular season championships, tied with Bob Knight and Ward Lambert. In 2025, the Spartans advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019.

Michigan State Spartans Team Info

Conference: Big Ten
Team Colors: Green and white
Team Rivals: Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin

Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center

East Lansing, Michigan is home to one of the premier basketball programs in the Big Ten Conference. The Michigan State Spartans play at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center, which opened in 1989 and seats 14,797.