The 2016–17 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 22nd-year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference.
They finished the season 20–15, 10–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Penn State in the second round before losing to Minnesota in the quarterfinals. They received a bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed in the Midwest region. The bid marked the 20th straight bid to the NCAA Tournament for the Spartans, the fourth-longest streak ever and third-longest active streak. They defeated No. 8-seeded Miami in the First Round before losing to No. 1-seeded Kansas in the Second Round. The 15 losses by MSU were the second most ever under Tom Izzo, behind only his 16 losses in his first season as head coach at MSU.
Previous season The Spartans finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 29–6, 13–5 to finish in second place in Big Ten play. MSU won the Big Ten tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, their 19th straight trip to the Tournament. As a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, they were upset by No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee in the First Round.
The Spartans were led by Player of the Year winner Denzel Valentine, 19.2 points, 7.8 assists, and 7.5 rebounds per game, Bryn Forbes, 14.4 points per game, and Matt Costello, 10.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Offseason
Departures The Spartans lost their top three scorers from the previous season in Valentine, Forbes, and Costello, all seniors. Deyonta Davis declared for the NBA draft, leaving after only one season with the Spartans. Davis became only the second player to leave MSU for the NBA after just one year. Javon Bess and Marvin Clark also announced they would transfer to another school. In all, five of the Spartans top six scorers from 2015 to 2016 did not return. Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Javon Bess 2 F 6'5" 220 Sophomore Gahanna, OH Transferred Marvin Clark 15 F 6'6" 230 Sophomore Blue Springs, MO Transferred Matt Costello 10 F 6'9" 240 Senior Bay City, MI Graduated Deyonta Davis 23 F 6'10" 240 Freshman Muskegon, MI Declared for NBA draft Bryn Forbes 5 G 6'3" 190 RS Senior Lansing, MI Graduated/NBA Denzel Valentine 45 G 6'5" 220 Senior Lansing, MI Graduated/NBA Draft
Transfers On May 4, 2016, UNLV graduate transfer, Ben Carter, announced he would transfer to Michigan State. He was eligible to play immediately. Carter, a 6-foot 9 inch forward, averaged 8.6 points, 6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 24 minutes per game prior to a knee injury the previous year.
Recruiting class
The 2016 recruiting class was called the best ever for Tom Izzo. Two five-star recruits, Miles Bridges (top 10 overall) and Joshua Langford (top 20 overall), and two four-star recruits, Cassius Winston (top 30 overall) and Nick Ward (top 50 overall) made up the incoming class. The class had been ranked in the top four nationally since all four signed their letters of intent.
Preseason On October 3, 2016, it was announced that Ben Carter suffered a knee injury and would miss a significant amount of time.
On October 12, 2016, the school announced the Breslin Center's new court design.
On October 14, 2016, Michigan State held its Midnight Madness celebration. Izzo wore his Hall of Fame jacket to begin the event, but changed into a coaching jacket and said he would be wearing this jacket for eight to 10 more years and that the Hall of Fame jacket will only be worn in "retirement or death".
On October 19, 2016, Michigan State announced the Gavin Schilling had suffered a non-contact knee injury prior the Midnight Madness event. The injury would require surgery and there was no timetable for Schilling's return.
MSU was ranked No. 9 in the preseason Coaches' Poll and No. 12 in the preseason AP Poll.
Preseason award watch lists On October 18, 2016, Eron Harris was named to the watch list for the Jerry West Award, given annually to the top shooting guard in the nation. Two days later, Miles Bridges was named to the watch list for the Karl Malone Award, given to the top power forward in the nation. On November 10, Bridges was also named to the 50-member watch list for Naismith Award, given to the top player in the nation.
Exhibition games In the first exhibition game on October 27, 2016, the Spartans defeated Division II Northwood, 93–69. Freshman Miles Bridges made a good first impression, totaling 33 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Freshman big man Nick Ward also performed well, scoring 19 points in 21 minutes of play. Cassius Winston, also a freshman, netted nine points and nine assists. Kenny Goins and Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. added eight points each. Freshamn Josh Langford did not play due to a hamstring issue. Izzo seemed disappointed with the team's first half defensive performance, calling on the lack of effort in defense and rebounding.
On November 2, 2016, the Spartans defeated Saginaw Valley State, ranked No. 4 in Division II, 87–77 in their final exhibition game. Miles Bridges again performed well, scoring 20 points with seven rebounds and four blocks. Cassius Winston added 18 points and six assists and Eron Harris had 14 points and nine rebounds. Matt McQuaid added 12 points and Nick Ward had six with three rebounds. Josh Langford did not play again due to his hamstring injury. Izzo was again disappointed with the teams inconsistency, praising their early defense, but disappointed as the Spartans allowed Saginaw Valley State to close the lead.
Regular season
Non-conference regular season The Spartans faced a difficult non-conference schedule that included travel of over 13,000 miles and playing eight games in 22 days. The Spartans also faced four ranked teams in the non-conference schedule and lost all four games. In their first eight games, they played only two home games.
November The Spartans traveled to Hawaii to face No. 10 Arizona on November 11 to open the regular season. The Spartans wore wear special black camo uniforms for the game. The Spartans started well, jumping out to an early 17–2 lead over the Wildcats. Miles Bridges made some spectacular dunks, played 37 minutes and led the Spartans in scoring with 21, but MSU struggled offensively after its good start allowing Arizona to take the lead at the half. However, after the struggles, the Spartans were able to tie the game with seven seconds remaining on a "Tum Tum" Nairn three-pointer. Arizona however took the ball down the court and hit a layup with a little over a second left to win the game 65–63. Izzo was frustrated with his team's play, especially foul troubles and commented that he "played [Bridges] too much". Michigan State struggled with foul trouble as Cassisus Winston, Eron Harris, Joshua Langford, and Nairn each had three.
The Spartans traveled to New York to play No. 2 Kentucky in the Champions Classic on November 16. The Spartans started well, leading for portions of the early minutes of the game, but the talented Wildcats soon took over and routed the Spartans 69–48. Bridges struggled immensely in the game, looking like a freshman as he turned the ball over nine times and scored only six points. Senior guard Eron Harris was pulled early from the game after not giving enough effort and only played 13 minutes. Kenny Goins led the Spartans with nine points and Bridges added 12 rebounds, but the Spartans were no match for Kentucky. Bridges apologized to Izzo following the game saying it wouldn't happen again. Izzo stated that he was "a little embarrassed" at the team's offensive play. The Spartans moved to 0–2 on the season, the first time they had started the season 0–2 since 2011 when they lost their first two games to No. 1 North Carolina and No. 6 Duke.
MSU opened its home season on November 18 versus Mississippi Valley State. Looking to rebound from their early rough start, the Spartans struggled offensively early in the game. However, MSU took over quickly as Bridges dunked and shot the Spartans to a 48–23 lead at the half while scoring 21 points in the half. Bridges finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists as MSU rolled over the Delta Devils, 100–53. Eron Harris added 19 points, Nick Ward had 18, and Matt McQuaid finished with 15 points. The Spartans moved to 1–2 on the season.
Two days later, the Spartans welcomed Florida Gulf Coast to the Breslin Center. This game was far from a laugher, however. Harris led the Spartans with 33 points, but missed two free throws in the waning seconds to give FGCU a chance to win. Florida Gulf Coast needed a basket with 1.6 seconds left to win it, but as the ball was in-bounded, the clock started early, before any player had touched it, resulting in the buzzer going off as Gulf Coast's Antravious Simmons attempted a last second shot. The play was reviewed, but the officials ruled that it could not be replayed, only that had Simmons' shot gone in, it would have counted despite the clock. Izzo lamented that his team looked soft as they were outrebounded 41–29. The 78–77 win put the Spartans at 2–2 on the season as they traveled to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
In the first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on November 23, the Spartans faced St. John's. Miles Bridges was again the star for the Spartans, scoring 22 points and adding 15 rebounds as the Spartans pulled away from the St. John's in the second half. Eron Harris added 14 points and "Tum Tum" Nairn tied his career high with 13 including a breakaway slam dunk and three three-pointers. The Spartans won 73–62 to advance to the tournament semifinals against Baylor. Izzo was still concerned with his team's play, stating that "It's still not smooth for us. It may not be for a while."
In the semifinals the next day, the Spartans faced No. 20-ranked Baylor. The Spartans started well and played a good first half, leading 33–30. Izzo changed his starting lineup for the first time, moving Matt McQuaid to the bench and starting Josh Langford. McQuaid answered by hitting two early three-pointers, but in the second half, the Spartans appeared to tire. Baylor pulled away easily as the Spartans could not answer their inside game. The Bears won easily, 73–58, forcing the Spartans to the third place game against Wichita State. After the game, Izzo apologized to his team for the schedule. He said that the schedule allowed for little practice time and hurt his players' development.
In the third place game on November 24, Izzo again started Langford in place of McQuaid and the Spartans, for the second straight game, started well. At the half, the Spartans led by 10. The lead blossomed to as many as 18 in the second half as Bridges scored 21 and Harris added 13. However, the Shockers fought back to within a basket, but the Spartans hit free throws down the line to pull out the 77–72 victory. The win moved the Spartans to 4–3 on the season.
Following the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, the Spartans fell from the top-25 rankings in both polls and would remain unranked the remainder of the season.