Michigan State has been to the tournament 28 times and won the Championship twice (1979 & 2000). Nine of the appearances by Michigan State in the "March Madness" Basketball Tournament have been under Coach George "Jud" Heathcote (1978 to 1995). Seventeen of the appearances by MSU have been under Coach Tom Izzo (1998 to 2014). In fact, Izzo brought the Spartans to the Elite Eight at the tournament eight times and the Final Four six times.
2015 will mark Michigan State's 18th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Tournament. This accomplishment trails current consecutive appearances by Kansas at 25 and Duke at 19.
Tournament Records:
- Michigan State won the Championship on two occasions: 1979 and 2000.
- Michigan State came in 2nd in the tournament once, losing to North Carolina: 2009.
- Michigan State played in the Final Four on eight occasions.
- Michigan State made it to the Elite Eight on four additional occasions (for a total of 11).
- Michigan State has been to the tournament 28 times: 1957, 1959, 1978, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
- Michigan State has had 17 consecutive tournament appearances. (1998-2014)
Biggest Upsets:
- Seventh-seed Michigan State beat 2nd-seed Florida in the second round in 2003, 68-46.
- Third-seed Michigan State lost to 14th-seed Weber State in 1995.
Additional Information and Stats:
- Michigan State has been a number one seed five times from 1990 to 2013.
- Michigan State's winning percentage is .684. (Through 2012)
- Michigan State has won 56 tournament games and lost 26 (Through 2013).
- Michigan State ranks 7th in the nation in percentage of tournament-game wins (1957-2012).
Sources:
- Team Stats / ESPN GO
- Tournament History / NCAA.com