# 2012–13 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2012–13 Michigan State Spartans represented Michigan State University in the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Tom Izzo who was in his 18th year. The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI and were members of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished with a record of 27–9, 13–5 to finish in a tie for second place in Big Ten play. The Spartans lost in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament to Ohio State. MSU received a bid to the NCAA tournament for the 16th straight year where they reached the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year, losing to Duke.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2011–12 season with a record of 29–8, 13–5 to earn a share of the Big Ten Championship. They won the Big Ten tournament to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 15th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Louisville.

## Offeseason

The Spartans lost Draymond Green (16.2 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.8 APG) to the NBA draft following the season.

### 2012 recruiting class

Michigan State's top-10 ranked recruiting class, was headlined by 6'4" SG Gary Harris. The rest of the class consisted of PF Matt Costello, PF Kenny Kaminski, and PG Denzel Valentine. Notably, Matt Costello and Denzel Valentine finished first and second, respectively, in the voting for Michigan's Mr. Basketball, MSU's fourth straight Mr. Basketball signee (2011 winner Dwaun Anderson originally signed with Michigan State, but was released from his National Letter of Intent to go to Wagner College for personal reasons).
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Gary Harris #2 SG | Indianapolis, Indiana | Hamilton Southeastern High School (IN) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Nov 26, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Kenny Kaminski #16 PF | Medina, Ohio | Medina Sr. High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Jul 31, 2010 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Matt Costello #17 PF | Linwood, Michigan | Bay City Western High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Aug 11, 2010 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Denzel Valentine #26 SF | Lansing, MI | J. W. Sexton High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Michigan State Commit List for 2012". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010. "ESPN - Michigan State Spartans Basketball Recruiting 2012". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010. "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010. ||||||

## Season summary

Juniors Adreian Payne (10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game) and Keith Appling (13.4 points per game), senior Derrick Nix (9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game), and sophomore Branden Dawson (8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) led the Spartans. Freshman Gary Harris (12.9 points per game) also played a major role for the Spartans. The Spartans began the season ranked No. 14 in both polls and traveled to Germany to play Connecticut at Ramstein Air Force Base. The Spartans were stunned by UConn, but rebounded with a win over No. 7 Kansas in the Champions Classic. Shortly thereafter, MSU fell to Miami in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Spartans defeated Tuskegee at Jenison Field House, their former basketball home on Michigan State's campus in a series of games held to commemorate the "Game of Change" that occurred during the 1963 NCAA tournament. The Spartans cruised through the remaining non-conference season to finish at 11–2 and ranked No. 18 in the country.
Michigan State lost their first Big Ten game to No. 9-ranked Minnesota, but won their next six conference games. The streak included a win over No. 11 Ohio State. Following a loss to No. 7 Indiana, MSU again went on a winning streak, winning their next five games including wins against No. 18 Minnesota and No. 4 Michigan. The streak ended with losses to No. 1 Indiana, at No. 18 Ohio State, and at No. 4 Michigan in a three-game stretch leaving MSU at 11–5 in conference. MSU rebounded to win the final two games against No. 22 Wisconsin and Northwestern. The Spartans finished in a second place tie with Ohio State with a 13–5 conference record and ranked No. 8 in the country.
As the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament, MSU faced Iowa in the quarterfinals. After a brutal first half where the Spartans only mustered 20 points and trailed Iowa 30–20 at the break, MSU responded. Led by Keith Appling and Gary Harris' 13 points each, MSU rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to pull out the 59–56 victory. The win moved MSU to the semifinals of the tournament against Ohio State. In a hard fought battle, MSU was unable to pull out the victory, falling to OSU 61–58.
The Spartans received a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 16th straight appearance in the Tournament. Led by Derrick Nix's 23 points and 15 rebounds in the game, as the Spartans cruised to a 65–54 win over Valparaiso in the first round. In the second round, Gary Harris led the Spartans with 23 points as MSU blew out Memphis to advance to their fifth Sweet Sixteen in six years. The trip to the Sweet Sixteen also marked the Spartans 11th trip in the prior 16 years. However, the Spartans were defeated by No. 2 seed Duke, who was led by Seth Curry with 29 points, in the Sweet Sixteen. Appling's 16 points and Payne's 14 were not enough in the loss.

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench |
| C | Derrick Nix | Matt Costello |
| PF | Adreian Payne | Alex Gauna |
| SF | Branden Dawson | Russell Byrd |
| SG | Gary Harris | Denzel Valentine |
| PG | Keith Appling | Travis Trice |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 30, 2012* 7:00 pm | No. 14 | Northwood | W 85–57 | | 16 – Dawson | 8 – Nix/Payne | 7 – Appling | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 2, 2012* 8:30 pm | No. 14 | Saint Cloud State | W 62–49 | | 14 – Nix | 11 – Payne | 4 – Appling | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 9, 2012* 5:30 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | vs. Connecticut Armed Forces Classic | L 62–66 | 0–1 | 17 – Appling | 11 – Nix | 4 – Appling | Ramstein Air Base (3,086) Kaiserslautern, Germany |
| Nov 13, 2012* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 21 | vs. No. 7 Kansas Champions Classic | W 67–64 | 1–1 | 19 – Appling | 7 – Nix/Payne | 4 – Valentine | Georgia Dome (22,847) Atlanta, GA |
| Nov 18, 2012* 12:00 pm | No. 21 | Texas Southern | W 69–41 | 2–1 | 19 – Harris | 11 – Nix | 5 – Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 20, 2012* 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 15 | Boise State | W 74–70 | 3–1 | 22 – Appling | 5 – Appling/Dawson | 7 – Appling | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 23, 2012* 8:15 pm, BTN | No. 15 | Oakland | W 70–52 | 4–1 | 20 – Appling | 10 – Valentine | 6 – Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 25, 2012* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 15 | Louisiana–Lafayette | W 63–60 | 5–1 | 19 – Appling | 10 – Payne | 5 – Appling | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 28, 2012* 7:30 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | at Miami (FL) ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 59–67 | 5–2 | 15 – Appling | 8 – Harris | 4 – Appling | BankUnited Center (5,791) Coral Gables, FL |
| Dec 1, 2012* 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 13 | Nicholls State | W 84–39 | 6–2 | 13 – Appling | 12 – Payne | 6 – Appling | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 5, 2012* 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 19 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 76–44 | 7–2 | 13 – Harris | 7 – Dawson | 5 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 8, 2012* 2:00 pm, BTN | No. 19 | Loyola (IL) | W 73–61 | 8–2 | 20 – Harris | 10 – Payne | 7 – Appling | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 15, 2012* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | Tuskegee | W 92–56 | 9–2 | 25 – Appling | 13 – Nix | 4 – Trice | Jenison Fieldhouse (6,589) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 18, 2012* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | at Bowling Green | W 64–53 | 10–2 | 13 – Harris | 8 – Nix | 2 – 4 tied | Stroh Center (4,291) Bowling Green, OH |
| Dec 22, 2012* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | Texas | W 67–56 | 11–2 | 25 – Nix | 11 – Nix | 3 – Appling/Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Dec 31, 2012 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | at No. 9 Minnesota | L 63–76 | 11–3 (0–1) | 15 – Appling | 7 – Payne | 5 – Appling | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 05, 2013 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 18 | Purdue | W 84–61 | 12–3 (1–1) | 22 – Harris | 11 – Dawson | 8 – Appling | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 10, 2013 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 22 | at Iowa | W 62–59 | 13–3 (2–1) | 17 – Dawson | 7 – Nix | 4 – Appling/Valentine | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (12,872) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 13, 2013 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | Nebraska | W 66–56 | 14–3 (3–1) | 17 – Nix | 8 – Valentine | 9 – Appling | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 16, 2013 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 18 | at Penn State | W 81–72 | 15–3 (4–1) | 20 – Payne | 7 – Payne | 4 – Nix | Bryce Jordan Center (6,585) University Park, PA |
| Jan 19, 2013 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | No. 11 Ohio State | W 59–56 | 16–3 (5–1) | 15 – Appling | 10 – Dawson | 3 – Appling | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 22, 2013 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | at Wisconsin | W 49–47 | 17–3 (6–1) | 19 – Appling | 13 – Dawson | 3 – Payne | Kohl Center (17,249) Madison, WI |
| Jan 27, 2013 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 13 | at No. 7 Indiana | L 70–75 | 17–4 (6–2) | 21 – Harris | 9 – Payne | 6 – Nix | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 31, 2013 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | Illinois | W 80–75 | 18–4 (7–2) | 24 – Appling | 9 – Dawson | 7 – Appling | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 6, 2013 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | No. 18 Minnesota | W 61–50 | 19–4 (8–2) | 15 – Harris | 7 – Payne | 4 – Harris | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 9, 2013 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | at Purdue | W 78–65 | 20–4 (9–2) | 20 – Dawson | 6 – Payne/Valentine | 4 – Valentine | Mackey Arena (14,845) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 12, 2013 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | No. 4 Michigan Rivalry | W 75–52 | 21–4 (10–2) | 17 – Harris | 8 – Valentine | 4 – Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 16, 2013 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 8 | at Nebraska | W 73–64 | 22–4 (11–2) | 16 – Appling | 14 – Payne | 4 – Appling | Bob Devaney Sports Center (12,202) Lincoln, NE |
| Feb 19, 2013 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | No. 1 Indiana | L 68–72 | 22–5 (11–3) | 19 – Harris | 7 – Payne/Valentine | 3 – Nix/Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 24, 2013 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 4 | at No. 18 Ohio State | L 60–68 | 22–6 (11–4) | 14 – Harris | 15 – Payne | 5 – Harris | Value City Arena (18,809) Columbus, OH |
| Mar 3, 2013 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 9 | at No. 4 Michigan Rivalry | L 57–58 | 22–7 (11–5) | 17 – Payne | 12 – Payne | 5 – Appling | Crisler Center (12,693) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Mar 7, 2013 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | No. 22 Wisconsin | W 58–43 | 23–7 (12–5) | 19 – Appling | 11 – Payne | 4 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 10, 2013 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 10 | Northwestern | W 71–61 | 24–7 (13–5) | 16 – Appling | 6 – Dawson | 6 – Nix | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 15, 2013 9:00 pm, BTN | (3) No. 8 | vs. (6) Iowa Quarterfinals | W 59–56 | 25–7 | 18 – Payne | 10 – Payne | 3 – Nix/Trice | United Center (21,229) Chicago, IL |
| Mar 16, 2013 4:18 pm, CBS | (3) No. 8 | vs. (2) No. 10 Ohio State Semifinals | L 58–61 | 25–8 | 17 – Nix | 9 – Nix | 3 – Payne/Trice | United Center (21,824) Chicago, IL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 21,2013* 12:15 pm, CBS | (3 MW) No. 9 | vs. (14 MW) Valparaiso Second Round | W 65–54 | 26–8 | 23 – Nix | 15 – Nix | 4 – Harris | The Palace of Auburn Hills (18,863) Auburn Hills, MI |
| Mar 23, 2013* 2:45 pm, CBS | (3 MW) No. 9 | vs. (6 MW) No. 19 Memphis Third Round | W 70–48 | 27–8 | 23 – Harris | 10 – Payne | 6 – Valentine | The Palace of Auburn Hills (21,723) Auburn Hills, MI |
| Mar 29, 2013* 9:58 pm, CBS | (3 MW) No. 9 | vs. (2 MW) No. 6 Duke Sweet Sixteen | L 61–71 | 27–9 | 16 – Appling | 10 – Payne | 2 – Dawson/Harris | Lucas Oil Stadium (35,520) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. |||||||||

## Player statistics

Individual player statistics (Final) :
| | | Minutes | Minutes | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | | | | |
| Player | GP | Tot | Avg | Pts | Avg | FG | FGA | Pct | 3FG | 3FA | Pct | FT | FTA | Pct | Off | Def | Tot | Avg | A | Stl | Blk | Tov |
| Appling, Keith | 36 | 1208 | 33.6 | 481 | 13.4 | 156 | 376 | .415 | 41 | 128 | .320 | 128 | 171 | .749 | 14 | 109 | 123 | 3.4 | 120 | 46 | 20 | 84 |
| Bohnoff, Trevor | 4 | 3 | 0.8 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Byrd, Russell | 27 | 202 | 7.5 | 43 | 1.6 | 14 | 51 | .275 | 7 | 41 | .171 | 8 | 16 | .500 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 0.7 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Chapman, Dan | 11 | 10 | 0.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Costello, Matt | 30 | 184 | 6.1 | 44 | 1.5 | 15 | 32 | .469 | 0 | 0 | | 14 | 17 | .824 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 1.3 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 7 |
| Dacey, Emmett | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dawson, Branden | 36 | 969 | 26.9 | 321 | 8.9 | 139 | 262 | .531 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 43 | 80 | .538 | 77 | 135 | 212 | 5.9 | 47 | 57 | 33 | 73 |
| Gauna, Alex | 35 | 214 | 6.1 | 43 | 1.2 | 20 | 37 | .541 | 0 | 0 | | 3 | 6 | .500 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 1.0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 13 |
| Harris, Gary | 34 | 1010 | 29.7 | 439 | 12.9 | 150 | 329 | .456 | 65 | 158 | .411 | 74 | 98 | .755 | 30 | 56 | 86 | 2.5 | 46 | 45 | 6 | 51 |
| Kearney, Brandan | 13 | 220 | 16.9 | 30 | 2.3 | 11 | 37 | .297 | 3 | 16 | .188 | 5 | 9 | .556 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 1.5 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 14 |
| Nix, Derrick | 36 | 994 | 27.6 | 358 | 9.9 | 130 | 257 | .506 | 0 | 0 | | 98 | 142 | .690 | 19 | 157 | 237 | 6.6 | 56 | 39 | 5 | 53 |
| Payne, Adreian | 36 | 922 | 25.6 | 379 | 10.5 | 137 | 251 | .546 | 16 | 42 | .381 | 89 | 105 | .848 | 75 | 198 | 273 | 7.6 | 27 | 27 | 46 | 64 |
| Sibedwo, Bella | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trice, Travis | 27 | 503 | 18.6 | 129 | 4.8 | 41 | 128 | .320 | 29 | 72 | .403 | 18 | 25 | .720 | 8 | 34 | 42 | 1.6 | 50 | 25 | 1 | 34 |
| Valentine, Denzel | 36 | 749 | 20.8 | 180 | 5.0 | 69 | 155 | .445 | 16 | 57 | .281 | 26 | 39 | .667 | 39 | 110 | 149 | 4.1 | 87 | 28 | 12 | 71 |
| Wetzel, Keenan | 10 | 7 | 0.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 14 | 21 | 15 | 13 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | Not released |
| Coaches | 14 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 13 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
Source

## Awards and honors

* Gary Harris - Big Ten Freshman of the Year
* Gary Harris - All Big Ten Second Team
* Adreian Payne - All Big Ten Second Team
* Keith Appling - All Big Ten Second Team (Coaches); All Big Ten Third Team (Media)
* Derrick Nix - All Big Ten Honorable Mention (Coaches)
* Keith Appling - NABC All-District Second Team