# 2009–10 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2009–10 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Tom Izzo who was in his 15th year. The Spartans played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished the season 28–9, 14–4 in Big Ten play to earn a share of the Big Ten regular season championship for the 12th time in school history. They lost to Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament. The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 5 seed, their 13th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament under Izzo. They defeated New Mexico State, Maryland, Northern Iowa, and Tennessee to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four, the Spartans' sixth trip to the Final Four under Izzo, they lost to Butler.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2008–09 season 31–7, 15–3 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten regular season championship. Michigan State received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 12th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the National Championship game, their second trip to the title game under Tom Izzo, before losing to North Carolina.

## Offseason

The Spartans lost Goran Suton (10.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game) to the NBA draft following the season.

### 2009 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Garrick Sherman #12 C | Kenton, Ohio | Kenton High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 19, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Derrick Nix #10 C | Detroit | Pershing High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 275 lb (125 kg) | Apr 21, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: Not Ranked ||||||
| 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 2009". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "ESPN – Michigan State Spartans Basketball Recruiting 2009". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 15, 2009. ||||||

## Season summary

Michigan State was led by junior Kalin Lucas (14.8 points and 4 assists per game), senior Raymar Morgan (11.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game), and sophomore Draymond Green (9.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3 assists per game). The Spartans began the season ranked No. 2 in the polls following their trip to the National Championship game in 2009. MSU competed in the Legends Classic and were upset by Florida in the semifinals. In the third place game, the Spartans routed UMass. MSU fell to again to No. 10 North Carolina in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge in a rematch of the prior year's National Championship game. The Spartans finished the non-conference schedule at 10–3, also losing at No. 2 Texas. The Spartans were ranked No. 11 in the country entering the Big Ten regular season.
The Spartans began the Big Ten season on fire, winning their first nine games, with wins over No. 25 Northwestern and No. 17 Wisconsin in the first two games. The winning streak ended with three straight losses to Wisconsin, Illinois, and No. 6 Purdue. The Spartans rebounded to finish 14–4 in Big Ten play and capture a share of the Big Ten regular season title. Michigan State completed the regular season at 24–7 and ranked 11th in the country. As the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they were defeated in overtime by No. 6 seed Minnesota in the quarterfinals.
The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, their 13th straight appearance, earning a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region. Lucas scored a career high 25 points to pull off a controversial win against New Mexico State in the First Round. In the Second Round, Lucas went down with a serious knee injury and the Spartans needed a three-point shot from Korie Lucious at the buzzer to advance past Maryland. Without Lucas for the remainder of the Tournament, MSU beat Northern Iowa and Tennessee to advance to their second consecutive Final Four and sixth in the last twelve years. In the National Semifinal, they were defeated by National Runner-Up, Butler.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 13, 2009* 7:00 pm, ESPN360 | No. 2 | Florida Gulf Coast | W 97–58 | 1–0 | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 17, 2009* 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | Gonzaga | W 75–71 | 2–0 | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 20, 2009* 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 2 | Toledo Legends Classic | W 75–62 | 3–0 | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 22, 2009* 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 2 | Valparaiso Legends Classic | W 90–60 | 4–0 | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 27, 2009* 8:00 pm, HDNet | No. 2 | vs. Florida Legends Classic | L 74–77 | 4–1 | Boardwalk Hall (5,154) Atlantic City, NJ |
| Nov 28, 2009* 5:30 pm, HDNet | No. 2 | vs. Massachusetts Legends Classic | W 106–68 | 5–1 | Boardwalk Hall (3,626) Atlantic City, NJ |
| Dec 1, 2009* 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | at No. 10 North Carolina | L 82–89 | 5–2 | Dean Smith Center (21,346) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Dec 4, 2009* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 9 | Wofford | W 72–60 | 6–2 | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 7, 2009* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 12 | at The Citadel | W 69–56 | 7–2 | McAlister Field House (5,194) Charleston, SC |
| Dec 10, 2009* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | Oakland | W 88–57 | 8–2 | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 19, 2009* 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | IPFW | W 80–58 | 9–2 | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 22, 2009* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 9 | at No. 2 Texas | L 68–79 | 9–3 | Frank Erwin Center (16,734) Austin, TX |
| Dec 30, 2009* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 11 | Texas-Arlington | W 87–68 | 10–3 | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2010 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 11 | at No. 25 Northwestern | W 91–70 | 11–3 (1–0) | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 6, 2010 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 10 | No. 17 Wisconsin | W 54–47 | 12–3 (2–0) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 9, 2010 5:30 pm, BTN | No. 10 | at Iowa | W 71–53 | 13–3 (3–0) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,924) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 13, 2010 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 7 | Minnesota | W 60–53 | 14–3 (4–0) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 16, 2010 3:30 pm, CBS | No. 7 | Illinois | W 73–63 | 15–3 (5–0) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 20, 2010 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 6 | Iowa | W 70–63 | 16–3 (6–0) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 23, 2010 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 6 | at Minnesota | W 65–64 | 17–3 (7–0) | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis |
| Jan 26, 2010 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | at Michigan Rivalry | W 57–56 | 18–3 (8–0) | Crisler Arena (13,751) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 30, 2010 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 5 | Northwestern | W 79–70 | 19–3 (9–0) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 2, 2010 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | at No. 16 Wisconsin | L 49–67 | 19–4 (9–1) | Kohl Center (17,230) Madison, WI |
| Feb 6, 2010 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | at Illinois ESPN College GameDay | L 73–78 | 19–5 (9–2) | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 9, 2010 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | No. 6 Purdue | L 64–76 | 19–6 (9–3) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 13, 2010 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | at Penn State | W 65–54 | 20–6 (10–3) | Bryce Jordan Center (14,017) University Park, PA |
| Feb 16, 2010 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | at Indiana | W 72–58 | 21–6 (11–3) | Assembly Hall (16,075) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 21, 10 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 11 | No. 9 Ohio State | L 67–74 | 21–7 (11–4) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 28, 2010 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 14 | at No. 3 Purdue | W 53–44 | 22–7 (12–4) | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| Mar 4, 2010 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | Penn State | W 67–65 | 23–7 (13–4) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 7, 2010 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 11 | Michigan Rivalry | W 64–48 | 24–7 (14–4) | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 2010 8:55 pm, BTN | (3) No. 11 | vs. (6) Minnesota quarterfinals | L 67–72 $^{OT}$ | 24–8 | Conseco Fieldhouse (17,563) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 19, 2010* 7:35 pm, CBS | (5 MW) No. 13 | vs. (12 MW) New Mexico State First Round | W 70–67 | 25–8 | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (10,851) Spokane, WA |
| Mar 21, 2010* 2:30 pm, CBS | (5 MW) No. 13 | vs. (4 MW) No. 20 Maryland Second Round | W 85–83 | 26–8 | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (11,015) Spokane, WA |
| Mar 26, 2010* 9:37 pm, CBS | (5 MW) No. 13 | vs. (9 MW) Northern Iowa Sweet Sixteen | W 59–52 | 27–8 | Edward Jones Dome (26,377) St. Louis, MO |
| Mar 28, 2010* 2:37pm, CBS | (5 MW) No. 13 | vs. (6 MW) No. 15 Tennessee Elite Eight | W 70–69 | 28–8 | Edward Jones Dome (25,242) St. Louis, MO |
| Apr 3, 2010* 6:07 pm, CBS | (5 MW) No. 13 | vs. (5 W) No. 11 Butler Final Four | L 50–52 | 28–9 | Lucas Oil Stadium (71,298) 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 |
| Allen, Chris | 36 | 917 | 25.5 | 296 | 8.2 | 105 | 244 | .430 | 53 | 133 | .398 | 33 | 45 | .733 | 32 | 69 | 101 | 2.8 | 73 | 16 | 3 | 52 |
| Crandell, Jon | 12 | 17 | 1.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Dahlman, Isaiah | 22 | 88 | 4.0 | 29 | 1.3 | 12 | 20 | .600 | 3 | 8 | .375 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0.4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Green, Draymond | 37 | 945 | 25.5 | 366 | 9.9 | 139 | 265 | .525 | 2 | 16 | .125 | 86 | 128 | .672 | 81 | 205 | 286 | 7.7 | 112 | 45 | 34 | 62 |
| Herzog, Tom | 15 | 55 | 3.7 | 20 | 1.3 | 9 | 11 | .818 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 4 | .500 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 1.2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Kebler, Mike | 25 | 103 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.3 | 1 | 10 | .100 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 6 | 10 | .600 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 0.5 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Lucas, Kalin | 33 | 1027 | 31.1 | 490 | 14.8 | 165 | 364 | .453 | 35 | 99 | .354 | 125 | 162 | .772 | 22 | 40 | 62 | 1.9 | 131 | 40 | 2 | 80 |
| Lucious, Korie | 36 | 825 | 22.9 | 201 | 5.6 | 70 | 205 | .341 | 44 | 139 | .317 | 17 | 23 | .739 | 11 | 50 | 61 | 1.7 | 118 | 27 | 5 | 68 |
| Morgan, Raymar | 36 | 979 | 27.2 | 407 | 11.3 | 154 | 291 | .529 | 5 | 17 | .294 | 94 | 140 | .671 | 77 | 145 | 222 | 6.2 | 63 | 38 | 25 | 69 |
| Nix, Derrick | 36 | 279 | 7.8 | 83 | 2.3 | 35 | 69 | .507 | 0 | 0 | | 13 | 48 | .271 | 34 | 42 | 76 | 2.1 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| Roe, Delvon | 37 | 764 | 20.6 | 238 | 6.5 | 83 | 150 | .553 | 0 | 0 | | 72 | 109 | .661 | 68 | 117 | 185 | 5.0 | 43 | 31 | 35 | 50 |
| Sherman, Garrick | 36 | 259 | 7.2 | 69 | 1.9 | 31 | 52 | .596 | 0 | 0 | | 7 | 11 | .63 | 18 | 39 | 57 | 1.6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| Sims, Dion | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Summers, Durrell | 37 | 971 | 9.3 | 417 | 11.3 | 156 | 343 | .455 | 43 | 120 | .358 | 62 | 78 | .795 | 56 | 118 | 174 | 0.7 | 31 | 25 | 3 | 65 |
| Thornton, Austin | 33 | 195 | 1.2 | 34 | 1.0 | 14 | 41 | .341 | 2 | 10 | .200 | 4 | 4 | 1.000 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 0.1 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 2 (5) | 2 (5) | 2 (7) | 9 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 13 | Not released |
| Coaches | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 (2) | 9 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 4 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

## Awards and honors
### Draymond Green

* Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year
* All Big Ten Third Team

### Kalin Lucas

* All Big Ten First Team
* NABC All District First Team
* USBWA All-District Team

### Raymar Morgan

* All Big Ten Third Team (Coaches)
* All Big Ten Honorable Mention (Media)

### Durrell Summers

* Most Outstanding Player, NCAA Tournament, Midwest Region