# 2014–15 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 20th year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished with a record of 27–12, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They defeated Ohio State and Maryland to advance to the Big Ten tournament championship where they lost to Wisconsin. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 7 seed in the East region. They defeated Georgia and Virginia to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.They defeated Oklahoma and Louisville to advance to the Final Four for the seventh time under Tom Izzo. There the Spartans lost to eventual National Champion, Duke.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2013–14 season with a record of 29–9, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. They won the Big Ten tournament by defeating Michigan and received the conference's automatic bid as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 17th straight trip to the Tournament. They advanced to the Elite Eight, their eighth trip under Tom Izzo, before losing to eventual National Champion, UConn.
The Spartans lost Adreian Payne (16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game) and Gary Harris (16.7 points per game) to the NBA draft and Keith Appling (11.2 points per game) to graduation (eventually to the NBA) following the season.

## Offseason
### 2014 recruiting class

Tom Izzo again went big in recruiting for the 2014 season and again was shunned. Michigan State made offers to Cliff Alexander, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, and Tyler Ulis, but all went to other schools. As a result, MSU signed only one top 100 player, Lourawls Nairn, Jr. Analysts have argued that it is Izzo's unwillingness to cheat that has cost him some of these recruits.
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Lourawls Nairn, Jr. #14 PG | Bel Aire, KS | Sunrise Christian Academy | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 26, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Javon Bess #24 SF | Gahanna, OH | Lincoln High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Oct 21, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Marvin Clark, Jr. #43 SF | Blue Springs, MO | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 219 lb (99 kg) | Mar 24, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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 2014". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 9, 2014. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved May 9, 2014. "ESPN - Michigan State Spartans Basketball Recruiting 2014". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 9, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 9, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 9, 2014. ||||||

## Season summary

Michigan State was led by seniors Travis Trice (15.3 points and 5.1 assists per game) and Branden Dawson (11.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game) and junior Denzel Valentine (14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game). The Spartans started the season ranked No. 18 in the country.
The Spartans had two players transfer to the team. Eron Harris transferred from West Virginia. Under NCAA transfer rules, Harris had to redshirt for the 2014–15 season. Bryn Forbes transferred from Cleveland State. The NCAA granted Forbes a waiver due to family hardship that allowed Forbes to play immediately without having sit out a season.
MSU began the season with a trip to play Navy in Annapolis, Maryland at the Naval Academy. The Spartans survived a scare to win a close game 64–59. The Spartans then traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in the Champions Classic, but were unable to outlast Duke (whom they would later meet in the Final Four), losing 81–71. MSU won their next four games, including wins over Santa Clara, Rider, and Marquette in the Orlando Classic. In the championship game of the Orlando Classic, the Spartans fell to No. 11 Kansas 61–56. Despite the loss, MSU moved up to No. 19 in the polls. In the ACC–Big Ten Challenge, MSU could not hold off Notre Dame, losing in overtime 79–78. Wins followed against smaller schools including Oakland and Eastern Michigan before MSU was shocked by Texas Southern at home in overtime. Following the loss, the Spartans went unranked the remainder of the season. They finished the non-conference season at 9–4.
In the Big Ten season, the Spartans were swept by Maryland and suffered bad losses to Nebraska, Illinois, and Minnesota in overtime. However, the Spartans rallied late in the season, winning six of their last eight conference games including a win over No. 23 Ohio State and wins at Michigan and at Illinois. MSU finished the season in a three-way tie for third place in conference. The Spartans finished the season with an overall record of 21–10, 12–6 in the Big Ten regular season. The Spartans got hot in the Big Ten tournament beating Ohio State and No. 8 Maryland. They challenged No. 6 Wisconsin for the tournament title, eventually losing the Big Ten tournament Championship in overtime.
The Spartans received an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed in the East Region. The bid was MSU's 18th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. MSU beat Georgia in the First Round and surprised No. 2-seeded and No. 6-ranked Virginia in the Second Round. With the win, the Spartans advanced to their fourth straight Sweet Sixteen and seventh Sweet Sixteen in eight years. In the Sweet Sixteen, they faced No. 3-seeded and No. 13-ranked Oklahoma. MSU defeated Oklahoma by four. Valentine scored 18 points and Trice contributed 24. The win sent MSU to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year and their fourth trip since 2009. Louisville awaited the Spartans in the Elite Eight. The Spartans were pushed to overtime, but again came up with the victory, earning a trip to their seventh Final Four under Tom Izzo. Trice was named the Regional's MVP. In the Final Four, the Spartans fell to the eventual National Champions for the second straight season, losing a rematch of their Champions Classic game to Duke in the National Semifinal.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 3, 2014* 7:00 pm | No. 18 | The Master's College | W 97–56 | | 24 – Valentine | 12 – Valentine | 9 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 7, 2014* 8:00 pm | No. 18 | St. Cloud State | W 101–46 | | 20 – Trice | 11 – Valentine | 11 – Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 14, 2014* 9:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 18 | at Navy Veterans Classic | W 64–59 | 1–0 | 25 – Trice | 8 – Dawson | 6 – Valentine | Alumni Hall (5,699) Annapolis, MD |
| Nov 18, 2014* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 19 | vs. No. 4 Duke Champions Classic | L 71–81 | 1–1 | 18 – Dawson | 9 – Dawson | 8 – Trice | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (19,306) Indianapolis, IN |
| Nov 21, 2014* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 19 | Loyola–Chicago | W 87–52 | 2–1 | 15 – Clark Jr./Dawson | 11 – Costello | 7 – Nairn Jr./Trice/Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 24, 2014* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 20 | Santa Clara Orlando Classic Opening Round | W 79–52 | 3–1 | 19 – Trice | 11 – Schilling/Valentine | 8 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 27, 2014* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | vs. Rider Orlando Classic Quarterfinals | W 77–45 | 4–1 | 19 – Valentine | 9 – Costello | 4 – Trice | HP Field House (3,216) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Nov 28, 2014* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | vs. Marquette Orlando Classic Semifinals | W 79–68 | 5–1 | 25 – Valentine | 8 – Dawson | 7 – Trice | HP Field House (3,449) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Nov 30, 2014* 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 20 | vs. No. 11 Kansas Orlando Classic Championship | L 56–61 | 5–2 | 14 – Trice/Valentine | 9 – Dawson | 2 – Trice | HP Field House (4,842) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Dec 3, 2014* 7:15 pm, ESPN2 | No. 19 | at Notre Dame ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 78–79 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 | 22 – Valentine | 18 – Dawson | 5 – Trice | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) South Bend, IN |
| Dec 6, 2014* 2:15 pm, BTN | No. 19 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 85–52 | 6–3 | 15 – Costello/Trice | 7 – Dawson | 8 – Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 14, 2014* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Oakland | W 87–61 | 7–3 | 19 – Valentine | 6 – Dawson/Schilling | 8 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 17, 2014* 9:00 pm, BTN | No. 25 | Eastern Michigan | W 66–46 | 8–3 | 14 – Forbes | 9 – Costello | 8 – Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 20, 2014* 5:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 25 | Texas Southern | L 64–71 $^{OT}$ | 8–4 | 17 – Costello | 10 – Costello | 3 – Bess/Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 22, 2014* 6:00 pm | | The Citadel | W 82–56 | 9–4 | 18 – Valentine | 6 – Clark Jr./Valentine | 11 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Dec 30, 2014 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 12 Maryland | L 66–68 $^{2OT}$ | 9–5 (0–1) | 26 – Trice | 11 – Dawson | 6 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 5, 2015 7:00 pm, BTN | | Indiana | W 70–50 | 10–5 (1–1) | 15 – Valentine | 13 – Dawson | 7 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 8, 2015 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at Iowa | W 75–61 | 11–5 (2–1) | 25 – Trice | 15 – Dawson | 6 – Valentine | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,054) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 11, 2015 12:00 pm, BTN | | Northwestern | W 84–77 $^{OT}$ | 12–5 (3–1) | 18 – Trice | 9 – Dawson | 10 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 17, 2015 4:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 14 Maryland | L 59–75 | 12–6 (3–2) | 14 – Dawson | 10 – Dawson | 5 – Valentine | Xfinity Center (17,950) College Park, MD |
| Jan 21, 2015 7:00 pm, BTN | | Penn State | W 66–60 | 13–6 (4–2) | 11 – Schilling/Valentine | 10 – Dawson/Schilling | 4 – Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 24, 2015 4:00 pm, ESPN | | at Nebraska | L 77–79 | 13–7 (4–3) | 27 – Trice | 18 – Dawson | 3 – Trice/Valentine | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,757) Lincoln, NE |
| Jan 29, 2015 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Rutgers | W 71–51 | 14–7 (5–3) | 18 – Forbes | 11 – Dawson | 5 – Trice | Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,088) Piscataway, NJ |
| Feb 1, 2015 1:00 pm, CBS | | Michigan Rivalry | W 76–66 $^{OT}$ | 15–7 (6–3) | 25 – Valentine | 10 – Dawson | 9 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 7, 2015 12:00 pm, ESPN | | Illinois | L 54–59 | 15–8 (6–4) | 16 – Valentine | 7 – Costello/Valentine | 4 – Valentine | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 10, 2015 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Northwestern | W 68–44 | 16–8 (7–4) | 16 – Trice | 10 – Dawson | 8 – Valentine | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,265) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 14, 2015 12:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 23 Ohio State | W 59–56 | 17–8 (8–4) | 17 – Valentine | 11 – Dawson | 5 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 17, 2015 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at Michigan Rivalry | W 80–67 | 18–8 (9–4) | 23 – Dawson | 13 – Dawson | 7 – Trice | Crisler Center (12,502) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 22, 2015 7:30 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | W 60–53 | 19–8 (10–4) | 20 – Valentine | 9 – Valentine | 4 – Trice | State Farm Center (16,108) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 26, 2015 7:00 pm, BTN | | Minnesota | L 90–96 $^{OT}$ | 19–9 (10–5) | 27 – Valentine | 8 – Dawson | 10 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 1, 2015 4:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 5 Wisconsin | L 61–68 | 19–10 (10–6) | 21 – Forbes | 6 – Schilling | 6 – Valentine | Kohl Center (17,279) Madison, WI |
| Mar 4, 2015 8:00 pm, BTN | | Purdue | W 72–66 | 20–10 (11–6) | 27 – Trice | 7 – Costello | 6 – Trice | Breslin Center (14,797, 2015) East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 7, 2015 Noon, ESPN | | at Indiana | W 74–72 | 21–10 (12–6) | 21 – Trice | 8 – Costello | 7 – Valentine | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 13, 2015 9:00 pm, BTN | (3) | vs. (6) Ohio State Quarterfinals | W 76–67 | 22–10 | 23 – Valentine | 8 – Dawson/Valentine | 7 – Dawson/Valentine | United Center (17,230) Chicago, IL |
| Mar 14, 2015 4:00 pm, CBS | (3) | vs. (2) No. 8 Maryland Semifinals | W 62–58 | 23–10 | 20 – Trice | 8 – Dawson | 7 – Valentine | United Center (18,088) Chicago, IL |
| Mar 15, 2015 3:30 pm, CBS | (3) | vs. (1) No. 6 Wisconsin Championship | L 69–80 $^{OT}$ | 23–11 | 16 – Dawson/Valentine | 8 – Valentine | 6 – Valentine | United Center (17,123) Chicago, IL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 20, 2015* 12:40 pm, truTV | (7 E) No. 23 | vs. (10 E) Georgia Second Round | W 70–63 | 24–11 | 16 – Valentine | 7 – Costello | 6 – Trice/Valentine | Time Warner Cable Arena (16,551) Charlotte, NC |
| Mar 22, 2015* 12:10 pm, CBS | (7 E) No. 23 | vs. (2 E) No. 6 Virginia Third Round | W 60–54 | 25–11 | 23 – Trice | 9 – Dawson | 4 – Valentine | Time Warner Cable Arena (18,482) Charlotte, NC |
| Mar 27, 2015* 10:16 pm, TBS | (7 E) No. 23 | vs. (3 E) No. 13 Oklahoma Sweet Sixteen | W 62–58 | 26–11 | 24 – Trice | 11 – Dawson | 2 – Dawson/Trice/Valentine | Carrier Dome (24,453) Syracuse, NY |
| Mar 29, 2015* 2:20 pm, CBS | (7 E) No. 23 | vs. (4 E) No. 17 Louisville Elite Eight | W 76–70 $^{OT}$ | 27–11 | 17 – Trice | 11 – Dawson | 6 – Valentine | Carrier Dome (24,404) Syracuse, NY |
| Apr 4, 2015* 6:09 pm, TBS | (7 E) No. 23 | vs. (1 S) No. 4 Duke Final Four | L 61–81 | 27–12 | 22 – Valentine | 11 – Valentine | 5 – Nairn Jr./Valentine | Lucas Oil Stadium (72,238) 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 | GS | Tot | Avg | Pts | Avg | FG | FGA | Pct | 3FG | 3FA | Pct | FT | FTA | Pct | Off | Def | Tot | Avg | A | Stl | Blk | Tov |
| Bess, Javon | 12 | | 148 | 12.3 | 32 | 2.7 | 11 | 23 | .478 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 9 | 21 | .429 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 2.9 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| Bohnhoff, Trevor | 13 | | 23 | 1.8 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 4 | .500 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Clark, Marvin | 39 | | 437 | 11.2 | 179 | 4.5 | 64 | 127 | .504 | 21 | 62 | .336 | 27 | 40 | .675 | 30 | 56 | 86 | 2.2 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 29 |
| Costello, Matt | 39 | | 794 | 20.4 | 273 | 7.0 | 110 | 190 | .579 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 53 | 79 | .671 | 79 | 123 | 202 | 5.2 | 29 | 16 | 48 | 31 |
| Dawson, Branden | 35 | | 1055 | 30.1 | 415 | 11.9 | 182 | 340 | .535 | 0 | 0 | | 51 | 104 | .490 | 102 | 216 | 318 | 9.1 | 59 | 42 | 58 | 67 |
| Ellis, Alvin | 32 | | 274 | 8.6 | 55 | 1.7 | 17 | 53 | .321 | 6 | 25 | .240 | 15 | 33 | .455 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 0.7 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 18 |
| Forbes, Bryn | 39 | | 1022 | 26.2 | 332 | 8.5 | 110 | 246 | .447 | 70 | 164 | .427 | 42 | 52 | .808 | 8 | 48 | 56 | 1.4 | 38 | 23 | 5 | 31 |
| Nairn, Lourawls | 39 | | 758 | 19 | 85 | 2.2 | 28 | 88 | .318 | 3 | 10 | .300 | 26 | 48 | .542 | 6 | 56 | 62 | 1.6 | 94 | 11 | 1 | 36 |
| Schilling, Gavin | 39 | | 659 | 16.9 | 199 | 5.1 | 82 | 141 | .582 | 0 | 0 | | 35 | 73 | .476 | 66 | 84 | 150 | 3.8 | 15 | 7 | 25 | 33 |
| Trice, Travis | 39 | | 1309 | 33.6 | 598 | 15.3 | 195 | 497 | .397 | 90 | 244 | .369 | 118 | 165 | .715 | 18 | 105 | 123 | 3.2 | 197 | 40 | 6 | 69 |
| Valentine, Denzel | 39 | | 1295 | 33.2 | 567 | 14.5 | 197 | 445 | .443 | 102 | 245 | .416 | 71 | 86 | .826 | 46 | 199 | 245 | 6.3 | 167 | 35 | 9 | 92 |
| Wetzel, Keenan | 14 | | 31 | 2.2 | 3 | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | .111 | 1 | 7 | .143 | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wollenman, Colby | 29 | | 220 | 7.6 | 36 | 1.2 | 17 | 28 | .607 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 9 | .222 | 14 | 35 | 49 | 1.7 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Total | 35 | | 7050 | | 2793 | 79.8 | 1009 | 2078 | .486 | 321 | 739 | .434 | 454 | 623 | .729 | 427 | 1027 | 1454 | 40.5 | 719 | 414 | 177 | 156 |
| Opponents | 39 | | 8025 | | 2482 | 63.6 | 833 | 2104 | .396 | .224 | 712 | .315 | 592 | 820 | .722 | 378 | 869 | 1247 | | 409 | 217 | 110 | 416 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received 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 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 19 | RV | 25 | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | — | RV | RV | — | RV | 23 | Not released |
| Coaches | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 22 | RV | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | — | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 22 | 7 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

## Awards and honors
### Post-season awards
#### Branden Dawson

* All Big Ten Second Team
* Big Ten All-Defensive Team
* NABCA All-District Second Team
* USBWA All-District Team

#### Travis Trice

* All Big Ten Third Team
* NCAA Tournament East Region Most Outstanding Player

#### Denzel Valentine

* All Big Ten Third Team
* USBWA All-District Team
* NCAA Tournament All-East Regional Team