2021–22 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
The 2021–22 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans were led by 27th-year head coach Tom Izzo and played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans finished the season 23–13, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, they defeated Maryland and Wisconsin to advance to the semifinals  where they lost to Purdue. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 7 seed in the West region, marking MSU's 24th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, the second longest active streak. They defeated Davidson in the First Round before losing to Duke in the Second Round. With a win over Toledo on December 4, 2021, Izzo earned his 650th win as head coach of the Spartans. With a win over Maryland on March 6, 2022, Izzo surpassed Bob Knight for the most wins by a men's basketball coach at a Big  Ten school with 663. Previous season. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Spartans finished the 2020–21 season 15–13, 9–11 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for eighth place. The 9–11 finish marked the first time the Spartans had finished with a record under .500 in conference play under Izzo. As the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, they lost to No. 8-seeded Maryland marking the first time the Spartans did not play in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in the tournament's history. The Spartans received an  at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 11 seed in the East region. The selection marked the school's 23rd straight tournament appearance which was the second longest active streak of tournament appearances. In their First Four matchup, they were defeated by eventual Final Four participant UCLA. Offseason. Coaching changes. On April 5, 2021, it was announced that 10-year associate head coach Dane Fife had left the staff to join new Indiana coach Mike Woodson as an assistant at Fife's alma mater. This marked the first time in 10 years that the Michigan State coaching  staff changed. On April 13, it was reported that MSU recruiting coordinator and former Izzo assistant Doug Wojcik had been promoted to assistant coach to replace Fife. Wojcik was previously an assistant with MSU from 2003 to 2005. Like current assistant coach Mike Garland, Wojcik left MSU for head coaching jobs before returning to MSU. Graduate manager and former MSU player Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. announced he was leaving to coach at his old high school, Sunrise Christian Academy. Izzo also announced that former assistant coach and Northern Illinois head coach Mark Montgomery would return to the staff as  recruiting coordinator. Garrett Briningstool, an executive assistant to Izzo the past two years, was named director of basketball operations and chief of staff. He replaced former player David Thomas who had been director for six years and left for a private sector job. Former MSU player Matt McQuaid was named assistant director of basketball operations. Another former player, Austin Thornton, was hired as video coordinator. Julian Stall was named director of creative video. Izzo later announced that Montgomery would be shifted to one of the three assistant coach positions while Garland would transition to an assistant to the head coach  position where he would focus more on players on an individual level. This would also allow Garland to spend more time with his family. Departures. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility for all winter sport athletes. Despite this, fifth-year senior guard Joshua Langford announced he would not return to Michigan State. Langford later announced that he would not pursue a professional basketball career. On March 24, former walk-on guard, Jack Hoiberg, entered his name in the transfer portal. On March 29, sophomore guard Rocket Watts entered his name in the transfer  portal. On April 13, it was announced that junior forward Thomas Kithier had also entered the transfer portal. On April 19, it was reported that junior point guard Foster Loyer had also entered the transfer portal. On April 12, junior forward Aaron Henry announced he would forgo his final two years of eligibility and enter the 2021 NBA draft. Henry was not selected in the draft, but signed a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers after the draft. Recruiting class. On April 22, 2020, four-star shooting guard Pierre Brooks announced he would play for Michigan State in 2021 . Brooks would later be named Michigan's Mr. Basketball for 2021. On July 7, five-star guard Max Christie, the No. 1-ranked shooting guard in Illinois and ranked No. 13 overall nationally, announced he would also play for the Spartans in 2021. Christie was later named the 2021 Chicago Sun-Times Illinois High School Association player of the year. On August 13, Jaden Akins, a four-star point guard and the No. 70 overall player in the 2021 class, committed to MSU. On February 3, 2021, Keon Coleman, a three-star wide receiver announced he would attend Michigan State  to play football, but also said he would walk-on with the basketball team as a guard. On April 30, forward Peter Nwoke announced that he would join the Spartans as a preferred walk-on during the fall. Incoming transfers. On April 28, 2021, the NCAA officially adopted a measure that would allow athletes in all sports to transfer once without sitting out a season beginning with the 2021–22 season. On March 27, Northeastern point guard and 2021 Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Walker announced that he would transfer to Michigan State. Walker averaged 18.8 points  and 4.8 assists per game in his final year at Northeastern. On April 23, Purdue wide receiver Maliq Carr announced that he would transfer to Michigan State to play football and walk on to the men's basketball team. In July, it was announced that two more transfers had joined the team as preferred walk-ons: Jason Whitens from Western Michigan and Michael Peterson from Ferris State. Due to the NCAA's change in the transfer policy, all four players were eligible to play immediately. Early offseason rankings. Most early rankings for the 2021–22 season listed Michigan State as a  preseason top-25 team. These included ESPN (No. 22), Sports Illustrated (No. 18), Yahoo! Sports (No. 13), USA Today (No. 13), CBS Sports (No. 18), Sporting News (No. 9), Stadium (No. 20), and NCAA.com (No. 16). Preseason. COVID-19 vaccinations. Izzo announced on September 28 that the entire staff and all players in the MSU program (from the coaches on down to Breslin Center janitors) had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Izzo stated he was proud of his team for being fully vaccinated. Preseason Big Ten poll. Prior to the conference's annual media day, unofficial awards and a poll were chosen  by a panel of writers. Michigan State was picked to finish sixth in the conference. Preseason rankings. For the first time since 2011, the Spartans were not ranked in the initial AP poll released on October 18, 2021. MSU was 26th in the poll, receiving 87 votes. Izzo stated he was not happy about not being ranked, but understood it. The Spartans were also not ranked in the Coaches poll, but did receive votes. Exhibition. The Spartans played two exhibition games at Breslin Center prior to the opening of the season. The first game was on October 27 against Division  II Ferris State. Gabe Brown led the Spartans with 19 points while freshman Max Christie wowed with 17 points in his debut. The Spartans won easily 92–58. The starting lineup consisted of Tyson Walker, Christie, Brown, Joey Hauser, and Marcus Bingham Jr. The second game was against Grand Valley State on November 4. The Spartans used the same starting lineup and were led by Christie with 14 points. Hauser scored 13 points, five assists, and led the team with nine rebounds. Walker led the team with six assists in the 83–60 win. Injuries. On November 3, it was announced that  walk-on transfer Jason Whitens would miss the season with a torn ACL. He suffered the injury in the exhibition game against Ferris State. Regular season. Early non-conference games. Kansas. The Spartans traveled to Madison Square Garden to face No. 3-ranked Kansas on November 9 in the Champions Classic. The Spartans played well in the first half despite foul trouble for starting point guard Walker. AJ Hoggard played well, leading the Spartans with 17 points, but MSU struggled with turnovers. As a result, the Spartans trailed by seven at the half. Kansas was able to continue to take  advantage of the 16 MSU turnovers and led by as many as 19 in the second half. The Spartans were able to narrow the lead to 10 late in the second half, but could get no closer, losing 87–74. Julius Marble scored 13 for the Spartans while Marcus Bingham Jr. led MSU with seven rebounds in the loss. The Spartans fell to 0–1 on the season. Western Michigan. The Spartans next played Western Michigan at Breslin Center on November 12. Following a slow start where the Broncos made four of their first eight three pointers and led 15–8, MSU took  control and won easily. WMU ended up making only one other three-pointer in the game, finishing five of 28. The Spartans led 46–25 at the half and dominated the game even though they too shot poorly from three, only making four of 19 shots. Gabe Brown led the Spartans with 17 points while Marcus Bingham and Joey Hauser each had 12 points. Tyson Walker had a much better game, playing 20 minutes while scoring nine points and dishing out five assists. AJ Hoggard also played well, scoring seven and leading the team with seven assists. The Spartans dominated the  glass, outrebounding the Broncos by 30 in the easy 90–46 win. The win moved MSU to 1–1 on the season. Butler. MSU returned to the road to play Butler at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse for the Gavitt Tipoff Games on November 17. The game marked Izzo's 900th career game as head coach at MSU and his first visit to Hinkle. MSU jumped out to an early 22–8 lead, limiting Butler to only 25% from the field in the first half, and led by eight at halftime. In the second half, the Bulldogs narrowed the lead to six, but MSU  responded quickly and pulled away again to win easily 73–52. The Spartans did continue to struggle with turnovers, giving up the ball 20 times in the game. However, MSU shot the ball better, shooting 46.9% from the field and 33% from three. Gabe Brown led all scorers with 19 on four of 10 shooting from three. Max Christie scored a career-high 18 and Marcus Bingham added 10 points, six blocks, and six rebounds. The Spartans again dominated the glass, outrebounding Butler 41–25. The win moved MSU to 2–1 on the season. Eastern Michigan. The Spartans next played Eastern Michigan  on November 20 in East Lansing. MSU started poorly, trailing early as Izzo stated his team was not properly prepared for the start of the game. As a result, EMU hung around early before MSU pulled away late in the first half to lead by 18 at the break. Marcus Bingham scored 19 points and added 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. Malik Hall, who started for Joey Hauser (minor calf injury), scored 15 while Gabe Brown added 10 as the Spartans pulled away for an 83–59 win. Tyson Walker had six assists and AJ Hoggard added five  as MSU only turned the ball over 10 times. However, MSU had its poorest shooting effort on the season, making only 44% of their shots. The win moved MSU to 3–1 on the season. Battle 4 Atlantis. The Spartans next traveled to The Bahamas to participate in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, marking MSU's second appearance in the tournament. The bracket was announced on July 28 with Michigan State to face Loyola in the quarterfinals. Loyola. The first game of the tournament took place on November 24 as the Spartans took on former MSU graduate assistant and new Loyola  coach, Drew Valentine. The Spartans started well, opening a 9–0 lead in the game, but were outscored 28–14 thereafter and trailed at the half 28–23. MSU again suffered turnover problems, turning the ball over 20 times in the game. However, they were able to lead for most of the second half as Malik Hall shot a perfect 9–9 from the floor including one three-pointer and five free throws. Hall's career-high 24 points led all scorers, but the game was tied with 16 seconds left in the second half as MSU took a timeout. On the ensuing play , Tyson Walker found Marcus Bingham wide open for an alley-oop dunk to give MSU the two-point lead with four seconds left. Loyola's last second half-court shot was no good as the Spartans held on for the 63–61 win. Bingham added 11 points, nine rebounds, and seven blocks in the game. The win moved MSU to 4–1 on the season. UConn. In the semifinal of the tournament on November 25, MSU took on No. 22-ranked UConn on Thanksgiving Day. The Spartans again started well, taking another early lead, but were able to hold the lead this  time and led by eight at the half, 32–24. Gabe Brown scored 16 for the Spartans in the game as MSU surrendered the lead and trailed by as many as seven with less than five minutes remaining in the game. However, MSU finished the game on an 9–0 run over the last 1:41 of the game to pull out the 64–60 win. Helped by a questionable late foul call on UConn, MSU only turned the ball over 12 times in the game. Malik Hall, after scoring 24 in the previous game, managed only two points, but Julius Marble scored 15  to move MSU to 5–1 on the season. Baylor. Moving on to the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis and playing their third game in three days, the Spartans took on No. 6-ranked Baylor on November 26. The Spartans continued their strong play in the first half, keeping close to Baylor throughout and only trailing by two at the half, 38–36. However, the Spartans struggled in the second half, shooting only 36% from the field and missing all seven three-pointers after going 4–8 from three in the first half. As a result, the Bears were able to  pull away from MSU for the 75–58 win. Jaden Akins scored a career-high 12 points in the loss while Gabe Brown led the Spartans with 13. The loss dropped MSU to 5–2 on the season. Louisville. The newly-ranked Spartans (No. 22 in AP and Coaches Poll) returned home to face Louisville in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge on December 1. The Spartans started well, taking an early lead, but turnovers again caused problems for MSU. Louisville was able to keep the game close for most of the first half despite MSU's great defensive effort, limiting the Cardinals  to 37% shooting overall and only 16% from three in the first half. In contrast, MSU shot the ball well (48% from the field and 60% from three) and was able to pull away to take a 36–28 lead at halftime. The Cardinals again narrowed the lead early in the second half as MSU turned the ball over 19 times, but the Spartan defense took over while MSU continued to shoot the ball well and pushed the lead to as many as 20. Some late substitutions allowed Louisville to pull within eight with about two minutes remaining, but the Spartans  held on for the 73–64 win. MSU shot 46.9% from the field and 55.6% from three. Malik Hall again played well, scoring 15 points, including 3–3 from three, coming off the bench for the first time since the Butler game. Bingham added nine points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks. Max Christie, who had struggled in the Battle 4 Atlantis, rebounded with 11 points while Jaden Akins scored 10 points in only 10 minutes. The win moved MSU to 6–2 on the season and led Izzo to comment after the game that he was happy to start the season with this  record considering who they had played. Toledo. The Spartans next faced Toledo on December 4 at Breslin. The Spartans missed their first four shots before Gabe Brown scored the Spartans first seven points. The Spartans failed to make a three-pointer until 13:16 remained in the first half and were tied at 10. From then on, MSU took control of the game, shooting 41% from the field and 52% from three in the first half, moving the lead to as many as 26. The Rockets scored the final six points of the first half to narrow MSU's lead to  20 at half time. In the second half, Toledo, who had shot only 26% from the field in the first half, played much better. The Rockets were able to narrow MSU's lead to singled digits on multiple occasions, but MSU's defense did the job limiting Toledo to only 35% (16% from three) shooting in the game as the Spartans held on for the 81–68 win. Max Christie led the Spartans with 14 points while Gabe Brown added 12. Tyson Walker scored his most points as a Spartan, 11, and added six assists. The Spartans were able to limit  their turnovers in the game to 12 as they moved to 7–2 on the season. The win also marked Izzo's 650th win at MSU. Early conference games. Minnesota. MSU, now ranked No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the Coaches poll, began its conference schedule with two early Big Ten games, first visiting Williams Arena to face undefeated Minnesota. After being blown out by Minnesota in 2020, the Spartans controlled the game from the tip. Malik Hall and Gabe Brown each had 15 points, while Tyson Walker added a season-high 15 as well. MSU led  by double figures for most of the first half and only turned the ball over five times in the half while limiting the Gophers 30% shooting (18% from three). The Spartan offense also played well in the half, making six of 11 three-pointers and leading by 13 at the half. In the second half, the Spartans pushed the lead to as many as 20, but late turnovers brought Minnesota closer. However, MSU was able to hold on for the 75–67 win. The Spartans shot 48% from the field in the game while limiting to Minnesota 39%. The win moved  MSU to 8–2 on the season and 1–0 in conference play. Penn State. The Spartans returned to home face Penn State on December 11. MSU started well, taking an early, but the Nittany Lions kept the game close until MSU was able to pull away late in the first half and led 42–29 at the half. The Spartans shot 53% from the field in the first half despite making only four of 12 three-pointers. MSU was able to limit Penn State to no three-pointers in the half despite shooting 43% from the field. In the second half, MSU  pushed the lead to as many as 19, but the Lions were able to prevent a bigger lead. However, they could not cut the lead to single digits as the Spartans pulled away. Marcus Bingham had his second double-double of the season with a career-high 13 rebounds and 12 points while Brown scored 15 to lead the Spartans. MSU scored 31 fast break points while PSU only scored three. MSU shot much better from three in the second half, hitting five of nine shots to shoot 42% for the game as they won easily 80–64. Tyson Walker scored  10 points for MSU and added nine assists as he continued his strong play. The win moved MSU to 9–2 on the season and 2–0 in conference play. Remaining non-conference games. Oakland. After playing 11 games in 33 days, the Spartans had a 10-day break before taking on Oakland on December 21 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. MSU, now ranked No. 11 in the country, shot the ball well, shooting over 55% from the field and 39% from three. Max Christie appeared to shake off his recent shooting slump, making 75% of his shots including four of  six three-pointers. Tyson Walker notched his first double-double, scoring 10 points and dishing out 10 assists. Walker only turned the ball over once as well and AJ Hoggard also played well, with seven assists and one turnover. Christie and Marcus Bingham each scored 17 for the Spartans while Gabe Brown added 14 and Malik Hall scored 13. Bingham added 12 rebounds. Oakland was able to keep the game close throughout, but never really threatened as the Spartans won 90–78. The win moved MSU to 10–2 on the season. High Point. The Spartans had another break, this time for  eight days, before playing High Point on December 29. The day before the game, Izzo announced that four players, including starters Marcus Bingham and Max Christie, would not be available for the game after testing positive for COVID-19. MSU, newly ranked No. 10 in both polls, started slowly in the game, missing their first eight shots and trailed by one at the half. In the second half, the Spartans were finally able to pull away as Gabe Brown scored a career-high 24 points while Joey Hauser notched a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Aj Hoggard added  eight assists as the Spartans missed Christie and Bingham defensively, allowing the Panthers to shoot 46% from the field including 52% from three. Meanwhile, MSU shot 50% from three and 47% from the field. The Spartans, with only 10 available players, pulled out the win 81–68. The win moved the Spartans to 11–2 on the season. Remaining conference games. Northwestern. The Spartans traveled to face Northwestern on January 2, 2022. Max Christie and Marcus Bingham both returned to the lineup, but the Spartans struggled in the first half, trailing by as many as 13. MSU struggled from the field, making  only one of 10 three-pointers, but were able to narrow the lead to seven at the half. In the second half, MSU took the lead behind Gabe Brown's 20 points. Northwestern did not go away however as the game turned into a free throw shooting contest with 36 fouls and 51 free throws attempted by the two teams in the second half. Tyson Walker fouled out for MSU and struggled, failing to score. Bingham added 13 while Christie added 11 as the game was still in doubt until Brown hit a three-pointer with less than a minute  remaining to extend the lead to five as the Spartans held on for the road win, 73–67. The win moved MSU to 12–2 on the season and 3–0 in conference play. Nebraska. MSU welcomed Nebraska to Breslin on January 5. Turnovers were again a major concern for the Spartans as they committed 10 in the first 11 minutes of the game. Nebraska also started well, making their first six baskets and shooting 47% from the field in the first half. However, MSU countered their turnover issues in the half by shooting 54% from the field in the half including making  three of eight three-point attempts. MSU was able to cut down on the turnovers later in the game, committing 19 in the game. MSU led 38–34 at the half. The Spartans were led by Gabe Brown offensively and defensively in the game, Izzo said it was perhaps his best defensive effort in a Spartan uniform, as he grabbed four rebounds and four steals. Brown added two blocks and 14 points while Max Christie scored a career-high 21, shooting seven of nine from the field and making all four of his free throws. The Spartans were able to pull  away late, limiting the Cornhuskers to 41% from the field in the second half. MSU held on for the 79–67 win to move to 13–2 on the season and 4–0 in conference play. Michigan. The Spartans returned to the road to face their rival Michigan on January 8. However, less than eight hours before the game was scheduled to tip and after MSU had already traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan announced it had more positive COVID-19 tests within its program and that it was unable to play the game. As a result, the game was postponed. Minnesota. Following the postponement  of the game against Michigan, the Spartans welcomed Minnesota to Breslin on January 12. MSU started well, building a 10-point lead in the first half behind four of eight three-point shooting and 46% from the field in the half. However, the Spartans failed to score for the final 2:38 of the half and Minnesota was able to narrow the lead to three at the half. In the second half, Minnesota refused to go away. Both Tyson Walker and Marcus Bingham did not play for the final 10-plus minutes as MSU went with a lineup of AJ Hoggard , Max Christie, Gabe Brown, Malik Hall, and Joey Hauser. With MSU leading by five with 2:21 left in the game, the Gophers scored the next five points to tie the game at 69 with 25 seconds remaining. After calling a timeout, the Spartans were unable to get the ball to Brown and Hoggard improvised by going to the basket and slipping the ball to Hauser who scored with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to give the Spartans the 71–69 win. Christie led the Spartans with 16 points while Brown added 13. Walker added 10 points in only 17 minutes  in the win. MSU moved to 14–2 on the season and remained undefeated in conference play at 5–0.<ref>