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2015–16 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

July 07, 2023

The 2015–16 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 21st-year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at the Breslin Center and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 29–6, 13–5 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. They defeated Ohio State, Maryland, and Purdue to win the Big Ten tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, their 19th straight NCAA tournament appearance. As the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region, they were upset by No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee in what is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.[1][2]

2015–16 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 2
Record29–6 (13–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
Associate head coachDwayne Stephens (13th season)
Assistant coaches
Captains
Home arenaBreslin Center
Seasons
2015–16 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Indiana 15 – 3   .833 27 – 8   .771
No. 2 Michigan State † 13 – 5   .722 29 – 6   .829
No. 18 Maryland 12 – 6   .667 27 – 9   .750
No. 12 Purdue 12 – 6   .667 26 – 9   .743
No. 25 Iowa 12 – 6   .667 22 – 11   .667
Wisconsin 12 – 6   .667 22 – 13   .629
Ohio State 11 – 7   .611 22 – 13   .629
Michigan 10 – 8   .556 23 – 13   .639
Northwestern 8 – 10   .444 20 – 12   .625
Penn State 7 – 11   .389 16 – 16   .500
Nebraska 6 – 12   .333 16 – 18   .471
Illinois 5 – 13   .278 15 – 19   .441
Minnesota 2 – 16   .111 11 – 20   .355
Rutgers 1 – 17   .056 7 – 25   .219
† 2016 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2014–15 season 27–12, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in third place. They received an at-large bid as the No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 18th straight trip to the tournament. The Spartans advanced to the Final Four, their seventh trip to the Final Four under Tom Izzo, before losing to eventual National Champion, Duke.

Offseason

The Spartans lost Branden Dawson (11.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game) to the NBA draft and Travis Trice (15.3 points and 5.1 assist per game) to graduation following the season.

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Branden Dawson 3 F 6'6" 225 Senior Gary, IN Graduated and selected in NBA Draft
Travis Trice 20 G 6'0" 170 Senior Huber Heights, OH Graduated

Recruiting class

The Spartans 2015 recruiting class was ranked 18th in the nation.[3] Leading the class was the No. 22 overall recruit, Deyonta Davis.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Deyonta Davis
No. 6 PF 		Muskegon, MI Muskegon High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Dec 11, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Matt McQuaid
No. 22 SG 		Duncanville, TX Duncanville High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sep 25, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Kyle Ahrens
No. 35 SG 		Versailles, OH Versailles High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jun 7, 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 2015". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  • "ESPN - Michigan State Spartans Basketball Recruiting 2015". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.

Legal troubles

The Spartans encountered a few legal troubles during the offseason. Alvin Ellis III was cited for misdemeanor count of underage purchase, consumption or possession of alcohol stemming from a May 2, 2015 incident.[4] That charge was dismissed, but he was cited again on June 19, 2015, for misdemeanor count of underage purchase, consumption or possession of alcohol.[5] On July 1, 2015, transfer Eron Harris, who had sat out the prior season after transferring from West Virginia, was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and refusing a preliminary breath test.[6] As a result, he was suspended by Michigan State indefinitely.[6][7] Both players were reinstated prior to the team's trip to Italy.[8][9]

Preseason

For the first time since 1991 and for the first time in Tom Izzo's tenure as head coach at Michigan State, Michigan State made a preseason trip abroad.[10] Beginning August 22, 2015, they traveled to Italy for 11 days for sightseeing and four games against international teams. The first of the four games was a win against a newer Italian professional club team.[11] They followed up this game with games against the Russian, Italian, and Georgian National Teams on consecutive nights.[10] Michigan State finished the trip 1–3 with a win over the club team and losses to the national teams.[12] Despite the losses, head coach Tom Izzo stated, “This trip was as good as anything I’ve done in my 20 years.”[12] The high points from the trip were Gavin Schilling's performance (17 points each in the final two games) and Denzel Valentine who scored in double figures in all but the last game.[12] Eron Harris and Alvin Ellis III were allowed to travel with the team, but were not allowed to play due to their preseason legal issues.[12]

Prior to the season beginning in November, the Spartans were ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP and Coaches Polls.[13][14]

Exhibition games

The Spartans defeated Northern Michigan 94–53 in their first exhibition game on November 4, 2015.[15] Bryn Forbes led all scorers with 23 points and Denzel Valentine notched a triple double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.[16] Though the Spartans only led 38–33 at the half, they pulled away in the second for an easy victory.

In the final exhibition game on November 9, the Spartans rolled over Ferris State 93–57.[17] Forbes again led all scorers with 16 points and Valentine added 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.[18] Freshman guard Matt McQuaid added nine points and eight assists.[18]

Regular season

Non-conference regular season

November

The Spartans began their season at home against Florida Atlantic on November 17, 2015.[19] The Spartans won easily as Matt Costello led the way with 15 points.[19] Denzel Valentine added 13 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Freshman Deyonta Davis also added 13 points as MSU won the game 82–55.

The Spartans next game was part of the Champions Classic in Chicago, Illinois, playing the No. 3-ranked team in the country, Kansas, on November 18.[20] The Champions Classic, an event that features four premier college programs: Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and Michigan State, is an annual event where the four teams alternate playing each other. In this match-up of two major college programs, Denzel Valentine led the Spartans's from an 11-point deficit in the second half to an upset of Kansas with a triple double, scoring 29 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists.[20][21] It was only the 13th triple double in Spartan history and Valentine's first.[22] Bryn Forbes added 13 points and freshman Matt McQuaid added 9 points on three of three shooting from behind the arc. MSU pulled out the win, 79–73 win.

MSU followed this impressive neutral court win with a home court rout of Arkansas–Pine Bluff, 92–46, on November 20.[23] Javon Bess led the Spartans with 16 points while Valentine chipped in 11 assists. On November 23, as the Spartans moved up to No. 3 in boll polls, they routed Eastern Michigan, 89–65. Davis led Spartan scorers with 16 points, while Costello notched 10 rebounds, and Valentine dished out seven assists.[24]

The Spartans then traveled to Fullerton, California, to participate in the DirecTV Wooden Legacy. In the first game of the tournament on Thanksgiving, a blowout of Boston College, Valentine repeated his performance against Kansas, notching a triple double again (29 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists).[25] The win marked Tom Izzo's 500th career win, all with Michigan State.[26] The semifinals of the Wooden Legacy saw the Spartans facing Boise State on November 27 for a chance to play in the championship game. The Spartans prevailed again for their sixth straight win to open the season.[27] Valentine scored a career-high 32 points with nine rebounds and six assists as the Spartans won 77–67.[27] In the championship game held in the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California, on November 29, the Spartans faced Providence, led by player of the year candidate, Kris Dunn. Former Spartans Magic Johnson and Branden Dawson were in attendance, as was Chris Paul.[28] Bryn Forbes led the Spartans with 18 points. Valentine added 17 as MSU outlasted Providence 77–64.[28] The Spartans finished the month of November 7–0.

December

On December 2, the Wooden Award Watch List was released listing the top 50 players to be considered for the player of the year.[29] Denzel Valentine was included on the list.

The Spartans returned home to open December by facing No. 24 ranked Louisville in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on December 2.[30] Louisville mixed defenses, going from man-to-man to zone, sometimes in the same possession, to take an early lead against MSU.[31] The Spartans again rallied from behind, led by Valentine and Forbes, to beat Louisville 71–67.[31] Forbes totaled 20 points while Valentine had 25. Following the win over Louisville and losses by No. 2 Maryland and No. 1 North Carolina, MSU hosted Binghamton with a chance to claim the No. 1 ranking in both polls.[32] The Spartans demolished Binghamton 76–33.[33] The Spartans held Binghamton to 12 points in the first half and started the game with an impressive display of passing which led to a dunk by Valentine.[33] Valentine himself outscored Binghamton in the first half 13–12.[33] At 9–0, the Spartans were off to their second best start in school history with the No. 1 ranking on the way.[34] When the polls were released on December 7, the Spartans were ranked No. 1 in both polls for only the fourth time in school history.[35]

As the newly minted No. 1 team, the Spartans continued their impressive start by routing Maryland–Eastern Shore, 78–35 on December 9 in East Lansing.[36] On December 12, Florida traveled to East Lansing to face the Spartans. Michigan State took advantage of the match-up to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their 2000 National Championship which they had won against Florida.[37] The Spartans encountered stiff competition from Florida, but prevailed again, winning 58–52, their lowest scoring output of the season.[38] Valentine again led the way for the Spartans, totaling 17 points.[38] The school also celebrated the Big Ten champion football team at half time.[38] They followed the victory with a rout of Northeastern a week later.[39] The win made the Spartans 12–0, matching the best start in school history.[39]

On December 20, Denzel Valentine suffered a knee injury in practice.[40] The injury required surgery to repair torn cartilage the next day and Valentine was expected to miss two to three weeks of games, likely missing games against Oakland, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and, perhaps, Penn State.[41] Though characterized as minor, the injury was expected to have a great effect on the Spartans as Valentine led the team in scoring, rebounds, and assists.[41] Eron Harris would replace Valentine in the starting lineup and be counted on to step up his production in Valentine's absence.[41] Two days later, the Spartans faced Oakland in Auburn Hills. The Spartans trailed Oakland by as many as 15 and trailed by 13 at the half.[42] The Spartans rallied in the second half to take the lead, but were forced to go to overtime to get the win, outlasting Oakland 99–93.[43] Bryn Forbes led the way for the Spartans without Valentine, scoring 32 points and Eron Harris added 27.[43] The win set the record for best start to a season for Michigan State at 13–0 and marked an undefeated non-conference schedule.[42]

On December 28, Tom Izzo's father, Carl, died at the age of 90.[44] Carl and Izzo's mother, Dorothy, were common faces around the Michigan State program.[45] They each accompanied him on NCAA tournament trips over the years.[45]

Big Ten regular season

December

The Spartans started the Big Ten regular season still without Valentine on December 29 by visiting Iowa. Iowa controlled the game from the start, limiting Forbes to 3 points and winning by 13, 83–70.[46][47] Iowa led by as many as 19 points during the game and the Spartans never closed to within 10 in the second half.[46] Izzo characterized the game not as "a disappointing loss. I thought it was a disappointing effort."[46] As a result of the win over the top-ranked Spartans, Iowa fans stormed the court despite having chanted "overrated" before the end of the game.[48] The Spartans closed 2015 with their first loss of the season, falling to 13–1 and 0–1 in conference play.

January

After the loss to the Hawkeyes, the Spartans flew to Texas to watch the Spartan football team take on Alabama in the College Football Playoff.[49] While in Texas, they practiced in freshman Matt McQuaid's high school gym.[49] Following the football game, they flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota to open 2016 by taking on Minnesota on January 2.[49] In Minneapolis, the Spartans rebounded from their first loss of the season by defeating a game Minnesota squad 69–61.[50] Forbes led the way for the Spartans scoring 20 points and Matt Costello added 17.[50] Following the game, Valentine presented Izzo with a game ball in remembrance of his father's passing.[51] Izzo attended the funeral of his father the next day.[49]

On January 7, Michigan State returned home for their first home game in 25 days to face Illinois.[52] Denzel Valentine was medically cleared to play for the game, but Izzo held him out of the game.[53] The Spartans did not need him as they romped over a short-handed Illinois team, 79–52. MSU led by as many as 30 points.[53] Forbes led all scorers with 17 and McQuaid set a career high with 10 points.[53] The win moved the Spartans to 15–1 overall and 2–1 in the Big Ten.[53]

On January 11, MSU traveled to Penn State. Valentine was available to play, but did not start.[54] He came off the bench and had a rough start going 0–4 from the field in the first half.[54] Forbes led the way in the first, scoring all of his game-high 20 points in the first half, going 6–8 from beyond the arc.[55] The Spartans led by 13 at the half and pushed the lead to as many as 31 in the second half.[55] Valentine chipped in 10 points in the second half.[55] The win moved the Spartans to 3–1 in conference and 16–1 overall with a rematch against Iowa looming.

Despite having Valentine back for a home game against Iowa on January 14, Michigan State once again struggled.[56] Iowa jumped out to an early lead and dominated the Spartans in East Lansing.[56] Bryn Forbes struggled with foul trouble and was held to a season-low 2 points.[57] Costello led the Spartans with 15 while Valentine had 14.[56] Iowa made nine three-pointers and were led by Peter Jok's 22 points.[56] “It was just a flat-ass butt kicking to be honest with you,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said.[57] The Spartans, undefeated against every team not named Iowa, fell to 3–2 in conference play and 16–2 overall.

The Spartans next traveled to Madison, Wisconsin on January 17 to face the struggling Wisconsin Badgers. Prior to the game, Michigan State announced that Tum Tum Nairn would be sidelined indefinitely with plantar fasciitis.[58] Izzo used a completely new lineup to start, with freshmen Deyonta Davis and McQuaid starting as well as Harris. The lineup made little difference as the Spartans trailed by five at half. Despite Michigan State playing better and taking the lead in the second half, Wisconsin found themselves within four points with less than a minute remaining. Bronson Koenig made a three for the Badgers which was followed by a quick Spartan turnover by Harris.[59] Down by one, the Badgers got a basket down low to take a one-point lead.[59] The Spartans got two shots off before the clock expired, but neither fell.[59] The Spartans lost their second consecutive game, 77–76, falling to .500 in the Big Ten at 3–3 and 16–3 overall. Costello scored a career-high 18 and Valentine led the Spartans with 23.[59] As a result, the Spartans fell out of the top ten rankings, slipping to 10th in the Coaches Poll and 11th in the AP Poll.

On January 20, MSU took on unranked Nebraska at Breslin Center. The Cornhuskers, winners of three straight games, had beaten the Spartans in their last two meetings.[60] MSU started off strong, going up 5–0 and leading Nebraska to call a timeout 50 seconds into the game.[61] However, Nebraska rallied to take the lead and the teams were tied at the half. However, despite a Valentine circus shot three in the last 10 seconds and an open look for the win as the clock expired, the Spartans fell to Nebraska 72–71.[61] Shavon Shields had 28 for the Huskers. Valentine contributed 24 for MSU. Bryn Forbes struggled again, going 1–8 with three points. He had many open looks, but could not drain a shot. The Spartans also struggled from the free throw line, going 12–21 from the line.[62] The loss was the third straight for the Spartans, falling to 16–4 and 3–4 in conference. This marked the worst conference start for the Spartans since the 2002–03 season.[61]

Needing a win, MSU's next game saw ESPN visit for its Gameday program on January 23.[63] The Spartans debuted "Mean Green" uniforms for the game against Maryland.[63] The Spartans led for a majority of the game. Forbes, mired in a three-game slump, shot the lights out, scoring 25 points.[64] Costello also had a big game, scoring 15 points, racking up 12 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.[65] Valentine added 24 points, just missing his third triple double with 14 rebounds and eight assists. Maryland was led by Melo Trimble, who scored 24 points but was limited to three assists with good defense by Harris.[64] The Spartans pulled away for the much needed victory, pulling out a 74–65 win. Izzo commented on his team's effort as "the hardest we played in years."[64] The Spartans moved to 17–4 overall and 4–4 in conference.

The Spartans next traveled to Evanston, Illinois, to take on Northwestern on January 28. The Spartans set a season high for made three-pointers with 16 in routing the Wildcats, 76–45.[66] Valentine led all scorers with 19. McQuaid set a new career high with 17 points.[67] The Spartans held Northwestern to a 20.7% shooting percentage from the field.[67] Deyonta Davis continued to improve his game, setting an MSU freshmen-high for blocks with six, a career-high 11 rebounds, and added eight points.[68] Notably, Tom Izzo moved into second place all time for wins at a Big Ten school, breaking a tie with Gene Keady.[69] It was Izzo's 513th win at MSU.[69] He still trails Big Ten leader Bob Knight, who has 661.[69] MSU's record moved to 18–4 overall and 5–4 in conference.

The Spartans returned home to end January to face last place Rutgers on January 31. The Spartans routed Rutgers on their way to tying a school record for three-point field goals made in a game, hitting 17.[70] Forbes made six, all in the first half.[71] Valentine also contributed six three-pointers, scoring a game-high 20.[70] Costello notched another double double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.[70] The Spartans finished January at 6–4 in conference and 19–4 overall.

February

The Spartans entered February with five days off before facing perhaps the most difficult stretch of the season, including a trip to Purdue and a game against Indiana in Breslin Center. The Spartans began the trip by traveling to face rival Michigan on February 6. In their only meeting of the regular season, the Spartans jumped out early on the Wolverines and never looked back.[72] MSU led by as many as 27 on their way to an easy 89–73 win on Michigan's home floor. The Spartans kept up their hot shooting from behind the arc, shooting 63% and hitting 14 threes.[72] Forbes hit seven of his eight three-pointers in the first half and scored 29 to lead all players.[72] Valentine added 21 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. The win moved the Spartans to 20–4 overall and 7–4 in conference. With a loss by Purdue later that day, the Spartans moved into a tie for fourth place in the conference.

Prior to the match-up with Purdue, Tom Izzo announced that Nairn could be out for perhaps another month with his plantar fasciitis injury.[73] When he returns, Izzo said he would likely be only a defensive replacement and point guard relief, playing only three to eight minutes a game.[73] Valentine was also named Big Ten player of the week for his near triple-double against Michigan, his third time being so honored this season.[73]

On February 10, MSU traveled to West Lafayette, Indiana to face Purdue. Purdue jumped on the Spartans from the opening tip led by Raphael Davis and led by as many as 18 early in the second half.[74] However, MSU showed toughness and fought its way back behind Valentine who again just missed a triple-double with 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.[75] The Spartans took the lead with 1:59 remaining at 72–68, but didn't score for the remainder of regulation.[74] Purdue tied it and Valentine had a weak attempt to win it as the clock expired. In overtime with the teams tied at 81, a controversial foul call on Valentine with 4.9 seconds remaining gave Raphael Davis two free throws for the win.[75] He made the first, but missed the second. However, Purdue big man A. J. Hammons secured the rebound and the win.[74] The win was the first by Purdue over the Spartans since 2011.[74] The loss dropped the Spartans to 20–5 and 7–5 in conference all but assuring they would be unable to win the Big Ten regular season championship.

On February 12, Izzo was announced as one of 14 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[76]

On February 14, first-place Indiana paid a trip to Breslin Center. Indiana led for a good portion of the first half, but MSU rebounded to take a one-point lead at the half, 41–40.[77] In the second half, the Spartans took control of the game behind Valentine's 30 points and career-high 13 assists.[77] MSU led by as many as 22 and came away with the win, 88–69.[77] Costello had a career-high 22 points and Forbes added 14.[77] Surprisingly, Nairn made an appearance and played less than three minutes in the game.[78] Kenny Goins, who had played a major role for the Spartans front line in the last few games, left the game in the first half with a knee injury and it was revealed after that he would miss two to four weeks.[79] The win put MSU at 8–5 in conference and 21–5 overall while temporarily dropping Indiana out of first place.

On February 15, Valentine was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the second consecutive week and fourth time overall.[80] On February 16, Valentine was named Naismith Trophy Player of the Week.[81]

Wisconsin brought its seven-game win streak to Breslin Center on February 18. MSU took the lead early on a 14–3 run and never looked back, winning 69–57.[82] Valentine scored 24 points with seven rebounds and 10 assists.[82] The output gave Valentine at least 20 points and 10 or more assists in three consecutive games, the most in the Big Ten in 20 years.[83] Davis led the way with defense on Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes who lit up the Spartans in their first meeting, holding Hayes to 1–13 from the floor as the Izzone mercilessly chanted, "Nigel! Nigel! Nigel!"[84] Forbes added 17 points and Harris added 10.[82] The win jumped the Spartans from eighth place in the conference to a four-way tie for fourth place with a record of 9–5 and 22–5 overall.

On February 24, MSU visited Ohio State, owners of a four-game winning streak. The Spartans started slow, but still led 36–31 at the half.[85] Forbes got hot in the second half, hitting seven of 10 three-pointers in the game, for 20 points in the second half.[85] Valentine added 17 points, eight assists, and five rebounds as MSU pulled away to win 81–62.[86] The Spartans moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten at 11–5 and 23–5 overall. In the win, Valentine passed Draymond Green for 17th all time in scoring at Michigan State.[86]

On February 28, Penn State, winners of three straight games and four of their last five (with wins over then-No. 4 Iowa and then-No. 22 Indiana), visited the Breslin Center.[87] MSU started slow, beginning three of 15 from the field, but were still up 28–9 at one point and, with almost five minutes left in the first half, PSU head coach Pat Chambers was ejected from the game with a double technical.[87] The Spartans led 52–27 at the half and never looked back leading by as many as 35.[88] Valentine had 19 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Davis and Forbes added 15 points each and Costello added 10 points and 11 rebounds.[87] MSU moved into a four-way tie for second in the conference with the win and moved their record to 12–5 and 24–5 overall.

March

With two games remaining in the regular season, MSU would be guaranteed at least a double bye in the Big Ten tournament with wins in those two games, at Rutgers and home versus Ohio State.[89] With Indiana's win over Iowa (clinching the sole Big Ten title), MSU was guaranteed the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with wins in its last two games.

On March 2, MSU visited Rutgers looking to strengthen its hold on the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. However, MSU got off to a slow start and trailed for portions of the first half.[90] However, Forbes got hot from the three-point line late in the half, making five including one with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half.[91] As a result, MSU led by one at the half. In the second half, MSU ran away with the game, led by Forbes.[90] His Big Ten single-game record of 11 three-point field goals (his only baskets of the game) helped MSU to a 31-point blowout.[91] Izzo was disappointed with the performance in the first half.[90] The Spartans moved to 25–5 overall and 12–5 in conference with one game remaining in the regular season.

On March 4, Izzo was named one of 12 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy Men's Coach of the Year.[92]

On Senior Day at Breslin Center, March 5, the Buckeyes looked for revenge for their home loss to the Spartans the prior weekend. Ohio State started off well and led for portions of the first half, but MSU took a 47–37 lead to the half.[93] In the second half, MSU ran away with it, shooting 66.7% from the field in the game.[94] Senior Denzel Valentine led the way with 27 points and 13 assists.[94] The Spartans finished with 91–76 victory to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament.[94] MSU finished the regular season with a 26–5 overall record and 13–5 in conference, good enough for second place in the Big Ten. The 26 wins tied the most for a Michigan State team in the regular season.[94] The team still had the opportunity, with postseason victories, to earn the most wins ever for a Michigan State basketball team in a season.[94]

On March 8, USA Today named Valentine National Player of the Year over Oklahoma's Buddy Hield.[95] The Big Ten also announced that Valentine was the Big Ten's Player of the Year.[96] Forbes was named Second Team All-Big Ten and Costello was voted second team by the media and third team by the coaches.[96] Valentine was the fifth player under Izzo and eighth in Michigan State history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year.[96] On March 9, NBCSports.com named Valentine National Player of the Year and First Team All-American.[97] On March 9, Valentine was named to the Sporting News All-American Team.[98]

Big Ten tournament

In the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, MSU faced Ohio State for the third time in 18 days.[99] And, like the prior two games, MSU blew out OSU, winning 81–54. Valentine led the way with 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.[100] The win moved MSU to 27–5 overall as they moved on to the semifinals vs. Maryland.

In the semifinals, MSU faced Maryland for the second time this season. The game was close throughout and offense was hard to come by in the second half.[101] But, MSU was able to hold off Maryland to win 64–61. Valentine led the Spartans with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists. The Spartans moved to 28–5 overall and to the Big Ten Championship against Purdue.

In the Big Ten Championship, MSU took an early lead at halftime and led by as many as 13 in the second half.[102] However, Purdue came back to keep it close, but MSU again pulled out a close game, winning 66–62.[103] With the win, MSU set the record for most Big Ten tournament Championships with five (Ohio State has also won five, but one has been vacated due to NCAA violations). Valentine again led the way with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. Costello also set MSU's career block record, passing Branden Dawson, with 145.[102] MSU's record moved to 29–5 and, presumed by many analysts, to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.[104]

NCAA tournament

Following the Big Ten Championship, MSU learned that it would not receive a No. 1 seed, instead receiving a No. 2 seed in the Midwest bracket. This marked the 19th consecutive year the Spartans have made the NCAA Tournament. Despite receiving the No. 2 seed, MSU was considered by many the favorite to with the NCAA Championship.[105][106]

Michigan State faced off against No. 15-seeded Middle Tennessee in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18. Middle Tennessee led throughout the game and withstood every run made by the Spartans.[107] MSU could not overcome the Blue Raiders and were upset by a score of 90–81.[108] Costello led the Spartans with 22 points in his final MSU game. Valentine, disappointed in his performance, had 13 points and 12 assists.[107] Costello, Forbes, and Valentine ended their MSU careers with what some argue was the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history.[109]

Roster

2015–16 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Kyle Ahrens 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Versailles H.S. Versailles, OH
F 2 Javon Bess 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lincoln H.S. Gahanna, OH
F 15 Marvin Clark, Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Sunrise Christian Academy Blue Springs, MO
F 10 Matt Costello (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Bay City Western H.S. Bay City, MI
F 23 Deyonta Davis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Lawrence North H.S. Muskegon, MI
G 3 Alvin Ellis III 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr De La Salle Chicago, IL
G 5 Bryn Forbes 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Sexton H.S./Cleveland State Lansing, MI
G 13 Connor George (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Okemos H.S. Okemos, MI
F 25 Kenny Goins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Warren Mott H.S. Troy, MI
G 14 Eron Harris 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Lawrence North H.S./West Virginia Indianapolis, IN
G 20 Matt McQuaid 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Duncanville H.S. Duncanville, TX
G 11 Lourawls Nairn, Jr. (C) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Sunrise Christian Academy Nassau, Bahamas
F 34 Gavin Schilling 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Findlay Prep Chicago, IL
G 45 Denzel Valentine (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Sexton H.S. Lansing, MI
F 30 Matt Van Dyk (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Imlay City Imlay City, MI
G 41 Colby Wollenman (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Big Horn H.S. Big Horn, WY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Matt Costello Gavin Schilling Colbey Wollenman
PF Deyonta Davis Marvin Clark, Jr. Kenny Goins
SF Eron Harris Javon Bess
SG Bryn Forbes Alvin Ellis III
PG Denzel Valentine Matt McQuaid Lourawls Nairn, Jr.

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
European summer exhibition
Aug 25, 2015*
12:00 pm 		vs. Basket Ferentino W 98–54 
 18 – Forbes    –      –     
Florence, Italy
Aug 28, 2015*
12:00 pm 		vs. Russian Senior National Team L 75–93 
 21 – Valentine    –      –    PalaTrieste 
Trieste, Italy
Aug 29, 2015*
12:00 pm 		vs. Italian National Team L 69–90 
 23 – Valentine   8 – Schilling   5 – Valentine  PalaTrieste 
Trieste, Italy
Aug 30, 2015*
12:00 pm 		vs. Georgian National Team L 70–71 
 17 – Schilling    –      –     
Florence, Italy
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2015*
7:00 pm 		No. 13 Northern Michigan W 94–53 
 23 – Forbes   10 – Valentine   10 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Nov 9, 2015*
7:00 pm 		No. 13 Ferris State W 93–57 
 16 – Forbes   7 – Valentine   8 – McQuaid  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		No. 13 Florida Atlantic W 82–55  1–0
  15 – Costello   11 – Davis   9 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Nov 17, 2015*
10:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 13 vs. No. 4 Kansas
Champions Classic 		W 79–73  2–0
  29 – Valentine   12 – Valentine   12 – Valentine  United Center (21,461)
Chicago, IL
Nov 20, 2015*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		No. 13 Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 92–46  3–0
  16 – Bess   10 – Costello   11 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Nov 23, 2015*
7:00 pm, BTN 		No. 3 Eastern Michigan W 89–65  4–0
  16 – Davis   10 – Costello   7 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Nov 26, 2015*
6:30 pm, ESPN2 		No. 3 vs. Boston College
Wooden Legacy quarterfinals 		W 99–68  5–0
  29 – Valentine   11 – Valentine   10 – Valentine  Titan Gym (2,341)
Fullerton, CA
Nov 27, 2015*
5:30 pm, ESPN2 		No. 3 vs. Boise State
Wooden Legacy semifinals 		W 77–67  6–0
  32 – Valentine   9 – Tied   7 – Nairn, Jr.  Titan Gym (3,173)
Fullerton, CA
Nov 29, 2015*
10:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 3 vs. Providence
Wooden Legacy championship 		W 77–64  7–0
  18 – Forbes   6 – Tied   5 – Valentine  Honda Center (4,393)
Anaheim, CA
Dec 2, 2015*
7:15 pm, ESPN 		No. 3 No. 24 Louisville
ACC–Big Ten Challenge 		W 71–67  8–0
  25 – Valentine   13 – Goins   7 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Dec 5, 2015*
12:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 3 Binghamton W 76–33  9–0
  14 – Forbes   7 – Nairn, Jr.   12 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Dec 9, 2015*
7:00 pm, BTN 		No. 1 Maryland Eastern Shore W 78–35  10–0
  14 – Forbes   10 – Valentine   6 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Dec 12, 2015*
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 1 Florida W 58–52  11–0
  17 – Valentine   6 – Tied   5 – Nairn, Jr.  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Dec 19, 2015*
12:30 pm, NBCSN 		No. 1 at Northeastern W 78–58  12–0
  17 – Valentine   5 – Tied   6 – Valentine  Matthews Arena (5,288)
Boston, MA
Dec 22, 2015*
7:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 1 vs. Oakland
Auburn Hills Showcase 		W 99–93 OT 13–0
  32 – Forbes   11 – Costello   5 – Harris  The Palace (20,228)
Auburn Hills, MI
Big Ten regular season
Dec 29, 2015
9:00 pm, BTN 		No. 1 at Iowa L 70–83  13–1
(0–1) 		 21 – Harris   7 – Costello   3 – Nairn, Jr.  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,400)
Iowa City, IA
Jan 2, 2016
3:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 1 at Minnesota W 69–61  14–1
(1–1) 		 20 – Forbes   15 – Costello   7 – Nairn, Jr  Williams Arena (12,836)
Minneapolis, MN
Jan 7, 2016
9:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 5 Illinois W 79–54  15–1
(2–1) 		 17 – Forbes   14 – Costello   6 – Nairn, Jr.  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Jan 10, 2016
12:00 pm, BTN 		No. 5 at Penn State W 92–65  16–1
(3–1) 		 20 – Forbes   9 – Costello   5 – Nairn, Jr.  Bryce Jordan Center (10,855)
University Park, PA
Jan 14, 2016
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 4 No. 16 Iowa L 59–76  16–2
(3–2) 		 15 – Costello   9 – Costello   5 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Jan 17, 2016
1:30 pm, CBS 		No. 4 at Wisconsin L 76–77  16–3
(3–3) 		 23 – Valentine   13 – Costello   5 – Valentine  Kohl Center (17,287)
Madison, WI
Jan 20, 2016
6:30 pm, BTN 		No. 11 Nebraska L 71–72  16–4
(3–4) 		 14 – Valentine   10 – Costello   6 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Jan 23, 2016
6:30 pm, ESPN 		No. 11 No. 7 Maryland
ESPN College GameDay 		W 74–65  17–4
(4–4) 		 25 – Forbes   14 – Valentine   8 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Jan 28, 2016
9:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 12 at Northwestern W 76–45  18–4
(5–4) 		 19 – Valentine   11 – Davis   7 – Valentine  Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, IL
Jan 31, 2016
5:15 pm, BTN 		No. 12 Rutgers W 96–62  19–4
(6–4) 		 20 – Valentine   13 – Costello   6 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Feb 6, 2016
2:00 pm, CBS 		No. 10 at Michigan
Rivalry 		W 89–73  20–4
(7–4) 		 29 – Forbes   9 – Valentine   8 – Valentine  Crisler Center (12,707)
Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 9, 2016
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 8 at No. 18 Purdue L 81–82 OT 20–5
(7–5) 		 27 – Valentine   9 – Goins   10 – Valentine  Mackey Arena (14,846)
West Lafayette, IN
Feb 14, 2016
1:00 pm, CBS 		No. 8 Indiana W 88–69  21–5
(8–5) 		 30 – Valentine   11 – Costello   13 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Feb 18, 2016
9:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 8 Wisconsin W 69–57  22–5
(9–5) 		 24 – Valentine   9 – Davis   10 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Feb 23, 2016
9:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 6 at Ohio State W 81–62  23–5
(10–5) 		 27 – Forbes   6 – Costello   8 – Valentine  Value City Arena (14,257)
Columbus, OH
Feb 28, 2016
12:00 pm, BTN 		No. 6 Penn State W 88–57  24–5
(11–5) 		 19 – Valentine   10 – Costello   6 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Mar 2, 2016
7:00 pm, BTN 		No. 2 at Rutgers W 97–66  25–5
(12–5) 		 33 – Forbes   15 – Costello   8 – Valentine  Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,561)
Piscataway, NJ
Mar 5, 2016
12:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 2 Ohio State W 91–76  26–5
(13–5) 		 27 – Valentine   11 – Costello   14 – Valentine  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Big Ten tournament
Mar 11, 2016
6:30 pm, BTN 		(2) No. 2 vs. (7) Ohio State
Quarterfinals 		W 81–54  27–5
  19 – Valentine   9 – Valentine   8 – Valentine  Bankers Life Fieldhouse (15,942)
Indianapolis, IN
Mar 12, 2016
3:30 pm, CBS 		(2) No. 2 vs. (3) No. 18 Maryland
Semifinals 		W 64–61  28–5
  18 – Valentine   7 – Valentine   10 – Valentine  Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,339)
Indianapolis, IN
Mar 13, 2016
3:00 pm, CBS 		(2) No. 2 vs. (4) No. 13 Purdue
Championship 		W 66–62  29–5
  15 – Valentine   10 – Valentine   9 – Valentine  Bankers Life Fieldhouse (16,429)
Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
Mar 18, 2016*
2:45 pm, CBS 		(2 MW) No. 2 vs. (15 MW) Middle Tennessee
First Round 		L 81–90  29–6
  22 – Costello   9 – Costello   12 – Valentine  Scottrade Center (14,250)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest Region.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Player statistics

Individual player statistics (Final)
Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free-Throws Rebounds
Player GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A TO Blk Stl
Ahrens, Kyle 26 0 86 3.3 31 1.2 10 24 .417 4 13 .308 7 10 .700 8 8 16 0.6 7 9 2 2
Bess, Javon 32 13 351 11.0 94 2.9 31 72 .431 1 9 .111 31 54 .574 23 51 74 2.3 22 13 7 9
Clark, Jr., Marvin 30 1 292 9.7 116 3.9 45 83 .542 11 26 .423 15 20 .750 22 53 75 2.5 10 19 11 8
Costello, Matt 35 35 802 22.9 374 10.7 148 264 .561 2 8 .250 76 101 .752 102 186 288 8.2 46 38 42 23
Davis, Deyonta 35 16 650 18.6 261 7.5 119 199 .598 0 0 23 38 .605 72 119 191 5.5 26 30 64 9
Ellis, III, Alvin 33 0 251 7.6 87 2.6 28 66 .424 14 35 .400 17 24 .708 11 37 48 1.5 35 14 4 13
Forbes, Bryn 35 34 982 28.1 505 14.4 165 343 .481 112 233 .481 63 75 .840 12 61 73 2.1 52 30 1 14
Goins, Kenny 26 0 266 10.2 52 2.0 20 29 .690 0 0 12 21 .571 24 51 75 2.9 20 15 11 4
Harris, Eron 35 22 732 20.9 326 9.3 108 249 .434 43 98 .439 67 84 .798 26 66 92 2.6 72 53 3 9
McQuaid, Matt 35 1 553 15.8 123 3.5 44 113 .389 27 66 .409 8 11 .727 10 19 29 0.8 57 27 10 13
Nairn, Jr., Lourawls 28 18 523 18.7 79 2.8 33 87 .379 3 16 .188 10 23 .435 3 28 31 1.1 92 26 1 8
Roy, Greg 3 0 3 1.0 0 0.0 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 1 0 0
Schilling, Gavin 24 4 301 12.5 90 3.8 33 66 .500 0 0 24 39 .615 25 50 75 3.1 15 21 8 8
Valentine, Denzel 31 30 1022 33.0 595 19.2 205 444 .444 104 234 .444 81 95 .853 25 208 233 7.5 241 85 7 32
Van Dyk, Matt 21 0 49 2.3 23 1.1 7 14 .500 0 0 9 13 .692 2 11 13 0.6 4 3 2 3
Wollenman, Colby 31 1 187 6.0 37 1.2 13 24 .542 0 0 11 15 .733 18 32 50 0.5 20 16 4 1
Team 44 47 91 14
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 35 7050 2245 64.1 774 2025 .382 204 658 .310 493 690 .714 329 726 1055 29.3 377 333 115 187
Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  Avg  Average per game
  FG  Field-goals made  FGA  Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds
 Def  Defensive rebounds   A  Assists   TO Turnovers
 Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals  High  Team high

Rankings

See also: 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
( ) = First place votes.
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP1313331 (62)1 (64)1 (64)1 (64)54 (1)1112108862 (2)2 (2)2 (2)Not released
Coaches1313431 (26)1 (28)1 (29)1 (27)5 (1)41011109 (1)973 (1)3 (1)2 (1)7

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Awards and honors

Denzel Valentine

See also: Denzel Valentine for a list of all 2015-16 Awards

On March 20, 2016, Valentine was named one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy.[110] On March 29, Valentine was named NABC National Player of the Year.[111][112] On March 31, Valentine became the first Michigan State player ever to be named AP National Player of the Year.[113][114]

Bryn Forbes

  • All Big Ten Second Team[96]
  • USBWA District V All-District Team[121]

Matt Costello

  • All Big Ten Second Team (media), All Big Ten Third Team (coaches)[96]

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July 07, 2023
2015, michigan, state, spartans, basketball, team, represented, michigan, state, university, 2015, ncaa, division, basketball, season, spartans, 21st, year, head, coach, izzo, played, their, home, games, breslin, center, were, members, conference, they, finish. The 2015 16 Michigan State Spartans men s basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2015 16 NCAA Division I men s basketball season The Spartans led by 21st year head coach Tom Izzo played their home games at the Breslin Center and were members of the Big Ten Conference They finished the season 29 6 13 5 in Big Ten play to finish in second place They defeated Ohio State Maryland and Purdue to win the Big Ten tournament As a result they received the conference s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament their 19th straight NCAA tournament appearance As the No 2 seed in the Midwest region they were upset by No 15 seed Middle Tennessee in what is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history 1 2 2015 16 Michigan State Spartans men s basketballBig Ten tournament championsWooden Legacy ChampionsNCAA tournament First RoundConferenceBig Ten ConferenceRankingCoachesNo 7APNo 2Record29 6 13 5 Big Ten Head coachTom Izzo 21st season Associate head coachDwayne Stephens 13th season Assistant coachesMike Garland 9th season Dane Fife 5th season CaptainsDenzel Valentine Matt Costello Lourawls Nairn Jr Home arenaBreslin CenterSeasons 2014 152016 17 2015 16 Big Ten Conference men s basketball standings vte Conf OverallTeam W L PCT W L PCTNo 14 Indiana 15 3 833 27 8 771No 2 Michigan State 13 5 722 29 6 829No 18 Maryland 12 6 667 27 9 750No 12 Purdue 12 6 667 26 9 743No 25 Iowa 12 6 667 22 11 667Wisconsin 12 6 667 22 13 629Ohio State 11 7 611 22 13 629Michigan 10 8 556 23 13 639Northwestern 8 10 444 20 12 625Penn State 7 11 389 16 16 500Nebraska 6 12 333 16 18 471Illinois 5 13 278 15 19 441Minnesota 2 16 111 11 20 355Rutgers 1 17 056 7 25 219 2016 Big Ten tournament winnerRankings from AP poll Contents 1 Previous season 2 Offseason 2 1 Departures 2 2 Recruiting class 2 3 Legal troubles 3 Preseason 3 1 Exhibition games 4 Regular season 4 1 Non conference regular season 4 1 1 November 4 1 2 December 4 2 Big Ten regular season 4 2 1 December 4 2 2 January 4 2 3 February 4 2 4 March 4 3 Big Ten tournament 4 4 NCAA tournament 5 Roster 5 1 Depth chart 6 Schedule and results 7 Player statistics 8 Rankings 9 Awards and honors 10 ReferencesPrevious season EditThe Spartans finished the 2014 15 season 27 12 12 6 in Big Ten play to finish in third place They received an at large bid as the No 7 seed in the NCAA tournament their 18th straight trip to the tournament The Spartans advanced to the Final Four their seventh trip to the Final Four under Tom Izzo before losing to eventual National Champion Duke Offseason EditThe Spartans lost Branden Dawson 11 9 points and 9 1 rebounds per game to the NBA draft and Travis Trice 15 3 points and 5 1 assist per game to graduation following the season Departures Edit Name Number Pos Height Weight Year Hometown NotesBranden Dawson 3 F 6 6 225 Senior Gary IN Graduated and selected in NBA DraftTravis Trice 20 G 6 0 170 Senior Huber Heights OH GraduatedRecruiting class Edit Deyonta Davis at the 2015 McDonald s All American Boys GameThe Spartans 2015 recruiting class was ranked 18th in the nation 3 Leading the class was the No 22 overall recruit Deyonta Davis US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes Name Hometown High school college Height Weight Commit dateDeyonta DavisNo 6 PF Muskegon MI Muskegon High School 6 ft 9 in 2 06 m 210 lb 95 kg Dec 11 2013 Recruiting star ratings Scout Rivals 247Sports ESPN Matt McQuaidNo 22 SG Duncanville TX Duncanville High School 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 175 lb 79 kg Sep 25 2014 Recruiting star ratings Scout Rivals 247Sports ESPN Kyle AhrensNo 35 SG Versailles OH Versailles High School 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 180 lb 82 kg Jun 7 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 2015 Rivals com Retrieved 2014 05 09 Men s Basketball Recruiting Scout com Retrieved 2014 05 09 ESPN Michigan State Spartans Basketball Recruiting 2015 ESPN com Retrieved 2014 05 09 Scout com Team Recruiting Rankings Scout com Retrieved 2014 05 09 2015 Team Ranking Rivals com Retrieved 2014 05 09 Legal troubles Edit The Spartans encountered a few legal troubles during the offseason Alvin Ellis III was cited for misdemeanor count of underage purchase consumption or possession of alcohol stemming from a May 2 2015 incident 4 That charge was dismissed but he was cited again on June 19 2015 for misdemeanor count of underage purchase consumption or possession of alcohol 5 On July 1 2015 transfer Eron Harris who had sat out the prior season after transferring from West Virginia was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and refusing a preliminary breath test 6 As a result he was suspended by Michigan State indefinitely 6 7 Both players were reinstated prior to the team s trip to Italy 8 9 Preseason EditFor the first time since 1991 and for the first time in Tom Izzo s tenure as head coach at Michigan State Michigan State made a preseason trip abroad 10 Beginning August 22 2015 they traveled to Italy for 11 days for sightseeing and four games against international teams The first of the four games was a win against a newer Italian professional club team 11 They followed up this game with games against the Russian Italian and Georgian National Teams on consecutive nights 10 Michigan State finished the trip 1 3 with a win over the club team and losses to the national teams 12 Despite the losses head coach Tom Izzo stated This trip was as good as anything I ve done in my 20 years 12 The high points from the trip were Gavin Schilling s performance 17 points each in the final two games and Denzel Valentine who scored in double figures in all but the last game 12 Eron Harris and Alvin Ellis III were allowed to travel with the team but were not allowed to play due to their preseason legal issues 12 Prior to the season beginning in November the Spartans were ranked No 13 in the preseason AP and Coaches Polls 13 14 Exhibition games Edit The Spartans defeated Northern Michigan 94 53 in their first exhibition game on November 4 2015 15 Bryn Forbes led all scorers with 23 points and Denzel Valentine notched a triple double with 14 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists 16 Though the Spartans only led 38 33 at the half they pulled away in the second for an easy victory In the final exhibition game on November 9 the Spartans rolled over Ferris State 93 57 17 Forbes again led all scorers with 16 points and Valentine added 15 points seven rebounds and seven assists 18 Freshman guard Matt McQuaid added nine points and eight assists 18 Regular season EditNon conference regular season Edit November Edit The Spartans began their season at home against Florida Atlantic on November 17 2015 19 The Spartans won easily as Matt Costello led the way with 15 points 19 Denzel Valentine added 13 points nine assists and eight rebounds Freshman Deyonta Davis also added 13 points as MSU won the game 82 55 The Spartans next game was part of the Champions Classic in Chicago Illinois playing the No 3 ranked team in the country Kansas on November 18 20 The Champions Classic an event that features four premier college programs Duke Kentucky Kansas and Michigan State is an annual event where the four teams alternate playing each other In this match up of two major college programs Denzel Valentine led the Spartans s from an 11 point deficit in the second half to an upset of Kansas with a triple double scoring 29 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists 20 21 It was only the 13th triple double in Spartan history and Valentine s first 22 Bryn Forbes added 13 points and freshman Matt McQuaid added 9 points on three of three shooting from behind the arc MSU pulled out the win 79 73 win MSU followed this impressive neutral court win with a home court rout of Arkansas Pine Bluff 92 46 on November 20 23 Javon Bess led the Spartans with 16 points while Valentine chipped in 11 assists On November 23 as the Spartans moved up to No 3 in boll polls they routed Eastern Michigan 89 65 Davis led Spartan scorers with 16 points while Costello notched 10 rebounds and Valentine dished out seven assists 24 The Spartans then traveled to Fullerton California to participate in the DirecTV Wooden Legacy In the first game of the tournament on Thanksgiving a blowout of Boston College Valentine repeated his performance against Kansas notching a triple double again 29 points 11 rebounds and 10 assists 25 The win marked Tom Izzo s 500th career win all with Michigan State 26 The semifinals of the Wooden Legacy saw the Spartans facing Boise State on November 27 for a chance to play in the championship game The Spartans prevailed again for their sixth straight win to open the season 27 Valentine scored a career high 32 points with nine rebounds and six assists as the Spartans won 77 67 27 In the championship game held in the Honda Center in Anaheim California on November 29 the Spartans faced Providence led by player of the year candidate Kris Dunn Former Spartans Magic Johnson and Branden Dawson were in attendance as was Chris Paul 28 Bryn Forbes led the Spartans with 18 points Valentine added 17 as MSU outlasted Providence 77 64 28 The Spartans finished the month of November 7 0 December Edit On December 2 the Wooden Award Watch List was released listing the top 50 players to be considered for the player of the year 29 Denzel Valentine was included on the list The Spartans returned home to open December by facing No 24 ranked Louisville in the ACC Big Ten Challenge on December 2 30 Louisville mixed defenses going from man to man to zone sometimes in the same possession to take an early lead against MSU 31 The Spartans again rallied from behind led by Valentine and Forbes to beat Louisville 71 67 31 Forbes totaled 20 points while Valentine had 25 Following the win over Louisville and losses by No 2 Maryland and No 1 North Carolina MSU hosted Binghamton with a chance to claim the No 1 ranking in both polls 32 The Spartans demolished Binghamton 76 33 33 The Spartans held Binghamton to 12 points in the first half and started the game with an impressive display of passing which led to a dunk by Valentine 33 Valentine himself outscored Binghamton in the first half 13 12 33 At 9 0 the Spartans were off to their second best start in school history with the No 1 ranking on the way 34 When the polls were released on December 7 the Spartans were ranked No 1 in both polls for only the fourth time in school history 35 As the newly minted No 1 team the Spartans continued their impressive start by routing Maryland Eastern Shore 78 35 on December 9 in East Lansing 36 On December 12 Florida traveled to East Lansing to face the Spartans Michigan State took advantage of the match up to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their 2000 National Championship which they had won against Florida 37 The Spartans encountered stiff competition from Florida but prevailed again winning 58 52 their lowest scoring output of the season 38 Valentine again led the way for the Spartans totaling 17 points 38 The school also celebrated the Big Ten champion football team at half time 38 They followed the victory with a rout of Northeastern a week later 39 The win made the Spartans 12 0 matching the best start in school history 39 On December 20 Denzel Valentine suffered a knee injury in practice 40 The injury required surgery to repair torn cartilage the next day and Valentine was expected to miss two to three weeks of games likely missing games against Oakland Iowa Minnesota Illinois and perhaps Penn State 41 Though characterized as minor the injury was expected to have a great effect on the Spartans as Valentine led the team in scoring rebounds and assists 41 Eron Harris would replace Valentine in the starting lineup and be counted on to step up his production in Valentine s absence 41 Two days later the Spartans faced Oakland in Auburn Hills The Spartans trailed Oakland by as many as 15 and trailed by 13 at the half 42 The Spartans rallied in the second half to take the lead but were forced to go to overtime to get the win outlasting Oakland 99 93 43 Bryn Forbes led the way for the Spartans without Valentine scoring 32 points and Eron Harris added 27 43 The win set the record for best start to a season for Michigan State at 13 0 and marked an undefeated non conference schedule 42 On December 28 Tom Izzo s father Carl died at the age of 90 44 Carl and Izzo s mother Dorothy were common faces around the Michigan State program 45 They each accompanied him on NCAA tournament trips over the years 45 Big Ten regular season Edit December Edit The Spartans started the Big Ten regular season still without Valentine on December 29 by visiting Iowa Iowa controlled the game from the start limiting Forbes to 3 points and winning by 13 83 70 46 47 Iowa led by as many as 19 points during the game and the Spartans never closed to within 10 in the second half 46 Izzo characterized the game not as a disappointing loss I thought it was a disappointing effort 46 As a result of the win over the top ranked Spartans Iowa fans stormed the court despite having chanted overrated before the end of the game 48 The Spartans closed 2015 with their first loss of the season falling to 13 1 and 0 1 in conference play January Edit After the loss to the Hawkeyes the Spartans flew to Texas to watch the Spartan football team take on Alabama in the College Football Playoff 49 While in Texas they practiced in freshman Matt McQuaid s high school gym 49 Following the football game they flew to Minneapolis Minnesota to open 2016 by taking on Minnesota on January 2 49 In Minneapolis the Spartans rebounded from their first loss of the season by defeating a game Minnesota squad 69 61 50 Forbes led the way for the Spartans scoring 20 points and Matt Costello added 17 50 Following the game Valentine presented Izzo with a game ball in remembrance of his father s passing 51 Izzo attended the funeral of his father the next day 49 On January 7 Michigan State returned home for their first home game in 25 days to face Illinois 52 Denzel Valentine was medically cleared to play for the game but Izzo held him out of the game 53 The Spartans did not need him as they romped over a short handed Illinois team 79 52 MSU led by as many as 30 points 53 Forbes led all scorers with 17 and McQuaid set a career high with 10 points 53 The win moved the Spartans to 15 1 overall and 2 1 in the Big Ten 53 On January 11 MSU traveled to Penn State Valentine was available to play but did not start 54 He came off the bench and had a rough start going 0 4 from the field in the first half 54 Forbes led the way in the first scoring all of his game high 20 points in the first half going 6 8 from beyond the arc 55 The Spartans led by 13 at the half and pushed the lead to as many as 31 in the second half 55 Valentine chipped in 10 points in the second half 55 The win moved the Spartans to 3 1 in conference and 16 1 overall with a rematch against Iowa looming Despite having Valentine back for a home game against Iowa on January 14 Michigan State once again struggled 56 Iowa jumped out to an early lead and dominated the Spartans in East Lansing 56 Bryn Forbes struggled with foul trouble and was held to a season low 2 points 57 Costello led the Spartans with 15 while Valentine had 14 56 Iowa made nine three pointers and were led by Peter Jok s 22 points 56 It was just a flat ass butt kicking to be honest with you MSU coach Tom Izzo said 57 The Spartans undefeated against every team not named Iowa fell to 3 2 in conference play and 16 2 overall The Spartans next traveled to Madison Wisconsin on January 17 to face the struggling Wisconsin Badgers Prior to the game Michigan State announced that Tum Tum Nairn would be sidelined indefinitely with plantar fasciitis 58 Izzo used a completely new lineup to start with freshmen Deyonta Davis and McQuaid starting as well as Harris The lineup made little difference as the Spartans trailed by five at half Despite Michigan State playing better and taking the lead in the second half Wisconsin found themselves within four points with less than a minute remaining Bronson Koenig made a three for the Badgers which was followed by a quick Spartan turnover by Harris 59 Down by one the Badgers got a basket down low to take a one point lead 59 The Spartans got two shots off before the clock expired but neither fell 59 The Spartans lost their second consecutive game 77 76 falling to 500 in the Big Ten at 3 3 and 16 3 overall Costello scored a career high 18 and Valentine led the Spartans with 23 59 As a result the Spartans fell out of the top ten rankings slipping to 10th in the Coaches Poll and 11th in the AP Poll On January 20 MSU took on unranked Nebraska at Breslin Center The Cornhuskers winners of three straight games had beaten the Spartans in their last two meetings 60 MSU started off strong going up 5 0 and leading Nebraska to call a timeout 50 seconds into the game 61 However Nebraska rallied to take the lead and the teams were tied at the half However despite a Valentine circus shot three in the last 10 seconds and an open look for the win as the clock expired the Spartans fell to Nebraska 72 71 61 Shavon Shields had 28 for the Huskers Valentine contributed 24 for MSU Bryn Forbes struggled again going 1 8 with three points He had many open looks but could not drain a shot The Spartans also struggled from the free throw line going 12 21 from the line 62 The loss was the third straight for the Spartans falling to 16 4 and 3 4 in conference This marked the worst conference start for the Spartans since the 2002 03 season 61 Needing a win MSU s next game saw ESPN visit for its Gameday program on January 23 63 The Spartans debuted Mean Green uniforms for the game against Maryland 63 The Spartans led for a majority of the game Forbes mired in a three game slump shot the lights out scoring 25 points 64 Costello also had a big game scoring 15 points racking up 12 rebounds three blocks and two steals 65 Valentine added 24 points just missing his third triple double with 14 rebounds and eight assists Maryland was led by Melo Trimble who scored 24 points but was limited to three assists with good defense by Harris 64 The Spartans pulled away for the much needed victory pulling out a 74 65 win Izzo commented on his team s effort as the hardest we played in years 64 The Spartans moved to 17 4 overall and 4 4 in conference The Spartans next traveled to Evanston Illinois to take on Northwestern on January 28 The Spartans set a season high for made three pointers with 16 in routing the Wildcats 76 45 66 Valentine led all scorers with 19 McQuaid set a new career high with 17 points 67 The Spartans held Northwestern to a 20 7 shooting percentage from the field 67 Deyonta Davis continued to improve his game setting an MSU freshmen high for blocks with six a career high 11 rebounds and added eight points 68 Notably Tom Izzo moved into second place all time for wins at a Big Ten school breaking a tie with Gene Keady 69 It was Izzo s 513th win at MSU 69 He still trails Big Ten leader Bob Knight who has 661 69 MSU s record moved to 18 4 overall and 5 4 in conference The Spartans returned home to end January to face last place Rutgers on January 31 The Spartans routed Rutgers on their way to tying a school record for three point field goals made in a game hitting 17 70 Forbes made six all in the first half 71 Valentine also contributed six three pointers scoring a game high 20 70 Costello notched another double double with 12 points and 13 rebounds 70 The Spartans finished January at 6 4 in conference and 19 4 overall February Edit The Spartans entered February with five days off before facing perhaps the most difficult stretch of the season including a trip to Purdue and a game against Indiana in Breslin Center The Spartans began the trip by traveling to face rival Michigan on February 6 In their only meeting of the regular season the Spartans jumped out early on the Wolverines and never looked back 72 MSU led by as many as 27 on their way to an easy 89 73 win on Michigan s home floor The Spartans kept up their hot shooting from behind the arc shooting 63 and hitting 14 threes 72 Forbes hit seven of his eight three pointers in the first half and scored 29 to lead all players 72 Valentine added 21 points nine assists and eight rebounds The win moved the Spartans to 20 4 overall and 7 4 in conference With a loss by Purdue later that day the Spartans moved into a tie for fourth place in the conference Prior to the match up with Purdue Tom Izzo announced that Nairn could be out for perhaps another month with his plantar fasciitis injury 73 When he returns Izzo said he would likely be only a defensive replacement and point guard relief playing only three to eight minutes a game 73 Valentine was also named Big Ten player of the week for his near triple double against Michigan his third time being so honored this season 73 On February 10 MSU traveled to West Lafayette Indiana to face Purdue Purdue jumped on the Spartans from the opening tip led by Raphael Davis and led by as many as 18 early in the second half 74 However MSU showed toughness and fought its way back behind Valentine who again just missed a triple double with 27 points 10 assists and eight rebounds 75 The Spartans took the lead with 1 59 remaining at 72 68 but didn t score for the remainder of regulation 74 Purdue tied it and Valentine had a weak attempt to win it as the clock expired In overtime with the teams tied at 81 a controversial foul call on Valentine with 4 9 seconds remaining gave Raphael Davis two free throws for the win 75 He made the first but missed the second However Purdue big man A J Hammons secured the rebound and the win 74 The win was the first by Purdue over the Spartans since 2011 74 The loss dropped the Spartans to 20 5 and 7 5 in conference all but assuring they would be unable to win the Big Ten regular season championship On February 12 Izzo was announced as one of 14 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 76 On February 14 first place Indiana paid a trip to Breslin Center Indiana led for a good portion of the first half but MSU rebounded to take a one point lead at the half 41 40 77 In the second half the Spartans took control of the game behind Valentine s 30 points and career high 13 assists 77 MSU led by as many as 22 and came away with the win 88 69 77 Costello had a career high 22 points and Forbes added 14 77 Surprisingly Nairn made an appearance and played less than three minutes in the game 78 Kenny Goins who had played a major role for the Spartans front line in the last few games left the game in the first half with a knee injury and it was revealed after that he would miss two to four weeks 79 The win put MSU at 8 5 in conference and 21 5 overall while temporarily dropping Indiana out of first place On February 15 Valentine was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the second consecutive week and fourth time overall 80 On February 16 Valentine was named Naismith Trophy Player of the Week 81 Wisconsin brought its seven game win streak to Breslin Center on February 18 MSU took the lead early on a 14 3 run and never looked back winning 69 57 82 Valentine scored 24 points with seven rebounds and 10 assists 82 The output gave Valentine at least 20 points and 10 or more assists in three consecutive games the most in the Big Ten in 20 years 83 Davis led the way with defense on Wisconsin s Nigel Hayes who lit up the Spartans in their first meeting holding Hayes to 1 13 from the floor as the Izzone mercilessly chanted Nigel Nigel Nigel 84 Forbes added 17 points and Harris added 10 82 The win jumped the Spartans from eighth place in the conference to a four way tie for fourth place with a record of 9 5 and 22 5 overall On February 24 MSU visited Ohio State owners of a four game winning streak The Spartans started slow but still led 36 31 at the half 85 Forbes got hot in the second half hitting seven of 10 three pointers in the game for 20 points in the second half 85 Valentine added 17 points eight assists and five rebounds as MSU pulled away to win 81 62 86 The Spartans moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten at 11 5 and 23 5 overall In the win Valentine passed Draymond Green for 17th all time in scoring at Michigan State 86 On February 28 Penn State winners of three straight games and four of their last five with wins over then No 4 Iowa and then No 22 Indiana visited the Breslin Center 87 MSU started slow beginning three of 15 from the field but were still up 28 9 at one point and with almost five minutes left in the first half PSU head coach Pat Chambers was ejected from the game with a double technical 87 The Spartans led 52 27 at the half and never looked back leading by as many as 35 88 Valentine had 19 points eight rebounds and six assists Davis and Forbes added 15 points each and Costello added 10 points and 11 rebounds 87 MSU moved into a four way tie for second in the conference with the win and moved their record to 12 5 and 24 5 overall March Edit With two games remaining in the regular season MSU would be guaranteed at least a double bye in the Big Ten tournament with wins in those two games at Rutgers and home versus Ohio State 89 With Indiana s win over Iowa clinching the sole Big Ten title MSU was guaranteed the No 2 seed in the conference tournament with wins in its last two games On March 2 MSU visited Rutgers looking to strengthen its hold on the No 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament However MSU got off to a slow start and trailed for portions of the first half 90 However Forbes got hot from the three point line late in the half making five including one with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half 91 As a result MSU led by one at the half In the second half MSU ran away with the game led by Forbes 90 His Big Ten single game record of 11 three point field goals his only baskets of the game helped MSU to a 31 point blowout 91 Izzo was disappointed with the performance in the first half 90 The Spartans moved to 25 5 overall and 12 5 in conference with one game remaining in the regular season On March 4 Izzo was named one of 12 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy Men s Coach of the Year 92 On Senior Day at Breslin Center March 5 the Buckeyes looked for revenge for their home loss to the Spartans the prior weekend Ohio State started off well and led for portions of the first half but MSU took a 47 37 lead to the half 93 In the second half MSU ran away with it shooting 66 7 from the field in the game 94 Senior Denzel Valentine led the way with 27 points and 13 assists 94 The Spartans finished with 91 76 victory to clinch the No 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament 94 MSU finished the regular season with a 26 5 overall record and 13 5 in conference good enough for second place in the Big Ten The 26 wins tied the most for a Michigan State team in the regular season 94 The team still had the opportunity with postseason victories to earn the most wins ever for a Michigan State basketball team in a season 94 On March 8 USA Today named Valentine National Player of the Year over Oklahoma s Buddy Hield 95 The Big Ten also announced that Valentine was the Big Ten s Player of the Year 96 Forbes was named Second Team All Big Ten and Costello was voted second team by the media and third team by the coaches 96 Valentine was the fifth player under Izzo and eighth in Michigan State history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year 96 On March 9 NBCSports com named Valentine National Player of the Year and First Team All American 97 On March 9 Valentine was named to the Sporting News All American Team 98 Big Ten tournament Edit In the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament MSU faced Ohio State for the third time in 18 days 99 And like the prior two games MSU blew out OSU winning 81 54 Valentine led the way with 19 points 9 rebounds and 8 assists 100 The win moved MSU to 27 5 overall as they moved on to the semifinals vs Maryland In the semifinals MSU faced Maryland for the second time this season The game was close throughout and offense was hard to come by in the second half 101 But MSU was able to hold off Maryland to win 64 61 Valentine led the Spartans with 18 points 7 rebounds and 10 assists The Spartans moved to 28 5 overall and to the Big Ten Championship against Purdue In the Big Ten Championship MSU took an early lead at halftime and led by as many as 13 in the second half 102 However Purdue came back to keep it close but MSU again pulled out a close game winning 66 62 103 With the win MSU set the record for most Big Ten tournament Championships with five Ohio State has also won five but one has been vacated due to NCAA violations Valentine again led the way with 15 points 10 rebounds and nine assists Costello also set MSU s career block record passing Branden Dawson with 145 102 MSU s record moved to 29 5 and presumed by many analysts to a No 1 seed in the NCAA tournament 104 NCAA tournament Edit Following the Big Ten Championship MSU learned that it would not receive a No 1 seed instead receiving a No 2 seed in the Midwest bracket This marked the 19th consecutive year the Spartans have made the NCAA Tournament Despite receiving the No 2 seed MSU was considered by many the favorite to with the NCAA Championship 105 106 Michigan State faced off against No 15 seeded Middle Tennessee in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18 Middle Tennessee led throughout the game and withstood every run made by the Spartans 107 MSU could not overcome the Blue Raiders and were upset by a score of 90 81 108 Costello led the Spartans with 22 points in his final MSU game Valentine disappointed in his performance had 13 points and 12 assists 107 Costello Forbes and Valentine ended their MSU careers with what some argue was the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history 109 Roster Edit2015 16 Michigan State Spartans men s basketball teamPlayers CoachesPos Name Height Weight Year Previous school HometownG 0 Kyle Ahrens 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 210 lb 95 kg Fr Versailles H S Versailles OHF 2 Javon Bess 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 220 lb 100 kg So Lincoln H S Gahanna OHF 15 Marvin Clark Jr 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 230 lb 104 kg So Sunrise Christian Academy Blue Springs MOF 10 Matt Costello C 6 ft 9 in 2 06 m 245 lb 111 kg Sr Bay City Western H S Bay City MIF 23 Deyonta Davis 6 ft 10 in 2 08 m 240 lb 109 kg Fr Lawrence North H S Muskegon MIG 3 Alvin Ellis III 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 205 lb 93 kg Jr De La Salle Chicago ILG 5 Bryn Forbes 6 ft 3 in 1 91 m 190 lb 86 kg Sr Sexton H S Cleveland State Lansing MIG 13 Connor George W 6 ft 3 in 1 91 m 190 lb 86 kg Fr Okemos H S Okemos MIF 25 Kenny Goins 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 225 lb 102 kg So Warren Mott H S Troy MIG 14 Eron Harris 6 ft 3 in 1 91 m 185 lb 84 kg RS Jr Lawrence North H S West Virginia Indianapolis ING 20 Matt McQuaid 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 190 lb 86 kg Fr Duncanville H S Duncanville TXG 11 Lourawls Nairn Jr C 5 ft 10 in 1 78 m 175 lb 79 kg So Sunrise Christian Academy Nassau BahamasF 34 Gavin Schilling 6 ft 9 in 2 06 m 250 lb 113 kg Jr Findlay Prep Chicago ILG 45 Denzel Valentine C 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 220 lb 100 kg Sr Sexton H S Lansing MIF 30 Matt Van Dyk W 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 210 lb 95 kg RS Jr Imlay City Imlay City MIG 41 Colby Wollenman W 6 ft 7 in 2 01 m 230 lb 104 kg RS Sr Big Horn H S Big Horn WY Head coachTom Izzo Northern Michigan Assistant coach es Dwayne Stephens Michigan State Dane Fife Indiana Mike Garland Northern Michigan Legend C Team captain S Suspended I Ineligible W Walk on Injured Current redshirtRosterDepth chart Edit Pos Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2C Matt Costello Gavin Schilling Colbey WollenmanPF Deyonta Davis Marvin Clark Jr Kenny GoinsSF Eron Harris Javon BessSG Bryn Forbes Alvin Ellis IIIPG Denzel Valentine Matt McQuaid Lourawls Nairn Jr Schedule and results EditDatetime TV Rank Opponent Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site attendance city stateEuropean summer exhibitionAug 25 2015 12 00 pm vs Basket Ferentino W 98 54 18 Forbes Florence ItalyAug 28 2015 12 00 pm vs Russian Senior National Team L 75 93 21 Valentine PalaTrieste Trieste ItalyAug 29 2015 12 00 pm vs Italian National Team L 69 90 23 Valentine 8 Schilling 5 Valentine PalaTrieste Trieste ItalyAug 30 2015 12 00 pm vs Georgian National Team L 70 71 17 Schilling Florence ItalyExhibitionNov 4 2015 7 00 pm No 13 Northern Michigan W 94 53 23 Forbes 10 Valentine 10 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MINov 9 2015 7 00 pm No 13 Ferris State W 93 57 16 Forbes 7 Valentine 8 McQuaid Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MINon conference regular seasonNov 13 2015 7 00 pm ESPN3 No 13 Florida Atlantic W 82 55 1 0 15 Costello 11 Davis 9 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MINov 17 2015 10 00 pm ESPN No 13 vs No 4 Kansas Champions Classic W 79 73 2 0 29 Valentine 12 Valentine 12 Valentine United Center 21 461 Chicago ILNov 20 2015 7 00 pm ESPN3 No 13 Arkansas Pine Bluff W 92 46 3 0 16 Bess 10 Costello 11 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MINov 23 2015 7 00 pm BTN No 3 Eastern Michigan W 89 65 4 0 16 Davis 10 Costello 7 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MINov 26 2015 6 30 pm ESPN2 No 3 vs Boston College Wooden Legacy quarterfinals W 99 68 5 0 29 Valentine 11 Valentine 10 Valentine Titan Gym 2 341 Fullerton CANov 27 2015 5 30 pm ESPN2 No 3 vs Boise State Wooden Legacy semifinals W 77 67 6 0 32 Valentine 9 Tied 7 Nairn Jr Titan Gym 3 173 Fullerton CANov 29 2015 10 00 pm ESPN2 No 3 vs Providence Wooden Legacy championship W 77 64 7 0 18 Forbes 6 Tied 5 Valentine Honda Center 4 393 Anaheim CADec 2 2015 7 15 pm ESPN No 3 No 24 Louisville ACC Big Ten Challenge W 71 67 8 0 25 Valentine 13 Goins 7 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIDec 5 2015 12 00 pm ESPNU No 3 Binghamton W 76 33 9 0 14 Forbes 7 Nairn Jr 12 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIDec 9 2015 7 00 pm BTN No 1 Maryland Eastern Shore W 78 35 10 0 14 Forbes 10 Valentine 6 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIDec 12 2015 6 00 pm ESPN2 No 1 Florida W 58 52 11 0 17 Valentine 6 Tied 5 Nairn Jr Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIDec 19 2015 12 30 pm NBCSN No 1 at Northeastern W 78 58 12 0 17 Valentine 5 Tied 6 Valentine Matthews Arena 5 288 Boston MADec 22 2015 7 00 pm ESPNU No 1 vs Oakland Auburn Hills Showcase W 99 93 OT 13 0 32 Forbes 11 Costello 5 Harris The Palace 20 228 Auburn Hills MIBig Ten regular seasonDec 29 2015 9 00 pm BTN No 1 at Iowa L 70 83 13 1 0 1 21 Harris 7 Costello 3 Nairn Jr Carver Hawkeye Arena 15 400 Iowa City IAJan 2 2016 3 00 pm ESPN2 No 1 at Minnesota W 69 61 14 1 1 1 20 Forbes 15 Costello 7 Nairn Jr Williams Arena 12 836 Minneapolis MNJan 7 2016 9 00 pm ESPN No 5 Illinois W 79 54 15 1 2 1 17 Forbes 14 Costello 6 Nairn Jr Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIJan 10 2016 12 00 pm BTN No 5 at Penn State W 92 65 16 1 3 1 20 Forbes 9 Costello 5 Nairn Jr Bryce Jordan Center 10 855 University Park PAJan 14 2016 7 00 pm ESPN No 4 No 16 Iowa L 59 76 16 2 3 2 15 Costello 9 Costello 5 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIJan 17 2016 1 30 pm CBS No 4 at Wisconsin L 76 77 16 3 3 3 23 Valentine 13 Costello 5 Valentine Kohl Center 17 287 Madison WIJan 20 2016 6 30 pm BTN No 11 Nebraska L 71 72 16 4 3 4 14 Valentine 10 Costello 6 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIJan 23 2016 6 30 pm ESPN No 11 No 7 Maryland ESPN College GameDay W 74 65 17 4 4 4 25 Forbes 14 Valentine 8 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIJan 28 2016 9 00 pm ESPN No 12 at Northwestern W 76 45 18 4 5 4 19 Valentine 11 Davis 7 Valentine Welsh Ryan Arena 8 117 Evanston ILJan 31 2016 5 15 pm BTN No 12 Rutgers W 96 62 19 4 6 4 20 Valentine 13 Costello 6 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIFeb 6 2016 2 00 pm CBS No 10 at Michigan Rivalry W 89 73 20 4 7 4 29 Forbes 9 Valentine 8 Valentine Crisler Center 12 707 Ann Arbor MIFeb 9 2016 7 00 pm ESPN No 8 at No 18 Purdue L 81 82 OT 20 5 7 5 27 Valentine 9 Goins 10 Valentine Mackey Arena 14 846 West Lafayette INFeb 14 2016 1 00 pm CBS No 8 Indiana W 88 69 21 5 8 5 30 Valentine 11 Costello 13 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIFeb 18 2016 9 00 pm ESPN No 8 Wisconsin W 69 57 22 5 9 5 24 Valentine 9 Davis 10 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIFeb 23 2016 9 00 pm ESPN No 6 at Ohio State W 81 62 23 5 10 5 27 Forbes 6 Costello 8 Valentine Value City Arena 14 257 Columbus OHFeb 28 2016 12 00 pm BTN No 6 Penn State W 88 57 24 5 11 5 19 Valentine 10 Costello 6 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIMar 2 2016 7 00 pm BTN No 2 at Rutgers W 97 66 25 5 12 5 33 Forbes 15 Costello 8 Valentine Louis Brown Athletic Center 5 561 Piscataway NJMar 5 2016 12 00 pm ESPN No 2 Ohio State W 91 76 26 5 13 5 27 Valentine 11 Costello 14 Valentine Breslin Center 14 797 East Lansing MIBig Ten tournamentMar 11 2016 6 30 pm BTN 2 No 2 vs 7 Ohio State Quarterfinals W 81 54 27 5 19 Valentine 9 Valentine 8 Valentine Bankers Life Fieldhouse 15 942 Indianapolis INMar 12 2016 3 30 pm CBS 2 No 2 vs 3 No 18 Maryland Semifinals W 64 61 28 5 18 Valentine 7 Valentine 10 Valentine Bankers Life Fieldhouse 18 339 Indianapolis INMar 13 2016 3 00 pm CBS 2 No 2 vs 4 No 13 Purdue Championship W 66 62 29 5 15 Valentine 10 Valentine 9 Valentine Bankers Life Fieldhouse 16 429 Indianapolis INNCAA tournamentMar 18 2016 2 45 pm CBS 2 MW No 2 vs 15 MW Middle Tennessee First Round L 81 90 29 6 22 Costello 9 Costello 12 Valentine Scottrade Center 14 250 St Louis MO Non conference game Rankings from AP Poll Tournament seedings in parentheses MW Midwest Region All times are in Eastern Time Player statistics EditIndividual player statistics Final Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3 point FGs Free Throws ReboundsPlayer GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A TO Blk StlAhrens Kyle 26 0 86 3 3 31 1 2 10 24 417 4 13 308 7 10 700 8 8 16 0 6 7 9 2 2Bess Javon 32 13 351 11 0 94 2 9 31 72 431 1 9 111 31 54 574 23 51 74 2 3 22 13 7 9Clark Jr Marvin 30 1 292 9 7 116 3 9 45 83 542 11 26 423 15 20 750 22 53 75 2 5 10 19 11 8Costello Matt 35 35 802 22 9 374 10 7 148 264 561 2 8 250 76 101 752 102 186 288 8 2 46 38 42 23Davis Deyonta 35 16 650 18 6 261 7 5 119 199 598 0 0 23 38 605 72 119 191 5 5 26 30 64 9Ellis III Alvin 33 0 251 7 6 87 2 6 28 66 424 14 35 400 17 24 708 11 37 48 1 5 35 14 4 13Forbes Bryn 35 34 982 28 1 505 14 4 165 343 481 112 233 481 63 75 840 12 61 73 2 1 52 30 1 14Goins Kenny 26 0 266 10 2 52 2 0 20 29 690 0 0 12 21 571 24 51 75 2 9 20 15 11 4Harris Eron 35 22 732 20 9 326 9 3 108 249 434 43 98 439 67 84 798 26 66 92 2 6 72 53 3 9McQuaid Matt 35 1 553 15 8 123 3 5 44 113 389 27 66 409 8 11 727 10 19 29 0 8 57 27 10 13Nairn Jr Lourawls 28 18 523 18 7 79 2 8 33 87 379 3 16 188 10 23 435 3 28 31 1 1 92 26 1 8Roy Greg 3 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 000 0 1 000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0Schilling Gavin 24 4 301 12 5 90 3 8 33 66 500 0 0 24 39 615 25 50 75 3 1 15 21 8 8Valentine Denzel 31 30 1022 33 0 595 19 2 205 444 444 104 234 444 81 95 853 25 208 233 7 5 241 85 7 32Van Dyk Matt 21 0 49 2 3 23 1 1 7 14 500 0 0 9 13 692 2 11 13 0 6 4 3 2 3Wollenman Colby 31 1 187 6 0 37 1 2 13 24 542 0 0 11 15 733 18 32 50 0 5 20 16 4 1Team 44 47 91 14Total 35 7050 2793 79 8 1009 2078 486 321 739 434 454 623 729 427 1027 1454 40 5 719 414 177 156Opponents 35 7050 2245 64 1 774 2025 382 204 658 310 493 690 714 329 726 1055 29 3 377 333 115 187Legend GP Games played GS Games started Avg Average per game FG Field goals made FGA Field goal attempts Off Offensive rebounds Def Defensive rebounds A Assists TO Turnovers Blk Blocks Stl Steals High Team highRankings EditSee also 2015 16 NCAA Division I men s basketball rankings Ranking movementsLegend Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking First place votes WeekPollPre123456789101112131415161718FinalAP1313331 62 1 64 1 64 1 64 54 1 1112108862 2 2 2 2 2 Not releasedCoaches1313431 26 1 28 1 29 1 27 5 1 41011109 1 973 1 3 1 2 1 7 AP does not release post NCAA tournament rankingsAwards and honors EditDenzel Valentine See also Denzel Valentine for a list of all 2015 16 AwardsOn March 20 2016 Valentine was named one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy 110 On March 29 Valentine was named NABC National Player of the Year 111 112 On March 31 Valentine became the first Michigan State player ever to be named AP National Player of the Year 113 114 AP Player of the Year 113 NABC Player of the Year 112 USA Today National Player of the Year 95 Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year 115 NABC First Team All American 111 AP First Team All American 116 CBS Sports First Team All American 117 Sporting News First Team All American 118 NBCSports com National Player of the Year 97 NBCSports com First Team All American 97 USBWA First All American 119 Big Ten Player of the Year 96 All Big Ten First Team 96 Big Ten tournament Most Outstanding Player 120 USBWA District V Player of the Year 121 Bryn Forbes All Big Ten Second Team 96 USBWA District V All District Team 121 Matt Costello All Big Ten Second Team media All Big Ten Third Team coaches 96 References Edit MTSU stuns Michigan State in one of the biggest tourney upsets of all time Yahoo Sports Retrieved 2016 03 21 March Madness 2023 The 10 biggest all time upsets of the NCAA Tournament s opening weekend CBSSports com Retrieved 2023 03 22 2015 Basketball Class Rankings ESPN com Retrieved 2016 02 02 MSU s Ellis charged with alcohol related offenses Detroit News Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State s Alvin Ellis III cited for alcohol related offenses twice this spring CollegeBasketballTalk Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b Michigan State s Eron Harris suspended indefinitely following drunk driving arrest SBNation com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State s Eron Harris suspended indefinitely after drunk driving arrest MLive com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State s Eron Harris Alvin Ellis will travel to Italy but won t play in games MLive com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Staudt Tim Izzo Reinstates Two Suspended Players www wilx com Archived from the original on 2016 03 23 Retrieved 2016 02 10 a b Michigan State basketball team arrives in Italy starts trip with stop at Colosseum MLive com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State opens basketball portion of Italy trip with 98 54 win in Florence exhibition MLive com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b c d MSU hoops happy with Italy trip which ends with loss Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 AP College Basketball Rankings Released Bleacher Report Retrieved 2016 01 07 NCAA Men s Basketball Coaches Poll USA Today Sports sportspolls usatoday com Retrieved 2016 01 07 No 13 Michigan State Defeats Northern Michigan In Exhibition Play 94 53 Archived from the original on 2017 08 19 Retrieved 2017 06 01 MSU 94 NMU 53 Valentine new Spartans impress in exhibition Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2017 06 01 Spartans Cruise Past Ferris State 93 57 in Final Exhibition Archived from the original on 2017 08 19 Retrieved 2017 06 01 a b MSU 93 Ferris State 57 Spartans cruise in final tune up Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2017 06 01 a b No 13 Michigan State beats Florida Atlantic 82 55 in opener ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b Valentine fuels Michigan State rally past Kansas ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 No 13 Michigan State Rallies to Top No 4 Kansas 79 73 Michigan State Official Athletic Site www msuspartans com Archived from the original on 2016 01 07 Retrieved 2016 01 07 MSU 79 Kansas 73 Valentine s triple double leads Spartans Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 NCAA College Basketball Box Scores freep sportsdirectinc com Retrieved 2016 01 07 NCAA College Basketball Box Scores freep sportsdirectinc com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State 99 Boston College 68 Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 Izzo wins 500th fueled by Valentine triple double ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b No 3 Michigan State beats Boise St 77 67 in Wooden Legacy ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b MSU 77 Providence 64 Harris comes up big for Spartans Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 College basketball Naismith Trophy Watch List released NCAA com Retrieved 2016 01 07 No 3 Michigan State rallies to beat No 24 Louisville 71 67 ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b MSU 71 Louisville 67 Spartans surge in second half Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State Basketball Gameday Spartans look to continue hot start vs Binghamton MLive com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b c Michigan State set to be No 1 in AP poll after rout of Binghamton CBSSports com Retrieved 2016 01 07 No 3 Michigan State romps over Binghamton 76 33 ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State ranked No 1 in Associated Press poll for fourth time in program history MLive com Retrieved 2016 01 07 No 1 Michigan State routs Maryland Eastern Shore 78 35 ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 SpartanMag com Izzo excited about anniversary game vs Gators michiganstate rivals com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b c No 1 Michigan St holds off Florida to reach 11 0 ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b No 1 Michigan State holds off Northeastern 78 58 ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State s Denzel Valentine is sidelined after minor knee surgery CBSSports com Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b c MSU s Valentine out 2 3 weeks after knee surgery Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b No 1 MSU edges Oakland 99 93 in OT thriller at Palace Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b Forbes 32 help Spartans escape Oakland scare ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Michigan State coach Tom Izzo s dad Carl dies at age 90 Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b Tom Izzo remembers father s rich life Detroit News Retrieved 2016 01 13 a b c Hot shooting Iowa hands No 1 Michigan State first loss Sporting News Retrieved 2016 02 01 Iowa knocks off No 1 MSU in convincing fashion ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Was No 1 MSU hoops loss to unranked Iowa a big deal Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b c d How MSU hoops was able to attend Cotton Bowl Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b No 1 Michigan State bounces back to beat Minnesota 69 61 ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 07 Spartans present game ball to mourning Izzo ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 13 Michigan State Basketball Illinois Preview The Only Colors Retrieved 2016 01 07 a b c d No Valentine no problem for No 5 MSU 79 54 Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 08 a b Michigan State Spartans vs Penn State Nittany Lions Recap January 10 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 11 a b c MSU 92 PSU 65 Valentine returns Forbes shines Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 11 a b c d No 16 Iowa routs No 4 Michigan State 76 59 sweeps series ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 15 a b Home humiliation Iowa 76 MSU 59 Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 01 15 Wisconsin beats No 4 Michigan State ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 18 a b c d Wisconsin beats No 4 Michigan State ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 17 Valentine can t rescue No 11 Spartans at buzzer ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 21 a b c Nebraska 72 MSU 71 Spartans stunned drop 3rd straight Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 01 21 Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Michigan State Spartans Box Score January 20 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 21 a b Bright green fight MSU 74 Maryland 65 Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 01 24 a b c Defensive resurgence helps MSU end skid top Maryland Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 01 24 MSU 74 Maryland 65 Seniors lead Spartans past Terps Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 24 No 12 Michigan State makes 16 3s beats Northwestern 76 45 ESPN com Retrieved 2016 01 29 a b MSU 76 Northwestern 45 Spartans freshmen star in win Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 29 Couch Deyonta Davis takes another leap toward greatness Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 01 29 a b c Izzo cherishes chance to pass unlucky Keady in B1G wins Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 01 29 a b c MSU 96 Rutgers 62 Spartans take care of business at home Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 02 01 Michigan State makes 17 3 pointers in 96 62 win over Rutgers ESPN com Retrieved 2016 02 01 a b c Forbes leads No 10 Spartans to 89 73 rout of Michigan ESPN com Retrieved 2016 02 07 a b c MSU s Tum Tum Nairn could be out another month Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 02 08 a b c d No 18 Purdue beats No 8 Michigan State 82 81 in OT ESPN com Retrieved 2016 02 10 a b Purdue 82 MSU 81 OT Spartans come back but fall short Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 02 10 MSU s Izzo a finalist for Basketball Hall of Fame Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 02 12 a b c d Denzel Valentine led No 8 Michigan State tops Indiana 88 69 ESPN com Retrieved 2016 02 15 Michigan State notes Tum Tum Nairn returns Alvin Ellis out of doghouse MLive com Retrieved 2016 02 15 Sports Fox Michigan State s Kenny Goins out 2 4 weeks FOX Sports Retrieved 2016 02 19 MSU s Valentine repeats as Big Ten player of the week Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 02 15 Denzel Valentine Named Naismith Trophy Player of the Week Michigan State Official Athletic Site www msuspartans com Archived from the original on 2016 02 25 Retrieved 2016 02 17 a b c Wisconsin vs Michigan State Game Recap February 18 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 02 19 Couch As others stumble MSU looks ready for March Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 02 19 MSU 69 Wisconsin 57 Deyonta Davis defense steals show Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 02 19 a b Michigan State vs Ohio State Game Recap February 23 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 02 24 a b Forbes seven 3s bail out MSU at Ohio State 81 62 Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 02 24 a b c Penn State vs Michigan State Game Recap February 28 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 02 29 Valentine Spartans coast past Nittany Lions 88 57 Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 02 29 Kevin Pauga on Twitter Twitter Retrieved 2016 02 29 a b c Michigan State 97 Rutgers 66 Bryn Forbes sets Big Ten record for 3s Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 03 03 a b Michigan State vs Rutgers Game Recap March 2 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 03 03 Naismith Trophy Men s College Coach of the Year 12 Semifinalists Naismith Trophy naismithtrophy com Retrieved 2016 03 04 Ohio State vs Michigan State Game Recap March 5 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 03 06 a b c d e Class act MSU trounces OSU on senior day Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 03 06 a b USA TODAY Sports college basketball Player of the Year Michigan State s Denzel Valentine Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 03 08 a b c d e f g Michigan State s Denzel Valentine named Big Ten player of year Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 03 08 a b c Dauster Rob NBCSports com Postseason Awards Player of the Year Coach of the Year and All Americans CollegeBasketballTalk Retrieved 2016 03 09 Sporting News college basketball All Americans 2015 16 Sporting News Archived from the original on 2016 03 09 Retrieved 2016 03 10 MSU 81 Ohio State 54 Spartans blow by Buckeyes to Big Ten semifinals Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 03 12 Ohio State vs Michigan State Game Recap March 11 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 03 12 MSU 64 Maryland 61 Spartans headed to Big Ten tournament title game Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 03 14 a b Michigan State 66 Purdue 62 Spartans claim Big Ten title Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 03 14 Purdue vs Michigan State Game Recap March 13 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 03 14 Analysts shocked Michigan State isn t a No 1 seed Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 03 14 Michigan State the favorite to win NCAA tournament oddsmaker says Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2016 05 09 Vegas action favors Michigan St ahead of tourney ESPN com Retrieved 2016 05 09 a b Unbelievably upset Middle Tennessee 90 MSU 81 Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 03 21 Middle Tennessee vs Michigan State Game Recap March 18 2016 ESPN ESPN com Retrieved 2016 03 21 Rutherford Mike Middle Tennessee State s win over Michigan State is the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history SBNation com Retrieved 2016 03 21 Buddy Hield Tyler Ulis Denzel Valentine Malcolm Brogdon are Naismith Trophy finalists NCAA com Retrieved 2016 03 21 a b Valentine Named NABC Player of the Year All America Teams Announced Big Ten Conference Official Site www bigten org Archived from the original on 2016 04 14 Retrieved 2016 03 31 a b MSU s Denzel Valentine named NABC Player of the Year Lansing State Journal Retrieved 2016 03 31 a b Wire SI Denzel Valentine wins AP Player of the Year www si com Retrieved 2016 03 31 Michigan State s Valentine Wins AP Player of the Year ABC News Retrieved 2016 03 31 Rosenberg Michael Michigan State s Denzel Valentine is obsessed with winning a title Campus Rush Archived from the original on 2016 03 18 Retrieved 2016 03 15 Wire SI Valentine Hield unanimous All America selections www si com Retrieved 2016 03 29 CBS Sports 2015 16 College Basketball All America Team Coach of the Year CBSSports com Archived from the original on 2016 03 29 Retrieved 2016 03 29 Sporting News college basketball All Americans 2015 16 Sporting News Archived from the original on 2016 03 09 Retrieved 2016 03 15 USBWA gt News gt 2015 16 Men s All America Team www sportswriters net Retrieved 2016 03 15 2016 Big Ten Men s Basketball All Tournament Team Big Ten Conference Official Site www bigten org Archived from the original on 2016 05 29 Retrieved 2016 03 14 a b USBWA gt News gt 2015 16 Men s All District Teams www sportswriters net Retrieved 2016 03 09 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2015 16 Michigan State Spartans men 27s basketball team amp oldid 1163440399, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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