Tom Izzo entering 7th Final Four as MSU head coach

No. 7 MSU will battle No. 1 Duke Saturday

EAST LANSING, Mich. – When the buzzer signaled the end of East Regional championship game Sunday afternoon, the college basketball world watched in shock as the seventh-seeded Michigan State Spartans cut down the nets en route to their first Final Four appearance since 2010.

Well, maybe the whole basketball world wasn't in shock. In fact, since MSU made a late-season run to the Big Ten championship game three weeks ago, many basketball fans in Michigan expected the Spartans to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.

Why do fans in this state have so much confidence in this basketball team? Two words: Tom Izzo.

Through all the controversy and turmoil that makes up any given college basketball season, Izzo has always been reliable in the month of March. The often-emphatic 60-year-old is leading MSU into its seventh Final Four during his tenure, and this season's journey is clearly one of his finest pieces of work.

Here's a look back at all seven of Michigan State's Final Four runs since Izzo was hired in 1995.

1999 Final Four

Izzo's first appearance in the Final Four came after a 1998-99 season in which the Spartans blew through the Big Ten conference, finishing six games ahead of second-place Indiana at 15-1.

The Spartans were awarded the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region and blew out No. 16 Mount St. Mary's 76-53. MSU squeezed by No. 9 Mississippi 74-66 before meeting surprise No. 13 Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. The Spartans topped the Sooners 54-46 and took care of No. 3 Kentucky, 73-66 en route to the Final Four.

In the national semifinal game, Michigan State met fellow one-seed Duke, which breezed through the East Region in blowout fashion. MSU battled, but ultimately fell short, losing 68-62.

Mateen Cleaves finished the season averaging 11.7 points and 7.2 assists per game. He was named Big Ten Player of the Year and received All-American honors.

2000 Final Four

Michigan State earned its second straight No. 1 seed in 2000 after another Big Ten championship and a 26-7 regular season.

The Spartans faced the highest possible seeds in each of its Midwest Regional games, but cruised to the Final Four with wins over No. 16 Valparaiso, No. 8 Utah, No. 4 Syracuse and No. 2 Iowa State. MSU won those four games by an average of 16.75 points with its closest game coming in the Elite 8, a 75-64 triumph over the Cyclones.

After the tough road to the Final Four, Michigan State got a break in the national semifinal game, matchup up with No. 8 Wisconsin, a team it had already beaten three times during the season. Michigan State pounded the Badgers in Madison, 61-44, before single-digit wins both at home and in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Final Four matchup was no different, as Michigan State held Wisconsin to 41 points en route to the National Championship Game. No. 5 Florida knocked off No. 8 North Carolina to earn a date with the Spartans, but MSU was too much for the Gators.

Morris Peterson scored 21 points on 50 percent shooting to lead Michigan State in the title game. A.J. Granger added 19 points and nine rebounds, while senior Cleaves dropped 18 points and dished out four assists.

Future three-time NBA champion Udonis Haslem scored 27 points on a nearly perfect 10 for 12 shooting for Florida, but Michigan State rode an 11-point halftime lead to an easy 89-76 win.

2001 Final Four

In its third straight tournament as a No. 1 seed, Michigan State caught two enormous breaks en route to another Final Four. After easily dispatching No. 16 Alabama State 69-35 and No. 9 Fresno State 81-65, MSU only needed wins over No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 11 Temple to win the South Regional.

The Spartans pounded outmatched Gonzaga 77-62 in the Sweet 16 and survived an upset bid from Temple, 69-62 to earn a matchup with No. 2 Arizona in the Final Four.

The Wildcats, coming off a win over No. 1 overall seed and Big Ten champion Illinois, were too much for the Spartans, cruising to an 80-61 win.

Less than a month later, Jason Richardson and Zach Randolph were both drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. Richardson was taken fifth overall by the Golden State Warriors and Randolph went No. 19 to the Portland Trail Blazers.

2005 Final Four

Following the 2001 tournament, Michigan State reached one Elite 8 and was twice bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But in 2005 the Spartans earned a No. 5 seed in the Austin Regional and began another deep run.

Michigan State first survived a close battle with No. 12 Old Dominion, winning 89-81. The Spartans avoided a tough matchup with a dangerous fourth-seeded Syracuse in the second round after the Orange was upset by No. 13 Vermont. MSU cruised to a 12-point victory to set up a battle with No. 1 Duke.

Paul Davis led the charge for MSU against Duke, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Alan Anderson added 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals pushing Michigan State past Duke, 78-68. Duke's J.J. Redick struggled in the game, shooting just four of 14 from the field.

In the Elite 8, Michigan State met the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats in an offensive slugfest. Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager combined for 45 points and 12 rebounds to power Michigan State to a 94-88 win.

In the Final Four, Michigan State met eventual champion North Carolina and couldn't keep up with the loaded Tar Heels. Ager scored 24 points but shot just six for 18 for Izzo's team, and UNC's Sean May scored 22 points in the 16-point blowout. Brown, Davis and Ager combined to shoot just 18 for 48 in the loss.

Ager and Alan Anderson were both named to the All-Big Ten second team for the Spartans.

2009 Final Four

After going 3-3 in NCAA Tournament games from 2006-08, Michigan State entered the 2009 tournament as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region. MSU blew out No. 15 Robert Morris 77-62 and survived No. 10 USC 74-69 to reach the Sweet 16.

In a battle with No. 3 Kansas, Goran Suton led the Spartans with 20 points, nine rebounds and five steals en route to a 67-62 win. Point guard Kalin Lucas added 18 points and seven assists on five for 15 shooting.

MSU's final obstacle to reach a Final Four was No. 1 overall seed Louisville which entered the game at 31-5 on the season. Michigan State stifled the Cardinals' offense, holding Louisville to just 52 points on 38.3 percent shooting. Suton led MSU with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Draymond Green added 10 boards off the bench. The Spartans knocked off the tournament favorite 64-52.

In the Final Four, Michigan State matched up with the No. 1 seed Connecticut. UCONN was led by 7 foot 3 center Hasheem Thabeet, who scored 17 points on the Spartans but couldn't slow them down on the defensive end. Lucas scored 21 points and Raymar Morgan added 18 to lift MSU to a 82-73 victory.

The win over Connecticut is Michigan State's only Final Four victory since the 2000 championship season.

In the National Championship Game, Michigan State met its third straight No. 1 seed. North Carolina came into the game at 33-4 after knocking off No. 3 Villanova in the Final Four.

Just as in 2005, the Tar Heels overwhelmed the Spartans, pulling away early and riding a 19-point halftime lead to an 89-72 win. Michigan State uncharacteristically turned the ball over 21 times during the game, including 10 combined from starting guards Lucas and Travis Walton.

Ty Lawson led UNC with 21 points, powered by 15 makes in 18 attempts from the free throw line. The two teams shot a combined 69 free throws in the game.

2010 Final Four

After falling to Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, Michigan State was awarded the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament.

The Spartans avoided a monumental upset in the first round, overcoming a second-half deficit to hold off No. 12 New Mexico State 70-67. NMSU's Hernst Laroche missed a three-point shot with four seconds left that would have sent the game into overtime.

MSU met former ACC powerhouse Maryland in the Round of 32 and trailed 83-83 after Greivis Vasquez knocked down a jumper with just seven seconds left. But Korie Luciouis came up with a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Terrapins home and set up a likely meeting with No. 1 Kansas.

But Kansas never made it to the Sweet 16. In one of the best NCAA Tournament games ever, Northern Iowa overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to stun the No. 1 overall Jayhawks behind the heroic shooting of Ali Farokhmanesh. But UNI's tournament magic came to an end against Michigan State, which erased a seven-point halftime deficit to win 59-52 and advance to the Elite 8.

The Spartans avoided the top seeds in the Elite 8 and earned a matchup with No. 6 Tennessee. Michigan State lost a late lead, but with two seconds left, a foul called on UT's J.P. Prince sent Raymar Morgan to the free throw line. Morgan made the first of two shots and lifted MSU to a 70-69 win.

In the Final Four, Michigan State met the tournament darling, No. 5 Butler. The Spartans trailed by just one point with 10 seconds left, but a missed jumper by Green gave Butler a slim 52-50 win. Neither team led by double digits in the game. Michigan State struggled offensively, shooting 42.9 percent and turning the ball over 16 times. Durrell Summers led the team with 14 points and 10 boards.

2015 Final Four

Now the Spartans are back in the Final Four after coming so close against eventual champion UCONN a year ago. After the 2014 loss, Keith Appling and Adreian Payne became the first Spartans to graduate under Izzo without going to a Final Four. But now the No. 7 Spartans are back.

Michigan State took care of an outmatched Georgia team in the Round of 64, leading the entire second half in the 70-63 victory. The toughest challenge for the Spartans came in the Round of 32 against the top defensive team in the country, No. 2 Virginia. But the Cavaliers had no answer for senior Travis Trice, who led MSU with 23 points on seven of 15 shooting. Branden Dawson added 15 points and nine rebounds in the win.

Michigan State overcame a four-point Oklahoma halftime lead in the Sweet 16 behind 24 points from Trice and 18 from Denzel Valentine. Despite shooting just 38.6 percent, MSU held the Sooners to 27 second-half points en route to the Elite 8.

Then on Sunday, when Michigan State came within one Mangok Mathiang made free throw of being eliminated, the Spartans survived the Louisville Cardinals to advance to another Final Four.

Bryn Forbes scored 14 points on four of six shooting from three-point range and Louisville's Montrezl Harrell shot just four of nine from the free throw line in the Spartans victory.

Now Michigan State will battle No. 1 Duke for the right to face the winner of No. 1 seeds Kentucky and Wisconsin in the championship game. Michigan State might seem like an underdog next to the three top seeds, but with Tom Izzo at the helm, never count out the Spartans.

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