Coach Tom Izzo has taken Michigan State to the Final Four eight times during his Spartans coaching tenure, which began with the 1995-96 season.

In addition to winning a national championship in 2000 with a win over Florida, he led the Spartans to the 2009 championship game, which they lost to North Carolina. In semifinal games, MSU lost by a hair to Cinderella team Butler in 2010 and fell to Duke 68-62 in 1999, prompting star guard Mateen Cleaves to remark, “We were so close, but couldn’t get over that hump.”

● 1999: Lost to Duke 68-62 in the semifinals

● 2000: Defeated Florida 89-76 in the national championship game after defeating Wisconsin 53-41 in the semifinals

● 2001: Lost to Arizona 80-61 in the semifinals

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● 2005: Lost to North Carolina 87-71 in the semifinals

● 2009: Lost to North Carolina 89-72 in the national championship game after defeating Connecticut 82-73 in the semifinals

● 2010: Lost to Butler 52-50 in the semifinals

● 2015: Lost to Duke 81-61 in the semifinals

● 2019: Lost to Texas Tech 61-51 in the semifinals