Michigan State senior guard Denzel Valentine (45) guards Middle Tennessee senior guard Perrin Buford (2) during a first round NCAA Tournament game between second-seeded Michigan State and 15-seeded Middle Tennessee Friday, March 18, 2016 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Msu V Mtsu Game Dave Wasinger, Dave Wasinger/Lansing State Journal, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal via Imagn

Tom Izzo Recalls One of Most Infamous Games in Spartan History

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 7:56 PM ET

There are many good memories that live in the minds of Michigan State basketball fans, especially ones during Tom Izzo's time at the helm.

But there's also been bad ones, ones that no matter how much you'd like to, you will never forget.

There's perhaps no game worse than the Spartans' upset loss to Middle Tennessee State in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

It was one of Izzo's more talented teams, one that featured four players who would go on to the NBA -- Denzel Valentine, Bryn Forbes, Matt Costello and Deyonta Davis.

Michigan State was fresh off winning the Big Ten Tournament Championship, defeating Purdue in what was the Spartans' ninth consecutive win.

They were rolling heading into the tournament and would land the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region. But as faith would have it, they were paired with the best 15 seed in the tournament.

"That was the one year I said we should have been a 1 (seed), and the one year that Middle Tennessee -- ," Izzo said in his interview with Big Ten Network's Rick Pizzo that was featured on "Big Ten Today" last week, "But it was one of those games, too -- we were 1 in the country, or 2, in defense. They shot 56, 54 (percent); give them credit, they beat us.

"We shot pretty good and lost. So, still one of the two that I thought we could win it all -- maybe three."

Middle Tennessee shot nearly 56% from the field and nearly 58% from range, making 11 3-pointers on 19 attempts.

The Spartans, meanwhile, made the same amount of triples on 24 attempts, which, like Izzo said, was a solid shooting performance. But Michigan State did commit 14 costly turnovers.

Michigan State ranked second in the nation in shooting defense. And it was No. 1 in 3-point efficiency.

It was one of those games where the opponent just got hot, which we saw all the time in the NCAA Tournament, hence the "madness" it has been known for for decades.

It will always be remembered as a season of "what could have been."

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