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Michigan State Basketball: 2018-19 season overview for Spartans

By Ryan Kay

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 23: Cassius Winston #5, Foster Loyer #3, Xavier Tillman #23 and Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 23: Cassius Winston #5, Foster Loyer #3, Xavier Tillman #23 and Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

What went right, wrong, and somewhere in between for the Spartans this 2018-2019 season. Opportunities were missed and opportunities were seized in an unexpected season one way or the other in terms of preseason expectations for Michigan State Basketball.

It appears that many are already talking about next season for Michigan State Basketball. CBS Sports, ESPN and Sports Illustrated as well at NCAA.com’s  Andy Katz and USA TODAY writer Scott Gleeson has the Spartans preseason ranked #1 for the 2019-2020 season. However, reflecting if the Spartans had a highly successful season is highly complicated.

In many aspects, Michigan State accomplished many feats that many did not think that would have accomplished prior to the start of the season. On the other hand, Michigan State missed on some key opportunities to make this season a magical one.

Giving an overall grade/rating it is highly subjective and each division 1 program has different expectations and benchmarks. Michigan State is considered a newer “blue blood” program as for example it participates in the annual Champions Classic with other “blue blood” schools Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas. The Spartans have warranted higher expectations from fans, the media, and alums but with those advanced outlooks for accomplishments come the higher probability of not achieving those desired goals.

There were many highlights for the 2018-2019 season for Michigan State Spartans but there were unable to accomplish their number one goal that seemed attainable. Here is a look and what transpired for the Spartans this season and an in-depth analysis of the year that was.

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