5 most heartbreaking Michigan State football, basketball losses in past 2 years

1. Sweet 16 vs. Kansas State (2023)

No huge leads were lost as Michigan State basketball only led by four at most, but this one, by far, left the fans the most brokenhearted.

Not only was it a game that MSU could have won in so many moments in that game, but the road to the Final Four couldn't have been easier with all the upsets that happened. The winner would go on to play an inexperienced FAU team, which seemed like a perfect situation for Tom Izzo and his success with short turnarounds.

Instead, Markquis Nowell tortured the Spartans with a record 19 assists. It just wasn't the Spartans' night, with Nowell throwing up late shot clock heaves only for them to go in, and a guy who averaged five points a game in Ismael Massoud making 4-of-6 3-pointers and a miraculous mid-range jumper to put them up three late in overtime.

Any time either team looked to take over, the other team would answer, it was such a wild back and forth, with the Spartans being mere fingertips away from advancing.

At the time, everyone, fans and media alike, saw something in this Spartan team that made us all think that the next year would be their year, but instead, they made fools of us all.