Sports Illustrated: MSU best program

A national title and four Final Four appearances helped, but it was the Michigan State's unmatched run in the NCAA Tournament that pushed Sports Illustrated to vote the Spartans the college team of the decade.

MSU played in every NCAA tourney and won the decade's first championship over Florida in 2000 under Tom Izzo, then returned to the Final Four in 2001, 2005 and 2009. The Spartans lost to North Carolina in April's title game in Detroit.

"It's hard to go against North Carolina, which went to four Final Fours and won two titles, or Florida, which in 2006-07 became college basketball's first repeat champion in 15 years," SI.com's Seth Davis wrote. "But while the Spartans only won a single championship (in 2000), they also went to four Final Fours. Moreover, unlike the other two candidates, the Spartans made the NCAA tournament every year this decade. That is a remarkable achievement in an era when the best teams so frequently lose young players to the pros."

Sports Illustrated also voted MSU's 109-106 triple-OT loss to Gonzaga in the 2005 Maui Classic as the decade's best regular-season game.

Former Grand Ledge star Al Horford also was mentioned in the best-of list with the top recruiting class of the decade - Florida's 2004 group which also featured Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green.