After a season ends for most teams in March, a level of disappointment will be felt by anyone who gives their time and energy to the program. What we can tell you are the facts of how the season ended and why it may have happened. What we can't tell you is how to feel about this team, in totality, at its end.

The magnitude of disappointment should really be determined by one thing: expectations. And these expectations obviously can change on a game-by-game basis. Given Tom Izzo’s success over his career, it’s easy to forget how gloomy it felt in East Lansing coming into the 2024-2025 season.

The Spartans hadn’t had an opportunity to reach a Final Four in six years and with the talent lost from last year’s roster, it felt like it would still take some time. What we witnessed this year from Izzo and his players was objectively surprising and changed the way many feel about the program moving forward.

From a satellite view, Michigan State had an exceptional year given their turnaround from losing a huge chunk of production from last season's team that finished 20-15 and 6th place in the Big Ten. To replace the production, Izzo chose to go internal rather than scour the transfer portal. While Frankie Fidler and Simon Zapala turned out to be key role parts in this team's success, the nucleus was built in house.

Most publications had the Spartans finishing near the middle of the conference and to stumble into the NCAA tournament - not too different from how the last few years went. To be able to win the Big Ten by three games - something Izzo has never done before - is incredible. To add to that, the Spartans didn’t have a single player on the first or second team all-conference lists when the regular season finished.

Again, incredible.

The team itself wouldn’t have been able to take a huge leap without the individuals on the team improving across the board. It’s safe to say almost everyone who was on the roster last year took a step forward in contributing to this team’s success and buying into how they wanted to win.

Coen Carr went from a dunking specialist to a two-way threat at forward the Spartans desperately needed after losing Malik Hall. Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper anchored the team’s defense and led the way on the glass after playing behind Mady Sissoko last year. Tre Holloman, Jeremy Fears and Jaden Akins all took on more of a playmaking role after parting ways with Tyson Walker and A.J. Hoggard.

The players and coaches stepped up to make this team what they ultimately were: a nightmare to play against.

We’ll always remember how MSU turned things around after losing three of four games in February heading into the toughest stretch of the season and proceeded to win their next eight. And we’ll never forget the way they ripped the soul out of their rival in two games, home and away - rivals with whom they were neck and neck in the conference standings for the most part.

So if you transport back to November when the Spartans lost to Kansas in the Champions Classic, and ask yourself what sort of outcome would make you happy when the season ended in March - can you truly be disappointed after hanging a conference championship banner, even when a couple others were in sight?

This is where things can get tricky when determining your ultimate thoughts on this team.

If you had the Spartans barreling through a bracket that would have them beating some real juggernauts to reach the ultimate goal in the end, of course this season would be more of a disappointment. Ultimately in college basketball, though, is the fact that what you remember most is how the season ended and what you felt in that moment.

A Final Four in a lot of ways would have validated this team, as they had the DNA of a classic Izzo team that could make a run. Even when the Spartans were placed in the same region as the number one overall seed in Auburn, there weren’t many quivering at a potential matchup with them to get to a Final Four. One could argue they were the most beatable out of the pool of one seeds chosen in the bracket after the way the Tigers closed out their regular season.

When the final buzzer sounded on Sunday after Auburn defeated the Spartans 70-64, I think people may have felt torn about the results. On one hand, MSU lost to a team that ultimately had more talent than them, including the potential Naismith Award winner in Johni Broome. On the other hand, MSU had several opportunities to steal a win the same way they’ve taken away so many this year.

To me, this was always going to be the team's ceiling, simply because of who they would have to eventually play.

Would I have been surprised by a Final Four run or beyond? Absolutely not.

But to call a spade, a spade, this team’s biggest struggle the entire year was simply putting the ball in the hoop. It was evident in the first three rounds of the tournament that they were not going to win with their offense, but did just enough to pull away from their opponents. I just couldn’t see them winning six games with the same ingredients once the competition became truly elite.

As mentioned, everyone is entitled to feel however they want to feel about a team once it’s said and done. For a fanbase that has been used to long-term success for awhile now, it’s completely reasonable to want the absolute best.

A better question after this season, perhaps, is how Michigan State will use this year to propel themselves moving forward? Are we at the beginning, middle or end of something special that Izzo has with the core in place?

The answers will be exciting to find out.

At the end of the day, you SHOULD feel good about who's leading the charge and that the fire in him appears to be eternal.

That in and of itself provides a foundation of hope that 99% of fanbases in the country would trade for any day.