When Michigan State Ended the Harlem Globetrotters’ 1,270-Game Win Streak

The Tom Izzo era of Michigan State Spartans basketball is defined by his 27 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, 8 Final Four Appearances, 11 regular-season Big Ten Championships, 6 Big Ten Tournament titles, 8 National Coach of the Year awards, and, oh, the 2000 National Championship. 

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That 2000 National Championship is his crowning achievement, but what if I told you it might not be the Spartans' biggest win that season? No, the biggest game of the season was actually the game after hoisting the championship trophy against...the Harlem Globetrotters, basketball's most high-flying team.

It was a rare matchup that ended the Globetrotter's ridiculous five-year, 1,270-game win streak.

Michigan State vs the Harlem Globetrotters, November 13th, 2000

The Harlem Globetrotters have been mixing basketball with comedy since 1926, with talented players choosing to play a different kind of professional basketball. The team usually plays its long-time rivals, the Washington Generals, as part of the show.

But after the team was bought by former player Mannie Jackson, they wanted to bring back the tradition of playing more competitive matches. So, they combined the best players from the three different Globetrotters teams and embarked on a fall tour against college teams.

Well, it doesn't get much tougher than playing the national champions. The Globetrotters had been on a 5-year winning streak dating back to September 19th, 1995, before running into a Spartans team that took the exhibition game very seriously.

MSU recounts the game like this:

For much of the first half, it was all Globetrotters, who led at halftime 33-29. But the Spartans took the lead and held it for most of the second half, keeping distance from the Globetrotters each time it looked like the momentum was going the other direction (thanks to two monster dunks by Jason Richardson).

But the Globetrotters did not go quietly into that good night. With less than a minute left, the Globetrotters pulled off their signature magic and cut the lead to 68-66 with less than a minute left. It took a huge defensive play by leading scorer Charlie Bell to quite literally steal the game from Harlem, with a final score of 72-68. The loss was the team's first in 1,270 games.

Despite this, in typical Tom Izzo fashion, he told ESPN that he was "totally, and I mean totally, disappointed in the lack of effort we [MSU] showed tonight." Leave it to Izzo to be critical, even in a win.

The Globetrotters would get their revenge three years later when MSU legend Magic Johnson, 44-years-old and retired from the NBA, joined the Globetrotters to trounce the Spartans 97-83.