Following Bridges and Jackson's departures to the NBA, the 2018–19 team began the season ranked No. 10 in the country. The season was dominated by injuries to the Spartans. Starting guard Joshua Langford only played 13 games before missing the rest of the season with a foot injury. Key starter Matt McQuaid missed three games with injury and key reserve Kyle Ahrens missed nine games with back and ankle injuries. With five games remaining in the Big Ten regular season, big man Nick Ward suffered a hairline fracture in his shooting hand and missed the rest of the regular season. He returned in time for the postseason, but was not the same as he struggled to return to the lineup. Despite this, the Spartans earned a share of the Big Ten regular season championship with Purdue and defeated arch-rival Michigan twice in the regular season. Led by Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus second team All-American Cassius Winston, the Spartans also won the Big Ten Tournament for the sixth time, again defeating Michigan in the championship game to go 3–0 against their rival. As the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the school's 22nd straight appearance in the Tournament, the Spartans defeated Bradley and Minnesota to advance to their first Sweet Sixteen in four years. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Spartans blew out No. 3 seed LSU to face top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight. Despite having multiple first round NBA Draft picks, the Spartans knocked off the Blue Devils to earn a trip to the school's 10th Final Four and eighth under Izzo. The win over Duke improved Izzo's record to 2–11 against Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. In the Final Four, the Spartans were upset by Texas Tech, ending the school's bid for a third national championship. Winston led the Spartans, averaging 18.8 points and 7.5 assists per game.