Spartans Open EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Against Chaminade
11/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
No. 4/5 Michigan State (0-1)vs. Chaminade (0-0)
Nov. 21, 20052:30 p.m. ESTLahaina, Hawai'iLahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WMMQ 94.9 FM/WJIM 1240 AM
TV: ESPN2 - Dave O'Brien (Play by Play), Rick Majerus (Color)
Michigan State Game Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Starting Five
MSU In Maui - This year's tournament marks Michigan State's third appearance in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. The Spartans won the tournament in their first trip to Maui in 1991. MSU knocked off Lamar, 81-68, and Rice, 75-67, in the first two rounds, before upsetting No. 2 ranked Arkansas, 86-71. MSU used the momentum of the tournament to open the 1991-92 season with a 10-0 record. Four years later, the Spartans returned to Maui in 1995. State defeated Chaminade, 69-66, in the opening game, before falling to North Carolina, 92-70, and Santa Clara, 77-71.
The Tables Are Turned - 10 years ago, when Michigan State and Chaminade met in the opening round of the 1995 Maui Invitational, Spartan head coach was appearing in his first regular-season game as head coach. Fast forward to 2005 and Silverswords coach Matt Mahar will be making his debut against the Spartans.
Spartans In Hawai'i - Michigan State has an all-time record of 10-6 in Hawai'i. The Spartans won the 1998 Pearl Harbor Classic in Laie and the 1991 Maui Invitational. MSU also participated in the 1965 (2-1) and 1981 (1-2) Rainbow Classics and the 1995 Maui Invitational (1-2). Most recently, MSU lost at Hawai'i on Saturday.
Mr. Double-Double - Paul Davis elevated his level of play over the last two months of the season, recording a double-double in eight of the final 15 games, including the last four NCAA Tournament contests. His best effort might have come in the Sweet 16 when he out-scored (20 to 19) and out-rebounded (12 to 8) Duke's Shelden Williams. In the Final Four, against North Carolina's Sean May, Davis recorded a career-best 15 rebounds. In the 2005-06 season opener, he picked up where he left off, tallying a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds despite playing just 20 minutes due to severe leg cramps, giving him nine double-doubles in the last 16 games.
Big Ten Favorites - Michigan State was named the Big Ten preseason favorite at the league's media day on Oct. 30 in Chicago. The Spartans are followed by Illinois and Indiana in the poll. Paul Davis also earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten squad.
Game 1 Notes - Hawai'i 84 - Michigan State 62
* Michigan State's four returning scorers from the 2005 Final Four (Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown, Paul Davis and Drew Neitzel) all suffered leg cramps.
* Paul Davis opened the season with a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) despite playing just 20 minutes due to leg cramps.
* MSU's five freshmen and redshirt freshmen combined to play 57 for the Spartans.
* Michigan State recorded just 10 assists while committing 17 turnovers.
* Hawai'i used an 11-0 run to turn a slim 56-50 lead into a commanding 67-50 advantage.
* Michigan State's loss snapped a streak of 28 straight season-opening victories.
Chaminade Notes
Coach Mahar - Matt Mahar (Johnson State College, '96) is in his first season as head coach at Chaminade. He has spent the past three seasons as CU's top assistant.
Silversword Notes - Chaminade returns its top four scorers from a team that averaged 85.0 points a game last season ... Junior guard Zack Whiting leads all returning players in both rebounds (6.0 rpg) and assists (6.8 apg), ranking second in scoring (14.5 ppg) ... Senior guard Chris Reaves was an All-PacWest Second-Team selection in 2005, averaging 16.4 points; Reaves scored 33 points against Texas in the 2004 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational.
Series History - Michigan State won the only previous meeting between the two teams, 69-66, on Nov. 20, 1995, in the first round of the 1995 Maui Invitational.
MSU Basketball Notes
An Offensive Threat - By his own admission, Drew Neitzel just tried to run the offense last season as a true freshman point guard and get the ball to the other weapons on the team. He recorded an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1-to-1, but averaged just 3.5 points per game and attempted just 3.4 shots per contest. A prolific scorer in high school, Neitzel will look to score more this season as evidenced by his play in two exhibition games where he averaged 13.0 points and 9.0 shots per contest, while maintaining a 2.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. In the season-opener at Hawai'i, Neitzel attempted seven shots, making three.
MSU In November - Michigan State has an all-time record of 61-19 in games played in the month of November.
MSU Is A "Powerhouse Program" - ESPN named Michigan State one of the 10 "Powerhouse Programs" in college basketball. Of the 10 schools featured, only seven were division I men's programs. MSU was joined by Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, division II Kentucky Wesleyan, and the Tennessee and Connecticut women's programs. The television program featuring the list was part of ESPNU's Honor Roll series.
MSU Is No. 1 - The Sporting News has tabbed Michigan State as its preseason No. 1 team, listing the Spartans' strengths as "two elite playmaking wings; size and skill at center; toughness." The publication also lists Maurice Ager as the No. 2 shooting guard in the nation and a second-team All-American. Paul Davis is the No. 4 center and Shannon Brown is ranked the No. 9 small forward. As a unit, the Spartan backcourt is ranked second in the nation.
A High Octane Offense - Michigan State led the Big Ten and ranked 13th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 78.5 points per game. It was MSU's highest scoring-offense since the 1985-86 Spartans averaged 83.1 points. The Spartans return three of their top four scorers and a starting point guard to help key the attack.
America's Best Backcourt - Lindy's College Basketball preseason magazine ranked Michigan State's backcourt the best in the nation: "The backcourt was solid enough to get the Spartans to the Final Four last season and that should be the case again in 2006. Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager will be the `wings' and either could be defined as a `shooting guard,' if you like to see players locked into position descriptions. They're both explosive enough to jump over the top or drive past any variety of defender. Drew Neitzel was solid the last half of the season as the team's playmaker and should be much improved as a sophomore."
MSU In NCAA Stats - Michigan State finished the 2004-05 season ranked in the top 15 nationally in six statistical categories, including free-throw percentage (3rd, 77.7), scoring margin (7th, +13.1), assists per game (10th, 17.1), field-goal percentage (13th, 48.7), rebound margin (11th, +6.8) and scoring offense (13th, 78.5).
Returning Talent - Michigan State lost three 1,000-point scorers from last year's squad, yet it returns four starters from the Final Four starting lineup, including 83 percent of its scoring and 76 percent of its rebounds from the National Semifinal game against North Carolina. Paul Davis was the NCAA Tournament's leading rebounder, averaging 11.6 boards per game. Shannon Brown was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Austin Regional, scoring a career-high 24 points against Kentucky. Maurice Ager was MSU's leading scorer during the regular season (14.1 ppg) and the NCAA Tournament (18.2 ppg) and scored a career-high tying 24 points against the Tar Heels. Drew Neitzel took over the starting duties in February and increased his productivity in the NCAA Tournament, raising his scoring average from 3.3 ppg in the regular season to 5.0 ppg in the tournament.
Another Tough Schedule - The Spartan schedule includes 10 teams that appeared in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, including six non-league opponents (Arizona, Boston College, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga and Kansas) and four league foes (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin).
Izzo's Busy Summer - In addition to the always-busy summer recruiting season, Coach Tom Izzo enjoyed a few unique opportunities. In July, he had the opportunity to play golf with Tiger Woods at the Buick Open Pro-Am, prompting Woods to say "he's a guy that if I was playing ball, he's the type of guy that I'd want to go play for.' In mid-August, Izzo was one of a select number of coaches at Michael Jordan's Senior Flight School. The summer closed with Izzo traveling to Kuwait to take part in "Operation Hardwood - Hoops With The Troops." Izzo was one of eight coaches and sports personalities coaching 13-member military basketball teams on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from Aug. 27-31. Camp Arifjan defeated the other bases to win the championship under the direction of Coach Izzo.
Winning The Right Way - In addition to excelling on the court, the Spartans are standouts in the classroom. Seventeen Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees over the last six years, including five each in 2001 and 2003.
MSU On TV - Michigan State is also slated to appear on television at least 30 times, including up to 17 times on national television (4 CBS, 7 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU and 2 appearances that will either be on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU).
Spartans In The NBA - Listed below is an update on seven former Spartans currently on NBA rosters: (Stats through Nov. 12)
Alan Anderson (Charlotte): 1 GP, 19.0 mpg, 8.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.0 apg Charlie Bell (Milwaukee): 5 GP, 9.6 mpg, 3.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.8 apg Mateen Cleaves (Seattle): 4 GP, 12.0 mpg, 4.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 2.3 apg Morris Peterson (Toronto): 5 GP, 29.4 mpg, 13.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 5 GP, 38.2 mpg, 20.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 1.4 apg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 7 GP, 39.1 mpg, 20.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.4 apg Eric Snow (Cleveland): 6 GP, 26.7 mpg, 3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.0 apg
