Men's Basketball Ready For Action In Grand Rapids
12/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#13/14 Michigan State (4-2)vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (3-1)
Dec. 3, 2005Noon ESTGrand Rapids, Mich.Van Andel Arena
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WMMQ 94.9 FM/WJIM 1240 AM
TV: ESPN Plus Local - Dick Bremer (Play by Play), Shon Morris (Color)
Michigan State-Arkansas-Little Rock will be televised on ESPN Plus Local on the following affiliates: Detroit - WKBD; Lansing - WLNS; Gr. Rapids/K'zoo/Battle Creek - WXSP; Traverse City/Cadillac - WFQX; South Bend/Elkhart, Ind. - WAAT.
Michigan State Game Notes
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The Opening Tip
After two straight home games, Michigan State is back on the road to face Arkansas-Little Rock. The Spartans have won three straight games, including a narrow 88-86 win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday, but are facing a Trojan squad that has also won three in a row, having most recently defeated John Brown, 67-62, on Tuesday. The Spartans are playing their first ever contest in Van Andel Arena.
The Starting Five
West-Michigan Drews - Two members of Michigan State's regular playing rotation, Drew Naymick and Drew Neitzel, both hail from the west side of the state. Naymick starred at North Muskegon High School, earning a spot on the Detroit Free Press Dream Team as a senior after averaging 18 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.5 blocks. He finished his career as Michigan's all-time high school blocked shots leader with 527 rejections. Neitzel won the 2004 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award after averaging 33.0 points and 9.2 assists as a senior at Wyoming Park, leading his squad to the Class B semifinals. He finished his career as the state's second all-time leading scorer (2,462 points) and fourth all-time in assists (692 assists).
Davis Named POW - Paul Davis was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 28. In four games, the senior center averaged 22.5 points and 12.3 rebounds. MSU posted a 3-1 record on the week, falling only to Gonzaga, 109-106 in triple overtime. Davis recorded double-doubles in three of the four games. Coach Izzo was impressed with his performance, saying "I'm pleased with the way he's playing on all ends of the court and really excited about the leadership I think he's showing. He's made some giant strides."
On The Road Again - After two straight games at the Breslin Center, Michigan State will play its next three contests away from home. In fact, seven of MSU's first nine games will be away from East Lansing. This year, the Spartans opened with four road games for just the fourth time in school history.
The Big Three - Spartan seniors Maurice Ager and Paul Davis and junior Shannon Brown will carry a lot of the scoring load for Michigan State this season. Through six games, the trio has not disappointed, averaging a combined 58.8 points, or 70.2 percent, of MSU's 83.8 points per game.
Mr. Double-Double - With four double-doubles in the first six games of this season, Paul Davis has now recorded a double-double in 12 of the last 21 games. Davis elevated his level of play over the last two months of last 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.
Arkansas-Little Rock Notes
Coach Shields - Steve Shields (Baylor, '88) is 38-23 in his third season at Arkansas-Little Rock. He has led UALR to back-to-back Sun Belt East Division titles and captured the 2004 Sun Belt Coach of the Year award. Prior to taking the head job, he served as an assistant for the Trojans for three seasons. He was also the head coach at McLennan (Texas) Community College from 1996-2000.
Trojan Tidbits - After losing its season opener at Appalachian State, Arkansas-Little Rock has won three straight games ... The Trojans are led by 6-8 junior forward Rashad Jones-Jennings, a third-team junior college All-American last season, who averages 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest ... UALR has an impressive turnover margin of +6.0 through the first four games ... The Trojans are 1-8 all-time against the Big Ten, including a 53-43 win at Northwestern on Nov. 18, 2000, and an 86-84 overtime loss at Minnesota on Dec. 10, 2002.
Series History - This is the first-ever meeting between Michigan State and Arkansas-Little Rock.
Game 6 Notes - Michigan State 88 - Georgia Tech 86
* Michigan State improved to 4-2 in Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
* Paul Davis scored three points on 1-of-2 shooting in the first half, but responded with 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the second half.
* Drew Neitzel scored a career-best 17 points.
* Shannon Brown (6 assists) and Maurice Ager (5 assists) both tallied career highs in assists.
* Michigan State committed just two of its 12 turnovers in the second half.
* Georgia Tech hit five 3-pointers in the final 1:26, cutting an 10-point MSU lead down to two points.
* Michigan State's defense held Georgia Tech to 40 percent shooting in the first half, but allowed the Yellow Jackets to shoot 64.7 percent in the second half.
MSU Basketball Notes
It's Early, But ... - While it's impossible to project season statistics off just five games, a few Spartans are putting up impressive numbers in the early going. Maurice Ager is currently averaging 21.7 points per game. It's the best scoring average by a Spartan since Shawn Respert averaged 25.6 points as a senior in 1994-95. Paul Davis is currently averaging 11.2 rebounds, the best mark by a Spartan since Lindsay Hairston averaged 11.5 boards in 1974-75.
1,000-Point Spartans - With a free throw at the 16:26 mark against IPFW, Maurice Ager became the 35th player in Michigan State history to score 1,000 career points. With 1,028 points, he joins Paul Davis (1,264 points) as current Spartans over 1,000. Davis ranks 19th in career scoring, while Ager ranks tied for 34th. Ager needs 27 points to pass Marcus Sanders (1,054 points), while Davis needs 12 points to pass Quinton Brooks (1,275 points). Three members of last year's team, Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert, were all 1,000-point scorers. The next Spartan to reach the milestone should be Shannon Brown, who currently has 697 points.
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. He is averaging 8.7 points and 7.0 shots per game. He is coming off a career-high 17-point performance against Georgia Tech.
Freshmen Contributions - Eight Spartans are currently averaging more than 10 minutes per game. Of those eight, three are freshmen in Marquise Gray, Goran Suton and Travis Walton. A true freshman, Walton is the primary reserve in the backcourt averaging 21.0 minutes, 2.0 points and 3.5 assists, while playing strong defense. Gray and Suton are redshirt freshmen getting their first taste of college basketball games. Suton is the team's fifth-leading scorer at 6.7 points and the second-leading rebounder at 6.3 boards in 25.3 minutes per contest. In three games of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, Suton averaged 7.3 points and 7.0 rebounds. Gray is averaging 3.5 points and 4.2 boards per game. He was a spark in the Spartans' win over Chaminade, scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Big Ten Favorites - Michigan State was named the Big Ten preseason favorite at the league's media day on Oct. 30. The Spartans are followed by Illinois and Indiana in the poll. Paul Davis also earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten squad.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
Spartans In The NBA - Listed below is an update on seven former Spartans currently on NBA rosters: (Stats through Nov. 25)
Alan Anderson (Charlotte): 2 GP, 12.5 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 2.0 apg Charlie Bell (Milwaukee): 10 GP, 8.3 mpg, 3.4 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.4 apg Mateen Cleaves (Seattle): 10 GP, 13.4 mpg, 5.6 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 2.4 apg Morris Peterson (Toronto): 13 GP, 8 GS, 30.7 mpg, 11.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.2 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 10 GP, 10 GS, 37.3 mpg, 18.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 1.8 apg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 14 GP, 14 GS, 38.6 mpg, 22.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.1 apg Eric Snow (Cleveland): 12 GP, 12 GS, 26.5 mpg, 3.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.0 apg
