Men's Basketball Gets Final Exhibition Tune-up
11/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Michigan State
vs. Northern Michigan
November 5, 2006
2 p.m. EST
East Lansing, Mich.
Breslin Center
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM 1240 AM
Tickets: Tickets for the MSU-NMU game as well as season tickets are available through MSUSpartans.com. Click here for tickets.
MSU Game Notes
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The Opening Tip - Michigan State hosts Northern Michigan in its second exhibition contest. The Spartans will use the game as a final tune-up before opening the regular season on Nov. 8 against Brown. MSU used a second-half rally to defeat Grand Valley State in the first exhibition game.
Scouting The Wildcats - Northern Michigan returns five letterwinners, including two starters, from last year's 17-11 squad that finished tied for second in the North Division of the GLIAC with a 13-5 conference mark. Senior Ricky Volcy led the Wildcats last season in scoring, averaging 20.4 points per game, adding 7.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest. Senior Will Washington averaged 10.9 points last year.
Spartans Vs. Wildcats - Michigan State and Northern Michigan met eight times between 1920 and 1975, with the Spartans winning seven games. This will be the fourth exhibition game between the two teams since 2000. MSU won 93-40 in 2000, 98-56 in 2004 and 77-58 in 2005. Last season, Drew Neitzel scored 10 points and dished out four assists, Goran Suton tallied 10 pionts and six rebounds and Marquise Gray added six rebounds. For the Wildcats, Will Washington recorded 10 points and seven rebounds and Ricky Volcy added nine points.
Izzo's Alma Mater - Tom Izzo received his bachelor's degree from Nothern Michigan in 1977. He played guard for the Wildcats from 1973-77, earning team MVP and third-team Division II All-America honors as a senior, establishing a school record for most minutes played in a season. In 1990, Izzo was inducted into the Northern Michigan University Hall of Fame. In 2001, he received an honorary doctorate degree and delivered the commencement address at the spring graduation ceremony.
O, Canada - Today's game features four Canadians on the two rosters. Spartan sophomore Maurice Joseph hails from Montreal, Quebec, where he was the 2005 CCAA National Player of the Year at Champlain-St. Lambert, averaging 24 points, four rebounds and four assists. Northern Michigan's roster features two Montreal natives, senior Ricky Volcy and sophomore Chris Warner. In addition, Wildcat freshman Sebastien Salois' hometown is Trois Rivieres, Quebec.
First Exhibition Recap - Michigan State defeated Grand Valley State, 61-57, in Grand Rapids on Wednesday night. The Spartans trailed 26-10 late in the first half, rallied to cut the deficit to two points at 26-24, only to find themselves trailing 42-29 with 13:09 left in the second frame. MSU slowly chipped away at the margin and went ahead on a jumper by Travis Walton with 3:41 left in the game. The Spartans held on for the victory by converting all eight free-throw attempts in the final three minutes. Drew Neitzel led all scorers with 27 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, in addition to making all nine free throws. Goran Suton added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Spartans, while Jason Jamerson poured in 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting for GVSU. David Thompson was the only other Laker to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points. The Spartan offense started slow and scored just 10 points through the first 17 minutes of the game, but tallied 11 in the final 2:44 of the half. Overall, MSU scored 51 points in the game's final 23 minutes. One key to the turnaround was limiting turnovers. The Spartans committed 12 in the first 17 minutes, but just five for the rest of the game.
A Familiar Situation - While much is made of Michigan State losing three starters to the 2006 NBA Draft, it's encouraging to know that the Spartans are not in an unfamiliar setting. On the stat sheet, MSU returns just 22.4 percent of their points, 30.8 percent of their rebounds, and 40.5 percent of their minutes from last year's team. By comparison, the 2001-02 team returned just 19.0 percent of the points, 18.0 percent of the rebounds and 26.3 percent of the minutes from the 2001 team that won the Big Ten and advanced to the Final Four. In 2002, the Spartans finished just one game out of first place and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The key was that players stepped up their level of performance: Marcus Taylor went from averaging 7.4 points to being a first-team all-league selection, and Adam Ballinger increased his scoring average from 1.9 ppg to 11.2, securing third-team All-Big Ten accolades.
Backcourt Leadership - Michigan State will be led in 2006-07 by the backcourt duo of Drew Neitzel and Travis Walton, having been voted co-captains by their teammates. Neitzel is MSU's leading returning scorer, having averaged 8.3 points per game last season. He also led the Big Ten in assists in conference games, dishing out 5.56 helpers per contest. Although just a sophomore, Walton is an unquestioned leader on the Spartan squad. He averaged just 1.8 points and 2.4 assists last year, but in just under 20 minutes per game, he provided good defense and solid leadership. Walton becomes the third sophomore captain under head coach Tom Izzo, joining Antonio Smith in 1996-97 and Mateen Cleaves in 1997-98.
Winning Freshmen - If there is one common trait for freshmen Isaiah Dahlman, Tom Herzog and Raymar Morgan, it is that they are all winners. Over the last two years, the trio posted a combined mark of 152-8 with their high school teams, winning a combined four state championships. Dahlman was 95-4 over the last three years, including winning 65-straight games at one point, while Braham Area won three-consecutive Minnesota 2A state championships. Morgan led Canton McKinley to back-to-back Ohio Division 1 state championships, becoming the first school to win two straight crowns in Ohio's largest division since 1974. Herzog was 37-3 over the last two seasons, winning a district championship in 2005.
Neitzel On Cousy List - Junior point guard Drew Neitzel is one of 36 Division I candidates for the 2007 Bob Cousy Award. Presented annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the award recognizes the top collegiate point guard participating in NCAA Divisions I, II and III. As a sophomore, Neitzel ranked third in the Big Ten in overall assists (5.56 apg) and tied for the conference lead in league games (5.56 apg). Additionally, he led the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.78). The selection committee is comprised of college basketball experts including media members, former coaches and players. Candidates are evaluated on their ability to maximize their team's collective potential, their leadership, their core basketball skills and overall team acheivement. Wisconsin's Kammron Taylor is the only other Big Ten player on the list, which also includes two Division II and one Division III candidates.
Looking For No. 10 - Last year, Michigan State made a ninth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. It is the longest current streak among Big Ten schools and fifth longest in the nation. Only Arizona (22), Kansas (17), Kentucky (15) and Duke (11) have longer current streaks.
Playing For A Good Cause - Michigan State will be tested early as it participates in the 2006 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefitting Coaches Vs. Cancer. The Spartans will open with a pair of home games as they host Brown, Central Michigan and Youngstown State in one of four pods on Nov. 8-9. If MSU wins two games, it will advance to New York Nov. 16-17, where possible opponents include Maryland, St. John's and Texas. With the opening game against Brown on Nov. 8, MSU will be playing the earliest season opener in the program's history.
Tough Competition - Michigan State will play nine teams that appeared in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, including five league foes (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State and Wisconsin) and four non-conference teams (Belmont, Boston College, Bradley and Texas). In addition, five other opponents appeared in the 2006 NIT (BYU, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State), making it likely that 20 of the Spartans' 31 regular-season games will be against team that played in the 2006 postseason. For comparison, Michigan State played eight 2005 NCAA Tournament teams last season, six 2004 NCAA Tournament teams in 2004-05 and 10 2003 NCAA Tournament teams in 2003-04, a year which featured one of the most difficult schedules in recent college basketball history.
Spartans On TV - Michigan State will have a minimum of 24 games televised in 2006-07, including at least 12 on national television networks (ESPN - 6, CBS - 3, ESPN2 - 2, ESPNU - 1). In addition, if MSU advances to the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals in New York, two more games will be carried on ESPN2. Plus, the final two regular-season games could be picked up by national networks. Michigan State has appeared on CBS 71 times and on ESPN and ESPN2 91 times since 1997-98. Over the last nine years, MSU has averaged 29 televised games per year, including 18 per season on national television networks.
Spartans In The NBA - Nine former Spartans are currently on NBA rosters as the teams open fall camp. They include Maurice Ager (Dallas Mavericks), Alan Anderson (Charlotte Bobcats), Charlie Bell (Milwaukee Bucks), Shannon Brown (Cleveland Cavaliers), Paul Davis (Los Angeles Clippers), Morris Peterson (Toronto Raptors), Zach Randolph (Portland Trail Blazers), Jason Richardson (Golden State Warriors) and Eric Snow (Cleveland Cavaliers). The nine active players gives MSU the most of any Big Ten school and ranks tied for seventh in the nation behind UConn (15), North Carolina (14), Duke (14), Kentucky (11), Arizona (11) and UCLA (11). Maryland also has nine active players. (As of Oct. 9, 2006)
Experience In The Front Court - While Drew Neitzel is the only full-time returning starter for Michigan State, there are three Spartans in the frontcourt that gained starting experience in 2005-06, combining for 22 starts. Red-shirt junior Drew Naymick started the first seven games of the season before a shoulder injury forced him to miss the rest of the year. Red-shirt sophomore Marquise Gray started nine contests as an athletic power forward, while classmate Goran Suton used his wide array of skills to earn the starting job in six games, including all four postseason contests.
Spartans In The NBA Draft - With three Spartans selected in the 2006 NBA Draft, Michigan State has had 10 players drafted in the last seven drafts, ranking behind only Connecticut (11) and Duke (11). With Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown being selected in the first round, the Spartans have produced six first rounders in the last seven years, ranking behind only Connecticut (8) and Duke (7) and tied with North Carolina.
