Men's Basketball Opens Regular Season Against Brown
11/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches Vs. Cancer
Michigan State vs. Brown
November 8, 2006
7 p.m. EST
East Lansing, Mich.
Breslin Center
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WMMQ 94.9 FM/WJIM 1240 AM
TV: ESPNU - Tom Hamilton (Play by Play), Shon Morris (Color)
Tickets: A limited number of tickets are available for both days of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches Vs. Cancer. One ticket will admit a spectator to both games on a single day. Season tickets are also available for purchase.
Order Men's Basketball Tickets
Michigan State Game Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Opening Tip
Michigan State opens the 2006-07 season by hosting the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches Vs. Cancer. Brown, Central Michigan and Youngstown State stand in between the Spartans and a trip to New York City for the Championship Rounds on Nov. 16-17. MSU has won 28 of the last 29 season openers.
2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches Vs. Cancer
East Lansing Regional
Wednesday, Nov. 8
4 p.m. - Central Michigan vs. Youngstown State
7 p.m. - Michigan State vs. Brown
Thursday, Nov. 9
4:30 p.m. - Consolation Game
7:30 p.m. - Championship Game
The Starting Five
1. For Openers - Michigan State is 85-22 all-time in openers, winning 28 of the last 29. Last season, MSU lost at Hawai'i, 84-62, to open the season. Prior to that, the Spartans last loss in an opener came on Nov. 29, 1976, when they fell to Central Michigan, 81-76.
2. For Openers, Part II - Michigan State is 89-18 all-time in home openers. The Spartans last lost a home opener on Dec. 4, 1976, falling to Western Michigan, 74-73. Overall, the Spartans are 74-11 in season openers at home. The Spartans last lost a season opener at home Dec. 1, 1970, to Northern Illinois, 76-75.
3. 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.
4. Playing For A Good Cause - The 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches Vs. Cancer is in its 11 year as the signature event for the Coaches Vs. Cancer program. Since 1996, the tournament has raised over $2.8 million for Coaches Vs. Cancer. Coaches Vs. Cancer, a collaboration between the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society, exists to leverage the strength, community leadership and celebrity of the country's basketball coaches to raise awareness and in turn, reduce cancer risk through education programs while raising funds for the fight against cancer. More than $12 million have been raised since 1994.
5. MSU In November - Michigan State has an all-time record of 65-20 in games played in the month of November. This includes a 46-3 mark at home. This year, however, marks the earliest start ever to a regular season. Prior to this year, the earliest start was Nov. 21, 2001, against Detroit in the Preseason NIT.
MSU vs. Brown Notes
Series History - This is the first meeting between Michigan State and Brown University. The Spartans hold a 16-5 advantage in all-time meetings against schools in the Ivy League.
Coach Robinson - Craig Robinson (Princeton, `83) is in his first year as a collegiate head coach. Robinson was named head of the Brown program after spending six years as an assistant coach at Northwestern.
Bear Notes - The Brown Bears ended the 2005-06 season with a 10-17 record ... Junior Keenan Jeppesen is the top returner for the Bears, averaging 11.1 points per game and 5.0 rebounds, last season ... Jeppesen finished last season tied for second in the Ivy league with 1.89 steals per game ... Damon Huffman will also return as a leading scorer, averaging 10.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game ... The Bears ended last season ranked third in 3-pt. field goal percentage defense (.351) and rebounding defense (32.7) in the Ivy League.
Michigan Connection - Brown's roster features two Michigan natives. Junior guard Damon Huffman attended Petoskey High School. Sophomore forward Scott Friske is from Charlevoix, but attended Worcester Academy in Massachusetts.
MSU vs. Central Michigan Notes
Series History - Michigan State leads the all-time series with Central Michigan, 30-3. The Spartans are 25-2 at home against the Chippewas, and 5-1 in Mount Pleasant.
Coach Zeigler - Ernie Zeigler (Cleary College, `94) is in his first year as a collegiate head coach. Zeigler spent the last five seasons as an assistant under Ben Howland at both Pittsburgh (2002-03) and UCLA (2004-06). Prior to his stint at Pittsburgh, Zeigler spent one year at each Kansas State and Bowling Green.
Chippewa Notes - Central Michigan held a 4-24 record last season, going 1-17 in the MAC .... The Chippewas will return all five starters from last year's team, including All-MAC selection Giordan Watson who averaged 13.8 points per game last season, and Sefton Barrett (13.6 ppg) ... The Chippewas led the MAC in blocked shots last season, averaging 4.36 per game.
MSU vs. Youngstown State Notes
Series History - Michigan State and Youngstown State have never met on the hardwood.
Coach Slocum - Jerry Slocum (The Kings College, `75) is 587-346 in 31 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including 7-21 following his first season at Youngstown State. Prior to being named the head coach at Youngstown State, Slocum spent nine years at Gannon (179-78), nine years at Geneva (202-81) and 12 years at Nyack (199-166).
Penguin Notes - Youngstown State closed out the 2005-06 season with a 7-21 mark ... Quin Humphrey led the Penguins last season, averaging 19.2 points per game and 8.3 rebounds, and has been named to the preseason All-Horizon League Team ... Keston Roberts will also be a top returner for the Penguins, turning in 14.0 points per game last season and adding 1.9 assists per game ... Youngstown State and Butler each averaged 13.21 assists per game last season, leading the Horizon League.
Exhibition Game Notes
* Drew Neitzel averaged 19.5 points in two exhibition games, shooting 52.4 percent from the field, 58.3 percent from 3-point range and 90.9 percent from the foul line. Against Grand Valley State, Neitzel scored 27 points.
* Goran Suton averaged a double-double with 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds.
* Raymar Morgan missed the first exhibition game with a shoulder sprain. Against Northern Michigan, Morgan recorded 16 points and 12 rebounds.
* The Spartans struggled with turnovers, averaging 19.0 per game.
* MSU's defense held opponents to 37.1 percent shooting, totaling 11 blocks.
* The Spartans held a +11.0 rebound margin for the two games, including out-rebounding Northern Michigan, 46-26.
Michigan State Notes
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.
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.
Home Sweet Home - Michigan State will play a record 19 regular-season home games at the Breslin Center this season, surpassing the previous mark of 17 established in 1996-97 and equaled in 2001-02. During Izzo's career as head coach, the Spartans are 146-21 (.874) at home, including 123-12 (.911) over the last nine years.
Winning The Right Way - In Tom Izzo's 11 full years directing the Spartan program, 82 percent of his players who completed their eligibility also left with a degree. In the last seven years, 21 Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees, including five each in 2001 and 2003.
The Book On Tom Izzo
Coach Izzo - In his 12th year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 255-109 (.701), and 125-55 (.694) in the Big Ten, as the coach of the Michigan State basketball program. With last year's win over Duke in the NCAA Tournament, he passed Benjamin Van Alstyne to become the second-winningest coach in MSU history, trailing only Jud Heathcote (340) in total wins. In his 10 seasons as a head coach, Izzo has won National Coach of the Year honors four times, including the Clair Bee Award in 2005 and NABC honors in 2001. In 1999, Izzo was named National Coach of the year by Basketball Times, while earning similar honors from Associated Press, Basketball News and the USBWA in '98.
Among The Big Ten's Best - Tom Izzo's .694 winning percentage in Big Ten games ranks second all-time among league coaches with at least 10 years of service, behind former Indiana coach Bob Knight (.700). In all games, Knight ranks first at .734, followed by Wisconsin's Walter Meanwell (.712), Purdue's Ward Lambert (.709) and Izzo (.701). With 125 conference victories, Izzo is currently tied for 13th all-time with former Iowa head coach Tom Davis.
Izzo Among Best Ever - Through his first 11 seasons, Tom Izzo won 255 games, ranking ninth in college basketball history for most wins by a college coach in his first 11 years.
Graduating Student-Athletes - In Tom Izzo's 11 full years directing the Spartan program, 82 percent of his players who completed their eligibility also left with a degree. In the last seven years, 21 Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees, including five each in 2001 and 2003.
Izzo's Coaching Tree - Five current Division I head coaches all served as assistants to Tom Izzo, including Tom Crean (Marquette), Brian Gregory (Dayton), Stan Heath (Arkansas), Stan Joplin (Toledo) and Doug Wojcik (Tulsa). Gregory is in his fourth year as head coach, after leaving MSU in the spring of 2003. Crean directed Marquette to the 2003 Final Four, while Heath directed Kent State to the Elite Eight in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Wojcik is in his second season at Tulsa. Former assistant Mike Garland served as head coach at Cleveland State for three seasons after leaving Izzo's staff in 2003. He is currently an assistant coach at SMU.
Vs. Ranked Opponents - Tom Izzo has a career record of 59-54 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. This includes a 52-43 record since 1997-98.
