Michigan State Looks To Advance To Kansas City
11/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#12/12 Michigan State (1-0)
vs. ULM (1-1)
November 14, 2007
7 p.m. EST
East Lansing, Mich.
Breslin Center
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM 1240 AM/WMMQ 94.9 FM
TV: ESPNU - Jim Barbar (Play by Play), Mike Kelley (Color)
The Opening Tip
Coming off an impressive season opener, Michigan State faces ULM in the championship game of the East Lansing Regional of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. The winner will advance to Kansas City for games next Monday and Tuesday, joining Missouri, Maryland and UCLA.
The Starting Five
1. MSU In November - Michigan State has an all-time record of 72-22 in games played in the month of November. This includes a 52-3 mark at home. This is the second earliest start to a season in school history. Last year marked the earliest start ever to a regular season as MSU opened on Nov. 8.
2. Home Sweet Home - During Tom Izzo's career as head coach, the Spartans are 165-22 (.882) at home, including 142-13 (.916) over the last 11 years.
3. Returning Talent - The Spartans return 89.8 percent of their scoring (2,043 points), 92.6 percent of their rebounding (1,021 rebounds), 93.2 percent of their assists (522 assists) and 89.4 percent of their minutes (6,256 minutes) from the 2006-07 squad.
4. Freshmen Contributions - Michigan State played four freshmen (Chris Allen, Tom Herzog, Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers) in Tuesday's season opener. The quartet combined for 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 63 minutes.
5. Improved Depth - Nine different Spartans played 16 minutes or more against Chicago State, while 11 played five minutes or more. At the same time, no Spartan played more than 27 minutes. Drew Neitzel had to play just 25 minutes. In 2006-07, he played fewer then 30 minutes just four times in 35 games.
MSU vs. ULM Notes
Series History - Michigan State leads the all-time series with ULM, 1-0. The Spartans defeated ULM, 89-58, on Nov. 13, 1998 in East Lansing. At the time, ULM was known as Northeast Louisiana.
CBE Game One Recap - Lance Brasher led ULM with 15 points as the Warhawks defeated Northern Michigan, 60-53. ULM held a 38-29 advantage on the boards, but shot just 37.7 percent from the field.
Coach Early - Orlando Early (Gardner-Webb, `90) is 29-33 in his third season at ULM. Last season, Early captured NABC District 8 Coach of the Year and Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors, leading ULM to an 18-14 record. Early's career includes stops as an assistant at Gardner-Webb, Western Carolina, UNC-Charlotte and, most recently, Alabama.
Warhawk Notes - ULM finished with an 18-14 record in 2006-07, capturing a share of the West Division title in the Sun Belt Conference ... ULM opened the season with a 107-78 loss at Kansas on Friday ... The Warhawks return all five starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad ... Former Indiana star Tom Coverdale is an assistant with the Warhawks.
Game One Notes • Michigan State 86 - Chicago State 53
* Michigan State held Chicago State to 28.6 percent shooting.
* Raymar Morgan had a career game, recording his first career double-double with a career-best 25 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
* Drew Neitzel recorded eight assists and no turnovers.
* MSU's freshman class of Chris Allen (13 points), Durrell Summers (12 pts.) and Kalin Lucas (6 pts.) combined for 31 points. Allen's 13 points tied for the fifth-highest total for a freshman debut.
* Kalin Lucas' six assists mark the fifth-highest total in a Spartan freshman debut.
* Leading 26-22 with 5:45 remaining in the first half, Michigan State closed out the stanza on a 19-4 run.
* Durrell Summers recorded 12 points and six rebounds in his Spartan debut. The 12 points tie the eighth-best effort in a Spartan freshman debut, while the six rebounds tie for the fifth-best debut.
* After shooting 5-of-31 from behind the arc in exhibition play, Michigan State shot 9-of-16 from 3-point range.
* Michigan State's 33-point margin of victory was the largest for a season opener since MSU defeated Oakland, 97-61, on Nov. 19, 2000.
MSU Basketball Notes
Big Ten Favorites - Michigan State was selected the preseason Big Ten favorite by a 22-member media panel at Big Ten Media Day on Oct. 28 in Chicago. MSU was followed in the polls by Indiana and Ohio State. At the event, Drew Neitzel was also selected Preseason Big Ten Player of The Year, becoming the first Spartan to earn the preseason nod since Mateen Cleaves was the coaches' pick in 1999. Indiana's D.J. White, Ohio State Jamar Butler, Penn State's Geary Claxton and Illinois' Shaun Pruitt joined Neitzel on the all-league team.
Hitting The Boards - Michigan State posted a +7.0 rebounding margin in 2006-07, outrebounding 24 of 35 opponents while tying three other teams. Last season, three different Spartans (Marquise Gray, Drew Naymick and Goran Suton) grabbed 10 or more rebounds in a single game. Against Chicago State, MSU held a +22 rebound margin, led by Raymar Morgan with a career-best 15 boards.
MSU Among Decade's Best - In early May 2007, ESPN.com released a ranking of the top 10 programs of the last 10 years. Michigan State was tied for second in the consensus ranking of five college basketball experts. One of the five voters, Andy Katz, ranked MSU as the top program over the last 10 seasons. In ranking the Spartans at the top of the list, Katz used several supporting arguments including: appearing in a nation's best four Final Fours; winning four Big Ten Championships, two Big Ten Tournament Titles and the 2000 NCAA Championship; 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances; 10 players selected in the NBA Draft; playing 32 ranked regular-season non-conference opponents; 30 graduates; 145 consecutive home sellouts and a .916 winning percentage at Breslin over the last 10 years.
Finding Room For Freshmen - Although Michigan State returns five starters from last year's team, they are also trying to incorporate several new freshmen into the lineup. The class of Chris Allen, Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers was ranked a top-five class according to some recruiting experts. In addition, seven-foot center Tom Herzog redshirted last season and is ready to aid the Spartan front court. Austin Thornton decided to walk-on to this year's squad as a freshman, and was awarded a scholarship when Maurice Joseph transferred in the spring.
Spartans On The Run - After Michigan State's season-ending loss to North Carolina in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Tom Izzo promised that the Spartans would return to the up-tempo style of basketball that he prefers to play. Look for the Spartans to significantly improve on the 65.0 points they averaged last season. Instead, expect something similar to the 2004-05 squad that averaged 78.5 points per contest, the most by any Izzo-coached team. MSU scored 86 points in the season opener, after scoring 80 or more points just five times in 35 contests.
The Other Foundations - While an up-tempo offense is Tom Izzo's preferred style, his best teams are also built around exceptional rebounding and strong defense. In fact, MSU led the Big Ten in rebounding margin in 2006-07 for the eighth time in the last 10 years. Defensively, the Spartans allowed opponents just 57.2 points per game, the lowest total since 1951-52. While that number might increase due to a faster pace of game, the field-goal percentage defense need not increase. Last year, MSU allowed opponents to shoot just 38.4 percent, the lowest since 1958-59.
Neitzel On Cousy List - Senior 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. 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. Neitzel is the only Big Ten player on the list, which also includes two Division II and Division III candidates.
Spartans Make Wooden And Naismith Lists - Raymar Morgan and Drew Neitzel are two of 50 players nationwide to earn a spot on the 2007-08 Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T preseason candidate watch list. The Naismith watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its preseason criteria on player performances from last season and expectations for the 2007-08 season. Morgan and Neitzel are two of just four Big Ten players on the Naismith watch list, where they are joined by Penn State's Geary Claxton and Indiana's D.J. White. Neitzel was also selected one of the top 50 preseason candidates for the 2007-08 John R. Wooden Award. The John R. Wooden Award, presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, has been presented annually since 1976. Neitzel and White are the only Big Ten players on the preseason list for the Wooden Award. Last season, Neitzel was one of 22 players to appear on the final ballot for the Wooden Award.
MSU's Block Party - In 2006-07, Michigan State blocked a school single-season record 162 shots. Drew Naymick led the Spartans with 55 rejections, good for the second-best single-season total in MSU history. Idong Ibok had 33 blocks, the seventh-best single-season total at MSU. Naymick is currently tied with Andre Hutson for fifth place on the MSU career blocked shots chart with 75 rejections. He is 22 blocks shy of Matt Steigenga in first place.
A Perfect 10 - Michigan State made its 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007. It is the longest current streak among Big Ten schools and fifth longest in the nation. Only Arizona (23), Kansas (18), Kentucky (16) and Duke (12) have longer current streaks. It is also the second longest streak in Big Ten history. Indiana appeared in 18 consecutive tournaments between 1986 and 2003.
Preseason All-American - A second-team All-American as selected by Dick Vitale and CBS Sports.com in 2006-07, Drew Neitzel opens the 2007-08 season as a popular pick for first-team All-America honors. In fact, Neitzel is a preseason first-team All-American according to The Associated Press, Athlon Sports College Basketball, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and Dick Vitale. Teammate Raymar Morgan made Vitale's fourth team.
Spartans Ranked In Coaches' Poll - Michigan State is ranked No. 8 in the first ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll of the 2007-08 season. The Spartans are the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the poll, followed closely by No. 9 Indiana. Other ranked MSU opponents include No. 2 UCLA (possible opponent in CBE Classic), No. 16 Texas (Dec. 22 at Auburn Hills, Mich.) and No. 24 North Carolina State (Nov. 28 in East Lansing). Big Ten foes Ohio State, Wisconsin and Illinois also received votes, as did non-conference opponents BYU, Bradley and Maryland.
Spartans In The NBA - Eight former Spartans are currently on NBA rosters, including Maurice Ager (Dallas Mavericks), Charlie Bell (Milwaukee Bucks), Shannon Brown (Cleveland Cavaliers), Paul Davis (Los Angeles Clippers), Morris Peterson (New Orleans Hornets), Zach Randolph (New York Knicks), Jason Richardson (Charlotte Bobcats) and Eric Snow (Cleveland Cavaliers).
