Michigan State Travels To Northwestern
1/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Michigan State (10-2, 1-0)
vs. Northwestern (8-3, 0-1)
January 3, 2009
7 p.m. EST
Evanston, Ill.
Welsh-Ryan Arena
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas and Matt Steigenga (Color), Adam Ruff (Host) Flagship - WJIM 1240 AM/WMMQ 94.9 FM
TV: Big Ten Network - Brent Stover (Play by Play), Shon Morris (Color), Ann Kreiter (Sidelines)
The Opening Tip
Michigan State looks to open 2009 in much the same way it closed 2008, as the Spartans bring a six-game winning streak into the contest. MSU opened Big Ten play with a road win at Minnesota as the Spartans are opening conference play with back-to-back road games for the fourth time in the last eight years. The Wildcats opened league play with a narrow defeat at Penn State.
The Starting Five
1. Michigan State's Balanced Attack
Through the first 12 games, Michigan State has proven to have great depth. Nine Spartans average 9.8 minutes or more, although Kalin Lucas is the only player to average 30.0. Four players average double figures in scoring, while a fifth Spartan averages 8.9 points for the highest scoring team in the Big Ten. On the boards, three Spartans average 5.1 boards per contest, as MSU paces the league in rebounding margin.
2. Hitting The Offensive Glass
Michigan State leads the Big Ten in offensive rebounds, grabbing 14.33 per game. The Spartans are grabbing 40.6 percent of their missed shots, collecting 172 offensive rebounds compared to 252 defensive boards for the opponent. Against Wichita State, MSU grabbed 19 offensive boards, while the Shockers collected just 16 defensive boards. In the last game out, MSU grabbed 23 offensive boards, while Minnesota collected just 16 defensive boards. The 23 offensive rebounds were the most by a Spartan team against a Big Ten opponent since 1998.
3. Life Away From Home
In its 13th game of the season, Michigan State is playing its ninth game away from East Lansing. MSU is 2-0 in true road games, winning at No. 21 Minnesota and IPFW. The Spartans have also played six neutral site games, the most by a MSU squad in the regular season since the 2005-06 season. MSU is 6-2 away from the Breslin Center. Gonzaga is the only other team ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 to have played just four home games this season.
4. Working On The Defense
In the first six games of the year, MSU's defense allowed opponents to score 72.5 points on 44.7 percent shooting. In the last six games, the Spartans are allowing just 61.8 points on 38.1 percent shooting, including just 31.2 percent from 3-point range.
5. It's All About Boardwork
Michigan State has led the Big Ten in rebounding margin in nine of the last 11 years. This season, the Spartans lead the Big Ten at +8.9, and are 8-1 when out-rebounding their opponent, despite missing Goran Suton, the Big Ten's leading returning rebounder, for six games. It's a group effort for MSU, as not a single Spartan averages more than 6.7 rebounds per game, and six different players have led the team or shared the team lead in rebounding in a single game, including freshmen Draymond Green and Delvon Roe. In the most recent game, MSU out-rebounded Minnesota, 49-27.
MSU vs. Northwestern Notes
Series History
Michigan State leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 76-36, with the series tied at 29 in games played in Evanston. The Spartans have won 11 straight games in the series, 18 of the last 19 and 38 of the last 40 contests. Tom Izzo is 21-2 in his career against Northwestern.
Coach Carmody
Bill Carmody (Union College, '75) is 203-163 in his 13th season as a collegiate head coach, including 111-138 in nine seasons at Northwestern. He served as head coach at Princeton from 1996-2000.
The Last Meeting
Michigan State defeated Northwestern, 70-55, on Feb. 9, 2008 in East Lansing. MSU held a 35-29 halftime lead thanks in large part to Drew Neitzel scoring 13 straight Spartan points over a span of 3:35 late in the half. Northwestern pulled within a single point at 47-46 with 11:56 left, but MSU responded with a 15-4 run over the next 6:21. The two teams combined for 18 first-half turnovers, but just five in the second half. Neitzel led MSU with 21 points, while Craig Moore paced the Wildcats with 21.
The Last Meeting In Evanston
Michigan State shot 60.0 percent from the field and 61.1 percent from 3-point range to defeat Northwestern, 78-62, on Jan. 24, 2008 in Evanston. Raymar Morgan shot 9-of-11 from the field en route to 23 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Drew Neitzel added 20 points, shooting 6-of-10 from 3-point range. Chris Allen scored 17 off the bench. Craig Moore led all scorers with 28 points for Northwestern, hitting 7-of-14 3-point attempts, while Kevin Coble added 17. Michigan State outscored Northwestern, 25-4, in bench points, and recorded an assist on 25-of-29 baskets.
Wildcat Notes
Senior guard Craig Moore needs one point to reach 1,000 for his career; Moore leads the Big Ten with 3.18 3-pointers made per contest ... Northwestern has kept its last 15 opponents under 70 points, and lead the Big Ten in scoring defense (53.5 ppg), while ranking second in field-goal percentage defense (.378) ... After finishing last season with a -10.8 rebounding margin (last in the nation), the Wildcats have out-rebounded six of their first 11 opponents, but were out-rebounded by 22 at Penn State.
Game 12 Notes - Michigan State 70 - Minnesota 58
* MSU opened Big Ten play in December for just the third time in school history.
* Michigan State out-rebounded Minnesota, 49-27, including grabbing 23 offensive rebounds, compared to just 16 defensive boards for the Golden Gophers. The 23 offensive rebounds were the most against a Big Ten opponent since grabbing 24 against Penn State on Jan. 24, 1998.
* Kalin Lucas scored a career-best 24 points, shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
* Goran Suton (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Raymar Morgan (10 points, 10 rebounds) both posted double-doubles. The last time two Spartans recorded double-doubles was Dec. 30, 2006 against Loyola (Md.) (Drew Neitzel, Marquise Gray), and it had not happened against a Big Ten opponent since Jan. 15, 2006 at Ohio State (Paul Davis, Matt Trannon).
* Chris Allen scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half, knocking down three first-half 3-pointers.
* Tom Izzo improved to 8-6 in Big Ten openers, including 3-6 on the road.
MSU Basketball Notes
Suton Back In Action
After missing six straight games with a left knee injury, Goran Suton has appeared in the last four games, averaging 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in 24.3 minutes. Suton injured his knee in the second game of the season against IPFW on Nov. 19. After his knee did not respond to rest, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on Dec. 4. His first full practice came on Monday, Dec. 15. He returned to action against The Citadel on Dec. 17, scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds in 17 minutes. In a win over No. 5 Texas, Suton played 26 minutes off the bench, scoring a team-best 18 points. Against Oakland, Suton led MSU in both scoring (16 points) and rebounding (9 rebounds). He posted a double-double against Minnesota (11 points, 12 rebounds).
The Free Throw Story
Traditionally a strong free-throw shooting team, Michigan State is shooting just .663 from the charity stripe. The Spartans, however, are shooting 19-of-20 (.950) in their last two games. MSU is averaging 23.8 free throw attempts per game.
Morgan Reaches 1,000
With eight points against Oakland, Raymar Morgan became the 38th player in MSU history to score 1,000 career points. Now at 1,010 points for his career, he needs 19 points to pass Kevin Smith (1,028 points) for 37th place on the MSU all-time scoring chart.
Lending A Helping Hand
Michigan State is recording an assist on 64.5 percent of its baskets (222-of-344). The Spartans average 18.5 assists per game, ranking second in the Big Ten. Against Alcorn State, MSU established a new school record with 35 assists. Individually, Kalin Lucas ranks third in the conference with 6.08 assists per contest, while freshman Korie Lucious dished out 11 against Alcorn State, the most by any Spartan this season.
Morgan On The Glass
Raymar Morgan is averaging a team-best 8.2 rebounds in his last six games, after averaging just 4.3 boards in the first six games of the season. Morgan has led the team or tied for the team lead in rebounding in four of the last six games and grabbed 10 boards against Bradley, The Citadel and Minnesota.
Morgan Among Big Ten Leaders
Raymar Morgan currently leads the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (.623), and ranks fifth in scoring (14.8 ppg), ninth in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and 12th in free-throw percentage (.714). Michigan's DeShawn Sims is the only other player in the Big Ten to rank in the top 15 all four categories.
Bench Scoring
Michigan State's bench has out-scored the opponent's bench in nine of 12 games this season, including six of the last seven contests. The Spartan reserves have out-scored the opponent subs, 382-232, an average of 31.8-19.3.
Juggling The Lineup
Due in large part to Goran Suton missing six games with a knee injury and Delvon Roe continuing to improve from two knee surgeries, the Spartan coaching staff has been forced to make continual adjustments in the rotation. This has led to Michigan State starting nine different starting lineups through the first 12 games of the season. Nine different Spartans have started a game this season. Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton are the only Spartans to start all 12 games.
Allen From Distance
Sophomore guard Chris Allen is shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range in the last seven games, connecting on 18-of-44 attempts, while averaging 11.9 points per game. In the first five games of the season, Allen shot just 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from behind the arc. On the season, Allen is shooting 37.7 percent from distance. His teammate Durrell Summers is tied for second in the Big Ten in 3-point field-goal percentage, shooting 50.0 percent (15-of-30).
Spartans Hit The Mark
After leading the Big Ten in field-goal percentage for the last five seasons, the Spartans are taking aim at a sixth straight statistical crown. Michigan State currently ranks second in the league in field-goal percentage (.482). Individually, Raymar Morgan leads the conference, connecting on 62.3 percent of his shots.
Roe's Recovery
Despite undergoing two knee surgeries in the last 12 months, including microfracture surgery last December, Delvon Roe is showing flashes of the skills that had him ranked among the elite high school players in his class nationally. In the first four games of the season, he averaged 15.0 minutes and 3.5 rebounds. In the next seven games, he is averaging 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 points and 19.0 minutes per contest. Roe was limited to just five minutes against Minnesota due to a sprained left ankle.
Lucas Dishes It Out
Kalin Lucas paces the Big Ten with a 5.62-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while ranking third in the conference at 6.08 helpers per contest. Lucas has recorded one or no turnovers in 10 of 12 games, and has tallied 42 assists and seven turnovers in the last seven games. Against Oklahoma State, Lucas recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-best 10 assists. As a freshman, Lucas ranked fifth in the Big Ten in assists (3.81 apg) and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88), while his 137 assists were the fourth most ever by a Spartan freshman.
Finding A Shooting Touch
Travis Walton worked hard in the offseason to improve his offensive game, but was unable to find the range during the first two games of the season, making just one of his first six shots. He quickly found the shooting touch in the first two games of the Old Spice Classic, scoring a career-high 16 points in each contest, while shooting a combined 15-of-20 (.750) from the field. On the season, Walton is shooting .467, averaging a career-best 6.8 points per game.
Walton Moves Up Career Assists Chart
With 464 career assists, Travis Walton ranks seventh in Michigan State history. He needs 28 assists to pass Earvin Johnson (491 assists) for sixth place.
The Turnover Story
In the first two games of the season, Michigan State averaged 9.5 turnovers and held a combined 47-17 edge in points off turnovers. In the five games that followed, the Spartans averaged 17.6 turnovers, resulting in a 93-57 deficit in points off turnovers. In the last five games, MSU is averaging 13.0 turnovers, while opponents are averaging 15.2, resulting in a combined 85-47 advantage in points off turnovers. Last season, the Spartans averaged 13.6 turnovers, which was the lowest average of the Tom Izzo era. This year, MSU is 6-0 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent, and 2-0 when turnovers are equal, but just 2-2 when committing more.
In The Rankings
Michigan State is ranked No. 10 in The Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the USA TODAY/ESPN coaches' poll. Six Spartan opponents are also ranked, including North Carolina (#1 AP/#1 USA Today/ESPN), Texas (#8/7), Purdue (#9/11), Minnesota (#21/21), Michigan (#23/24) and Ohio State (#24/23).
MSU's X-Factor
Marquise Gray is a real X-factor for the Spartans in the sense that when he is productive, Michigan State will most always win. Gray has scored in double figures 16 times in his career, and the Spartans are 15-1 in those games. The lone loss came against North Carolina in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, where Gray tallied 11 points. In addition, MSU is 4-0 when Gray grabs 10 or more rebounds and 3-0 when he posts a double-double.
Spartans On The Run
Michigan State leads the Big Ten in scoring offense at 78.8 points per game, a sign of the up-tempo pace the Spartans are playing in 2008-09. This year's edition of the Spartans could challenge the 2004-05 squad for the highest-scoring team of the Tom Izzo era. In '04-05, MSU averaged 78.5 points en route to a Final Four appearance.
An Impressive Streak
Michigan State made its 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008. It is the longest current streak among Big Ten schools and fifth longest in the nation. Only Arizona (24), Kansas (19), Kentucky (17) and Duke (13) 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.
Spartans In The NBA
Eight former Spartans are currently on NBA rosters, including Maurice Ager (New Jersey Nets), Charlie Bell (Milwaukee Bucks), Shannon Brown (Charlotte Bobcats), Paul Davis (Los Angeles Clippers), Morris Peterson (New Orleans Hornets), Zach Randolph (Los Angeles Clippers), Jason Richardson (Phoenix Suns) and Eric Snow (Cleveland Cavaliers).
Morgan Makes Wooden Award List
Raymar Morgan was selected one of the top 50 preseason candidates for the 2008-09 John R. Wooden Award. The John R. Wooden Award, presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, has been presented annually since 1976. Neitzel and Purdue's Robbie Hummel are the only Big Ten players on the preseason list for the Wooden Award.
The Book On Tom Izzo
Coach Izzo
In his 14th year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 315-132 (.705), and 146-69 (.679) in the Big Ten, as the coach of the Michigan State basketball program. In 2005, he passed Benjamin Van Alstyne to become the second-winningest coach in MSU history, trailing only Jud Heathcote (340) in total wins. In his 14 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 The Associated Press, Basketball News and the USBWA in '98.
Among The Big Ten's Best
Tom Izzo's .679 winning percentage in Big Ten games ranks third all-time among league coaches with at least 10 years of service, behind former Indiana coach Bob Knight (.700) and Purdue's Ward Lambert (.685). In all games, Knight ranks first at .734, followed by Wisconsin's Walter Meanwell (.712), Lambert (.709) and Izzo (.705). With 146 conference victories, Izzo ranks 11th all-time.
Izzo Against Ranked Opponents
In his 14 years of coaching, Tom Izzo is 67-65 against ranked opponents.
Izzo Among Best Ever
Through his first 13 seasons, Tom Izzo won 305 games, ranking seventh in college basketball history for most wins by a college coach in his first 13 years.
Graduating Student-Athletes
In Tom Izzo's 13 full years directing the Spartan program, 83 percent of his players who completed their eligibility also left with a degree. In the last nine years, 29 Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees, including five each in 2001, 2003 and 2007.
Izzo's Coaching Tree
Five current Division I head coaches all served as assistants to Tom Izzo, including Jim Boylen (Utah), Tom Crean (Indiana), Brian Gregory (Dayton), Stan Heath (South Florida) and Doug Wojcik (Tulsa). Gregory is in his sixth 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 fourth season at Tulsa. Mike Garland served as head coach at Cleveland State for three seasons after leaving Izzo's staff in 2003. He is now back as an assistant coach at MSU. Most recently, Jim Boylen left MSU following the 2007 season, and is in his second season with Utah. Stan Joplin, an assistant during Izzo's first season, spent 12 seasons as head coach at Toledo.
Home Sweet Home
During Tom Izzo's career as head coach, the Spartans are 185-22 (.894) at home, including 162-13 (.926) since the start of the 1997-98 season.
Coaches Vs. Cancer
During the 2007-08 season, Tom and Lupe Izzo launched the Michigan State chapter of the Coaches Vs. Cancer program. Now in its second season, the Izzos are looking for an even better year. Signature events for 2009 include the Suits and Sneakers Fundraising Challenge, where employees donate funds for the right to wear sneakers in the work place, an NCAA Final Four Reception (April 3, 2009), and Izzo Goes To Broadway (May 6, 2009), a cabaret style show featuring special guests and professional talent, directed by Broadway director and East Lansing native Greg Ganakas at the Wharton Center on the MSU campus. For more information on any of these initiatives contact Kate Follett from the American Cancer Society at 517-664-1370.
