Michigan State Spartans men's basketball

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For current information on this topic, see 2007-08 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

Michigan State Spartans
University	Michigan State University
Conference	Big Ten
Location	East Lansing, MI
Head Coach	Tom Izzo (12th year)
Arena	Breslin Center (Capacity: 16,000)
Nickname	Spartans
Student Section	Izzone
Colors	Green and White
Uniforms
Home     Away
NCAA Tournament Champions
1979, 2000
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1957, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005
Conference Tournament Champions
1999, 2000
Conference Regular Season Champions
1957, 1959, 1967, 1978, 1979, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001

The Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represents Michigan State University (MSU) and competes in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The team currently plays at the Breslin Student Events Center.

The Spartans have won two NCAA championships and ten Big Ten championships in men's basketball. The Spartans won the National Championship in both the 1979 NCAA Tournament and 2000 NCAA Tournament. The 1979 National Championship story line was highly touted as Magic vs. Bird. It was achieved by a team under the coaching of Jud Heathcote that included MVP Magic Johnson, Greg Kelser and Jay Vincent. MSU beat the then undefeated Indiana State Sycamores, led by future NBA hall of famer Larry Bird. The 2000 National Championship was achieved by Morris Peterson, Charlie Bell, and MVP Mateen Cleaves leading the team in a victory over the Florida Gators.

Michigan State basketball has been selected for 11 consecutive NCAA tournament bids (1998-2008) as of the end of the 2008 season. Overall, Michigan State has been to the Final Four a total of six times in its history (1957, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005) and has made 22 NCAA Tournament appearances. Only eight schools (UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State, Indiana and Louisville) have more total Final Four appearances.^[1]

On December 13, 2003, Michigan State and Kentucky played at the most-attended basketball game in history, when they held a match in front of 78,129 people at Ford Field, a stadium in Detroit. Kentucky won this game by a score of 79-74.^[2]

Contents 1 Coaches 1.1 Jud Heathcote Era (1976-1995) 1.2 Tom Izzo Era (1995-Present) 2 Student Athletes 2.1 2007-2008 roster 3 Postseason History 3.1 National Championships 3.2 NCAA Tournament History & Seeds 3.3 National Invitation Tournament Appearances 4 Uniforms (2006-Present) 5 Stadium 6 Notes and references 7 External links

[edit] Coaches

Michigan State coaches have led the Spartans to two NCAA Championships, six Final Fours, 22 NCAA Tournament appearances, 10 Big Ten Conference Championships and two Big Ten Tournament titles. Jud Heathcote leads all MSU coaches with 340 wins, and current Spartans coach Tom Izzo is second on the list.^[3]

Of all MSU coaches who have headed the Spartans basketball squad in at least a dozen games, Izzo is second in winning percentage and no MSU coach tops him since 1910. Former coach George E. Denman won all 11 games he coached between 1901-03 and Chester L. Brewer won 70 of 95 games from 1903 to 1910.^[4]

		Overall		Conference
Name	Years	Record	Pct.	Record	Pct.	Note
No Established Coach	1898-99	0-2	.000
Charles O. Bernies	1899-1901	5-2	.714			Michigan State's first men's basketball coach.
George E. Denman	1901-03	11-0	1.000			Michigan State's only undefeated men's basketball coach.
Chester L. Brewer	1903-10	70-25	.737
John F. Macklin	1910-16	48-38	.558
George E. Gauthier	1916-20	47-39	.547
Lyman L. Frimodig	1920-22	24-21	.533
Fred H. Walker	1922-24	20-19	.513
John H. Kobs	1924-26	11-26	.297
Benjamin F. VanAlstyne	1926-49	231-163	.586
Alton S. Kircher	1949-50	4-18	.182
Peter F. Newell	1950-54	45-42	.517	26-34	.433
Forrest A. Anderson	1954-65	125-124	.502	69-85	.448	Guided Michigan State to its first Final Four and NCAA appearance in 1957; 2 NCAA Appearances; 2 Conference Championships
John E. Benington	1965-69	54-38	.587	32-24	.571	Conference Championship in 1967
Gus G. Ganakas	1969-76	89-84	.514	49-57	.462
Jud Heathcote	1976-95	340-194	.637	182-160	.532	1979 NCAA Champs; 9 NCAA Appearances; 3 Conference Championships
Tom Izzo	1995-	305-130	.701	173-69	.715	2000 NCAA Champs; Final Four in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005; 11 NCAA Appearances; 4 Conference Championships; 2 Conference Tournament Championships

The source of this information is from the 2007-08 Michigan State men's basketball media guide.^[5]

[edit] Jud Heathcote Era (1976-1995)

Jud Heathcote led the Spartans to the 1979 national championship and coached one of the game's all-time greats, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Heathcote succeeded Gus Ganakas, who is currently an MSU basketball radio announcer, as coach in 1976. Heathcote stepped down in 1995 with nine NCAA appearances, three Big Ten championships and three NIT appearances.

Results By Season Under Heathcote ^[6]

Season	Overall Record	Big Ten Record	Big Ten Championships	Postseason
1976-77	12-15	9-9
1977-78	25-5	15-3	Regular Season	NCAA Elite Eight
1978-79	26-6	13-5	Regular Season	NCAA Champion
1979-80	12-15	6-12
1980-81	13-14	7-11
1982-83	17-13	9-9		NIT Second Round
1983-84	16-12	9-9
1984-85	19-10	10-8		NCAA First Round
1985-86	23-8	12-6		NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1986-87	11-17	6-12
1987-88	10-18	5-13
1988-89	18-15	6-12		NIT Final Four
1989-90	28-6	15-3	Regular Season	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1990-91	19-11	11-7		NCAA Second Round
1991-92	22-8	11-7		NCAA Second Round
1992-93	15-13	7-11		NIT First Round
1993-94	20-12	10-8		NCAA Second Round
1994-95	22-6	14-4		NCAA First Round

[edit] Tom Izzo Era (1995-Present)

Since 1995, the team has been coached by Tom Izzo, who has a 305-130 overall head coaching record.^[7] Izzo coached the Spartans to their second national championship in 2000 with an 89-76 victory over Florida. Izzo has guided the Spartans to four of nine NCAA Final Fours from 1999-2007, an accomplishment unmatched by any other college basketball program during that span. The coach has also appeared in a postseason tournament every year he has headed the MSU basketball program.

Izzo has also received numerous awards including the 1998 Associated Press National Coach of the Year, the 1998 Basketball News National Coach of the Year, the 1998 United States Basketball Writers Association Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award, the 1998 Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year, the 1998 Basketball Times Mideast Coach of the Year, the 1999 Basketball News Coach of the Year Award, the 2001 National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year Award and the 2005 Clair Bee Award.^[8]

Izzo has also helped his assistant secure head coaching jobs across the basketball world. Four current and former Division I head coaches served as assistants under Izzo, including Brian Gregory at Dayton, Tom Crean at Indiana, Stan Heath formerly of Arkansas and Doug Wojcik at Tulsa. Current assistant coach Mike Garland spent three seasons as head coach at Cleveland State following an initial seven-year stint at MSU. Former MSU assistant Stan Joplin had previously coached at Toledo until he was let go following the 2007-08 season.^[9]

Results By Season Under Izzo ^[10]

Season	Overall Record	Big Ten Record	Big Ten Championships	Postseason
1995-96	16-16	9-9		NIT Second Round
1996-97	17-12	9-9		NIT Second Round
1997-98	22-8	13-3	Regular Season	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1998-99	33-5	15-1	Regular Season and Tournament	NCAA Final Four
1999-2000	32-7	13-3	Regular Season and Tournament	NCAA Champion
2000-01	28-5	13-3	Regular Season	NCAA Final Four
2001-02	19-12	10-6		NCAA 1st Round
2002-03	22-13	10-6		NCAA Elite Eight
2003-04	18-12	12-4		NCAA First Round
2004-05	26-7	13-3		NCAA Final Four
2005-06	22-12	8-8		NCAA First Round
2006-07	23-12	8-8		NCAA Second Round
2007-08	27-9	12-6		NCAA Sweet Sixteen

[edit] Student Athletes

Retired basketball jerseys
Number	Player	Years
4	Scott Skiles	1982-1986
12	Mateen Cleaves	1996-2000
21	Steve Smith	1987-1991
24	Johnny Green	1955-1958
24	Shawn Respert	1991-1995
31	Jay Vincent	1978-1981
32	Greg Kelser	1976-1979
33	Earvin "Magic" Johnson	1977-1979
Coach	Jud Heathcote	1976-1995

Spartans formerly or currently in the NBA include Maurice Ager, Alan Anderson, Charlie Bell, Shannon Brown, Mateen Cleaves, Paul Davis, Terry Furlow, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Greg Kelser, Morris Peterson, Zach Randolph, Shawn Respert, Jason Richardson, Scott Skiles, Steve Smith, Eric Snow, Jay Vincent and Kevin Willis. MSU is tied with the University of North Carolina for the most first-round NBA draft selections since 2000 (six).

Johnny Green, Greg Kelser, Magic Johnson, Scott Skiles, Steve Smith, Shawn Respert and Mateen Cleaves are all former student athletes who have had their jersey number retired by Michigan State. The school also has raised a banner to the rafters, which honors former coach Jud Heathcote.^[11]

[edit] 2007-2008 roster

• 00 Idong Ibok
• 1 Kalin Lucas
• 2 Raymar Morgan
• 3 Chris Allen
• 5 Travis Walton
• 11 Drew Neitzel
• 13 Austin Thornton
• 14 Goran Suton
• 15 Durell Summers
• 20 Mike Kebler
• 22 Isaiah Dahlman
• 34 Drew Naymick
• 40 Tom Herzog
• 41 Marquise Gray

[edit] Postseason History

The Spartans have appeared in 22 NCAA men's basketball tournaments with two NCAA men's basketball national championships. They also count six Final Fours and sport a 43-21 all-time NCAA tournament record following their most recent performance the 2008 NCAA tournament.^[12] MSU has accepted a bid to the National Invitation Tournament five times, the most recent being in 1997.^[13]

[edit] National Championships

1979 NCAA Tournament Results^[14]

Round	Opponent	Score
Round #1	Bye
Round #2	# 10 Lamar	95-64
Sweet 16	# 3 LSU	87-71
Elite 8	# 1 Notre Dame	80-68
Final 4	# 9 Penn	101-67
Championship	# 1 Indiana State	75-64

2000 NCAA Tournament Results^[15]

Round	Opponent	Score
Round #1	# 16 Valparaiso	65-38
Round #2	# 8 Utah	73-61
Sweet 16	# 4 Syracuse	75-58
Elite 8	# 2 Iowa State	75-64
Final 4	# 8 Wisconsin	53-41
Championship	# 5 Florida	89-76

[edit] NCAA Tournament History & Seeds

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

Years →	'79	'80	'81	'82	'83	'84	'85	'86	'87	'88	'89	'90	'91	'92	'93	'94	'95	'96	'97	'98	'99	'00	'01	'02	'03	'04	'05	'06	'07	'08
Seeds →	2	-	-	-	-	-	10	5	-	-	-	1	5	5	-	7	3	-	-	4	1	1	1	10	7	7	5	6	9	5

Prior to seeding MSU appeared in the 1957, 1959 and 1978 NCAA Tournaments.^[16]

[edit] National Invitation Tournament Appearances

The Spartans have played in the 1983, 1989, 1993, 1996 and 1997 NIT Tournaments. MSU's highest finish in the tournament is fourth place, which was accomplished in 1989.^[17]

[edit] Uniforms (2006-Present)

For accuracy's sake, the current jerseys worn by the Spartans basketball team differ slightly from the images in the infobox. The Wikipedia uniform template does not have a design that completely matches the team's uniform.

These uniforms, introduced at the beginning of the 2006-07 season, replaced a similar design. The home jersey features a script green-colored "State" and green uniform numbers outlined in gray. Trim on this jersey is green and gray. The road jersey features a script white-colored "State" and white uniform numbers outlined in gray. Gray is not an official color of MSU but it has been increasingly used in recent years by Nike, Inc. The athletic company started making jerseys for the team at the start of the 2000-01 season.

The Spartans do not currently wear an official alternate uniform but the team has worn a gray alternate and a throwback uniform in the past.

[edit] Stadium

The Spartans play home games at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center on campus in East Lansing, Michigan. The arena is commonly referred to as "the Brez" and was opened in 1989. It is named for Jack Breslin, an MSU alumnus, former athlete and administrator, who first began pushing for the arena in 1969. Its capacity is 16,280 seats, and the stadium superseded Jenison Fieldhouse.

The arena's current basketball court is the same floor where the Spartans won the 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, which was at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The school purchased the floor from the NCAA and Final Four floor installer Horner Flooring after the title game. A plaque was installed on the baseline near the Michigan State tunnel to commemorate the floor's purpose in the school's history.^[18]

The Breslin Center is home to the Izzone, a large student section named after Coach Izzo, the basketball team's head coach since 1995. The student section had been previously named Spartan Spirits prior to Izzo's prominence at the school. The Izzone routinely gets mentioned in discussions of the nation's top student fan sections.^[19] The section helped cheer the Spartans to a 53-game home win streak between 1997 and 2002.^[20] The Spartans currently own a home-winning streak of 20 games under the Izzone starting with a win against Michigan on February 13, 2007 and the latest victory coming in a 103-74 win over Indiana on March 2, 2008.

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• Official Site of Michigan State Athletics - Men's Basketball
• 2007-08 Media Guide
• MSU Basketball Blog
• Green & White site at the Lansing State Journal online

v • d • e Michigan State Spartans Basketball 1978-1979 NCAA Champions Don Brkovich | Ron Charles | Terry Donnelly | Rob Gonzalez | Magic Johnson | Greg Kelser | Jay Vincent Coach Jud Heathcote

v • d • e Michigan State Spartans Basketball 1999-2000 NCAA Champions 11 David Thomas | 12 Mateen Cleaves | 14 Charlie Bell | 20 Mike Chappell | 23 Jason Richardson | 25 Aloysius Anagonye | 34 Andre Hutson | 42 Morris Peterson | 43 A. J. Granger Coach Tom Izzo

v • d • e Men's basketball teams of the Big Ten Conference Illinois Fighting Illini • Indiana Hoosiers • Iowa Hawkeyes • Michigan Wolverines • Michigan State Spartans • Minnesota Golden Gophers • Northwestern Wildcats • Ohio State Buckeyes • Penn State Nittany Lions • Purdue Boilermakers • Wisconsin Badgers