1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

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1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
Oldsmobile Spartan Classic champions
NIT, second round
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record17–12 (9–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Captains
  • Steve Polonowski
  • Antonio Smith
Home arenaBreslin Center
Seasons
1996–97 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Iowa 12 6   .667 22 10   .688
Purdue 12 6   .667 18 12   .600
No. 19 Illinois 11 7   .611 22 10   .688
Wisconsin 11 7   .611 18 10   .643
Indiana 9 9   .500 22 11   .667
Michigan State 9 9   .500 17 12   .586
Ohio State 5 13   .278 10 17   .370
Penn State 3 15   .167 10 17   .370
Northwestern 2 16   .111 7 22   .241
No. 3 Minnesota* 0 2   .000 0 4   .000
Michigan* 0 9   .000 0 11   .000
Rankings from AP Poll
*Michigan: 24 games vacated; including NIT champ. vacated due to sanctions against the program
*Minnesota: 31 games including 5 NCAA Tournament games vacated due to sanctions against the program
Disputed records: Michigan-(24–11)(9–9); Minnesota-(31–4)(16–2)


The 1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. They were coached by second-year head coach, Tom Izzo, and were members of the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans finished the season with a record of 17–12, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. MSU received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament for the second consecutive year where they defeated George Washington in the first round before losing to Florida State in the second round.

As a result of the Big Ten moving to 11 teams with the addition of Penn State in 1992, teams were not guaranteed two games against each other. Accordingly, Michigan and Michigan State, who were only scheduled to play each other once in conference play, chose to play one game against each other that did not count as a conference game.

The season was also notable as the last season MSU did not make the NCAA tournament (as of 2024).

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1995–96 season 16–11, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place. Michigan State received an invitation to the NIT and advanced to the second round.

The Spartans lost Quinton Brooks (16.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game) to graduation and Jamie Feick (10.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game) to the NBA draft following the season.

Season summary

The Spartans began the season looking for their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1995. They were led by freshman Mateen Cleaves (10.2 points and 5.0 assists per game) and seniors Ray Weathers (13.6 points per game) and Jon Garavaglia (10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game). The Spartans played no ranked teams in the non-conference season. The non-conference schedule was notable for a triple overtime loss to Detroit Mercy, a game played at Calihan Hall on Detroit's campus. MSU also avenged their 1995 NCAA tournament loss to Weber State by beating the Wildcats in East Lansing. MSU finished the non-conference season at 7–1.

The Spartans opened the Big Ten season with losses to No. 12 Indiana[1] and No. 15 Minnesota.[2] A four-game winning streak followed, but was stopped by a five-game losing streak including losses to No. 13 Michigan in a non-conference matchup[3] and at No. 16 Michigan.[4] The Spartans ended the season on a high note with a win over No. 25 Indiana. The Spartans finished in a tie for sixth place in the conference with a record of 16–11 overall and 9–9 in conference.

The Spartans received an invitation to the NIT for the second consecutive year. MSU beat George Washington in the first round[5] and lost in the second round to Florida State.[6]

Roster and statistics

1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
Name Class Pos Height Summary
Mateen Cleaves FR G 6'2" 10.2 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 5.0 Ast
Monte Evans G 5'10" 0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Jon Garavaglia SR F 6'9" 10.4 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 1.1 Ast
A. J. Granger FR F 6'9" 1.2 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Thomas Kelley JR G 6'2" 5.1 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Jason Klein SO F 6'7" 4.4 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.4 Ast
Anthony Mull SR G 6'4" 2.0 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Morris Peterson FR F 6'7" 6.8 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Steve Polonowski SR F 6'9" 2.8 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.4 Ast
Antonio Smith SO F 6'8" 8.5 Pts, 10.6 Reb, 1.5 Ast
David Thomas FR F 1.0 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Ray Weathers SR G 6'3" 13.6 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 1.6 Ast
Jason Webber FR F 6'6" 1.4 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Dujuan Wiley JR C 1.4 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Source[7]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 7, 1996
Russia Select Team W 84–71 
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Nov 16, 1996
Marathon Basketball L 68–69 
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Regular season
Nov 25, 1996*
East Tennessee State W 83–45  1–0
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 3, 1996*
Cleveland State W 83–78  2–0
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 5, 1996*
UIC W 90–60  3–0
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 14, 1996*
at Detroit Mercy L 84–86 3OT 3–1
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, MI
Dec 17, 1996*
at Evansville W 86–77  4–1
Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, IN
Dec 21, 1996*
Kansas State W 75–43  5–1
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 27, 1996*
Kent State
Oldsmobile Spartan Classic semifinals
W 83–64  6–1
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 28, 1996*
Weber State
Oldsmobile Spartan Classic championship
W 83–51  7–1
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 2, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
at No. 12 Indiana L 65–77  7–2
(0–1)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
Jan 4, 1997
, Creative Sports Regional
No. 15 Minnesota L 43–68  7–3
(0–2)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 9, 1997
2:30 pm, ESPN
at Wisconsin W 58–50  8–3
(1–2)
Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
Jan 11, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
Ohio State W 69–66  9–3
(2–2)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 15, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
at Penn State W 85-69  10–3
(3–2)
Bryce Jordan Center 
University Park, PA
Jan 18, 1997
, Creative Sports Regional
Iowa W 75–62  11–3
(4–2)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 22, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
Illinois L 63–66  11–4
(4–3)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 25, 1997*
, Creative Sports Local
No. 13 Michigan
Rivalry (non-conference**)
L 62–85  11–5
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 29, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
at Purdue L 62–72  11–6
(4–4)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
Feb 1, 1997
, Creative Sports Regional
at No. 16 Michigan
Rivalry
L 65–85  11–7
(4–5)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 8, 1997
, Creative Sports Regional
Purdue L 62–77  11–8
(4–6)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 12, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
Iowa W 69–67  12–8
(5–6)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 15, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
at No. 20 Illinois L 68–79  12–9
(5–7)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
Feb 19, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
at Northwestern L 58–70  12–10
(5–8)
Welsh–Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 22, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
Penn State W 71–57  13–10
(6–8)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 26, 1997
, ESPN2
at Ohio State W 67–65  14–10
(7–8)
St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
Mar 1, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
Wisconsin W 68–49  15–10
(8–8)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Mar 6, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
at No. 2 Minnesota L 74–81  15–11
(8–9)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Mar 8, 1997
, Creative Sports Local
No. 25 Indiana W 63–60  16–11
(9–9)
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
NIT
Mar 12, 1998
George Washington W 65–60  17–11
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Mar 17, 1998
at Florida State L 63–68  17–12
Donald L. Tucker Civic Center 
Tallahassee, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll,. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time
**Michigan and Michigan State, who were only scheduled to play each other once in conference play, chose to play one game against each other that did not count as a conference game
Source[8][9].

References

  1. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  2. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  3. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  4. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  5. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  6. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  7. ^ "1996-97 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  8. ^ "1996-97 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  9. ^ "Michigan State Men's Basketball :: Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.