1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
Oldsmobile Spartan Classic Champions
NIT, Second Round
Conference Big Ten Conference
1996–97 record 17–12 (9–9 Big Ten)
Head coach Tom Izzo (2nd year)
Assistant coach Tom Crean (2nd year)
Assistant coach Stan Heath (1st year)
Assistant coach Mike Garland (1st year)
Captain Steve Polonowski
Captain Antonio Smith
Home arena Breslin Center
1996–97 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#3 Minnesota* 16 2   .889     31 4   .886
Iowa 12 6   .667     22 10   .688
Purdue 12 6   .667     18 12   .600
#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
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: 5G NCAA Tourn. vacated due to sanctions against the program
Disputed records: Michigan-(24-11)(9-9); Minnesota-(35-5)(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 member 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 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, but lost to Florida State in the second round.

This season was notable as the last season MSU did not make the NCAA Tournament.

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1995–96 season with an overall record of 16–11 and in sixth place in the Big Ten with a 9–9 record. Michigan State received an invitation to the NIT and advanced to the second round.

The Spartans lost Quinton Brooks (16.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 0.6 APG) to graduation and Jamie Feick (10.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.3 APG) 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 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 5.0 APG) and seniors Ray Weathers (13.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.6 APG) and Jon Garavaglia (10.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG). The Spartans played no ranked teams in the non-conference season. 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] As of 2016, this is the last year MSU failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

Roster

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 Garvaglia SR F 6'3" 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 FR 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
Non-conference 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, 1997*
at Detroit 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
Big Ten regular season

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 69–85  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, (#) denotes seed within region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time
Source[8][9]
**As a result of the Big Ten moving to 11 teams with the addition of Penn State, teams were not guaranteed two games against each other. Accordingly, Michigan and Michigan State chose to play one game that did not count as a conference game.

References

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