Men's Basketball Heads To The Palace Of Auburn Hills
12/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#14/14 Michigan State (6-2)vs. Wichita State (7-1)
Dec. 10, 20057 p.m. ESTAuburn Hills, Mich.Palace of Auburn Hills
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WMMQ 94.9 FM/WJIM 1240 AM
TV: ESPN2 - Brent Musburger (Play by Play), Steve Lavin (Color)
Michigan State Game Notes
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The Opening Tip
Michigan State takes on Wichita State in the third-annual Spartan Clash. For the Spartans, it is their seventh game away from home in their first nine contests. They are facing a very talented Wichita State squad, whose only loss was a last-second defeat to Illinois on a neutral court. Since then the Shockers have won four in a row, including most recently a win at San Francisco. The Spartans enter the game having won five in a row, including two wins over top-10 squads.
The Starting Five
The Spartan Clash - Michigan State is 1-1 in Spartan Clash history. On Dec. 2, 2003, Oklahoma defeated Michigan State, 80-77, in overtime, and last season, MSU defeated Stanford, 78-53, behind 20 points and eight rebounds from Paul Davis. (For complete recaps, see page 4.)
MSU At The Palace - Michigan State is 5-2 all-time at the Palace of Auburn Hills. In addition to the Spartan Clash, MSU has played five other games at the Palace. On Dec. 15, 1990, No. 1 UNLV defeated MSU, 95-75, behind 35 points and 14 rebounds from Runnin' Rebel All-American Larry Johnson. MSU's first victory at the Palace was a 75-72 win over Arkansas in the 1995 Great Eight, out-rebounding the Razorbacks, 47-23, grabbing 24 offensive boards. The Spartans returned to the Palace for the 2000 Midwest Regional semifinals and finals. In the Sweet 16, MSU trailed Syracuse by 10 at the half and 14 early in the second half, but rallied to tie the game at 58 with 5:55 left. Michigan State then closed the game on a 17-0 run. In the Elite Eight, Iowa State held a nine-point lead with a little over five minutes left in the game. But the Spartans closed with a 23-5 run to claim a 75-64 victory. One year later, MSU brought a No. 1 ranking into the Palace and defeated Bowling Green, 85-69, behind 21 points from Jason Richardson.
Davis' Second-Half Spurts - In each of the last three games, Paul Davis has been a dominating force in the second half after relatively quiet first halves. The trend started against Georgia Tech on Nov. 30. After scoring just three points on 1-of-2 shooting in the first half, Davis scored 19 second-half points, shooting 9-of-10 from the field. Against Arkansas-Little Rock, Davis scored just six first-half points, but scored the first nine of the second half en route to a 23-point effort. Most recently, Davis scored just four points against Boston College in the first half, but scored 14 in the second half. Over the last three games, he is averaging 4.3 points in the first half and 16.7 points in the second half.
It Could Be A Spartan First - Maurice Ager (21.8) and Paul Davis (20.6) are currently both averaging more than 20 points per game. In the 106 previous seasons of Spartan basketball, two players have never averaged 20 points in the same season.
Ager's Improved Decision Making - One of the biggest improvements in Maurice Ager's game is his decision making. Recently, it can be seen in his assist-to-turnover ratio. After opening the season with eight assists and 15 turnovers in the first five games, he has totaled 16 assists and eight turnovers in the last three contests. In fact, he recorded a career-best six assists to go along with his 22 points against Boston College.
Game 8 Notes - Michigan State 77 - Boston College 70
* Michigan State shot a remarkable 77.3 percent in the second half, compared to 36.7 percent in the first half, scoring 51 second-half points after putting just 26 on the board in the first half.
* Michigan State built a 13-point second-half lead with a 24-8 second half run from 16:51 to 9:43.
* Maurice Ager recorded a career-high six assists.
* Marquise Gray made his first career start, contributing eight points and five rebounds.
* After being out-rebounded, 24-14, in the first half, Michigan State held an 11-8 advantage on the boards in the second half.
* Michigan State was 10-of-10 from the foul line in the final 2:52, killing any chance of a Boston College comeback.
* The Spartans committed a season-low 10 turnovers.
* Paul Davis scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, while Ager scored 17 of his 22 after halftime.
MSU Basketball Notes
Neitzel At His Best - Drew Neitzel has played some of the best basketball of his career over the last three games, averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 assists. Against Georgia Tech, he scored a career-best 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range, while recording seven assists. Last Saturday, against Arkansas-Little Rock in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Neitzel dished out a career-best nine assists against just one turnover, while scoring nine points. Most recently, he recorded 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting, five assists and no turnovers against No. 6 Boston College. He has a 5.25-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last three games.
Money At The Charity Stripe - Michigan State leads the Big Ten in free-throw percentage, shooting .814 (149-of-183). It has been a team effort as only two Spartans are shooting under 80 percent (Maurice Ager - .750; Marquise Gray - .556). Among players with more than 10 attempts, Paul Davis leads the way, shooting .873 (48-of-55). Davis has been perfect from the line in five of his last six games, including performances of 10-of-10, 11-of-11 and 12-of-12. Last season, MSU led the Big Ten and ranked third in the nation in free-throw percentage (.777), while featuring the top four foul shooters in the league.
Playing A Lot Of Minutes - Through the first eight games, Maurice Ager (35.1 minutes), Shannon Brown (34.0 mpg), Drew Neitzel (34.0 mpg) and Paul Davis (32.2 mpg) are all averaging more than 30 minutes per game. By comparison, Michigan State was the only Big Ten team last season without a single player averaging 30 minutes per game. In fact, Davis led MSU in minutes played at 26.9 per game.
MSU At Neutral Site - The Spartan Clash marks Michigan State's sixth neutral-site contest already this season, as MSU is 4-1 on a neutral court. The Spartans went 2-1 at the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, defeated Arkansas-Little Rock in Grand Rapids and beat Boston College in New York's Madison Square Garden.
On The Road Again - After two straight games at the Breslin Center, Michigan State is at the end of three straight contests away from home. In fact, seven of MSU's first nine games will be away from East Lansing. This year, the Spartans opened with four road games for just the fourth time in school history.
The Big Three - Spartan seniors Maurice Ager and Paul Davis and junior Shannon Brown will carry a lot of the scoring load for Michigan State this season. Through eight games, the trio has not disappointed, averaging a combined 57.5 points, or 70.6 percent, of MSU's 81.5 points per game.
1,000-Point Spartans - With a free throw at the 16:26 mark against IPFW, Maurice Ager became the 35th player in Michigan State history to score 1,000 career points. With 1,072 points, he joins Paul Davis (1,305 points) as current Spartans over 1,000. Davis ranks 17th in career scoring, while Ager ranks 31st. Ager needs 28 points to pass Bill Kilgore (1,099 points), while Davis needs 73 points to pass Julius McCoy (1,377 points). Three members of last year's team, Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert, were all 1,000-point scorers. The next Spartan to reach the milestone should be Shannon Brown, who currently has 719 points.
Mr. Double-Double - With four double-doubles in the first eight games of this season, Paul Davis has now recorded a double-double in 12 of the last 23 games. Davis elevated his level of play over the last two months of last season, recording a double-double in eight of the final 15 games, including the last four NCAA Tournament contests. His best effort might have come in the Sweet 16 when he out-scored (20 to 19) and out-rebounded (12 to 8) Duke's Shelden Williams. In the Final Four, against North Carolina's Sean May, Davis recorded a career-best 15 rebounds.
It's Early, But ... - While it's impossible to project season statistics off just eight games, a few Spartans are putting up impressive numbers in the early going. Maurice Ager is currently averaging 21.8 points per game. It's the best scoring average by a Spartan since Shawn Respert averaged 25.6 points as a senior in 1994-95. Paul Davis is currently averaging 10.0 rebounds, the best mark by a Spartan since Antonio Smith averaged 10.6 boards in 1996-97.
An Offensive Threat - By his own admission, Drew Neitzel just tried to run the offense last season as a true freshman point guard and get the ball to the other weapons on the team. He recorded an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1-to-1, but averaged just 3.5 points per game and attempted just 3.4 shots per contest. A prolific scorer in high school, Neitzel will look to score more this season. He is averaging 9.3 points and 6.5 shots per game, while maintaining a 2.35-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Freshmen Contributions - Nine Spartans are currently averaging more than 10 minutes per game. Of those nine, three are freshmen in Marquise Gray, Goran Suton and Travis Walton. A true freshman, Walton is the primary reserve in the backcourt averaging 19.5 minutes, 1.8 points and 2.9 assists, while playing strong defense. Gray and Suton are redshirt freshmen getting their first taste of college basketball games. Suton is the team's fifth-leading scorer at 5.3 points and the second-leading rebounder at 5.4 boards in 22.1 minutes per contest. Gray is averaging 3.6 points and 3.8 boards per game and started the Boston College contest.
Davis Named POW - Paul Davis was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 28. In four games, the senior center averaged 22.5 points and 12.3 rebounds. MSU posted a 3-1 record on the week, falling only to Gonzaga, 109-106 in triple overtime. Davis recorded double-doubles in three of the four games. Coach Izzo was impressed with his performance, saying "I'm pleased with the way he's playing on all ends of the court and really excited about the leadership I think he's showing. He's made some giant strides."
Big Ten Favorites - Michigan State was named the Big Ten preseason favorite at the league's media day on Oct. 30. The Spartans are followed by Illinois and Indiana in the poll. Paul Davis also earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten squad.
MSU Is A "Powerhouse Program" - ESPN named Michigan State one of the 10 "Powerhouse Programs" in college basketball. Of the 10 schools featured, only seven were division I men's programs. MSU was joined by Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, division II Kentucky Wesleyan, and the Tennessee and Connecticut women's programs. The television program featuring the list was part of ESPNU's Honor Roll series.
A High Octane Offense - Michigan State led the Big Ten and ranked 13th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 78.5 points per game. It was MSU's highest scoring-offense since the 1985-86 Spartans averaged 83.1 points. The Spartans return three of their top four scorers and a starting point guard to help key the attack. This year, MSU is averaging 82.1 points per contest.
Winning The Right Way - In addition to excelling on the court, the Spartans are standouts in the classroom. Seventeen Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees over the last six years, including five each in 2001 and 2003.
MSU Is No. 1 - The Sporting News has tabbed Michigan State as its preseason No. 1 team, listing the Spartans' strengths as "two elite playmaking wings; size and skill at center; toughness." The publication also lists Maurice Ager as the No. 2 shooting guard in the nation and a second-team All-American. Paul Davis is the No. 4 center and Shannon Brown is ranked the No. 9 small forward. As a unit, the Spartan backcourt is ranked second in the nation.
America's Best Backcourt - Lindy's College Basketball preseason magazine ranked Michigan State's backcourt the best in the nation: "The backcourt was solid enough to get the Spartans to the Final Four last season and that should be the case again in 2006. Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager will be the `wings' and either could be defined as a `shooting guard,' if you like to see players locked into position descriptions. They're both explosive enough to jump over the top or drive past any variety of defender. Drew Neitzel was solid the last half of the season as the team's playmaker and should be much improved as a sophomore."
Izzo's Busy Summer - In addition to the always-busy summer recruiting season, Coach Tom Izzo enjoyed a few unique opportunities. In July, he had the opportunity to play golf with Tiger Woods at the Buick Open Pro-Am, prompting Woods to say "he's a guy that if I was playing ball, he's the type of guy that I'd want to go play for.' In mid-August, Izzo was one of a select number of coaches at Michael Jordan's Senior Flight School. The summer closed with Izzo traveling to Kuwait to take part in "Operation Hardwood - Hoops With The Troops." Izzo was one of eight coaches and sports personalities coaching 13-member military basketball teams on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from Aug. 27-31. Camp Arifjan defeated the other bases to win the championship under the direction of Coach Izzo.
Home To Mr. Basketball - Five of the last seven recipients of Michigan's Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award, presented to the top high school player in the state, have gone on to wear a Spartan jersey. Jason Richardson (Saginaw Arthur Hill HS) won the award in 1999, followed by Marcus Taylor (Lansing Waverly HS) in 2000, Kelvin Torbert (Flint Northwestern HS) in 2001, Paul Davis (Rochester HS) in 2002 and Drew Neitzel (Wyoming Park HS) in 2004. While the 2003 winner did not attend MSU, Shannon Brown (Proviso East HS) captured Illinois' Mr. Basketball Award that same year.
Spartans In The NBA - Listed below is an update on seven former Spartans currently on NBA rosters: (Stats through Dec. 3)
Alan Anderson (Charlotte): 3 GP, 9.0 mpg, 3.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 1.3 apg Charlie Bell (Milwaukee): 14 GP, 11.5 mpg, 4.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.7 apg Mateen Cleaves (Seattle): 11 GP, 13.0 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 2.4 apg Morris Peterson (Toronto): 18 GP, 13 GS, 31.4 mpg, 13.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.3 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 15 GP, 15 GS, 37.8 mpg, 18.2 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.9 apg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 18 GP, 18 GS, 38.6 mpg, 22.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.5 apg Eric Snow (Cleveland): 16 GP, 16 GS, 26.4 mpg, 3.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.9 apg
