Men's Basketball Hosts Wisconsin In Big Ten Home Opener

1/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Jan. 5, 2010

EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#10/11 Michigan State (11-3, 1-0)
vs. #17/20 Wisconsin (12-2, 2-0)

Jan. 6, 2010
6:30 p.m. EST
East Lansing, Mich.
Breslin Center

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 - Gus Johnson (Play by Play), Steve Smith (Color), Lisa Byington (Sidelines)

Michigan State Game Notes
Wisconsin Game Notes

Listen To Spartan Sports Podcasts
Coach Izzo Press Conference | Durrell Summers | Korie Lucious

The Opening Tip
Michigan State hosts Wisconsin in the Big Ten home opener for the Spartans. Both teams are coming off impressive road wins as MSU won by 21 at Northwestern and UW won by 17 at Penn State. The game promises to be tightly contested, as the Spartans and Badgers are the top two rebounding teams in the Big Ten and two of the top three squads in terms of field-goal percentage defense.

The Starting Five
1. Big Ten Home Openers
Over the past 59 seasons, Michigan State has posted a 40-19 mark in Big Ten home openers. Tom Izzo is 12-2 in Big Ten home openers, including winning the last seven.

2. Big Ten Powers
Both Michigan State and Wisconsin have consistently ranked among the top programs in the Big Ten over the last 12 years. In fact, either the Spartans or the Badgers have won the Big Ten regular-season championship in eight of the last 12 seasons (MSU - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2009; UW - 2002, 2003, 2008).

3. Summers, Allen Bounce Back
Durrell Summers is averaging 16.0 points in his last three games, shooting .509 from the floor. In the previous four games, Summers failed to score in double figures, averaging just 4.3 points and shooting .222 from the field. He opened the season with six double-figure scoring efforts in the first seven games. On a similar note, Allen is averaging 11.7 points in the last three games on .500 shooting, including .538 (7-of-13) from behind the arc.

4. Spartans Among National Leaders
Michigan State ranks in the top six nationally in three different statistical categories (as of Jan. 4). The Spartans rank fourth in the nation with a +10.3 rebound margin, fifth in assists per game (19.4 apg) and sixth in field-goal percentage (.507).

5. Turnovers, Defense Make A Difference
Two key factors have emerged as a difference between winning and losing for Michigan State: turnovers and field-goal percentage defense. The Spartans are averaging 18.7 turnovers in their three losses, including 23 vs. Florida and 22 vs. Texas, leading to 19.3 points for the opponent per game. In 11 wins, MSU is averaging just 13.5 turnovers, leading to just 15.2 opponent points. Defensively, MSU is 10-0 when holding teams below 40 percent shooting, but 1-3 when an opponent shoots above 40 percent. With North Carolina (.579) and Texas (.561) both shooting well above 50 percent, the Spartans are allowing opponents to shoot .514 in their losses, compared to .366 in victory.

MSU vs. Wisconsin Notes
Series History
Michigan State leads the all-time series with Wisconsin, 67-58, including a 42-14 advantage in games played in East Lansing. The home team has won the last eight games played on a college campus.

Coach Ryan
Bo Ryan (Wilkes, `69) is 586-177 in his 25th season as a collegiate head coach, including 205-75 in his ninth year at Wisconsin. Prior to his arrival in Madison, Ryan coached at UW-Milwaukee for two years (1999-2001) and at UW-Platteville for 15 seasons (1984-99), winning four Division III National Championships.

The Last Meeting
Michigan State used a late game run to rally from a double-figure deficit for a 61-50 win over Wisconsin on Feb. 22, 2009, in East Lansing. With the 1979 NCAA Championship team, including Earvin "Magic" Johnson in attendance, MSU found itself trailing, 31-25, at the half and, 41-29, with 12:31 remaining. From that point, however, MSU closed the game on a 32-9 run, scoring on 13 of their final 17 possessions. Goran Suton recorded a double-double, tallying 14 points and seven rebounds in the final 12:22 of the contest. The Spartans' second-half defense was strong, limiting the Badgers to just 19 points, and at one point holding UW without a field goal for a span of 8:48. Michigan State hit just 2-of-9 from 3-point range, but Chris Allen and Kalin Lucas hit back-to-back threes in the final minutes to push a two-point lead up to eight.

Badger Notes
Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in scoring defense (56.4 ppg), and has held two conference opponents to a remarkable 44.5 points per game ... The Badgers are the second-best rebounding team in the Big Ten (+5.6), trailing only Michigan State (+10.3) ... Jordan Taylor leads the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.92).

Game 14 Recap - MSU 91 - Northwestern 70
* MSU's 21-point win was its largest margin of victory in a league road game since a 27-point win at Penn State in 2007, and its largest over a ranked league opponent on the road since a 78-57 win at No. 10 Iowa on Jan. 21, 1998.
* MSU shot above 50 percent both halves, while NU shot below 40 percent both halves.
* Chris Allen dished out a career-best six assists and Raymar Morgan tied his career best with five.
* For the second-straight season, MSU opened Big Ten play with a road win.
* Led by 17 points by Durrell Summers, MSU's bench out-scored NU's, 40-18.
* Draymond Green blocked a career-high four shots.
* MSU put the game away with a 12-0 run midway through the second half, turning a 51-43 lead into a a 63-43 advantage.
* John Shurna's 29 points marked the most points by a Spartan opponent this year.

MSU Basketball Notes
Home Sweet Home
During Tom Izzo's career as head coach, the Spartans are 201-24 (.893) at home, including 178-15 (.922) over the last 13 years (1997-98 to present). MSU has defeated 47 consecutive non-conference opponents at the Breslin Center, dating back to a Dec. 3, 2003, loss to Duke.

Attacking The Offensive Glass
Michigan State is averaging 14.2 offensive rebounds per contest, leading to 16.7 second chance points per game. The Spartans are grabbing 41.9 percent of their misses. Against Florida, MSU grabbed 60 percent of its misses, collecting 18 offensive boards, compared to just 12 defensive boards for the Gators. Michigan State also grabbed more offensive boards than its opponent had defensive boards in games against Wofford and The Citadel. MSU has totaled 18 or more offensive rebounds in three games. The Spartans are paced in offensive rebounds by Delvon Roe with 2.7 per contest.

Offensive Balance
Through 14 games, Michigan State has proven it has several different offensive weapons as five Spartans currently average in double figures. Kalin Lucas paces the Spartan offense at 16.1 points per game, followed by Durrell Summers (11.4 ppg), Draymond Green (11.1 ppg), Raymar Morgan (10.6 ppg) and Chris Allen (10.5 ppg). MSU has had four or more players score in double figures in 11 of the 14 different games, as eight different players have scored 10 or more points at least once this season, and six different players have led the team in scoring in a single game.

Go Green
Sophomore Draymond Green is proving to be one of the most versatile players in the Big Ten and one of the conference's premier sixth men, coming off the bench in 11 of 14 games. Through 14 games, he is averaging a team-best 7.9 boards per game. He's recorded double-figure rebounds in four games, and trails only Korie Lucious and Kalin Lucas with his 45 assists. Further demonstrating his versatility, he ranks first in steals (22) and field-goal percentage (.621), second in blocks (12), and third in scoring (11.1 ppg). He's recorded three double-doubles on the season. And despite coming off the bench in a majority of the contests, he ranks third on the squad in minutes per game.

Lucas On Target
Kalin Lucas has elevated his shooting accuracy as a junior. Having entered the season with a career field-goal percentage of .410, Lucas is shooting .510 from the field this year, including a team-best .400 from behind the 3-point arc.

Better At The Foul Line
Michigan State has struggled at the foul line this season, converting at a .678 percentage. The Spartans, however, are showing improvement recently, hitting .752 percent of their attempts in the last four games, raising the team's average from .644 to its current mark. Individually, Durrell Summers leads the league at .897.

On The Mark
As a team, MSU is shooting .507 from the floor, leading the Big Ten and sixth in the nation (as of Jan. 4). Individually, eight Spartans are connecting on better than 50 percent of their shots, led by Tom Herzog at .800 (8-of-10). Among players with more than 30 attempts, Draymond Green paces the way at .621 (59-95), ranking second in the league.

Spartan Defense
One of Tom Izzo's early concerns about his team was the defense, having lost 2009 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Travis Walton and outstanding post defender Goran Suton. For the most part, however, the Spartans have responded early, limiting opponents to 39.7 percent on the season, as only two opponents (UNC and Texas) have shot better than 44 percent. MSU has been equally stingy on its 3-point defense, holding teams to 32.1 percent shooting behind the arc, holding five opponents to 25 percent or lower.

It's All About Boardwork
Last season, Michigan State led the nation in rebounding margin at +9.3, marking the third time in the last 10 years the Spartans have paced the nation. Including 2009-10, MSU has led the Big Ten in rebounding margin in 11 of the last 13 years. In the Tom Izzo era, MSU has out-rebounded 381 of 487 opponents (.782), posting a 303-78 (.795) mark in those games. This season, MSU has out-rebounded its opponents by a margin of +10.3, ranking fourth in the nation (as of Jan. 4), bettering 12 of 14 teams, and tying one. The Spartans are 11-1 when out-rebounding an opponent, but 0-2 when failing to do so.

Lending A Helping Hand
According to the most recent NCAA statistics (as of Jan. 4), Michigan State ranks fifth in the nation in assists. With a current average of 19.4 assists per game, the Spartans have recorded an assist on 63.6 percent of their baskets. It's a team effort as five different Spartans average more than two assists per game.

Double-Double Trouble
At least one Spartan has recorded a double-double in eight of MSU's 14 games, as five different Spartans have posted a double-double. Draymond Green (vs. FGCU, 11 pts., 10 reb.; vs. Florida, 15 pts., 11 reb.; vs. Oakland, 19 pts., 12 reb.) leads the way with three, while Delvon Roe (vs. Toledo, 10 pts., 11 reb.; vs. Valparaiso, 10 pts., 17 reb.) and Raymar Morgan (vs. Wofford, 19 pts., 11 reb.; vs. The Citadel, 11 pts., 10 reb.) each have two. Derrick Nix (vs. FGCU, 11 pts., 14 reb.) and Durrell Summers (vs. Gonzaga, 21 pts., 11 reb.) each have tallied one.

Finding Their Shooting Touch
After shooting .454 from the field in the first three games of the season, including .278 from 3-point range, the Spartans shot better in the next three contests, connecting on 55.6 percent of its shots, including 46.9 percent from 3-point range. The Spartans are shooting 52.2 percent over the last 11 games, including 37.9 percent from behind the arc. For the season, MSU is shooting .507 from the floor, ranking first in the Big Ten.

Moving Up The Scoring Chart
With 20 points against Florida, Kalin Lucas became the 40th Spartan to record 1,000 career points. The Spartan junior ranks 32nd in MSU history with 1,153 points, standing two behind Lindsay Hairston (1,155 points) and 23 behind Lee Lafayette (1,176 points). Lucas has scored in double figures in 25 straight games, dating back to last season. His teammate, Raymar Morgan, currently ranks 20th in MSU history with 1,328 points. He needs 50 points to pass Julius McCoy (1,377 points) and move into 19th place.

Taking Care of the Ball
Korie Lucious has posted impressive numbers in his role as a reserve point guard. He leads the team with 4.1 assists per game and his 2.64 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fifth in the Big Ten. Last season, he averaged just 1.2 assists with a 1.12 assist-to-turnover ratio. Raymar Morgan has also improved his ball handling. Entering the season with a career 0.57 assist-to-turnover ratio, he has improved to 1.83 (33 assists, 18 turnovers) this season.

Spartan Quad Captains
Senior forward Raymar Morgan and junior guard Kalin Lucas were unanimous selections for team co-captains as voted on by their Spartan teammates. Right after Christmas, the MSU coaching staff added Draymond Green and Isaiah Dahlman as captains, rewarding them for their leadership.

Big Ten Strength
Eight different league schools (Michigan State, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin) have been ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 this season, including three in the current poll (PU-No. 4, MSU-No. 10, UW-No. 17). The last time that MSU played five different ranked schools during league play came during the 1999 season when the Spartans played six different ranked league opponents.

Life Away From Home
Michigan State is 3-3 away from home this season, including 2-2 on an opponent's home court, with losses at Texas and North Carolina. Three of the Spartans' road games have been against a ranked opponent. MSU has won nine of its last 10 conference road games. Last season, MSU was 19-5 away from East Lansing, including 10-4 on a neutral court, while also establishing a school record with eight Big Ten road wins.

MSU's All-Time Leader
With MSU's 106-68 win over UMass, Tom Izzo became the winningest coach in Michigan State history with his 341st career victory, passing his mentor Jud Heathcote. Izzo began working for Heathcote in the 1983-84 season, and was elevated to associate head coach in July 1990. On March 30, 1993, Izzo was named Heathcote's hand-picked successor following the 1994-95 season. Following the game, Izzo said "I do feel like, because Jud has been so instrumental on my behalf and got me the job, that I'll just look at it as we have 681 wins between us."

Hall of Famers
Former Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote and Spartan All-American Earvin "Magic" Johnson were inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday night (Nov. 22) in Kansas City. In fact, following MSU's 90-60 win over Valparaiso on Sunday, Tom Izzo boarded a private plane to fly to Kansas City for the ceremony. Heathcote finished his 19-year coaching career as Michigan State's all-time winningest coach with 340 victories, capturing three Big Ten titles and the 1979 NCAA Championship. He coached seven All-Americans, 15 All-Big Ten honorees and 23 NBA Draft picks. Overall, he posted a 420-273 record in 24 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Johnson was a member of the 1979 NCAA Championship team and a two-time All-American. Despite playing just two seasons at MSU, he totaled 1,059 points and 491 assists. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Spartan Depth
Nine different Spartans are averaging 8.2 minutes or more, including seven at 21.1 minutes or more. Kalin Lucas leads Michigan State with 30.3 minutes per contest after averaging a team-best 31.9 minutes per game last season. The Spartans have also used nine different starting lineups through the first 14 games, as nine different Spartans have started a game, and no one has started every game. Last season, MSU used 14 different starting lineups, including nine in the first 12 games.

Strong Debut
Center Derrick Nix had one of the top freshman debuts in Michigan State history. Nix's 14 rebounds set an MSU freshman debut record, besting the previous mark of 10 held by Matt Steigenga and Ben Tower. Nix (11 points, 14 rebounds) also became just the second freshman in MSU history to debut with a double-double, joining Steigenga (15 pts., 10 reb.). Nix is the 2009 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball honoree, having led Detroit Pershing to a Michigan Class A State Championship.

MSU's Three-Guard Attack
Michigan State features one of the best backcourts in the nation. In fact, Lindy's College Basketball Magazine ranked it the best. The foundation of the backcourt is the junior trio of Chris Allen, Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers, giving MSU one of the most athletic and offensively potent attacks in the country. Through 14 games, the trio is averaging a combined 38.0 points (Lucas-16.1, Summers-11.4, Allen-10.5). Korie Lucious adds 6.1 points off the bench.

Big Ten Favorites
After winning the 2009 Big Ten regular-season title by four games, Michigan State was selected as the preseason conference favorite for the 2009-10 men's basketball season, as voted upon by a 24-member media panel. Purdue and Ohio State were chosen to finish second and third, respectively. Reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas was tabbed as Preseason Player of the Year.

Experience At Many Positions
Michigan State returns seven of its top nine scorers from last year's Final Four squad, and five players that averaged 17.9 minutes or more per game last season. Eight current Spartans enter the season having started at least one game for Michigan State.

Not So Much At One
The position of concern for the Spartans will be at center. Michigan State must replace Goran Suton, Idong Ibok and Marquise Gray, three five-year players that appeared in 380 games (starting 162), playing a combined 5,808 minutes over the course of their careers. Their void must be filled by the trio of red-shirt junior Tom Herzog, and true freshmen Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman. Herzog entered the season with 29 games of experience (starting 1), for a combined 100 minutes of action. The trio of Gray, Ibok and Suton combined for 13.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per contest.

Another Strong Non-Conference Schedule
Michigan State was tested often during its 2009-10 non-conference schedule. The Spartans played true road games at North Carolina and Texas. The last time MSU played two ranked non-conference teams on the road was 2003-04 (No. 6 Kansas, No. 17 Syracuse). In addition, MSU hosted Gonzaga and played Florida on a neutral court in the Legends Classic in Atlantic City.

Individual Accolades
Junior Kalin Lucas and senior Raymar Morgan have been named preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award. In addition, Lucas earned a spot on Dick Vitale's Preseason All-Rolls Royce Team and was named the nation's best point guard by Lindy's College Basketball. He was also named preseason first-team All-Big Ten by Lindy's and Athlon Sports College Basketball. Morgan was named a fourth-team preseason All-American by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. He also earned all-league accolades from Lindy's and Athlon. Delvon Roe earned all-league honors from Athlon, while Durrell Summers was recognized by Lindy's.

Honors For Spartan Backcourt
Lindy's College Basketball selected Michigan State as having the nation's best backcourt. Villanova, California, Kansas, Washington, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Mississippi and Purdue round out the top 10.

Spartans In The NBA
Five former Spartans are currently on NBA rosters, including Charlie Bell (Milwaukee Bucks), Shannon Brown (Los Angeles Lakers), Morris Peterson (New Orleans Hornets), Zach Randolph (Memphis Grizzlies) and Jason Richardson (Phoenix Suns).

The Book On Tom Izzo
Coach Izzo
In his 14th year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 347-140 (.713), and 161-72 (.691) in the Big Ten, as the coach of the Michigan State basketball program. He ranks as the winningest coach in Michigan State history, having passed his mentor Jud Heathcote with a 106-68 win over UMass for his 341st career victory. 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. He earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 1998 and 2009.

Among The Big Ten's Best
Tom Izzo's .691 winning percentage in Big Ten games ranks second all-time among league coaches with at least 10 years of service, behind former Indiana coach Bob Knight (.700) and just ahead of Purdue's Ward Lambert (.685). In all games, Knight ranks first at .734, followed by Izzo (.713), Wisconsin's Walter Meanwell (.712) and Lambert (.709). With 161 conference victories, Izzo ranks eighth all-time.

Izzo Among Best Ever
Through his first 14 seasons, Tom Izzo won 336 games, ranking seventh in college basketball history for most wins by a college coach in his first 14 years.

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 seventh 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 fifth 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 third season with Utah. Stan Joplin, an assistant during Izzo's first season, spent 12 seasons as head coach at Toledo.