Michigan State University Athletics
Thanksgiving Basketball: Michigan State Plays Rider
11/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| #20/19 Michigan State (3-1) vs. Rider (2-2) | |
| Date | Thursday, November 27, 2014 |
| Time | 6:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Kissimmee, Fla. | HP Field House |
| Television | ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg, Tim Welsh) |
| Radio | Spartan Sports Network (Will Tieman, Gus Ganakas, Matt Steigenga) |
| Tickets | Buy Tickets |
| Game Notes | Michigan State | Rider |
| Statistics | Michigan State | Rider |
| Live Stats | |
| Social Media | @MSU_Basketball  | Facebook  |
THE OPENING TIP
Michigan State opens the bracketed portion of the Orlando Classic against Rider on Thanksgiving evening. The Spartans are making their second appearance in the event, having posted a 2-1 mark in 2008. The MSU-Rider winner will advance to face the winner of the Georgia Tech-Marquette contest.
THE STARTING FIVE
1. The Orlando Classic
This is Michigan State's second appearance in the Orlando Classic. The Spartans made their first appearance in 2008, leaving Florida with a 2-1 record. Entering the tournament ranked No. 5 in the nation, MSU was defeated by Maryland, 80-62, in the opener. The Spartans bounced back to defeat Oklahoma State, 94-79, and Wichita State, 65-57. Michigan State would go on to win the Big Ten regular-season championship and advance to the NCAA Championship game.
2. Spartans Dominate The Glass
MSU owns a +13.2 rebounding margin, having out-rebounded all four opponents, and ranking second in the Big Ten. In the Tom Izzo era, MSU has out-rebounded 509 of 659 opponents (.772), posting a 403-106 (.792) mark in those games. The Spartans have led the nation in rebounding in four of the last 15 seasons (2000, 2001, 2009, 2010), ranking in the Top 10 nine times and the Top 25 on 12 occasions. MSU has led the Big Ten in rebounding margin in conference games in 11 of the last 17 years.
3. Long Range Firepower
Michigan State established a school single-season record in 2013-14 with 307 made 3-pointers, 54 more than the previous school record. The Spartans made 10 or more 3-pointers in 14 games, including a school single-game record 17 at Purdue, tying the Big Ten record for a conference game. Through four games in 2014-15, MSU has hit 34-of-87 (.391), led by Travis Trice connecting on 13-of-27 (.481). Freshman Marvin Clark Jr. is 7-of-11 from behind the arc, to lead MSU in 3-point percentage at .636.
4. Spartans Share The Ball
Unselfishness is a trademark of all Tom Izzo teams. That was never on display more than it was last year, as the Spartans established a school single-season record with 637 assists, leading the Big Ten with 16.76 assists per game. For the year, MSU is averaging 20.5 assists per game, ranking second in the Big Ten, recording an assist on 68.3 percent of its baskets. In three of four games, MSU has recorded an assist on more than 70 percent of its baskets (vs. Navy 18 ast., 25 FG - 72.0%; vs. Loyola 27 ast., 36 FG-75.0%; vs. Santa Clara 22 ast., 29 FG - 75.9%).
5. MSU In November
Michigan State has an all-time record of 112-30 in games played in the month of November. This includes a 77-3 mark at home. The last team to beat MSU at home in November was a David Robinson-led Navy squad that bested the Spartans, 91-90, in overtime on Nov. 29, 1986. Tom Izzo is 55-0 all-time at home in November, 77-24 for the month.
MSU VS. RIDER NOTES
Series History
This is the first-ever meeting between Michigan State and Rider. The Spartans are 5-1 against current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, owning a 4-0 mark against Canisius and 1-1 vs. Saint Peter's.
Coach Baggett
Kevin Baggett (St. Joseph's, '89) is 35-34 in his third season as a collegiate head coach. In his first year at Rider, Baggett led the Broncs to a 19-win season and an appearance in the CIT. He has been at Rider since joining the program as an assistant coach for the 2006-07 season. His coaching career also includes stops as an assistant at UMBC, James Madison, Howard, Western Kentucky and Coastal Carolina.
Bronc Notes
Rider is making its second appearance in the Orlando Classic, having posted a 1-2 record in the 2007 tournament, including a win over Penn State ... Junior guard Zedric Sadler is a native of Detroit, having attended Cody High School ... Seven different Broncs have made at least two 3-pointers this season ... Rider has appeared in the postseason in four of the last seven seasons.
GM. 4 RECAP • MICHIGAN STATE 79 - SANTA CLARA 52
For the second straight game, MSU jumped out to a 17-2 lead, held its opponent to 14 first-half points, and cruised to an easy victory, defeating Santa Clara, 79-52. The Spartans turned in their best defensive effort of the season, holding the Broncos to 1-of-10 shooting and three turnovers in the first seven minutes, claiming a 17-2 advantage. Santa Clara scored the next four points, but a 9-0 MSU run gave the Spartans a 26-6 lead with 8:44 still left in the half. By the break, MSU's lead stood at 26 points, 40-14. The Broncos made one small push in the second half, cutting the Spartan lead to 19 at 42-23, but an 11-0 MSU run eliminated any chances of a comeback.
MSU VS. SANTA CLARA NOTES
* Gavin Schilling posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs for the sophomore forward.
* Freshman forward Marvin Clark Jr. earned his first career start in place of an ill Branden Dawson, scoring 15 points for the second consecutive game and blocking four shots.
* Michigan State held its opponent to 14 first half points for the second-straight game, forcing the Broncos to shoot 5-30 (16.7%) from the floor in the opening half. Santa Clara shot just 29.0% (18-62) for the game - a season-low for a Spartan opponent.
* Denzel Valentine recorded his fifth-career double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.
* Michigan State's 21 offensive rebounds were the most in a game since grabbing 23 offensive boards vs. Illinois on Jan. 31, 2012.
* Travis Trice matched his career high with eight assists, as MSU recorded 22 assists on 29 baskets.
* For the second-straight game, five Spartans scored in double figures.
* Michigan State improved to 55-0 at home in November under Tom Izzo.
MSU BASKETBALL NOTES
Izzo's 20th Season
In his 20th season as Michigan State head coach, the 2014-15 campaign is Tom Izzo's 32nd year in East Lansing. An eight-time National Coach of the Year, Izzo has guided MSU to seven Big Ten Championships, four Big Ten Tournament titles, 17 straight NCAA Tournaments, six Final Four appearances, and the 2000 NCAA Championship in his stint as head coach. He is MSU's all-time winningest coach with 471 wins, and is the longest serving active men's basketball coach in the Big Ten. In addition, his 468 victories are the fourth-most by a coach in his first 19 years of coaching in NCAA history. The only high-major coaches with longer active tenures at one school are Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (39th season) and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (35th season).
Tough Start Away From Home
Michigan State opens the season with a difficult stretch of six of its first eight games away from East Lansing. In fact, MSU is the only team in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 to open with six of its first eight games away from home. Not only did the Spartans open away from home for the third time in four years when they played at Navy, their second contest was in Indianapolis against Duke. Over Thanksgiving, the Spartans will play three games in the Orlando Classic, and close the stretch with a game at Notre Dame during the first week of December. This is the third time in Tom Izzo's 20th season that the Spartans will open with six of eight away from home, having also done it during his first season in 1995-96, when MSU opened with five games away from home, and in 2005-06.
Dawson Approaches 1,000 Points
With 939 career points, Branden Dawson is poised to become the next member of Michigan State's 1,000-point club early this season. He'll become the 46th Spartan to reach that milestone. Current Spartan Bryn Forbes has 937 career points, but 905 came in his first two seasons at Cleveland State.
Attacking The Offensive Glass
Michigan State leads the Big Ten in offensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 39.1 percent of its missed shots. The Spartans rank fourth in the conference at 12.5 offensive boards per contest, and are out-scoring opponents by +4.7 points per game on the offensive glass (10.5-5.8).
Starting Suits Trice Nicely
In his first year as a primary starter, senior Travis Trice is proving he is up to the challenge. He ranks second in the Big Ten in assists (7.0 apg) and tied for eighth in scoring (18.0 ppg), pacing the Spartans in both categories. He leads the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio at 7.0 with 28 assists and just four turnovers on the season. Trice entered the year having started just eight games in his career, but he did average 9.3 points and 3.6 assists in those eight games last season. The Rider game will be Trice's 100th game in a Spartan uniform.
MSU's M.A.S.H. Unit
Michigan State is dealing with some injury issues in the early portion of its non-conference schedule. Freshman Javon Bess underwent surgery in late October on a broken bone in his right foot and is out until mid-late December. Sophomore Alvin Ellis III suffered a sprained right ankle after just three minutes against Navy and is yet to see any further action. Junior Bryn Forbes has not missed any time, but is playing with a broken bone in his left (non-shooting) hand. Senior Branden Dawson missed MSU's most recent game vs. Santa Clara due to illness.
Double-Double Trouble
Branden Dawson and Denzel Valentine are threats to post a double-double every time they take the court. Dawson ranked tied for second in the Big Ten last season with six double-doubles, while Valentine ranked tied for 13th with three. For his career, Dawson has 12 double-doubles, while Valentine has totaled five. Three different Spartans have posted a double-double this season as Matt Costello (vs. Loyola-13 pts., 11 reb.), Gavin Schilling (vs. Santa Clara-14 pts., 11 reb.) and Denzel Valentine (vs. Santa Clara-13 pts., 11 reb.) each have one.
All-Time Block Leaders
Branden Dawson ranks 10th in Michigan State history with 86 career blocks, just behind Paul Davis (87), Aloysius Anagonye (88) and Goran Suton (90). Adreian Payne is the MSU career leader with 141 blocks. With 59 blocks in just over two seasons, Matt Costello could appear in the Top 10 later in the season.
MSU's Sunrise Connection
Freshmen Marvin Clark Jr. and Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr., both products of Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, are making big contributors as Spartan freshmen. Clark Jr. ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 9.3 ppg, and is averaging 15.0 in his last two games. He leads the Spartans in 3-point field-goal percentage, connecting on .636 (7-of-11) of his attempts. Nairn Jr. ranks third on the team with 4.3 assists per game, and has shown remarkable leadership skills for a freshman.
Preseason All-American
Branden Dawson was named a preseason first-team All-American by The Sporting News. He was a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection as chosen by Lindy's Sports and Sporting News. ESPN.com ranked Dawson No. 15 in its player rankings, while ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman named him a third-team All-American. Dawson was also selected to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list. He is one of seven Big Ten players on the Wooden list, as he is joined by Indiana's Yogi Ferrell, Maryland's Dez Wells, Michigan's Caris LeVert, Nebraska's Terran Petteway, and Wisconsin's Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky.
Prep Teammates
Michigan State's roster features three pairs of high school teammates. Junior Denzel Valentine has been reunited with high school classmate Bryn Forbes, who spent his first two seasons at Cleveland State. The duo teamed to appear in three-straight Michigan Class B title games from 2010-2012, capturing the state championship in 2011 and 2012. Forbes transferred to MSU this past June, and later received a waiver from the NCAA allowing him to play this season. Freshmen Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. and Marvin Clark Jr. both attended Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas. They were teammates during the 2012-13 season, posting a 29-1 record, with Clark as a senior and Nairn as a junior. Clark then did a year of prep school at Sunrise Christian last season, while Nairn finished his high school career. Sophomores Alvin Ellis III and Gavin Schilling were teammates at Chicago De La Salle as juniors in 2011-12. Ellis graduated from De La Salle, while Schilling spent his final season at Findlay Prep in Nevada. In addition, although Branden Dawson (Indiana) and Travis Trice (Ohio) attended high school in different states, they were AAU teammates for SYF Players over the summer.
Playing The Best
Since the 1997-98 season, the year of Michigan State's first of 17 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans have played 187 games against ranked opponents. That total ranks first among teams that have appeared in a Final Four since then. The Spartans are followed by North Carolina (167), Kentucky (162), Illinois (160), Duke (160) and Texas (159).
MSU In The Rankings
Michigan State is currently ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Including Kansas, a possible opponent in the Orlando Classic, five Spartan opponents are ranked in the Top 25: Wisconsin (No. t-2 AP/No. 3 USA Today), Duke (4/2), Kansas (11/12), Ohio State (16/17), and Michigan (19/18).
Big Ten Schedule
Moving to a 14-team conference for 2014-15, each Big Ten team will play five schools twice, four schools on the road, and four schools at home. Michigan State will go home and home with Maryland, Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan, and Illinois. The Spartans will host Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Purdue, while traveling to Iowa, Nebraska, Rutgers, and Wisconsin. Eight of Michigan State's 13 Big Ten opponents appeared in the 2014 postseason, including five in the NCAA Tournament (Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Wisconsin), two in the NIT (Illinois, Minnesota) and one in the CBI (Penn State).
Spartans In The NBA
Michigan State leads all Big Ten schools with eight players appearing on NBA rosters this season. Gary Harris (Denver) and Adreian Payne (Atlanta) are in their rookie seasons after being selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft. They join former Spartans Alan Anderson (Brooklyn), Shannon Brown (Miami), Draymond Green (Golden State), Zach Randolph (Memphis) and Jason Richardson (Philadelphia) in the NBA. Kalin Lucas (Memphis) signed a free-agent contract in November and appeared in his first career game on Nov. 19.
New Faces
Several new Spartans will also play a major role in 2014-15. Junior Bryn Forbes is immediately eligible after two seasons at Cleveland State where he made 142 3-pointers. He averaged 15.6 points per game as a sophomore, including scoring 22 at Kentucky. Freshmen Javon Bess, Marvin Clark Jr., and Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr., also are expected to be a regular part of the rotation. Nairn is among the fastest players in the nation and possesses great leadership skills and toughness. Bess was the 2014 Ohio Division I co-player of the year. Clark is already among the strongest players of the Tom Izzo era. Freshman walk-on Kenny Goins could see some spot minutes in the front court, but he is also a likely redshirt candidate. Junior Eron Harris transferred in from West Virginia in the spring and must sit out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Returning Spartans
Michigan State returns three of its top six scorers and five of its top nine from last year's squad. Senior Branden Dawson is MSU's leading returning scorer (11.2) and rebounder (8.3). Had he played in one more contest in 2013-14 he would have qualified for the Big Ten statistics, and would have ranked second in the conference in rebounding and first in field-goal percentage (.613). He averaged 15.7 points and 8.1 rebounds in postseason play, shooting .681 from the field, and earning Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. Senior Travis Trice ranked third in overall 3-point field-goal percentage (.434) and was second in Big Ten games (.483). In eight starts last season, he averaged 9.3 points and 3.6 assists with a 5.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Junior Denzel Valentine was the only Spartan to appear in every game last year and was the only player in the Big Ten to rank in the Top 15 in both rebounding (t-11th) and assists (8th). Junior Matt Costello started 20 games in the Spartan frontcourt in 2013-14 and ranked 10th in the Big Ten in blocks. Sophomores Alvin Ellis III and Gavin Schilling both appeared in more than 30 contests and are slated to play a larger role in 2014-15.
A Look Back At 2013-14
Michigan State advanced to the Elite Eight during the 2014 NCAA Tournament. En route, the Spartans advanced to the Sweet 16 for a nation's best sixth time in the last seven seasons. For the year, MSU posted a 29-9 record, including 12-6 in the Big Ten. In the postseason, MSU captured its fourth Big Ten Tournament title and its second in the last three seasons.
Spartans Sign Strong Recruiting Class
Michigan State signed three talented players to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. Kyle Ahrens (G, 6-5, 195) led Versailles (Ohio) High School to the Ohio Division III state title game as a sophomore. He was averaging 22 points, seven rebounds as four assists as a junior before suffering a season-ending leg injury in the sixth game of the season. Deyonta Davis (F/C, 6-10, 215) is a five-star big man who averaged 15.0 points, 13.6 rebounds and 7.1 blocks as a junior at Muskegon High School, leading his team to a perfect 28-0 mark and a Michigan Class A state championship. He established a Michigan state high school single-season record with 199 blocks in 2013-14. Matt McQuaid (G, 6-5, 180) averaged 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds as a junior at Duncanville (Texas) High School. He exploded during the off season, averaging 15.6 points in the 2014 Nike EYBL circuit, shooting 45.1 percent from 3-point range. ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman called him "arguably the best pure shooter in the country."
The Book On Tom Izzo
Coach Izzo
In his 20th year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 471-188 (.715), and 221-101 (.686) in the Big Ten, as the head coach of the Michigan State basketball program. He ranks as the winningest coach in Michigan State history, having passed his mentor Jud Heathcote with his 341st career victory on Nov. 28, 2009. In his 19 full seasons as a head coach, Izzo has captured eight National Coach of the Year awards, including the Clair Bee Award in 2005 and NABC honors in 2001 and 2012. 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 also earned National Coach of the Year accolades from CBSSports.com in 2012. He earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 1998, 2009 and 2012.
Among The Big Ten's Best
Tom Izzo's .686 winning percentage in Big Ten games ranks fourth all-time among league coaches with at least 10 years of service, behind Wisconsin's Bo Ryan (.703), former Indiana coach Bob Knight (.700), and Ohio State's Thad Matta (.695) and ahead of former Purdue coach Ward Lambert (.685). In all games, Matta ranks first at .770, followed by Knight (.734), Ryan (.729), Izzo (.715), Wisconsin's Walter Meanwell (.712), and Lambert (.709). With 221 conference victories, Izzo ranks fourth all-time.
Izzo Among Best Ever
Through his first 19 seasons, Tom Izzo won 468 games, ranking fourth in college basketball history for most wins by a college coach in his first 18 years.
Izzo's Coaching Tree
Three current Division I head coaches all served as assistants to Tom Izzo, including Tom Crean (Indiana), Brian Gregory (Georgia Tech), and Mark Montgomery (Northern Illinois). Stan Heath has been a head coach for 12 seasons, with stints at Kent State, Arkansas and South Florida. Mike Garland served as head coach at Cleveland State for three seasons and Stan Joplin, an assistant during Izzo's first season, spent 12 seasons as head coach at Toledo. Jim Boylen was head coach at Utah for four years. Doug Wojcik spent nine seasons between Tulsa and College of Charleston.
