1965–66 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1965–66 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1965–66 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as members of the Big Ten Conference . They played their home games at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by John E. Benington in his first year as head coach of the Spartans. They finished the season 15–7, 10–4 in Big Ten play to finish in second place.
Previous season
The Spartans finished the 1964–65 season 5–18, 1–13 in Big Ten play to finish in last place.
Following the season, head coach Forrest "Forddy" Anderson was fired after 11 years as the Spartans' head coach. Shortly thereafter, the school hired John E. Benington, head coach at Saint Louis , as head coach.
Roster and statistics
1965–66 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
No
Name
Pos
Year
Height
Pts
Reb
11
John Gorman
G
SR
5–11
2.2
0.2
12
John Bailey
G
SO
6–0
8.1
3.2
13
Edward "Ted" Crary
F
JR
6–5
0.8
–
14
Gary Spade
G
SO
5–11
–
–
15
Steven Rymal
G
SO
5–11
8.3
2.8
21
James O'Brien
G
SO
6–3
0.7
–
22
Shannon Reading
G
JR
6–1
6.0
1.8
23
James Kupper
G
SR
6–0
1.3
0.5
24
Stan Washington links to wrong Stan Washington
G
SR
6–3
18.0
10.6
25
William Curtis
F
SR
6–8
16.4
9.3
32
Jack Wynn
C
SO
6–10
1.0
–
33
Heywood Edwards
F
SO
6–5
1.7
–
35
Robert Miller
F
SR
6–5
1.3
1.1
41
Arthur Baylor
F
SO
6–6
4.5
3.6
42
Gerald Geistler
C
SO
6–8
0.8
–
43
Richard Holmes
F
SR
6–4
1.4
–
44
David Keeler
F
JR
6–8
1.0
–
45
Matthew Aitch
C
JR
6–7
13.8
8.8
Source[ 1] [ 2]
Schedule and results
The Spartans participated in the second annual Rainbow Classic at the Honolulu International Center from December 27–30, 1966.[ 3] There they played against a Marine and Army team in the tournament. These games do not count on the official record.
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
Dec 4, 1965 *
Western Michigan
L 82–85
0–1
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Dec 7, 1965 *
at Bowling Green
W 84–59
1–1
Anderson Arena Bowling Green, OH
Dec 9, 1965 *
Butler
W 75–59
2–1
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Dec 11, 1965 *
at Notre Dame
W 93–69
3–1
Notre Dame Fieldhouse South Bend, IN
Dec 18, 1965 *
Saint Joseph's
L 65–82
3–2
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Dec 20, 1965 *
Tulane
W 80–61
4–2
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Dec 22, 1965 *
at Drake
W 61–50
5–2
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, IA
Dec 27, 1965 *
vs. Hawaiian Marines Rainbow Classic
W 84–53
Honolulu International Center Honolulu, HI
Dec 28, 1965 *
vs. Tulsa Rainbow Classic
L 67–78
5–3
Honolulu International Center Honolulu, HI
Dec 30, 1965 *
vs. Hawaiian Army Rainbow Classic
W 97–69
Honolulu International Center Honolulu, HI
Big Ten regular season
Jan 8, 1966
Minnesota
W 85–65
6–3 (1–0)
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Jan 10, 1966
at Purdue
W 92–74
7–3 (2–0)
Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN
Jan 15, 1966
Ohio State
W 80–64
8–3 (3–0)
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Jan 22, 1966
at Iowa
L 76–90
8–4 (3–1)
Iowa Fieldhouse Iowa City, IA
Jan 24, 1966
Purdue
W 92–74
9–4 (4–1)
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Jan 29, 1966
at Northwestern
W 77–68
10–4 (5–1)
Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL
Feb 5, 1966
Wisconsin
W 79–65
11–4 (6–1)
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Feb 12, 1966
at Minnesota
L 71–81
11–5 (6–2)
Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
Feb 19, 1966
at Wisconsin
L 77–78
11–6 (6–3)
Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI
Feb 22, 1966
Illinois
W 68–66
12–6 (7–3)
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Feb 26, 1966
Indiana
W 69–63
13–6 (8–3)
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
Feb 28, 1966
at Ohio State
W 98–79
14–6 (9–3)
St. John Arena Columbus, OH
Mar 5, 1966
at Indiana
L 76–86
14–7 (9–4)
New Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN
Mar 7, 1966
Michigan Rivalry
W 86–77
15–7 (10–4)
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
Source[ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
References
^ "1966-67 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com" . College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com . Retrieved May 4, 2017 .
^ "Michigan State Spartans 2016-17 Media Guide" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017 .
^ Ramsey, Kirk. "Tropic Lightning News, 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam" . www.25thida.org . Retrieved August 25, 2017 .
^ Ramsey, Kirk. "Tropic Lightning News, 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam" . www.25thida.org . Retrieved August 25, 2017 .
^ "1965-66 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com" . College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com . Retrieved August 25, 2017 .
^ "Michigan State Spartans" (PDF) . October 8, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics