2007–08 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2007–08 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . They played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by 13th-year head coach, Tom Izzo . MSU finished the season 27–9, 12–6 to finish in fourth place in Big Ten play . They defeated Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before losing to No. 1-seeded Wisconsin in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament , their 11th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, as the No. 5 seed in the South region. They defeated Temple in the First Round and upset No. 4-seeded Pittsburgh to reach the Sweet Sixteen. There they lost to No. 2-ranked Memphis .
Previous season
The Spartans finished the 2006–07 season with an overall record of 23–12, 8–8 in Big Ten play to finish in seventh place. Michigan State received a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament , their 10th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the Second Round before losing to North Carolina .
Offseason
Recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Kalin Lucas No. 6 PG
Orchard Lake, Michigan
St. Mary's High School
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
172 lb (78 kg)
Dec 29, 2005
Recruiting star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 97
Durrell Summers No. 14 SG
Redford, Michigan
Covenant Christian
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jan 25, 2006
Recruiting star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 96
Chris Allen No. 16 SG
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Meadowcreek High School
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Jan 9, 2006
Recruiting star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 96
Austin Thornton SF
Sand Lake, Michigan
Cedar Springs
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Feb 16, 2007
Recruiting star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Season summary
The Spartans were led by senior Drew Neitzel (13.9 points and 4 rebounds per game), sophomore Raymar Morgan (14.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game), and freshman Kalin Lucas (10.3 points and 3.8 assists per game).
Michigan State began the season ranked No. 8 in the country and participated in the CBE Classic , losing to No. 2 UCLA in the finals.[ 2] They cruised through the remaining non-conference schedule with wins over No. 24 NC State ,[ 3] No. 20 BYU ,[ 4] and No. 4 Texas ,[ 5] finishing 12–1 and ranked No. 6 in the country.
MSU won six of their first seven Big Ten games, their lone loss an ugly 43–36 loss to Iowa on the road.[ 6] They lost four of their next seven games thereafter at Penn State , at No. 19 Purdue ,[ 7] at No. 13 Indiana ,[ 8] and at No. 10 Wisconsin .[ 9] They avenged their loss to Indiana by blowing them out 103–74 at the Breslin Center on March 2 after Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson had resigned.[ 10] They finished with a loss at Ohio State to finish in fourth place in the Big Ten with a record of 12–6 record and 24–7 overall. They finished the season ranked 18th in the country.
As the No. 4 seed tn the Big Ten tournament , they beat Ohio State 67–60 led by Drew Netizel's season-high 28 points.[ 11] In the semifinals, MSU led by as many as 12 in the second half, they were defeated by two points by No. 8 Wisconsin.[ 12] The Spartans were called for 30 fouls in the game and had four players foul out.[ 12]
The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament to mark their 11th consecutive trip to the Tournament under Tom Izzo. As a No. 5 seed, the Spartans, led by Raymar Morgan's 15 points, beat No. 12-seeded Temple 72–61.[ 13] In the Second Round, the Spartans looked to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the seventh time in 11 years. Led by Drew Neitzel's 21 points and Kalin Lucas' 19, the Spartans overcame No. 17 Pittsburgh to move on to the Sweet Sixteen.[ 14] In the Sweet Sixteen , the Spartans faced No. 2-ranked Memphis . Led by Derrick Rose's 27 points, the Tigers routed the Spartans, leading 50–20 at the half and cruising to 18-point win over MSU.[ 15] Goran Suton led the Spartans with 23 points and Chris Allen had 20.[ 16] It marked senior Drew Neitzel's final game for the Spartans.
Roster
2008–09 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
3
Chris Allen
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Fr
Meadowcreek
Lawrenceville, Georgia
F
10
John Crandell
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
So
Rochester Adams
Rochester, Michigan
G
11
Isaiah Dahlman
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
So
Braham Area
Braham, Minnesota
F
41
Marquise Gray
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
RS Jr
Beecher
Flint, Michigan
C
40
Tom Herzog
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
RS Fr
Powers
Flint, Michigan
C
00
Idong Ibok
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
255 lb (116 kg)
RS Jr
Montverde (Fla) Academy
Lagos, Nigeria
G
20
Mike Kebler
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Fr
Okemos
Okemos, Michigan
G
1
Kalin Lucas
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
Fr
Orchard Lake St. Mary's
Sterling Heights, Michigan
F
2
Raymar Morgan
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
So
McKinley
Canton, Ohio
F
34
Drew Naymick
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
RS Jr
North Muskegon
Muskegon, Michigan
G
11
Drew Neitzel
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Sr
Wyoming Park
Grand Rapids, Michigan
G
15
Durrell Summers
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Fr
Redford Covenant Christian
Detroit , Michigan
F
14
Goran Suton
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
RS Jr
Everett
Lansing, Michigan
G
13
Austin Thornton
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Fr
Cedar Springs
Sand Lake, Michigan
G
5
Travis Walton
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Jr
Lima Senior
Lima, Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: 2016-02-10
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 02, 2007 *7:00 pm, BTN
No. 8
Grand Valley State
L 82–85 2OT
15 – Allen
8 – Gray
4 – Lucas/Walton
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Nov 07, 2007 *7:00 pm, BTN
No. 8
Michigan Tech
W 61–55
16 – Lucas
8 – Suton
4 – Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2007 *7:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 12
Chicago State CBE Classic
W 86–53
1–0
25 – Morgan
15 – Morgan
8 – Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, I
Nov 14, 2007 *7:00 pm
No. 12
Louisiana-Monroe CBE Classic
W 83–65
2–0
17 – Allen
14 – Morgan
5 – Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Nov 19, 2007 *9:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 10
vs. Missouri CBE Classic semifinals
W 86–83
3–0
21 – Neitzel
9 – Suton
5 – Walton
Sprint Center (18,022)Kansas City, MO
Nov 20, 2007 *10:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 11
vs. No. 2 UCLA CBE Classic championship
L 63–68
3–1
13 – Neitzel
6 – Gray
4 – Walton
Sprint Center (16,737)Kansas City, MO
Nov 24, 2007 *4:00 pm, BTN
No. 10
Oakland
W 75–71
4–1
20 – Morgan
20 – Suton
6 – Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Nov 28, 2007 *7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 10
NC State ACC–Big Ten Challenge
W 81–58
5–1
17 – Neitzel
12 – Suton
7 – Walton
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Dec 1, 2007 *7:00 pm, BTN
No. 10
Jacksonville
W 80–51
6–1
24 – Morgan
7 – Morgan
7 – Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Dec 04, 2007 *9:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 9
at Bradley
W 66–61
7–1
15 – Morgan
11 – Suton
5 – Neitzel/Walton
Carver Arena (11,597)Peoria, Il
Dec 8, 2007 *4:00 pm, Versus †
No. 9
at No. 20 BYU
W 68–61
8–1
15 – Morgan/Neitzel
13 – Suton
3 – Walton
EnergySolutions Arena (16,412)Salt Lake City, UT
Dec 15, 2007 *5:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 9
IPFW
W 79–57
9–1
18 – Neitzel
7 – Morgan
5 – Netizel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Dec 19, 2007 *8:00 pm, BTN
No. 9
San Jose State
W 85–45
10–1
16 – Morgan/Summers
7 – Summers/Suton
10 – Walton
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Dec 22, 2007 *6:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 9
vs. No. 4 Texas Spartan Clash
W 78–72
11–1
18 – Lucas/Morgan
9 – Suton
6 – Lucas
The Palace of Auburn Hills (22,076)Auburn Hills, MI
Dec 29, 2007 *4:00 pm, BTN
No. 7
Green Bay
W 93–75
12–1
24 – Morgan
8 – Morgan
11 – Walton
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Big Ten regular season
Jan 5, 2008 8:00 pm, BTN
No. 6
Minnesota
W 65–59
13–1 (1–0)
31 – Morgan
10 – Morgan
7 – Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Jan 8, 2008 9:00 pm, BTN
No. 6
Purdue
W 78–75
14–1 (2–0)
16 – Lucas
10 – Suton
5 – Lucas/Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Jan 12, 2008 8:30 pm, BTN
No. 6
at Iowa
L 36–43
14–2 (2–1)
10 – Morgan/Neitzel
11 – Suton
6 – Neitzel
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,044)Iowa City, IA
Jan 15, 2008 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 9
Ohio State
W 66–60
15–2 (3–1)
13 – Lucas/Neitzel
9 – Suton
5 – Lucas/Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Jan 20, 2008 4:00 pm, BTN
No. 9
at Minnesota
W 78–73
16–2 (4–1)
19 – Neitzel
13 – Suton
6 – Walton
Williams Arena (14,625)Minneapolis, MN
Jan 24, 2008 9:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 7
Northwestern
W 78–62
17–2 (5–1)
23 – Morgan
8 – Morgan/Naymick
6 – Walton
Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,738)Evanston, IL
Jan 27, 2008 1:00 pm, CBS
No. 7
Michigan Rivalry
W 77–62
18–2 (6–1)
18 – Lucas/Neitzel
7 – Neitzel/Suton
8 – Walton
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Jan 30, 2008 9:00 pm, BTN
No. 8
Illinois
W 51–41
19–2 (7–1)
15 – Neitzel
10 – Suton
5 – Walton
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Feb 2, 2008 8:00 pm, BTN
No. 8
at Penn State
L 76–85
19–3 (7–2)
18 – Lucas
9 – Suton
7 – Lucas
Bryce Jordan Center (11,159)University Park, PA
Feb 9, 2008 7:00 pm, BTN
No. 11
Northwestern
W 70–55
20–3 (8–2)
21 – Neitzel
8 – Naymick
4 – Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Feb 12, 2008 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 10
at No. 19 Purdue
L 54–60
20–4 (8–3)
20 – Lucas
7 – Morgan/Suton
4 – Neitzel
Mackey Arena (14,123)West Lafayette, IN
Feb 16, 2008 9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 10
at No. 13 Indiana
L 61–80
20–5 (8–4)
21 – Neitzel
4 – Morgan/Neitzel
4 – Walton
Assembly Hall (17,400)Bloomington, IN
Feb 20, 2008 7:00 pm, BTN
No. 19
Penn State
W 86–49
21–5 (9–4)
16 – Morgan
7 – Gray
8 – Lucas
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Feb 23, 2008 2:00pm, ESPN
No. 19
Iowa
W 66–52
22–5 (10–4)
16 – Morgan
8 – Naymick
5 – Neitzel
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Feb 28, 2008 9:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 19
at No. 10 Wisconsin
L 42–57
22–6 (10–5)
14 – Suton
15 – Suton
3 – Lucas/Neitzel
Kohl Center (17,190)Madison, WI
Mar 2, 2008 2:00 pm, CBS
No. 19
No. 12 Indiana
W 103–74
23–6 (11–5)
20 – Morgan
9 – Suton
11 – Walton
Breslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, MI
Mar 6, 2008 9:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 17
at Illinois
W 59–51
24–6 (12–5)
17 – Neitzel
10 – Suton
4 – Neitzel/Suton/Walton
Assembly Hall (16,618)Champaign, IL
Mar 9, 2008 12:00 pm, BTN
No. 17
at Ohio State
W 63–54
24–7 (12–6)
19 – Morgan
8 – Suton
4 – Lucas
Value City Arena (19,049)Columbus, OH
Big Ten tournament
Mar 14, 2008 *2:30 pm, ESPN
(4) No. 18
vs. (5) Ohio State quarterfinals
W 67–60
25–7
28 – Neitzel
9 – Suton
5 – Walton
Conseco Fieldhouse (15,355)Indianapolis, IN
Mar 15, 2008 *1:40 pm, CBS
(4) No. 19
vs. (1) No. 8 Wisconsin semifinals
L 63–65
25–8
26 – Neitzel
7 – Morgan
3 – Lucas
Conseco Fieldhouse (17,520)Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
Mar 20, 2008 *12:30 pm, CBS
(5 S) No. 20
vs. (12 S) Temple First Round
W 72–61
26–8
15 – Morgan
9 – Suton
7 – Lucas
Pepsi Center (19,010)Denver, CO
Mar 22, 2008 *7:10 pm, CBS
(5 S) No. 18
vs. (4 S) No. 17 Pittsburgh Second Round
W 65–54
27–8
21 – Neitzel
9 – Suton
4 – Neitzel
Pepsi Center (19,299)Denver, CO
Mar 28, 2008 *9:57 pm, CBS
(5 S) No. 20
vs. (1 S) No. 2 Memphis Sweet Sixteen
L 74–92
27–9
23 – Suton
9 – Suton
7 – Neitzel
Reliant Stadium (32,931)Houston, TX
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern Time [ 17] †Versus was scheduled to air the game, but did not due to a mixup with the MTW conference..
Player statistics
Individual player statistics (Final)
Scoring
Total FGs
3-point FGs
Free-Throws
Rebounds
Player
GP
Pts
Avg
FG
FGA
Pct
3FG
3FA
Pct
FT
FTA
Pct
Tot
Avg
A
Stl
Blk
Tov
Allen, Chris
32
202
6.3
70
182
.385
36
100
.360
26
33
.788
39
1.2
20
12
3
29
Crandell, Jon
6
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0.2
1
0
0
0
Dahlman, Isaiah
19
20
1.1
6
16
.375
3
8
.375
5
8
.625
9
0.5
2
0
0
5
Gray, Marquise
36
156
4.3
65
107
.607
0
0
26
40
.650
132
3.7
12
10
9
45
Herzog, Tom
13
14
1.1
6
14
.429
0
0
2
4
.500
14
1.1
0
1
6
1
Ibok, Idong
26
12
0.5
5
10
.500
0
0
2
5
.400
26
1.0
0
0
10
9
Kebler, Mike
9
2
0.2
1
3
.333
0
1
.000
0
1
.000
4
0.4
0
0
0
0
Lucas, Kalin
36
369
10.3
138
320
.431
20
55
.364
73
95
.795
56
1.6
137
30
1
73
Morgan, Raymar
36
505
14.0
187
335
.558
10
33
.303
121
180
.672
221
6.1
58
33
19
83
Naymick, Drew
36
154
4.3
65
100
.650
0
1
.000
24
31
.774
149
4.1
14
11
60
25
Neitzel, Drew
36
501
13.9
165
407
.405
97
244
.398
74
86
.860
90
2.5
145
35
2
51
Summers, Durrell
36
176
4.9
62
123
.504
11
22
.500
41
55
.745
85
2.4
20
5
7
32
Suton, Goran
36
326
9.1
136
247
.551
2
12
.167
52
67
.776
295
8.2
66
38
33
60
Walton, Travis
36
127
3.5
43
112
.384
0
7
.000
41
56
.732
71
4.3
156
33
2
65
Source[ 18]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final AP 8 12 10 10 9 9 9 7 6 6 11 10 8 11 10 19 19 17 19 18 Not released Coaches 8 12 11 13 10 10 10 7 6 6 11 10 7 10 9 17 15 18 19 20 13
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
Source[ 19] [ 20]
Awards and honors
Drew Neitzel – All-Big Ten First Team (Coaches), All-Big Ten Second Team (Media)[ 21]
Raymar Morgan – All-Big Ten Second Team[ 21]
Kalin Lucas – All-Big Ten Honorable Mention[ 21]
Kalin Lucas – Big Ten All-Freshman Team[ 21]
Travis Walton – Big Ten All Defensive Team[ 21]
References
^ "2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings - Postseason (Mar. 23)" . ESPN. March 23, 2008.
^ "Top-ranked UCLA fights back vs. Michigan State" . ESPN.com . Archived from the original on November 24, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "Suton's double-double sparks streaking Spartans" . ESPN.com . Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "Michigan St. turns in it up in 2nd half to beat BYU" . ESPN.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .[dead link ]
^ "Key First-Half Run Powers No. 9 Michigan State Past No. 4 Texas – Michigan State Official Athletic Site" . www.msuspartans.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "Spartans Fall At Iowa, 43-36" . Retrieved January 31, 2017 .
^ "Big Ten leader Purdue knocks off Michigan St" . ESPN.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .[dead link ]
^ "Spartans Fall at Indiana - Michigan State Official Athletic Site" . www.msuspartans.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "Spartan Offense Struggles in Loss at Wisconsin - Michigan State Official Athletic Site" . www.msuspartans.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "No. 19 Spartans Score 103 to Blow Out No. 12 Indiana, 103-74" . Retrieved January 31, 2017 .
^ "No. 19 Michigan State Handles the Buckeyes, 67-60, in the Big Ten tournament - Michigan State Official Athletic Site" . www.msuspartans.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ a b "No. 19 Spartans Edged by No. 8 Badgers - Michigan State Official Athletic Site" . www.msuspartans.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "Spartans Knock Out Temple, 72-61, To Advance To Second Round - Michigan State Official Athletic Site" . www.msuspartans.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "Spartan guards shoot Michigan St. past Pittsburgh" . ESPN.com . Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "Memphis shows top-seed cred, spanks Spartans" . ESPN.com . Archived from the original on April 2, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "Spartans Fall To Memphis" . Retrieved January 31, 2017 .
^ "msuspartans.com Retrieved on October 8, 2010
^ "2007-08 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats" .
^ "NCAA College Basketball Polls, College Basketball Rankings, NCAA Basketball Polls – ESPN" . ESPN.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ "2008 Michigan State Spartans" . College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
^ a b c d e "Neitzel Named First-Team All-Big Ten By League's Coaches – Michigan State Official Athletic Site" . www.msuspartans.com . Retrieved February 10, 2016 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics