2007–08 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

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.

2007–08 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 18
Record	27–9 (12–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Tom Izzo (13th season)
Associate head coach	Mark Montgomery (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Dwayne Stephens (5th season) Mike Garland (1st season)
Captains	Drew Neitzel Travis Walton
Home arena	Breslin Center
Seasons ← 2006–07 2008–09 →

2007–08 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 6 Wisconsin†	16	–	2		.889			31	–	5		.861
No. 20 Purdue	15	–	3		.833			25	–	9		.735
Indiana	14	–	4		.778			25	–	8		.758
No. 18 Michigan State	12	–	6		.667			27	–	9		.750
Ohio State	10	–	8		.556			24	–	13		.649
Minnesota	8	–	10		.444			20	–	14		.588
Penn State	7	–	11		.389			15	–	16		.484
Iowa	6	–	12		.333			13	–	19		.406
Illinois	5	–	13		.278			16	–	19		.457
Michigan	5	–	13		.278			10	–	22		.313
Northwestern	1	–	17		.056			8	–	22		.267
† 2008 Big Ten tournament winner As of March 23, 2008 Rankings from AP poll[1]

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 Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan) Assistant coach(es) Mark Montgomery (Michigan State) Dwayne Stephens (Michigan State) Mike Garland (Northern Michigan) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt 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

Legend
GP	Games played	Avg	Average per game
FG	Field-goals made	FGA	Field-goal attempts	Tov	Turnovers
Blk	Blocks	Stl	Steals	A	Assists

Source^[18]

Rankings

Main article: 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ 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

1. "2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings - Postseason (Mar. 23)". ESPN. March 23, 2008.
2. "Top-ranked UCLA fights back vs. Michigan State". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
3. "Suton's double-double sparks streaking Spartans". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
4. "Michigan St. turns in it up in 2nd half to beat BYU". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.^{[dead link]}
5. "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.
6. "Spartans Fall At Iowa, 43-36". Retrieved January 31, 2017.
7. "Big Ten leader Purdue knocks off Michigan St". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.^{[dead link]}
8. "Spartans Fall at Indiana - Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
9. "Spartan Offense Struggles in Loss at Wisconsin - Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
10. "No. 19 Spartans Score 103 to Blow Out No. 12 Indiana, 103-74". Retrieved January 31, 2017.
11. "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.
12. "No. 19 Spartans Edged by No. 8 Badgers - Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
13. "Spartans Knock Out Temple, 72-61, To Advance To Second Round - Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
14. "Spartan guards shoot Michigan St. past Pittsburgh". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
15. "Memphis shows top-seed cred, spanks Spartans". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
16. "Spartans Fall To Memphis". Retrieved January 31, 2017.
17. "msuspartans.com Retrieved on October 8, 2010
18. "2007-08 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats".
19. "NCAA College Basketball Polls, College Basketball Rankings, NCAA Basketball Polls – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
20. "2008 Michigan State Spartans". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
21. "Neitzel Named First-Team All-Big Ten By League's Coaches – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.