1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

American college basketball season

1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball

Oldsmobile Spartan Classic champions
NIT, second round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	17–12 (9–9 Big Ten)
Head coach	Tom Izzo (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Tom Crean (2nd season) Stan Heath (1st season) Mike Garland (1st season)
Captains	Steve Polonowski Antonio Smith
Home arena	Breslin Center
Seasons← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Iowa	12	–	6	.667	22	–	10	.688
Purdue	12	–	6	.667	18	–	12	.600
No. 19 Illinois	11	–	7	.611	22	–	10	.688
Wisconsin	11	–	7	.611	18	–	10	.643
Indiana	9	–	9	.500	22	–	11	.667
Michigan State	9	–	9	.500	17	–	12	.586
Ohio State	5	–	13	.278	10	–	17	.370
Penn State	3	–	15	.167	10	–	17	.370
Northwestern	2	–	16	.111	7	–	22	.241
No. 3 Minnesota*	0	–	2	.000	0	–	4	.000
Michigan*	0	–	9	.000	0	–	11	.000

Rankings from AP Poll Michigan: 24 games vacated; including NIT champ. vacated due to sanctions against the program Minnesota: 5 NCAA Tournament games vacated due to sanctions against the program Disputed records: Michigan-(24–11)(9–9); Minnesota-(31–4)(16–2)

The 1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. They were coached by second-year head coach, Tom Izzo, and were members of the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans finished the season with a record of 17–12, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. MSU received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament for the second consecutive year where they defeated George Washington in the first round before losing to Florida State in the second round.

As a result of the Big Ten moving to 11 teams with the addition of Penn State in 1992, teams were not guaranteed two games against each other. Accordingly, Michigan and Michigan State, who were only scheduled to play each other once in conference play, chose to play one game against each other that did not count as a conference game.

The season was also notable as the last season MSU did not make the NCAA tournament (as of 2024).

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1995–96 season 16–11, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place. Michigan State received an invitation to the NIT and advanced to the second round.

The Spartans lost Quinton Brooks (16.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game) to graduation and Jamie Feick (10.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game) to the NBA draft following the season.

Season summary

The Spartans began the season looking for their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1995. They were led by freshman Mateen Cleaves (10.2 points and 5.0 assists per game) and seniors Ray Weathers (13.6 points per game) and Jon Garavaglia (10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game). The Spartans played no ranked teams in the non-conference season. The non-conference schedule was notable for a triple overtime loss to Detroit Mercy, a game played at Calihan Hall on Detroit's campus. MSU also avenged their 1995 NCAA tournament loss to Weber State by beating the Wildcats in East Lansing. MSU finished the non-conference season at 7–1.

The Spartans opened the Big Ten season with losses to No. 12 Indiana and No. 15 Minnesota. A four-game winning streak followed, but was stopped by a five-game losing streak including losses to No. 13 Michigan in a non-conference matchup and at No. 16 Michigan. The Spartans ended the season on a high note with a win over No. 25 Indiana. The Spartans finished in a tie for sixth place in the conference with a record of 16–11 overall and 9–9 in conference.

The Spartans received an invitation to the NIT for the second consecutive year. MSU beat George Washington in the first round and lost in the second round to Florida State.

Roster and statistics

1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
Name	Class	Pos	Height	Summary
Mateen Cleaves	FR	G	6'2"	10.2 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 5.0 Ast
Monte Evans		G	5'10"	0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Jon Garavaglia	SR	F	6'9"	10.4 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 1.1 Ast
A. J. Granger	FR	F	6'9"	1.2 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Thomas Kelley	JR	G	6'2"	5.1 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Jason Klein	SO	F	6'7"	4.4 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.4 Ast
Anthony Mull	SR	G	6'4"	2.0 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Morris Peterson	FR	F	6'7"	6.8 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Steve Polonowski	SR	F	6'9"	2.8 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.4 Ast
Antonio Smith	SO	F	6'8"	8.5 Pts, 10.6 Reb, 1.5 Ast
David Thomas	FR	F		1.0 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Ray Weathers	SR	G	6'3"	13.6 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 1.6 Ast
Jason Webber	FR	F	6'6"	1.4 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Dujuan Wiley	JR	C		1.4 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Source

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Exhibition
Nov 7, 1996	Russia Select Team	W 84–71		Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Nov 16, 1996	Marathon Basketball	L 68–69		Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Regular season
Nov 25, 1996*	East Tennessee State	W 83–45	1–0	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Dec 3, 1996*	Cleveland State	W 83–78	2–0	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Dec 5, 1996*	UIC	W 90–60	3–0	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Dec 14, 1996*	at Detroit Mercy	L 84–86	3–1	Calihan Hall Detroit, MI
Dec 17, 1996*	at Evansville	W 86–77	4–1	Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN
Dec 21, 1996*	Kansas State	W 75–43	5–1	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Dec 27, 1996*	Kent State Oldsmobile Spartan Classic semifinals	W 83–64	6–1	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Dec 28, 1996*	Weber State Oldsmobile Spartan Classic championship	W 83–51	7–1	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Jan 2, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	at No. 12 Indiana	L 65–77	7–2 (0–1)	Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN
Jan 4, 1997 , Creative Sports Regional	No. 15 Minnesota	L 43–68	7–3 (0–2)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Jan 9, 1997 2:30 pm, ESPN	at Wisconsin	W 58–50	8–3 (1–2)	Kohl Center Madison, WI
Jan 11, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	Ohio State	W 69–66	9–3 (2–2)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Jan 15, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	at Penn State	W 85-69	10–3 (3–2)	Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA
Jan 18, 1997 , Creative Sports Regional	Iowa	W 75–62	11–3 (4–2)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Jan 22, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	Illinois	L 63–66	11–4 (4–3)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Jan 25, 1997* , Creative Sports Local	No. 13 Michigan Rivalry (non-conference)	L 62–85	11–5	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Jan 29, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	at Purdue	L 62–72	11–6 (4–4)	Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN
Feb 1, 1997 , Creative Sports Regional	at No. 16 Michigan Rivalry	L 65–85	11–7 (4–5)	Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 8, 1997 , Creative Sports Regional	Purdue	L 62–77	11–8 (4–6)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Feb 12, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	Iowa	W 69–67	12–8 (5–6)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Feb 15, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	at No. 20 Illinois	L 68–79	12–9 (5–7)	Assembly Hall Champaign, IL
Feb 19, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	at Northwestern	L 58–70	12–10 (5–8)	Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL
Feb 22, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	Penn State	W 71–57	13–10 (6–8)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Feb 26, 1997 , ESPN2	at Ohio State	W 67–65	14–10 (7–8)	St. John Arena Columbus, OH
Mar 1, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	Wisconsin	W 68–49	15–10 (8–8)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Mar 6, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	at No. 2 Minnesota	L 74–81	15–11 (8–9)	Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
Mar 8, 1997 , Creative Sports Local	No. 25 Indiana	W 63–60	16–11 (9–9)	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
NIT
Mar 12, 1998	George Washington	W 65–60	17–11	Breslin Center East Lansing, MI
Mar 17, 1998	at Florida State	L 63–68	17–12	Donald L. Tucker Civic Center Tallahassee, FL
Non-conference game. Rankings from AP Poll,. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time *Michigan and Michigan State, who were only scheduled to play each other once in conference play, chose to play one game against each other that did not count as a conference game Source.

References

"Forfeits and Vacated Games". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
"Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
"Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
"Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
"Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
"Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
"Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
"1996-97 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
"1996-97 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
"Michigan State Men's Basketball :: Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.

v t e Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
Venues	Armory (1899–1918) IM Circle (1918–1930) Demonstration Hall (1930–1940) Jenison Fieldhouse (1940–1989) Breslin Student Events Center (1989–present)
Rivalries	Michigan
Culture & lore	Basketbowl Champions Classic "The Flintstones" Izzone Michigan State University student riots
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024-25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

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