1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

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1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
Michigan State Spartans script.svg
Big Ten regular season co-champions
Coca Cola Spartan Classic champions
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 16
1997–98 record22–8 (13–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Captains
Home arenaBreslin Center
Seasons
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No.  16 Michigan State 13 – 3   .813 22 – 8   .733
No. 22 Illinois 13 – 3   .813 23 – 10   .697
No. 11 Purdue 12 – 4   .750 28 – 8   .778
Iowa 9 – 7   .563 20 – 11   .645
Indiana 9 – 7   .563 20 – 12   .625
8 – 8   .500 19 – 13   .594
3 – 13   .188 10 – 17   .370
Wisconsin 3 – 13   .188 12 – 19   .387
1 – 15   .063 8 – 22   .267
No. 12 Michigan* † 0 – 5   .000 0 – 8   .000
** 0 – 10   .000 0 – 15   .000
† 1998 Big Ten Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
*Michigan: 24 reg. season games including Big Ten Tourn. Champ.; 2 NCAA Tourn. games vacated due to sanctions against the program
**Minnesota: 15 games including 5 NIT games and championship vacated due to sanctions against the program
Disputed records: Michigan 25–9, 11–5; Minnesota 20–15, 6–10

The 1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by third-year head coach, Tom Izzo. The Spartans finished the season 22–8, 13–3 in Big Ten play to win a share the regular season Big Ten regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big Ten tournament, they were upset by in the quarterfinals. MSU received a bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East region, marking the school's first appearance in the Tournament since 1995. They defeated Eastern Michigan in the First Round which marked their first Tournament win since 1994. They then defeated Princeton to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1990. There they lost to No. 1-ranked North Carolina.

Previous season[]

The Spartans finished the 1996–97 season 17–12, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. Michigan State received an invitation to the NIT and beat George Washington in the first round. In the second round, they lost to Florida State.

The Spartans lost Jon Garavaglia (10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) and Ray Weathers (13.6 points per game) to graduation 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 sophomore Mateen Cleaves (16.1 points and 7.2 assists per game) and junior Jason Klein (11.2 points per game). This season marked the first year for all four of MSU's "Flintstones", Cleaves (sophomore), Charlie Bell (freshman), Antonio Smith (junior), and Morris Peterson (sophomore), who would end their careers with a National Championship in 2000.

The Spartans played one ranked team in the non-conference season, No. 7 Temple, and lost 56–54.[1] MSU also suffered surprising losses to UIC[2] and Detroit in non-conference.[3] MSU finished the non-conference season at 7–3.

The Spartans opened the Big Ten season with a win against No. 4 Purdue.[4] Following a loss at No. 17 Michigan,[5] the Spartans won their next eight conference games before losing at eventual Big Ten co-champion, Illinois. In January, MSU entered the AP and Coaches rankings for the first time since the end of the 1994–95 season.[6] The Spartans finished in a tie for the conference championship, their first since 1990, with a record of 13–3 in conference play.[7] The Spartans earned the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big Ten Tournament, but lost their first game in the quarterfinals to Minnesota.[7]

The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed in the East Region, their first trip to the Tournament since 1995. MSU advanced to their first Sweet Sixteen since 1990 by beating Eastern Michigan[8][9] and No. 8 Princeton.[10][11][12] The Spartans were eliminated from the tournament by No. 1 North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen.[13]

As of 2021, no MSU team has failed to make the NCAA tournament, a streak which began with the 1997–98 team.

Roster and statistics[]

1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
No Name Pos Class Height Pts Reb Ast
14 Charlie Bell G FR 6–3 9.2 4.4 1.3
20 Steve Cherry G FR 6–6 0.2 0.4 0.0
12 Mateen Cleaves G SO 6–2 16.1 2.5 7.2
30 Doug Davis G FR 6–3 2.1 0.8 0.7
43 A. J. Granger F SO 6–9 2.6 1.8 0.5
34 Andre Hutson F FR 6–8 7.5 5.2 0.8
44 Jason Klein G/F JR 6–7 11.2 3.7 1.3
54 Ken Miller C FR 6–10 0.7 0.8 0.2
42 Morris Peterson F SO 6–6 8.0 3.5 0.9
13 Antonio Smith F JR 6–8 7.9 8.7 1.1
11 David Thomas F SO 6–7 3.5 3.8 0.8
55 Dujuan Wiley C SR 6–9 6.3 3.4 0.3

Source[14][15]

Schedule and results[]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 11, 1997
7:30 pm 		Russia Aquarius W 84–65 
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Non-conference regular season
Nov 17, 1997*
7:30 pm 		East Tennessee State W 82–59  1–0
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Nov 21, 1997*
9:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		at Illinois–Chicago L 58–70  1–1
 UIC Pavilion 
Chicago, IL
Nov 28, 1997*
6:00 pm 		Central Michigan
Coca Cola Spartan Classic semifinals 		W 89–61  2–1
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Nov 29, 1997*
8:00 pm 		Gonzaga
Coca Cola Spartan Classic championship 		W 70–68  3–1
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 4, 1997*
7:30 pm 		No. 20 Temple L 54–56  3–2
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 6, 1997*
7:30 pm 		at Cleveland State W 85–54  4–2
 Wolstein Center 
Cleveland, OH
Dec 13, 1997*
7:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		Detroit Mercy L 65–68  4–3
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 17, 1997*
7:30 pm 		Wright State W 95–52  5–3
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 20, 1997*
5:00 pm, ESPN 		at South Florida W 68–53  6–3
 USF Sun Dome 
Tampa, FL
Dec 27, 1997*
2:00 pm 		Eastern Illinois W 81–69  7–3
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 30, 1997
7:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		at No. 5 Purdue W 74–57  8–3
(1–0) 		Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
Jan 8, 1998
7:30 pm, ESPN 		Wisconsin W 63–40  9–3
(2–0) 		Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 10, 1998
2:30 pm, ESPN Plus Regional 		at No. 17 Michigan
Rivalry 		L 69–79  9–4
(2–1) 		Crisler Center 
Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 14, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		at Minnesota W 74–60  10–4
(3–1) 		Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Jan 17, 1998
12:15 pm, ESPN Plus Regional 		Illinois W 68–64  11–4
(4–1) 		Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 21, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		at No. 10 Iowa W 78–57  12–4
(5–1) 		Carver–Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, IA
Jan 24, 1998
12:15 pm, ESPN Plus Regional 		Penn State W 71–59  13–4
(6–1) 		Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 28, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		No. 22 No. 25 Indiana W 84–66  14–4
(7–1) 		Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 31, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		No. 22 at Northwestern W 72–66 OT 14–4
(8–1) 		Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 4, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		No. 16 at Ohio State W 84–58  16–4
(9–1) 		St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
Feb 7, 1998
12:00 pm, ESPN Plus Regional 		No. 16 No. 24 Iowa W 75–64  17–4
(10–1) 		Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 12, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		No. 13 at Illinois L 63–84  17–5
(10–2) 		Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
Feb 14, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus 		No. 10 Minnesota W 71–59  18–5
(11–2) 		Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 17, 1998
7:30 pm, ESPN 		No. 14 No. 22 Michigan
Rivalry 		W 80-75  19–5
(12–2) 		Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 21, 1998
2:30 pm, ESPN Plus Regional 		No. 14 at Wisconsin W 56–47  20–5
(13–2) 		Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
Feb 28, 1998
2:00 pm, CBS 		No. 10 No. 11 Purdue L 96–99 OT 20–6
(13–3) 		Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Big Ten Tournament
Mar 6, 1998
 (1) No. 12 vs. (8) Minnesota
quarterfinals 		L 73–76  20–7
 United Center 
Chicago, IL
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1998
, CBS 		(4 E) No. 16 vs. (13 E) Eastern Michigan
First Round 		W 83–71  21–7
 Hartford Civic Center 
Hartford, CT
Mar 14, 1998
, CBS 		(4 E) No. 16 vs. (5 E) No. 8 Princeton
Second Round 		W 63–56  22–7
 Hartford Civic Center 
Hartford, CT
Mar 19, 1998
, CBS 		(4 E) No. 16 vs. (1 E) No. 1 North Carolina
Sweet Sixteen 		L 58–73  22–8
 Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll, (#) denotes seed within region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time Source[16][17].

Rankings[]

Main article: 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP22161314101216

Source.[18]

Awards and honors[]

Mateen Cleaves[]

  • Big Ten Player of the Year[19]
  • All-American Second Team[19]
  • All-Big Ten First Team[19]

Tom Izzo[]

Antonio Smith[]

  • All-Big Ten Third Team[19]

Jason Klein[]

  • All-Big Ten Honorable Mention[19]

References[]

  1. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  2. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  3. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  4. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  5. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  6. ^ a b "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  7. ^ a b "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  8. ^ "Men's Hoops Avoids NCAA Upset – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  9. ^ "1998 Michigan State vs. Eastern Michigan Round of 64". ncaa-basketball-tournament.pointafter.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Men's Basketball Knocks off Princeton to Advance to Sweet 16 – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  11. ^ NORWOOD, ROBYN (1998-03-15). "Backdoor Gets Slammed on Princeton". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  12. ^ Curry, Jack (1998-03-15). "1998 N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT: SECOND ROUND -- EAST; Tar Heels Wrest Overtime Victory From Charlotte". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  13. ^ "Men's Hoops Fall to No. 1 UNC, 73-58 – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  14. ^ "1998 Michigan State Spartans". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  15. ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/201516basketballguide.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  16. ^ "1997-98 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  17. ^ "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  18. ^ "1998 Michigan State Spartans". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  19. ^ a b c d e f "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  20. ^ "Men's Basketball Concludes Season 22-8 – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  21. ^ "Men's Basketball Coach nabs Another Award – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
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