The 2006–07 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the

2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2006, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on April ...

. The head coach was

Tom Izzo Tom Izzo (, ); born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has led the Spart ...

who was in his 12th year. The team played their home games at the

Breslin Center The Jack Breslin Student Events Center is a multi-purpose arena at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The arena opened in 1989, and is named for Jack Breslin, MSU alumnus, former athlete and administrator, who first began p ...

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. MSU finished the season 23–12, 8–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for seventh place. The Spartans received their tenth consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the Second Round to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Previous season

The

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

finished the 2005–06 season 22–12, 8–8 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place. Michigan State received an at-large bid as a No. 6 seed to the NCAA tournament, their ninth straight trip to the Tournament, and lost in the First Round. The Spartans lost seniors Paul Davis (17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game),

Maurice Ager Maurice Darnell Ager (born February 9, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played at the collegiate level for the Michigan State Spartans from 2002 until 2006, and earned a spot on the 19-and-under USA basketball team ...

(19.3 points per game) and junior

Shannon Brown Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003, and played college basketball for Michigan State ...

(17.2 points per game) to the NBA draft following the season.

Season summary

MSU was led by junior

Drew Neitzel Drew Neitzel (born May 7, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Basketball career High school Neitzel attended Wyoming Park High School in Wyoming, Michigan. He holds the school career records for points (2,462) and assi ...

(18.1 points and 4.3 assist per game) and freshman

Raymar Morgan Raymar Morgan (born August 8, 1988) is an American professional former basketball player. He played college basketball at the Michigan State University. Basketball information High school * Averaged 24.4 points and 9.0 rebounds as a senior at Ca ...

(11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game).

Non-conference

MSU started the season well with wins over Brown, Youngstown State, and The Citidel in East Lansing. The Spartans then participated in the

Coaches vs. Cancer Classic The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic was an annual college basketball tournament event benefiting cancer research held from 2012 to 2014. The event was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and televised by truTV. The tournament replaced t ...

held at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

where they edged out No. 19

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in the semifinals on a Drew Neitzel last second basket. In the championship game, the Spartans lost on a controversial no-call of a shot clock violation which allowed

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to maintain their lead and hold off the Spartans 62–59. Wins over Vermont and Oakland at Breslin Center led to a loss at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

in the

ACC–Big Ten Challenge The ACC–Big Ten Challenge (or Big Ten–ACC Challenge as it was called in alternating years) was an in-season NCAA Division I men's college basketball series that matched up teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Big Ten Confer ...

. MSU closed the non-conference schedule strong, winning their last seven games. However, the Spartans finished the non-conference slate 1–2 in their only trips outside the state of Michigan in the non-conference schedule. MSU finished the non-conference schedule with a record of 13–2, but was not ranked in the polls.

Big Ten play

Following back-to-back losses to open the Big Ten season the prior year, the Spartans again suffered back-to-losses to open the season, this time on the road to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The remaining Big Ten season was a roller coaster with a four-game winning streak immediately followed by a four-game losing streak and losses to Ohio State (ranked No. 4 and No. 5). A win against No. 1

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

highlighted the Big Ten season and likely assured the Spartans a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans finished 8–8 in conference, finishing in a tie for seventh place. MSU lost to Wisconsin after beating Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament.

NCAA Tournament

Helped by the win over No. 1 Wisconsin, the Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the 10th consecutive year, receiving a No. 9 seed, their lowest seed since

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. A victory over Marquette, coached by former Izzo assistant

Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to: *Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor *Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer *Tom Crean (basketball) Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...

, in the First Round of the Tournament was followed by a loss to No. 3

in the Second Round.

Roster

Schedule and results

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Player statistics

Source

Rankings

*''AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.''

Awards and honors

* Drew Neitzel – All-Big Ten First Team * Drew Neitzel – USBWA All-District Team * Travis Walton – Big Ten All-Defensive Team * Drew Neitzel – AP All-American Honorable Mention

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2006-07 Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball Team Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

2006 in sports in Michigan 2007 in sports in Michigan