1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 120 2nd 2nd 1st 1st Basketball 1996–97 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Spartans script.svg Big Ten Conference Big Ten 17–12 9–9 Tom Izzo Tom Crean Stan Heath Mike Garland Steve Polonowski Antonio Smith Breslin Center Oldsmobile Spartan Classic champions NIT second round 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 Michigan State Official Athletic Site http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev09.html www.msuspartans.com 2016-02-23 March 4, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103509/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev09.html dead and No. 15 Minnesota. Michigan State Official Athletic Site http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev10.html www.msuspartans.com 2016-02-23 March 4, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103510/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev10.html dead 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 Michigan State Official Athletic Site http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev16.html www.msuspartans.com 2016-02-23 February 24, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160224103944/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev16.html dead and at No. 16 Michigan. Michigan State Official Athletic Site http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev18.html www.msuspartans.com 2016-02-23 March 4, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103519/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev18.html dead 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 Michigan State Official Athletic Site http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev28.html www.msuspartans.com 2016-02-23 2016-03-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103522/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev28.html dead and lost in the second round to Florida State. Michigan State Official Athletic Site http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev29.html www.msuspartans.com 2016-02-23 2016-03-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103523/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/events/msu-m-baskbl-ev29.html dead Roster and statistics 1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball teamNameClassPosHeightSummaryMateen CleavesFRG6'2"10.2 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 5.0 AstMonte EvansG5'10"0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 AstJon GaravagliaSRF6'9"10.4 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 1.1 AstA. J. GrangerFRF6'9"1.2 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.2 AstThomas KelleyJRG6'2"5.1 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 1.3 AstJason KleinSOF6'7"4.4 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.4 AstAnthony MullSRG6'4"2.0 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.5 AstMorris PetersonFRF6'7"6.8 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.6 AstSteve PolonowskiSRF6'9"2.8 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.4 AstAntonio SmithSOF6'8"8.5 Pts, 10.6 Reb, 1.5 AstDavid ThomasFRF1.0 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 0.3 AstRay WeathersSRG6'3"13.6 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 1.6 AstJason WebberFRF6'6"1.4 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.2 AstDujuan WileyJRC1.4 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.0 AstSourcehttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1997.html 1996-97 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com en 2018-07-09 Schedule and results no no |- !colspan=9 style=Michigan State Spartans| Exhibition Nov 7, 1996 Russia Select Team Breslin Center East Lansing, MI 84–71 Nov 16, 1996 Marathon Basketball Breslin Center East Lansing, MI 68–69 |- !colspan=9 style=Michigan State Spartans| Regular season Nov 25, 1996 yes East Tennessee State Breslin Center East Lansing, MI 83–45 1–0 Dec 3, 1996 yes Cleveland State Breslin Center East Lansing, MI 83–78 2–0 Dec 5, 1996 yes UIC Breslin Center East Lansing, MI 90–60 3–0 Dec 14, 1996 yes yes Detroit Mercy Calihan Hall Detroit, MI 84–86 3OT 3–1 Dec 17, 1996 yes yes Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN 86–77 4–1 Dec 21, 1996 yes Kansas State Breslin Center East Lansing, MI 75–43 5–1 Dec 27, 1996 yes Kent State Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Oldsmobile Spartan Classic semifinals 83–64 6–1 Dec 28, 1996 yes Weber State Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Oldsmobile Spartan Classic championship 83–51 7–1 Jan 2, 1997 yes Indiana 12 Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN Creative Sports Local 65–77 7–2 0–1 Jan 4, 1997 Minnesota 15 Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Regional 43–68 7–3 0–2 Jan 9, 1997 2:30 pm yes Wisconsin Kohl Center Madison, WI ESPN 58–50 8–3 1–2 Jan 11, 1997 Ohio State Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Local 69–66 9–3 2–2 Jan 15, 1997 yes Penn State Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA Creative Sports Local 85-69 10–3 3–2 Jan 18, 1997 Iowa Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Regional 75–62 11–3 4–2 Jan 22, 1997 Illinois Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Local 63–66 11–4 4–3 Jan 25, 1997 yes Michigan 13 Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Rivalry (non-conference**) Creative Sports Local 62–85 11–5 Jan 29, 1997 yes Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN Creative Sports Local 62–72 11–6 4–4 Feb 1, 1997 yes Michigan 16 Rivalry Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI Creative Sports Regional 65–85 11–7 4–5 Feb 8, 1997 Purdue Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Regional 62–77 11–8 4–6 Feb 12, 1997 Iowa Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Local 69–67 12–8 5–6 Feb 15, 1997 yes Illinois 20 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Creative Sports Local 68–79 12–9 5–7 Feb 19, 1997 yes Northwestern Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL Creative Sports Local 58–70 12–10 5–8 Feb 22, 1997 Penn State Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Local 71–57 13–10 6–8 Feb 26, 1997 yes Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, OH ESPN2 67–65 14–10 7–8 Mar 1, 1997 Wisconsin Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Local 68–49 15–10 8–8 Mar 6, 1997 yes Minnesota 2 Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN Creative Sports Local 74–81 15–11 8–9 Mar 8, 1997 Indiana 25 Breslin Center East Lansing, MI Creative Sports Local 63–60 16–11 9–9 |- !colspan=6 style=Michigan State Spartans|NIT Mar 12, 1998 George Washington Breslin Center East Lansing, MI 65–60 17–11 Mar 17, 1998 yes Florida State Donald L. Tucker Civic Center Tallahassee, FL 63–68 17–12 AP Poll, 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 gameSourcehttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1997-schedule.html 1996-97 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com en 2018-07-09http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/96index.html Michigan State Men's Basketball :: Official Athletic Site www.msuspartans.com 2018-07-09 March 4, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023818/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/96index.html dead References Category:Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Spartans men's basketball Michigan State Spartans men's basketball Michigan State