Nov. 6, 2005

EAST LANSING, Mich. -

Michigan State
vs. Lake Superior State

Nov. 7, 2005 - 7 p.m.
East Lansing, Mich.
Breslin Center (14,759)

MSU Game Notes
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Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WMMQ 94.9 FM/WJIM 1240 AM

TV: None

Scouting The Lakers - Lake Superior State head coach Mike Fitzner is entering his third season directing the Laker program. LSSU returns just two players, junior guards Dave Zeitlin and Brock Bower, from last year's 9-19 squad. Zeitlin started 12 games last year at point guard, finishing second on the team with 67 assists. Bower came off the bench to average 7.3 points and 3.6 rebounds. The Lakers will have some game experience by the time they visit the Breslin Center. They played a two-game preseason exhibition tour in Canada in early September, splitting a pair of contests. On Nov. 4, LSSU played another exhibition contest against Laurentian, claiming a 77-66 victory behind 18 points from freshman guard Mark Morse.

Big Ten Favorites - Michigan State was named the Big Ten preseason favorite at the league's media day on Oct. 30 in Chicago. The Spartans are followed by Illinois and Indiana in the poll. Paul Davis also earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten squad.

MSU Is A "Powerhouse Program" - ESPN named Michigan State one of the 10 "Powerhouse Programs" in college basketball. Of the 10 schools featured, only seven were division I men's programs. MSU was joined by Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, division II Kentucky Wesleyan, and the Tennessee and Connecticut women's programs. The television program featuring the list was part of ESPNU's Honor Roll series.

Green-White Recap - Maurice Ager led all scorers with 26 points in the Green-White game on Oct. 29. Shannon Brown was the second-leading scorer with 20 points, while also recording six assists. Drew Neitzel added 11 points and 12 assists, while Paul Davis grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Goran Suton displayed some offensive skills, scoring 18 points and grabbing six boards.

Four Final Fours In Seven Years - Michigan State is the only team to have appeared in four of the last seven Final Fours and just the eighth school in NCAA history to appear in four Final Fours in any seven-year period. The other schools are Cincinnati, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and UCLA, Tom Izzo became just the sixth coach in NCAA history to lead a team to four Final Fours in a seven-year span, joining John Wooden, Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Denny Crum and Henry Iba.

MSU Is No. 1 - The Sporting News has tabbed Michigan State as its preseason No. 1 team, listing the Spartans' strengths as "two elite playmaking wings; size and skill at center; toughness." The publication also lists Maurice Ager as the No. 2 shooting guard in the nation and a second-team All-American. Paul Davis is the No. 4 center and Shannon Brown is ranked the No. 9 small forward. As a unit, the Spartan backcourt is ranked second in the nation.

A High Octane Offense - Michigan State led the Big Ten and ranked 13th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 78.5 points per game. It was MSU's highest scoring-offense since the 1985-86 Spartans averaged 83.1 points. The Spartans return three of their top four scorers and a starting point guard to help key the attack.

America's Best Backcourt - Lindy's College Basketball preseason magazine ranked Michigan State's backcourt the best in the nation: "The backcourt was solid enough to get the Spartans to the Final Four last season and that should be the case again in 2006. Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager will be the `wings' and either could be defined as a `shooting guard,' if you like to see players locked into position descriptions. They're both explosive enough to jump over the top or drive past any variety of defender. Drew Neitzel was solid the last half of the season as the team's playmaker and should be much improved as a sophomore."

Returning Talent - Michigan State lost three 1,000-point scorers from last year's squad, yet it returns four starters from the Final Four starting lineup, including 83 percent of its scoring and 76 percent of its rebounds from the National Semifinal game against North Carolina. Paul Davis was the NCAA Tournament's leading rebounder, averaging 11.6 boards per game. Shannon Brown was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Austin Regional, scoring a career-high 24 points against Kentucky. Maurice Ager was MSU's leading scorer during the regular season (14.1 ppg) and the NCAA Tournament (18.2 ppg) and scored a career-high tying 24 points against the Tar Heels. Drew Neitzel took over the starting duties in February and increased his productivity in the NCAA Tournament, raising his scoring average from 3.3 ppg in the regular season to 5.0 ppg in the tournament.

MSU On TV - Michigan State is also slated to appear on television at least 30 times, including up to 17 times on national television (4 CBS, 7 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU and 2 appearances that will either be on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU).

Mr. Double-Double - Paul Davis elevated his level of play over the last two months of the season, recording a double-double in eight of the final 15 games, including the last four NCAA Tournament contests. His best effort might have come in the Sweet 16 when he out-scored (20 to 19) and out-rebounded (12 to 8) Duke's Shelden Williams. In the Final Four, against North Carolina's Sean May, Davis recorded a career-best 15 rebounds.

Another Tough Schedule - The Spartan schedule includes 10 teams that appeared in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, including six non-league opponents (Arizona, Boston College, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga and Kansas) and four league foes (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin).

Izzo's Busy Summer - In addition to the always-busy summer recruiting season, Coach Tom Izzo enjoyed a few unique opportunities. In July, he had the opportunity to play golf with Tiger Woods at the Buick Open Pro-Am, prompting Woods to say "he's a guy that if I was playing ball, he's the type of guy that I'd want to go play for.' In mid-August, Izzo was one of a select number of coaches at Michael Jordan's Senior Flight School. The summer closed with Izzo traveling to Kuwait to take part in "Operation Hardwood - Hoops With The Troops." Izzo was one of eight coaches and sports personalities coaching 13-member military basketball teams on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from Aug. 27-31. Camp Arifjan defeated the other bases to win the championship under the direction of Coach Izzo.