Nov. 18, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#5/7 Michigan State (1-0)
vs. IPFW (0-1)

November 19, 2008
7 p.m. EST
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Memorial Coliseum

Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas and Matt Steigenga (Color), Adam Ruff (Host) Flagship - WJIM 1240 AM/WMMQ 94.9 FM
TV: None

Michigan State Game Notes

The Opening Tip
After opening with a home victory over Idaho, Michigan State hits the road to play at IPFW. The Spartans and Mastodons are meeting for the fourth straight season, although this is the first game in Fort Wayne. This is the first of five straight games on the road for the Spartans, who will play in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando and against North Carolina at Detroit's Ford Field.

The Starting Five
1. Hitting The Century Mark - Michigan State opened the season with a 100-62 win over Idaho, marking the 40th time in school history the Spartans have scored 100 or more points in a game, although it is just the second time that MSU has scored exactly 100 points. It was the seventh 100-point effort during Tom Izzo's head coaching tenure.

2. MSU's X-Factor - Marquise Gray is averaging 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the last two games against IPFW. He is a real X-factor for the Spartans in the sense that when he is productive, Michigan State will most always win. Gray has scored in double figures 14 times in his career, and the Spartans are 13-1 in those games. The lone loss came against North Carolina in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, where Gray tallied 11 points. In addition, MSU is 4-0 when Gray grabs 10 or more rebounds and 3-0 when he posts a double-double.

3. MSU In November - Michigan State has an all-time record of 77-23 in games played in the month of November. This includes a 56-3 mark at home. The 2006-07 season marked the earliest start ever to a regular season as MSU opened on Nov. 8.

5. Spartans Among Big Ten's Leading Returners - Goran Suton is the Big Ten's leading returning rebounder, having averaged 8.2 boards per game in 2007-08, trailing only Indiana's D.J. White. At 14.0 points per game, Raymar Morgan ranked sixth in the conference in scoring last season, but is the second-leading returning scorer. Travis Walton (4.33 apg) and Kalin Lucas (3.81 apg) rank first and third, respectively, among all returning Big Ten players in assists.

MSU vs. IPFW Notes
Series History - Michigan State leads the all-time series with IPFW, 4-0. This is the fourth straight season the two teams have met, but the first meeting in Fort Wayne.

Coach Fife - Dane Fife (Indiana, '02) is in his fourth season as the head of the IPFW program. He has recorded a 35-54 record as a collegiate head coach. At 29, Fife is the youngest coach in Division I basketball. Before taking over the helm at IPFW, Fife spent two seasons at Indiana as an assistant to former head coach Mike Davis.

The Last Meeting - Michigan State defeated IPFW, 79-57, on Dec. 15, 2007 in East Lansing. MSU scored 36 points in the first 12:54, jumping out to a 36-17 lead. The Spartans then scored 13 points in the next 16:41 as IPFW cut the lead to as few as four points. MSU closed the game by scoring 30 points in the final 10:25. Drew Neitzel led all scorers with 18 points, 16 of which were scored in the first half. Marquise Gray scored a season-high 15 points. The Spartans held a 27-4 advantage in bench scoring.

Mastodon Notes - The Mastodons are led by senior David Carson, who joined IPFW midseason last year after transferring from Oakland. Carson averaged 11.4 points and 5.4 boards last year, ranking second on the team in both categories ... Guard Ben Botts shot .453 from 3-point range last season ... IPFW has two new transfers who are now in the playing rotation: Deilvez Yearby (Kansas State) and Aaron Richie (Central Michigan) ... Like MSU's Goran Suton, IPFW sophomore Igor Mocevic is a native of Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Game 1 Notes - Michigan State 100 - Idaho 62
* Michigan State improved to 88-22 in season openers, having won 31 of the last 32.
* Michigan State improved to 92-18 in home openers, including 77-11 in season openers at home. The Spartans have won 32 straight home openers and have not lost a season opener at home since Dec. 1, 1970.
* Michigan State won its 35th consecutive non-conference home game, good for the third longest streak in the nation.
* Kalin Lucas tied his career high with nine assists.
* Chris Allen scored a career-best 21 points.
* Michigan State out-scored Idaho, 30-8, in points off turnovers.
* By scoring 100 points, Michigan State snapped Idaho's streak of 491 games without allowing an opponent to score 100 or more points, dating back to Nov. 14, 1991.
* Michigan State scored 100 points in the season opener for the first time since 2004-05 and just the fifth time in school history.

MSU Basketball Notes
Individual Accolades - Sophomore guard Kalin Lucas has been tabbed a preseason second-team All-American by The Sporting News. Lucas was also chosen as a second-team All-Big Ten selection by Lindy's College Basketball and Athlon Sports College Basketball. Junior forward Raymar Morgan was a first-team all-conference selection as chosen by Lindy's and Athlon. Athlon also selected senior center Goran Suton as a third-team all-league player.

MSU's Home-Court Advantage - Michigan State has won 35 straight non-conference home games at the Breslin Center, good for the third-longest active streak in the nation. Only Duke (62; Nov. 23 vs. Montana) and Sam Houston State (44; Nov. 20 vs. North Texas) have longer active streaks. Since the Breslin Center opened for the 1989-90 season, Michigan State has posted a 255-37 (.873) home record, including 158-13 (.924) in the last 11 seasons. Last year, the Spartans were 17-0 at Breslin, finishing the season as the only Big Ten squad with a perfect home mark. Michigan State has won 21 straight home games, dating back to Feb. 3, 2007, a loss to No. 4 Ohio State.

Exhibition Recap - The Spartans were impressive in two exhibition games, winning a pair of contests by large margins. MSU opened with a 118-57 victory over Northern Michigan, led by Durrell Summers with 30 points in 16 minutes. The Spartans followed with a 112-69 win over Lake Superior State, paced by Raymar Morgan with 23 points and 11 rebounds in 17 minutes. In two games, Summers averaged 24.0 points, while Morgan averaged 21.0 points and 9.0 rebounds. The Spartans shot 52.0 percent from the floor and averaged 115.0 points. MSU was also aggressive on the defensive end of the court, averaging 16.0 steals.

A Noteworthy Frontcourt - Michigan State's frontcourt is ranked among the nation's best according to both Sports Illustrated's Luke Winn (No. 4) and Lindy's College Basketball (No. 4).

Keys To Success - If recent trends continue, look for Michigan State to pace the conference in rebounding and shooting. Last season, MSU led the league in field-goal percentage (.480) for a fifth-straight season, and in rebound margin (+6.8) for the ninth time in 11 years.

Big Ten Favorites - Michigan State men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the Big Ten in a vote by a 22-member media panel. Purdue was named the preseason conference favorite at Big Ten Basketball Media Day in Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 26. Spartan junior Raymar Morgan was named preseason All-Big Ten. Purdue swingman Robbie Hummel was named the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. In addition to Morgan, he was joined on the all-league team by teammate E'Twaun Moore, Michigan's Manny Harris and Wisconsin's Marcus Landry. The Badgers round out the top three in the preseason team rankings.

Spartans On The Run - Michigan State averaged 115.0 points in two exhibition games, a sign of the up-tempo pace the Spartans hope to play in 2008-09. This year's edition of the Spartans could challenge the 2004-05 squad for the highest-scoring team of the Tom Izzo era. In '04-05, MSU averaged 78.5 points en route to a Final Four appearance.

Morgan Makes Wooden Award List - Raymar Morgan was selected one of the top 50 preseason candidates for the 2008-09 John R. Wooden Award. The John R. Wooden Award, presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, has been presented annually since 1976. Neitzel and Purdue's Robbie Hummel are the only Big Ten players on the preseason list for the Wooden Award.

An Impressive Streak - Michigan State made its 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008. It is the longest current streak among Big Ten schools and fifth longest in the nation. Only Arizona (24), Kansas (19), Kentucky (17) and Duke (13) have longer current streaks. It is also the second longest streak in Big Ten history. Indiana appeared in 18 consecutive tournaments between 1986 and 2003.

Spartans In The NBA - Eight former Spartans are currently on NBA rosters, including Maurice Ager (New Jersey Nets), Charlie Bell (Milwaukee Bucks), Shannon Brown (Charlotte Bobcats), Paul Davis (Los Angeles Clippers), Morris Peterson (New Orleans Hornets), Zach Randolph (New York Knicks), Jason Richardson (Charlotte Bobcats) and Eric Snow (Cleveland Cavaliers).

Home Sweet Home - During Tom Izzo's career as head coach, the Spartans are 181-22 (.892) at home, including 158-13 (.924) over the last 11 years.

Playing The Toughest Schedule - Virtually every program in the nation boasts that they play a tough schedule. Tough is an ambiguous term, but the strength of schedule can be quantified by how many ranked opponents a team plays. A comprehensive study of every BCS conference team as well as other selected teams with NCAA Tournament success since the 1997-98 season (the first year of MSU's 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances) revealed that no school in America has played more ranked opponents than MSU since 1997-98, and that the Spartans' non-conference schedule also ranks among the best in the nation.

Ranked Opponents (All Games)
1.Michigan State - 114
North Carolina - 114
3. Kentucky - 110
4. Maryland - 105
Georgia Tech - 105
6. Duke - 103
Arizona - 103
8. Illinois - 102
9. North Carolina State - 99
Florida State - 99

Ranked Opponents (Regular-Season Non-Conference Games)
1. Gonzaga - 40
2. Kentucky - 39
Arizona - 39
4. Michigan State - 35
5. Texas - 33
6. UCLA - 30
Indiana - 30
8. Duke - 28
9. North Carolina - 27
Illinois - 27
Memphis - 27

- Eight Big Ten schools (Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio State) all rank among the top 30 schools in regards to number of ranked non-conference opponents played in the regular season. The Big East has the second-highest number of schools with six, followed by the Big 12 and ACC with four each and SEC and Pac-10 with three each.

- The 2008-09 schedule should only cement Michigan State's position as eight different schools, including six scheduled or possible non-conference opponents, are ranked in the various preseason polls. With Kansas playing in East Lansing this season, 13 of the last 14 NCAA Champions will have played a game at the Breslin Center during Tom Izzo's coaching career.

Michigan State * 1979 NCAA Champions
30th Anniversary Moment
Dec. 13, 1978
The 1978-79 Spartans hit the road for the first time in their third game of the season, traveling to Western Michigan. MSU defeated the Broncos, 109-69, behind 27 points and 10 rebounds from Jay Vincent. Earvin Johnson narrowly missed a triple-double, equalling his career high of 14 assists and adding 19 points, nine rebounds and six steals. Greg Kelser chipped in 24 points for the Spartans, who shot 63.8 percent from the field. Michigan State out-scored Western Michigan, 56-18, in the first half.

The Book On Tom Izzo
Coach Izzo - In his 14th year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 306-130 (.702), and 145-69 (.678) in the Big Ten, as the coach of the Michigan State basketball program. In 2005, he passed Benjamin Van Alstyne to become the second-winningest coach in MSU history, trailing only Jud Heathcote (340) in total wins. In his 13 seasons as a head coach, Izzo has won National Coach of the Year honors four times, including the Clair Bee Award in 2005 and NABC honors in 2001. In 1999, Izzo was named National Coach of the year by Basketball Times, while earning similar honors from The Associated Press, Basketball News and the USBWA in '98.

Among The Big Ten's Best - Tom Izzo's .678 winning percentage in Big Ten games ranks third all-time among league coaches with at least 10 years of service, behind former Indiana coach Bob Knight (.700) and Purdue's Ward Lambert (.685). In all games, Knight ranks first at .734, followed by Wisconsin's Walter Meanwell (.712), Lambert (.709) and Izzo (.702). With 145 conference victories, Izzo ranks 11th all-time.

Izzo Against Ranked Opponents - In his 14 years of coaching, Tom Izzo is 65-64 against ranked opponents.

Izzo Among Best Ever - Through his first 13 seasons, Tom Izzo won 305 games, ranking seventh in college basketball history for most wins by a college coach in his first 13 years.

Graduating Student-Athletes - In Tom Izzo's 13 full years directing the Spartan program, 83 percent of his players who completed their eligibility also left with a degree. In the last nine years, 29 Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees, including five each in 2001, 2003 and 2007.

Izzo's Coaching Tree - Five current Division I head coaches all served as assistants to Tom Izzo, including Jim Boylen (Utah), Tom Crean (Indiana), Brian Gregory (Dayton), Stan Heath (South Florida) and Doug Wojcik (Tulsa). Gregory is in his sixth year as head coach, after leaving MSU in the spring of 2003. Crean directed Marquette to the 2003 Final Four, while Heath directed Kent State to the Elite Eight in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Wojcik is in his fourth season at Tulsa. Mike Garland served as head coach at Cleveland State for three seasons after leaving Izzo's staff in 2003. He is now back as an assistant coach at MSU. Most recently, Jim Boylen left MSU following the 2007 season, and is in his second season with Utah. Stan Joplin, an assistant during Izzo's first season, spent 12 seasons as head coach at Toledo.