Nov. 22, 2005

LAHAINA, Hawai'i -

No. 12/12 Michigan State (1-1)
vs. #8/9 Gonzaga (2-0)

Nov. 22, 2005
7 p.m. EST
Lahaina, Hawai'i
Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)

Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WMMQ 94.9 FM/WJIM 1240 AM
TV: ESPN - Sean McDonough (Play by Play), Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery (Color)

The Opening Tip
Michigan State faces Gonzaga in the semifinals of the 2005 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. In the first round, the Spartans started off slow against Chaminade, but a late first-half flury and a strong second half provided an 89-67 victory. MSU is facing a Gonzaga squad that was impressive in an 88-76 win over Maryland. The last time the Spartans and Bulldogs met, MSU claimed a 77-62 victory in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State Game Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader

The Starting Five
MSU In Maui - This year's tournament marks Michigan State's third appearance in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. The Spartans won the tournament in their first trip to Maui in 1991. MSU knocked off Lamar, 81-68, and Rice, 75-67, in the first two rounds, before upsetting No. 2 ranked Arkansas, 86-71. MSU used the momentum of the tournament to open the 1991-92 season with a 10-0 record. Four years later, the Spartans returned to Maui in 1995. State defeated Chaminade, 69-66, in the opening game, before falling to North Carolina, 92-70, and Santa Clara, 77-71.

Spartans In Hawai'i - Michigan State has an all-time record of 11-6 in Hawai'i. The Spartans won the 1998 Pearl Harbor Classic in Laie and the 1991 Maui Invitational. MSU also participated in the 1965 (2-1) and 1981 (1-2) Rainbow Classics and the 1995 Maui Invitational (1-2). This season, MSU is 1-1 in Hawai'i.

Mr. Double-Double - With double-doubles in both games this season, Paul Davis has now recorded a double-double in 10 of the last 17 games. Davis elevated his level of play over the last two months of last 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.

Climbing The Charts - Paul Davis is making his way up the Michigan State career scoring charts. He currently ranks 26th in MSU history with 1,168 points. He needs nine points to pass Lee Lafayette (1,176 points) and 18 points to pass Mike Peplowski (1,185 points). Maurice Ager (937 points) will also join the 1,000-point club in the near future.

Take Care Of The Ball - One key to the Michigan State-Gonzaga game might be which team can limit the turnovers. Through two games, the Spartans are averaging 17.0 turnovers compared to 17.5 for the Bulldogs. If there is good news for the Spartans it is that their point guards are valuing the basketball as Drew Neitzel and Travis Walton have combined for 19 assists and just seven turnovers.

Game 2 Notes - Michigan State 89 - Chaminade 67
* With MSU leading 35-34, Shannon Brown scored five straight points in the final 23 seconds of the first half to give the Spartans a 40-34 halftime lead.
* MSU's point guards (Drew Neitzel and Travis Walton) combined for 13 assists and just four turnovers.
* Drew Neitzel dished out a career-best eight assists.
* Michigan State shot 77.8 percent from 3-point range (7-of-9), including 5-of-5 in the second half.
* Shannon Brown recorded a career-best five steals.
* Michigan State's freshmen combined to score 23 points after recording just nine points against Hawai'i.

Gonzaga Notes
Coach Few - Mark Few (Oregon, '87) is 161-37 in his seventh season as head coach at Gonzaga. Overall, this is his 17th season with the Bulldogs.

Bulldog Bits - Through two games, the Bulldogs are shooting 52.8 percent from the field this season, but just 34.4 percent from 3-point range ... Gonzaga has three players averaging at least 20 points per game (J.P. Batista - 22.0; Derek Raivio - 21.5; Adam Morrison - 20.0) ... Morrison is Gonzaga's first Associated Press Preseason All-American.

Series History - Michigan State leads the all-time series, 2-0. The most recent meeting came in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2001 NCAA Tournament, with the Spartans claiming a 77-62 victory in Atlanta. Charlie Bell (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Andre Hutson (19 points, 10 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles to pace the Spartans, while MSU out-rebounded GU, 49-29.

MSU Basketball Notes
An Offensive Threat - By his own admission, Drew Neitzel just tried to run the offense last season as a true freshman point guard and get the ball to the other weapons on the team. He recorded an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1-to-1, but averaged just 3.5 points per game and attempted just 3.4 shots per contest. A prolific scorer in high school, Neitzel will look to score more this season. He is averaging 7.0 shots per game, while maintaining a 2.75-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

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 In November - Michigan State has an all-time record of 62-19 in games played in the month of November.

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.

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."

MSU In NCAA Stats - Michigan State finished the 2004-05 season ranked in the top 15 nationally in six statistical categories, including free-throw percentage (3rd, 77.7), scoring margin (7th, +13.1), assists per game (10th, 17.1), field-goal percentage (13th, 48.7), rebound margin (11th, +6.8) and scoring offense (13th, 78.5).

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.

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.

Winning The Right Way - In addition to excelling on the court, the Spartans are standouts in the classroom. Seventeen Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees over the last six years, including five each in 2001 and 2003.

Spartans In The NBA - Listed below is an update on seven former Spartans currently on NBA rosters: (Stats through Nov. 12)

	Alan Anderson (Charlotte): 1 GP, 19.0 mpg, 8.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.0 apg
	Charlie Bell (Milwaukee): 5 GP, 9.6 mpg, 3.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.8 apg
	Mateen Cleaves (Seattle): 4 GP, 12.0 mpg, 4.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 2.3 apg
	Morris Peterson (Toronto): 5 GP, 29.4 mpg, 13.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
	Zach Randolph (Portland): 5 GP, 38.2 mpg, 20.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 1.4 apg
	Jason Richardson (Golden State): 7 GP, 39.1 mpg, 20.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.4 apg
	Eric Snow (Cleveland): 6 GP, 26.7 mpg, 3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.0 apg