1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by third-year head coach, Tom Izzo. The Spartans finished the season 22–8, 13–3 in Big Ten play to win a share the regular season Big Ten regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big Ten tournament, they were upset by Minnesota in the quarterfinals. MSU received a bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East region, marking the school's first appearance in the Tournament since 1995. They defeated Eastern Michigan in the First Round which marked their first Tournament win since 1994. They then defeated Princeton to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1990. There they lost to No. 1-ranked North Carolina.

1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
Big Ten regular season co-champions
Coca Cola Spartan Classic champions
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 16
1997–98 record22–8 (13–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Captains
Home arenaBreslin Center
1997–98 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No.  16 Michigan State13–3 .813  22–8  .733
No. 22 Illinois13–3 .813  23–10  .697
No. 11 Purdue12–4 .750  28–8  .778
Iowa9–7 .563  20–11  .645
Indiana9–7 .563  20–12  .625
Penn State8–8 .500  19–13  .594
Northwestern3–13 .188  10–17  .370
Wisconsin3–13 .188  12–19  .387
Ohio State1–15 .063  8–22  .267
No. 12 Michigan* †0–5 .000  0–8  .000
Minnesota**0–10 .000  0–15  .000
† 1998 Big Ten Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
*Michigan: 24 reg. season games including Big Ten Tourn. Champ.; 2 NCAA Tourn. games vacated due to sanctions against the program
**Minnesota: 15 games including 5 NIT games and championship vacated due to sanctions against the program
Disputed records: Michigan 25–9, 11–5; Minnesota 20–15, 6–10

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1996–97 season 17–12, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. Michigan State received an invitation to the NIT and beat George Washington in the first round. In the second round, they lost to Florida State.

The Spartans lost Jon Garavaglia (10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) and Ray Weathers (13.6 points per game) to graduation 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 sophomore Mateen Cleaves (16.1 points and 7.2 assists per game) and junior Jason Klein (11.2 points per game). This season marked the first year for all four of MSU's "Flintstones", Cleaves (sophomore), Charlie Bell (freshman), Antonio Smith (junior), and Morris Peterson (sophomore), who would end their careers with a National Championship in 2000.

The Spartans played one ranked team in the non-conference season, No. 7 Temple, and lost 56–54.[1] MSU also suffered surprising losses to UIC[2] and Detroit in non-conference.[3] MSU finished the non-conference season at 7–3.

The Spartans opened the Big Ten season with a win against No. 4 Purdue.[4] Following a loss at No. 17 Michigan,[5] the Spartans won their next eight conference games before losing at eventual Big Ten co-champion, Illinois. In January, MSU entered the AP and Coaches rankings for the first time since the end of the 1994–95 season.[6] The Spartans finished in a tie for the conference championship, their first since 1990, with a record of 13–3 in conference play.[7] The Spartans earned the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big Ten Tournament, but lost their first game in the quarterfinals to Minnesota.[7]

The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed in the East Region, their first trip to the Tournament since 1995. MSU advanced to their first Sweet Sixteen since 1990 by beating Eastern Michigan[8][9] and No. 8 Princeton.[10][11][12] The Spartans were eliminated from the tournament by No. 1 North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen.[13]

As of 2019, no MSU team has failed to make the NCAA tournament, a streak which began with the 1997–98 team.

Roster and statistics
1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
No Name Pos Class Height Pts Reb Ast
14 Charlie Bell G FR 6–3 9.2 4.4 1.3
20 Steve Cherry G FR 6–6 0.2 0.4 0.0
12 Mateen Cleaves G SO 6–2 16.1 2.5 7.2
30 Doug Davis G FR 6–3 2.1 0.8 0.7
43 A. J. Granger F SO 6–9 2.6 1.8 0.5
34 Andre Hutson F FR 6–8 7.5 5.2 0.8
44 Jason Klein G/F JR 6–7 11.2 3.7 1.3
54 Ken Miller C FR 6–10 0.7 0.8 0.2
42 Morris Peterson F SO 6–6 8.0 3.5 0.9
13 Antonio Smith F JR 6–8 7.9 8.7 1.1
11 David Thomas F SO 6–7 3.5 3.8 0.8
55 Dujuan Wiley C SR 6–9 6.3 3.4 0.3

Source[14][15]

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 11, 1997
7:30 pm		 Russia Aquarius W 84–65 
Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Non-conference regular season
Nov 17, 1997*
7:30 pm		 East Tennessee State W 82–59  1–0
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Nov 21, 1997*
9:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 at Illinois–Chicago L 58–70  1–1
 UIC Pavilion 
Chicago, IL
Nov 28, 1997*
6:00 pm		 Central Michigan
Coca Cola Spartan Classic semifinals		 W 89–61  2–1
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Nov 29, 1997*
8:00 pm		 Gonzaga
Coca Cola Spartan Classic championship		 W 70–68  3–1
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 4, 1997*
7:30 pm		 No. 20 Temple L 54–56  3–2
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 6, 1997*
7:30 pm		 at Cleveland State W 85–54  4–2
 Wolstein Center 
Cleveland, OH
Dec 13, 1997*
7:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 Detroit Mercy L 65–68  4–3
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 17, 1997*
7:30 pm		 Wright State W 95–52  5–3
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 20, 1997*
5:00 pm, ESPN		 at South Florida W 68–53  6–3
 USF Sun Dome 
Tampa, FL
Dec 27, 1997*
2:00 pm		 Eastern Illinois W 81–69  7–3
 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Big Ten regular season
Dec 30, 1997
7:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 at No. 5 Purdue W 74–57  8–3
(1–0)		 Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
Jan 8, 1998
7:30 pm, ESPN		 Wisconsin W 63–40  9–3
(2–0)		 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 10, 1998
2:30 pm, ESPN Plus Regional		 at No. 17 Michigan
Rivalry		 L 69–79  9–4
(2–1)		 Crisler Center 
Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 14, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 at Minnesota W 74–60  10–4
(3–1)		 Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Jan 17, 1998
12:15 pm, ESPN Plus Regional		 Illinois W 68–64  11–4
(4–1)		 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 24, 1999
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 at No. 10 Iowa W 78–57  12–4
(5–1)		 Carver–Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, IA
Jan 24, 1998
12:15 pm, ESPN Plus Regional		 Penn State W 71–59  13–4
(6–1)		 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 28, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 No. 22 No. 25 Indiana W 84–66  14–4
(7–1)		 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 31, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 No. 22 at Northwestern W 72–66 OT 14–4
(8–1)		 Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 4, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 No. 16 at Ohio State W 84–58  16–4
(9–1)		 St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
Feb 7, 1998
12:00 pm, ESPN Plus Regional		 No. 16 No. 24 Iowa W 75–64  17–4
(10–1)		 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 12, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 No. 13 at Illinois L 63–84  17–5
(10–2)		 Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
Feb 14, 1998
8:00 pm, ESPN Plus		 No. 10 Minnesota W 71–59  18–5
(11–2)		 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 17, 1998
7:30 pm, ESPN		 No. 14 No. 22 Michigan
Rivalry		 W 71–58  19–5
(12–2)		 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 21, 1998
2:30 pm, ESPN Plus Regional		 No. 14 at Wisconsin W 56–47  20–5
(13–2)		 Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
Feb 28, 1998
2:00 pm, CBS		 No. 10 No. 11 Purdue L 96–99 OT 20–6
(13–3)		 Breslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
Big Ten Tournament
Mar 6, 1998
 (1) No. 12 vs. (8) Minnesota
quarterfinals		 L 73–76  20–7
 United Center 
Chicago, IL
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1999
, CBS		 (4 E) No. 16 vs. (13 E) Eastern Michigan
First Round		 W 83–71  21–7
 Hartford Civic Center 
Hartford, CT
Mar 14, 1998
, CBS		 (4 E) No. 16 vs. (5 E) No. 8 Princeton
Second Round		 W 63–56  22–7
 Hartford Civic Center 
Hartford, CT
Mar 19, 1999
, CBS		 (4 E) No. 16 vs. (1 E) No. 1 North Carolina
Sweet Sixteen		 L 58–73  22–8
 Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC

*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll, (#) denotes seed within region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time

Source[16][17].

Rankings
Main article: 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final 
AP 22 16 13 14 10 12 16

Source.[18]

Awards and honors

Mateen Cleaves
  • Big Ten Player of the Year[19]
  • All-American Second Team[19]
  • All-Big Ten First Team[19]

Tom Izzo

Antonio Smith
  • All-Big Ten Third Team[19]

Jason Klein
  • All-Big Ten Honorable Mention[19]

References
  1. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  2. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  3. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  4. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  5. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  6. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  7. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  8. "Men's Hoops Avoids NCAA Upset – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  9. "1998 Michigan State vs. Eastern Michigan Round of 64". ncaa-basketball-tournament.pointafter.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  10. "Men's Basketball Knocks off Princeton to Advance to Sweet 16 – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  11. NORWOOD, ROBYN (1998-03-15). "Backdoor Gets Slammed on Princeton". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  12. Curry, Jack (1998-03-15). "1998 N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT: SECOND ROUND -- EAST; Tar Heels Wrest Overtime Victory From Charlotte". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  13. "Men's Hoops Fall to No. 1 UNC, 73-58 – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  14. "1998 Michigan State Spartans". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  15. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/201516basketballguide.pdf
  16. "1997-98 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  17. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  18. "1998 Michigan State Spartans". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  19. "Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  20. "Men's Basketball Concludes Season 22-8 – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  21. "Men's Basketball Coach nabs Another Award – Michigan State Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
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