# 1971–72 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1971–72 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1971–72 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as members of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by Gus Ganakas in his third year as head coach of the Spartans. They finished the season 13–11, 6–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1970–71 season 10–14, 4–10 in Big Ten play, to finish in a tie for seventh place.

## Roster and statistics

1971–72 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team :
| No | Name | Pos | Year | Height | Pts | Reb |
| 10 | Brad VanPelt | F | JR | 6–5 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| 11 | Gary Ganakas | G | JR | 5–5 | 4.8 | 2.3 |
| 15 | John Benington | G | JR | 6–1 | 0.4 | – |
| 21 | Tery Fagan | G | SO | 5–11 | 0.4 | – |
| 22 | Bill Kilgore | C | JR | 6–7 | 14.8 | 11.1 |
| 24 | Ron Gutkowski | F | SR | 6–6 | 3.3 | 2.3 |
| 25 | Billy Joe DuPree | F | SR | 6–4 | 1.0 | – |
| 31 | Mike Robinson | G | SO | 5–11 | 24.8 | 3.0 |
| 32 | Jeff VanderLende | C | JR | 6–7 | – | – |
| 34 | Tyrone Lewis | G | SO | 6–1 | 2.7 | 1.1 |
| 35 | Pat Miller | G | SR | 6–2 | 9.2 | 5.4 |
| 41 | Allen Smith | F | JR | 6–7 | 9.0 | 5.6 |
| 42 | Brian Breslin | F | JR | 6–5 | 8.0 | 5.5 |
| 44 | Mike Ridley | F | SO | 6–4 | 1.5 | 0.6 |
| 43 | William Cohrs | C | SR | 6–6 | 0.4 | 1.2 |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1971* | at Missouri | L 67–77 | 0–1 | Brewer Fieldhouse Columbia, MO |
| Dec 4, 1971* | South Alabama | W 87–72 | 1–1 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 11, 1971* | Western Michigan | W 66–65 | 2–1 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 13, 1971* | at No. 7 Kentucky | W 91–85 | 3–1 | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY |
| Dec 17, 1971* | vs. Colorado State Volunteer Classic semifinals | W 67–63 | 4–1 | Stokely Center Knoxville, TN |
| Dec 18, 1971* | at Tennessee Volunteer Classic championship | L 61–85 | 4–2 | Stokely Center Knoxville, TN |
| Dec 20, 1971* | at Butler | W 77–71 | 5–2 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 27, 1971* | vs. Texas A&M Bluebonnet Classic semifinals | W 67–65 | 6–2 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| Dec 28, 1971* | at Houston Bluebonnet Classic championship | L 73–106 | 6–3 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| Jan 8, 1972 | at Michigan Rivalry | L 75–83 | 6–4 (0–1) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 11, 1972 | Wisconsin | W 83–76 | 7–4 (1–1) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 18, 1972 | at Northwestern | L 69–76 | 7–5 (1–2) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| Jan 22, 1972 | No. 17 Minnesota | L 57–67 | 7–6 (1–3) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 29, 1972 | Indiana | W 83–73 | 8–6 (2–3) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 1, 1972* | Notre Dame | W 98–74 | 9–6 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 5, 1972 | at Indiana | L 69–83 | 9–7 (2–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 8, 1972 | Illinois | W 89–79 | 10–7 (3–4) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 12, 1972 | at Iowa | W 100–91 | 11–7 (4–4) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| Feb 19, 1972 | at Purdue | L 68–92 | 11–8 (4–5) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 26, 1972 | Iowa | L 98–102 | 11–9 (4–6) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 29, 1972 | at Wisconsin | L 74–101 | 11–10 (4–7) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI |
| Mar 4, 1972 | No. 16 Michigan | W 96–62 | 12–10 (5–7) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 7, 1972 | at Ohio State | L 73–92 | 12–11 (5–8) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Mar 11, 1972 | Northwestern | W 57–54 | 13–11 (6–8) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. Source ||||||