# 2006–07 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2006–07 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Tom Izzo who was in his 12th year. The team played home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. MSU finished the season 23–12, 8–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for seventh place. The Spartans received their tenth consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the Second Round to North Carolina.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2005–06 season 22–12, 8–8 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place. Michigan State received an at-large bid as a No. 6 seed to the NCAA tournament, their ninth straight trip to the Tournament, and lost in the First Round.
The Spartans lost seniors Paul Davis (17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game), Maurice Ager (19.3 points per game) and junior Shannon Brown (17.2 points per game) to the NBA draft following the season.

## Season summary

MSU was led by junior Drew Neitzel (18.1 points and 4.3 assist per game) and freshman Raymar Morgan (11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game).

### Non-conference

MSU started the season well with wins over Brown, Youngstown State, and The Citidel in East Lansing. The Spartans then participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic held at Madison Square Garden where they edged out No. 19 Texas in the semifinals on a Drew Neitzel last second basket. In the championship game, the Spartans lost on a controversial no-call of a shot clock violation allowing Maryland to maintain their lead and hold off the Spartans 62–59. Wins over Vermont and Oakland at Breslin Center led to a loss at Boston College in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge. MSU closed the non-conference schedule strong, winning their last seven games. However, the Spartans finished the non-conference slate 1–2 in their only trips outside the state of Michigan in the non-conference schedule. MSU finished the non-conference schedule with a record of 13–2, but was not ranked in the polls.

### Big Ten play

Following back-to-back losses to open the Big Ten season the prior year, the Spartans again suffered back-to-losses to open the season, this time on the road to Iowa and Indiana. The remaining Big Ten season was a roller coaster with a four-game winning streak immediately followed by a four-game losing streak and losses to Ohio State (ranked No. 4 and No. 5). A win against No. 1 Wisconsin highlighted the Big Ten season and likely assured the Spartans a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans finished 8–8 in the conference, finishing in a tie for seventh place. MSU lost to Wisconsin after beating Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament.

### NCAA Tournament

Helped by the win over No. 1 Wisconsin, the Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the 10th consecutive year, receiving a No. 9 seed, their lowest seed since 2002. A victory over Marquette, coached by former Izzo assistant Tom Crean, in the First Round of the Tournament was followed by a loss to No. 3 North Carolina in the Second Round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 1, 2006 7:00 pm | | vs. Grand Valley State | W 61–57 | | – | – | – | Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, MI |
| Nov 5, 2006 2:00 pm | | Northern Michigan | W 74–63 | | – | – | – | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 8, 2006* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Brown 2K Sports Hoops Classic | W 45–34 | 1–0 | 12 – Joseph | 6 – Morgan | 2 – 4 Tied | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 9, 2006* 7:30 pm | | Youngstown State 2K Sports Hoops Classic | W 86–61 | 2–0 | 14 – Neitzel | 12 – Suton | 7 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 12, 2006* 5:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | The Citadel | W 73–41 | 3–0 | 17 – Neitzel | 8 – Gray | 5 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 16, 2006* 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 19 Texas 2K Sports Hoops Classic semifinals | W 63–61 | 4–0 | 18 – Morgan | 7 – Tied | 6 – Neitzel | Madison Square Garden (8,103) New York, NY |
| Nov 17, 2006* 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Maryland 2K Sports Hoops Classic finals | L 60–62 | 4–1 | – | – | – | Madison Square Garden (7,398) New York, NY |
| Nov 21, 2006* 7:00 pm | | Vermont | W 66–46 | 5–1 | 26 – Neitzel | 8 – Neitzel | 6 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 25, 2006* 2:00 pm | | Oakland | W 71–53 | 6–1 | 21 – Neitzel | 12 – Gray | 7 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 29, 2006* 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at Boston College ACC/Big Ten Challenge | L 58–65 | 6–2 | 18 – Suton | 9 – Suton | 4 – Tied | Conte Forum (8,606) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| Dec 3, 2006* 12:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | Bradley | W 82–53 | 7–2 | 20 – Neitzel | 8 – Naymick | 9 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 6, 2006* 7:00 pm | | IPFW | W 80–43 | 8–2 | 13 – 3 Tied | 8 – Tied | 7 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 9, 2006* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. BYU Spartan Clash | W 76–61 | 9–2 | 22 – Neitzel | 11 – Suton | 7 – Tied | Palace of Auburn Hills (11,187) Auburn Hills, MI |
| Dec 16, 2006* 7:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | Chicago State | W 69–61 | 10–2 | 32 – Neitzel | 11 – Gray | 5 – Suton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 19, 2006* 7:00 pm | | Belmont | W 67–58 | 11–2 | – | – | – | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 23, 2006* 12:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | Green Bay | W 76–64 | 12–2 | 22 – Neitzel | 15 – Suton | 8 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 30, 2006* 12:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | Loyola (MD) | W 74–61 | 13–2 | 27 – Suton | 11 – Gray | 12 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Jan 4, 2007 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Iowa | L 60–62 | 13–3 (0–1) | 20 – Neitzel | 9 – Suton | 6 – Walton | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,469) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 7, 2007 4:30 pm, CBS | | at Indiana | L 51–73 | 13–4 (0–2) | 12 – Walton | 6 – Ibok | 3 – Tied | Assembly Hall (17,274) Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 10, 2007 8:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | Northwestern | W 66–45 | 14–4 (1–2) | 18 – Neitzel | 6 – Naymick | 5 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 14, 2007 1:30 pm, CBS | | Illinois | W 63–57 | 15–4 (2–2) | 19 – Neitzel | 6 – Suton | 4 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 20, 2007 4:30 pm, ESPN Plus | | at Penn State | W 91–64 | 16–4 (3–2) | 28 – Neitzel | 8 – Morgan | 7 – Walton | Bryce Jordan Center (13,347) University Park, PA |
| Jan 24, 2007 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Minnesota | W 70–46 | 17–4 (4–2) | 14 – Morgan | 9 – Gray | 11 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 27, 2007 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 5 Ohio State ESPN College GameDay | L 64–66 | 17–5 (4–3) | 29 – Neitzel | 8 – suton | 5 – Walton | Value City Arena (18,965) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 30, 2007 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at Illinois | L 50–57 | 17–6 (4–4) | 13 – Walton | 6 – Tied | 5 – Walton | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 3, 2007 4:00 pm, CBS | | No. 4 Ohio State | L 54–63 | 17–7 (4–5) | 24 – Neitzel | 10 – Suton | 6 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 7, 2007 8:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | at Purdue | L 38–62 | 17–8 (4–6) | 9 – Morgan | 6 – Suton | 4 – Suton | Mackey Arena (11,830) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 13, 2007 9:00 pm, ESPN | | Michigan Rivalry | W 59–44 | 18–8 (5–6) | 21 – Neitzel | 7 – Naymick | 5 – Tied | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 17, 2007 2:30 pm, ESPN Plus | | Iowa | W 81–49 | 19–8 (6–6) | 17 – Neitzel | 8 – Suton | 10 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 20, 2007 7:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 1 Wisconsin | W 64–55 | 20–8 (7–6) | 28 – Neitzel | 8 – Tied | 10 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 24, 2007 9:00 pm, ESPN | | Indiana ESPN College GameDay | W 66–58 | 21–8 (8–6) | 18 – Morgan | 8 – Morgan | 6 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 27, 2007 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at Michigan Rivalry | L 56–67 | 21–9 (8–7) | 13 – Mortan | 10 – Suton | 5 – Walton | Crisler Arena (13,751) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Mar 3, 2007 12:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 4 Wisconsin | L 50–52 | 21–10 (8–8) | 22 – Neitzel | 7 – Suton | 5 – Walton | Kohl Center (17,190) Madison, WI |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 2007 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | (7) | vs. (10) Northwestern opening round | W 62–57 | 22–10 | 20 – Neitzel | 10 – Suton | 6 – Neitzel | United Center (16,219) Chicago, IL |
| Mar 9, 2007 6:40 pm, ESPN Plus | (7) | vs. (2) No. 3 Wisconsin quarterfinals | L 57–70 | 22–11 | 14 – Suton | 8 – Suton | 8 – Neitzel | United Center (22,081) Chicago, IL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 15, 2007 7:20 pm, CBS | (9 E) | vs. (8 E) No. 20 Marquette First Round | W 61–49 | 23–11 | 14 – Morgan | 9 – Morgan | 5 – Tied | Joel Coliseum (14,148) Winston-Salem, NC |
| Mar 17, 2007 8:13 pm, CBS | (9 E) | vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina Second Round | L 67–81 | 23–12 | 26 – Neitzel | 8 – Suton | 5 – Tied | Joel Coliseum (14,148) Winston-Salem, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source.. |||||||||
Source

## Player statistics

Individual player statistics (Final) :
| | | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | | | |
| Player | GP | Pts | Avg | FG | FGA | Pct | 3FG | 3FA | Pct | FT | FTA | Pct | Tot | Avg | A | Stl | Blk |
| Curry, Deon | 9 | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 2 | .500 | 3 | 0.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dahlman, Isaiah | 26 | 96 | 3.7 | 31 | 73 | .425 | 6 | 20 | .300 | 28 | 37 | .757 | 47 | 1.8 | 30 | 7 | 4 |
| Darnton, Brandon | 13 | 6 | 0.5 | 2 | 3 | .667 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Ducre, DeMarcus | 23 | 18 | 0.8 | 5 | 16 | .313 | 0 | 7 | .000 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 18 | 0.8 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Gray, Marquise | 35 | 238 | 6.8 | 96 | 166 | .578 | 0 | 0 | | 46 | 78 | .590 | 191 | 5.5 | 19 | 20 | 22 |
| Hannon, Jake | 19 | 13 | 0.7 | 6 | 11 | .545 | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 4 | .250 | 5 | 0.3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Ibok, Idong | 34 | 67 | 2.0 | 25 | 37 | .676 | 0 | 0 | | 17 | 33 | .515 | 77 | 2.3 | 4 | 5 | 33 |
| Joseph, Maurice | 31 | 183 | 5.9 | 58 | 153 | .379 | 42 | 116 | .362 | 25 | 35 | .714 | 52 | 1.7 | 22 | 7 | 0 |
| Morgan, Raymar | 28 | 327 | 11.7 | 121 | 249 | .486 | 5 | 16 | .313 | 80 | 116 | .690 | 145 | 5.2 | 24 | 19 | 13 |
| Naymick, Drew | 35 | 129 | 3.7 | 47 | 98 | .480 | 0 | 0 | | 35 | 46 | .761 | 136 | 3.9 | 18 | 22 | 55 |
| Neitzel, Drew | 35 | 635 | 18.1 | 199 | 467 | .426 | 114 | 277 | .412 | 123 | 140 | .879 | 99 | 2.8 | 151 | 29 | 9 |
| Suton, Goran | 35 | 327 | 9.3 | 137 | 269 | .509 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 53 | 82 | .646 | 235 | 6.7 | 85 | 23 | 26 |
| Tibaldi, Bryan | 15 | 7 | 0.5 | 3 | 9 | .333 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 3 | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Walton, Travis | 35 | 224 | 6.4 | 74 | 164 | .451 | 13 | 39 | .333 | 63 | 81 | .778 | 91 | 2.6 | 191 | 42 | 0 |
| Wardius, Chris | 8 | 5 | 0.6 | 2 | 3 | .667 | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.

## Awards and honors

* Drew Neitzel – All-Big Ten First Team
* Drew Neitzel – USBWA All-District Team
* Travis Walton – Big Ten All-Defensive Team
* Drew Neitzel – AP All-American Honorable Mention