# 2007–08 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2007–08 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by 13th-year head coach, Tom Izzo. MSU finished the season 27–9, 12–6 to finish in fourth place in Big Ten play. They defeated Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before losing to No. 1-seeded Wisconsin in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, their 11th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, as the No. 5 seed in the South region. They defeated Temple in the First Round and upset No. 4-seeded Pittsburgh to reach the Sweet Sixteen. There they lost to No. 2-ranked Memphis.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2006–07 season with an overall record of 23–12, 8–8 in Big Ten play to finish in seventh place. Michigan State received a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 10th straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the Second Round before losing to North Carolina.

## Offseason
### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kalin Lucas No. 6 PG | Orchard Lake, Michigan | St. Mary's High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 172 lb (78 kg) | Dec 29, 2005 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Durrell Summers No. 14 SG | Redford, Michigan | Covenant Christian | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jan 25, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Chris Allen No. 16 SG | Lawrenceville, Georgia | Meadowcreek High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 9, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Austin Thornton SF | Sand Lake, Michigan | Cedar Springs | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Feb 16, 2007 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

## Season summary

The Spartans were led by senior Drew Neitzel (13.9 points and 4 rebounds per game), sophomore Raymar Morgan (14.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game), and freshman Kalin Lucas (10.3 points and 3.8 assists per game).
Michigan State began the season ranked No. 8 in the country and participated in the CBE Classic, losing to No. 2 UCLA in the finals. They cruised through the remaining non-conference schedule with wins over No. 24 NC State, No. 20 BYU, and No. 4 Texas, finishing 12–1 and ranked No. 6 in the country.
MSU won six of their first seven Big Ten games, their lone loss an ugly 43–36 loss to Iowa on the road. They lost four of their next seven games thereafter at Penn State, at No. 19 Purdue, at No. 13 Indiana, and at No. 10 Wisconsin. They avenged their loss to Indiana by blowing them out 103–74 at the Breslin Center on March 2 after Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson had resigned. They finished with a loss at Ohio State to finish in fourth place in the Big Ten with a record of 12–6 record and 24–7 overall. They finished the season ranked 18th in the country.
As the No. 4 seed tn the Big Ten tournament, they beat Ohio State 67–60 led by Drew Netizel's season-high 28 points. In the semifinals, MSU led by as many as 12 in the second half, they were defeated by two points by No. 8 Wisconsin. The Spartans were called for 30 fouls in the game and had four players foul out.
The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament to mark their 11th consecutive trip to the Tournament under Tom Izzo. As a No. 5 seed, the Spartans, led by Raymar Morgan's 15 points, beat No. 12-seeded Temple 72–61. In the Second Round, the Spartans looked to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the seventh time in 11 years. Led by Drew Neitzel's 21 points and Kalin Lucas' 19, the Spartans overcame No. 17 Pittsburgh to move on to the Sweet Sixteen. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Spartans faced No. 2-ranked Memphis. Led by Derrick Rose's 27 points, the Tigers routed the Spartans, leading 50–20 at the half and cruising to 18-point win over MSU. Goran Suton led the Spartans with 23 points and Chris Allen had 20. It marked senior Drew Neitzel's final game for the Spartans.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 02, 2007* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 8 | Grand Valley State | L 82–85 $^{2OT}$ | | 15 – Allen | 8 – Gray | 4 – Lucas/Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 07, 2007* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 8 | Michigan Tech | W 61–55 | | 16 – Lucas | 8 – Suton | 4 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 13, 2007* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 12 | Chicago State CBE Classic | W 86–53 | 1–0 | 25 – Morgan | 15 – Morgan | 8 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, I |
| Nov 14, 2007* 7:00 pm | No. 12 | Louisiana-Monroe CBE Classic | W 83–65 | 2–0 | 17 – Allen | 14 – Morgan | 5 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 19, 2007* 9:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | vs. Missouri CBE Classic semifinals | W 86–83 | 3–0 | 21 – Neitzel | 9 – Suton | 5 – Walton | Sprint Center (18,022) Kansas City, MO |
| Nov 20, 2007* 10:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | vs. No. 2 UCLA CBE Classic championship | L 63–68 | 3–1 | 13 – Neitzel | 6 – Gray | 4 – Walton | Sprint Center (16,737) Kansas City, MO |
| Nov 24, 2007* 4:00 pm, BTN | No. 10 | Oakland | W 75–71 | 4–1 | 20 – Morgan | 20 – Suton | 6 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 28, 2007* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | NC State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 81–58 | 5–1 | 17 – Neitzel | 12 – Suton | 7 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 1, 2007* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 10 | Jacksonville | W 80–51 | 6–1 | 24 – Morgan | 7 – Morgan | 7 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 04, 2007* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 9 | at Bradley | W 66–61 | 7–1 | 15 – Morgan | 11 – Suton | 5 – Neitzel/Walton | Carver Arena (11,597) Peoria, Il |
| Dec 8, 2007* 4:00 pm, Versus† | No. 9 | at No. 20 BYU | W 68–61 | 8–1 | 15 – Morgan/Neitzel | 13 – Suton | 3 – Walton | EnergySolutions Arena (16,412) Salt Lake City, UT |
| Dec 15, 2007* 5:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 9 | IPFW | W 79–57 | 9–1 | 18 – Neitzel | 7 – Morgan | 5 – Netizel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 19, 2007* 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 9 | San Jose State | W 85–45 | 10–1 | 16 – Morgan/Summers | 7 – Summers/Suton | 10 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 22, 2007* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 9 | vs. No. 4 Texas Spartan Clash | W 78–72 | 11–1 | 18 – Lucas/Morgan | 9 – Suton | 6 – Lucas | The Palace of Auburn Hills (22,076) Auburn Hills, MI |
| Dec 29, 2007* 4:00 pm, BTN | No. 7 | Green Bay | W 93–75 | 12–1 | 24 – Morgan | 8 – Morgan | 11 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Jan 5, 2008 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 6 | Minnesota | W 65–59 | 13–1 (1–0) | 31 – Morgan | 10 – Morgan | 7 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 8, 2008 9:00 pm, BTN | No. 6 | Purdue | W 78–75 | 14–1 (2–0) | 16 – Lucas | 10 – Suton | 5 – Lucas/Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 12, 2008 8:30 pm, BTN | No. 6 | at Iowa | L 36–43 | 14–2 (2–1) | 10 – Morgan/Neitzel | 11 – Suton | 6 – Neitzel | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,044) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 15, 2008 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | Ohio State | W 66–60 | 15–2 (3–1) | 13 – Lucas/Neitzel | 9 – Suton | 5 – Lucas/Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 20, 2008 4:00 pm, BTN | No. 9 | at Minnesota | W 78–73 | 16–2 (4–1) | 19 – Neitzel | 13 – Suton | 6 – Walton | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 24, 2008 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 7 | Northwestern | W 78–62 | 17–2 (5–1) | 23 – Morgan | 8 – Morgan/Naymick | 6 – Walton | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,738) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 27, 2008 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 7 | Michigan Rivalry | W 77–62 | 18–2 (6–1) | 18 – Lucas/Neitzel | 7 – Neitzel/Suton | 8 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 30, 2008 9:00 pm, BTN | No. 8 | Illinois | W 51–41 | 19–2 (7–1) | 15 – Neitzel | 10 – Suton | 5 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 2, 2008 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 8 | at Penn State | L 76–85 | 19–3 (7–2) | 18 – Lucas | 9 – Suton | 7 – Lucas | Bryce Jordan Center (11,159) University Park, PA |
| Feb 9, 2008 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 11 | Northwestern | W 70–55 | 20–3 (8–2) | 21 – Neitzel | 8 – Naymick | 4 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 12, 2008 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | at No. 19 Purdue | L 54–60 | 20–4 (8–3) | 20 – Lucas | 7 – Morgan/Suton | 4 – Neitzel | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 16, 2008 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | at No. 13 Indiana | L 61–80 | 20–5 (8–4) | 21 – Neitzel | 4 – Morgan/Neitzel | 4 – Walton | Assembly Hall (17,400) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 20, 2008 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 19 | Penn State | W 86–49 | 21–5 (9–4) | 16 – Morgan | 7 – Gray | 8 – Lucas | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 23, 2008 2:00pm, ESPN | No. 19 | Iowa | W 66–52 | 22–5 (10–4) | 16 – Morgan | 8 – Naymick | 5 – Neitzel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 28, 2008 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 19 | at No. 10 Wisconsin | L 42–57 | 22–6 (10–5) | 14 – Suton | 15 – Suton | 3 – Lucas/Neitzel | Kohl Center (17,190) Madison, WI |
| Mar 2, 2008 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 19 | No. 12 Indiana | W 103–74 | 23–6 (11–5) | 20 – Morgan | 9 – Suton | 11 – Walton | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 6, 2008 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | at Illinois | W 59–51 | 24–6 (12–5) | 17 – Neitzel | 10 – Suton | 4 – Neitzel/Suton/Walton | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, IL |
| Mar 9, 2008 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 17 | at Ohio State | W 63–54 | 24–7 (12–6) | 19 – Morgan | 8 – Suton | 4 – Lucas | Value City Arena (19,049) Columbus, OH |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 14, 2008* 2:30 pm, ESPN | (4) No. 18 | vs. (5) Ohio State quarterfinals | W 67–60 | 25–7 | 28 – Neitzel | 9 – Suton | 5 – Walton | Conseco Fieldhouse (15,355) Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar 15, 2008* 1:40 pm, CBS | (4) No. 19 | vs. (1) No. 8 Wisconsin semifinals | L 63–65 | 25–8 | 26 – Neitzel | 7 – Morgan | 3 – Lucas | Conseco Fieldhouse (17,520) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 20, 2008* 12:30 pm, CBS | (5 S) No. 20 | vs. (12 S) Temple First Round | W 72–61 | 26–8 | 15 – Morgan | 9 – Suton | 7 – Lucas | Pepsi Center (19,010) Denver, CO |
| Mar 22, 2008* 7:10 pm, CBS | (5 S) No. 18 | vs. (4 S) No. 17 Pittsburgh Second Round | W 65–54 | 27–8 | 21 – Neitzel | 9 – Suton | 4 – Neitzel | Pepsi Center (19,299) Denver, CO |
| Mar 28, 2008* 9:57 pm, CBS | (5 S) No. 20 | vs. (1 S) No. 2 Memphis Sweet Sixteen | L 74–92 | 27–9 | 23 – Suton | 9 – Suton | 7 – Neitzel | Reliant Stadium (32,931) Houston, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time †Versus was scheduled to air the game, but did not due to a mixup with the MTW conference.. |||||||||

## 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 | Tov |
| Allen, Chris | 32 | 202 | 6.3 | 70 | 182 | .385 | 36 | 100 | .360 | 26 | 33 | .788 | 39 | 1.2 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 29 |
| Crandell, Jon | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dahlman, Isaiah | 19 | 20 | 1.1 | 6 | 16 | .375 | 3 | 8 | .375 | 5 | 8 | .625 | 9 | 0.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Gray, Marquise | 36 | 156 | 4.3 | 65 | 107 | .607 | 0 | 0 | | 26 | 40 | .650 | 132 | 3.7 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 45 |
| Herzog, Tom | 13 | 14 | 1.1 | 6 | 14 | .429 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 4 | .500 | 14 | 1.1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Ibok, Idong | 26 | 12 | 0.5 | 5 | 10 | .500 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 5 | .400 | 26 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 9 |
| Kebler, Mike | 9 | 2 | 0.2 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 4 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucas, Kalin | 36 | 369 | 10.3 | 138 | 320 | .431 | 20 | 55 | .364 | 73 | 95 | .795 | 56 | 1.6 | 137 | 30 | 1 | 73 |
| Morgan, Raymar | 36 | 505 | 14.0 | 187 | 335 | .558 | 10 | 33 | .303 | 121 | 180 | .672 | 221 | 6.1 | 58 | 33 | 19 | 83 |
| Naymick, Drew | 36 | 154 | 4.3 | 65 | 100 | .650 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 24 | 31 | .774 | 149 | 4.1 | 14 | 11 | 60 | 25 |
| Neitzel, Drew | 36 | 501 | 13.9 | 165 | 407 | .405 | 97 | 244 | .398 | 74 | 86 | .860 | 90 | 2.5 | 145 | 35 | 2 | 51 |
| Summers, Durrell | 36 | 176 | 4.9 | 62 | 123 | .504 | 11 | 22 | .500 | 41 | 55 | .745 | 85 | 2.4 | 20 | 5 | 7 | 32 |
| Suton, Goran | 36 | 326 | 9.1 | 136 | 247 | .551 | 2 | 12 | .167 | 52 | 67 | .776 | 295 | 8.2 | 66 | 38 | 33 | 60 |
| Walton, Travis | 36 | 127 | 3.5 | 43 | 112 | .384 | 0 | 7 | .000 | 41 | 56 | .732 | 71 | 4.3 | 156 | 33 | 2 | 65 |
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | 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 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 8 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 18 | Not released |
| Coaches | 8 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 13 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings Source

## Awards and honors

* Drew Neitzel – All-Big Ten First Team (Coaches), All-Big Ten Second Team (Media)
* Raymar Morgan – All-Big Ten Second Team
* Kalin Lucas – All-Big Ten Honorable Mention
* Kalin Lucas – Big Ten All-Freshman Team
* Travis Walton – Big Ten All Defensive Team