# 1966–67 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1966–67 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1966–67 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 John E. Benington in his second year as head coach of the Spartans. They finished the season 16–7, 10–4 in Big Ten play to finish tied for the Big Ten championship. However, Indiana was selected for the NCAA tournament.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1965–66 season 16–7, 10–4 in Big Ten play to finish in second place.

## Roster and statistics

1966–67 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team :
| No | Name | Pos | Year | Height | Pts | Reb |
| 11 | John Gorman | G | SR | 5–11 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| 12 | John Bailey | G | JR | 6–0 | 8.0 | 2.5 |
| 13 | Edward "Ted" Cary | F | ST | 6–5 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 14 | Richie Jordan | G | SO | 5–7 | 2.2 | 1.1 |
| 15 | Steven Rymal | G | JR | 6–1 | 11.4 | 4.7 |
| 21 | James O'Brien | G | JR | 6–3 | 0.6 | – |
| 22 | Richard Chappel | G | SO | 5–10 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| 23 | Vernon Johnson | G | SO | 5–11 | 1.5 | 0.5 |
| 24 | John Holms | F | SO | 6–4 | 4.2 | 3.8 |
| 31 | Shannon Reading | G | SR | 6–0 | 5.4 | 1.5 |
| 32 | Jack Wynn | C | JR | 6–7 | – | – |
| 33 | Heywood Edwards | F | JR | 6–5 | 7.4 | 5.7 |
| 34 | Tom Lick | C | SO | 6–10 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
| 35 | Lee Lafayette | F | SO | 6–6 | 14.8 | 9.7 |
| 41 | Arthur Baylor | F | JR | 6–6 | 5.1 | 5.1 |
| 42 | Gerald Geistler | C | JR | 6–8 | 1.0 | 2.3 |
| 44 | David Keeler | F | SR | 6–6 | 1.3 | 2.0 |
| 45 | Matthew Atich | C | SR | 6–7 | 16.3 | 9.2 |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1966* | | Western Michigan | W 77–55 | 1–0 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 3, 1966* | | Miami (Ohio) | W 63–51 | 2–0 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 5, 1966* | | South Dakota | W 81–54 | 3–0 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 5, 1966* | | Wichita State | W 103–68 | 4–0 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 20, 1966* | No. 5 | at Loyola (LA) Sugar Bowl Tournament | L 70–74 | 4–1 | The Field House New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 21, 1966* | No. 5 | at Tulane Sugar Bowl Tournament | W 76–66 | 5–1 | Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 27, 1966* | No. 10 | vs. Villanova Quaker City Tournament | L 63–66 | 5–2 | The Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| Dec 28, 1966* | No. 10 | vs. Bowling Green Quaker City Tournament | L 67–75 | 5–3 | The Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| Jan 7, 1967 | | at Illinois | W 76–74 | 6–3 (1–0) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| Jan 14, 1967 | | Iowa | W 79–70 | 7–3 (2–0) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 21, 1967 | | at Michigan Rivalry | L 59–81 | 7–4 (2–1) | Yost Field House Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 28, 1967 | | Wisconsin | W 68–61 | 8–4 (3–1) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 1, 1967* | | at Notre Dame | W 85–80 $^{OT}$ | 9–4 | Notre Dame Fieldhouse South Bend, IN |
| Feb 6, 1967 | | at Indiana | L 77–82 | 9–5 (3–2) | Gladstein Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 11, 1967 | | at Purdue | W 79–77 | 10–5 (4–2) | Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 13, 1967 | | Indiana | W 86–77 | 11–5 (5–2) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 18, 1967 | | Minnesota | W 67–66 | 12–5 (6–2) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 20, 1967 | | at Ohio State | L 64–80 | 12–6 (6–3) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Feb 25, 1967 | | at Wisconsin | L 64–68 | 12–7 (6–4) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI |
| Feb 27, 1967 | | Ohio State | W 74–63 | 13–7 (7–4) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 4, 1967 | | Purdue | W 75–71 | 14–7 (8–4) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 6, 1967 | | at Minnesota | W 67–59 | 15–7 (9–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 11, 1967 | | Northwestern | W 79–65 | 16–7 (10–4) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. Source ||||||