# 1982–83 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1982–83 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Jud Heathcote in his seventh year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished with a record of 17–13, 9–9 to finish in a tie for sixth place in Big Ten play. The Spartans received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Bowling Green State before losing to Fresno State.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1981–82 season with a record of 11–17, 6–12 to finish in a tie for seventh place.

## Roster and statistics

1982–83 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team :
| No | Name | Pos | Year | Height | Pts | Reb | Ast |
| 10 | Tim Gore | G | JR | 6–4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 11 | Sam Vincent | G | SO | 6–2 | 16.6 | 2.6 | 4.9 |
| 14 | Matt Carrington | G | SO | 6–1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| 15 | Ralph Walker | F | FR | 6–8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| 20 | Ben Tower | F | JR | 6–7 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 1.7 |
| 22 | Bill Cawood | G/F | SR | 6–7 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| 24 | Richard Mudd | F/C | JR | 6–9 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.1 |
| 25 | Scott Skiles | G | FR | 6–1 | 12.5 | 2.1 | 4.9 |
| 35 | Larry Polec | F | SO | 6–8 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 1.4 |
| 40 | Paul Horton | C | SO | 6–9 | – | – | – |
| 41 | Derek Perry | F | SR | 6–6 | 9.1 | 3.9 | 0.8 |
| 42 | Kevin Willis | C | JR | 7–0 | 13.3 | 9.6 | 0.3 |
| 44 | Patrick Ford | G/F | FR | 6–5 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 1.0 |
| 45 | Sterling William | F | JR | 6–6 | – | – | – |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 26, 1982* | Western Michigan Spartan Cutlass Classic semifinals | W 72–65 | 1–0 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 27, 1982* | Central Michigan Spartan Cutlass Classic championship | W 62–47 | 2–0 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 29, 1982* | at Boise State | W 71–58 | 3–0 | Taco Bell Arena Boise, ID |
| Dec 4, 1982* | BYU | W 63–55 | 4–0 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 11, 1982* | No. 18 NC State | L 41–45 | 4–1 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| Dec 13, 1982* | at Cincinnati | W 78–69 | 5–1 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH |
| Dec 18, 1982* | Detroit Mercy | W 75–72 | 6–1 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 21, 1982* | Cleveland State | W 95–56 | 7–1 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 28, 1982* | vs. Southwestern Louisiana Sugar Bowl Tournament semifinals | L 66–71 | 7–2 | Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 29, 1982* | at Tulane Sugar Bowl Tournament third place game | L 58–81 | 7–3 | Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, LA |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Jan 5, 1983 | at No. 8 Iowa | W 61–59 | 8–3 (1–0) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 8, 1983 | at Northwestern | L 51–62 | 8–4 (1–1) | Alumni Hall Evanston, IL |
| Jan 13, 1983 | Wisconsin | W 86–66 | 9–4 (2–1) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 15, 1983 | No. 17 Minnesota | L 67–69 | 9–5 (2–2) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 20, 1983 | at No. 2 Indiana | L 85–89 | 9–6 (2–3) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 22, 1983 | at Ohio State | L 69–74 | 9–7 (2–4) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Jan 27, 1983 | Illinois | L 71–78 | 9–8 (2–5) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 29, 1983 | Purdue | W 83–67 | 10–8 (3–5) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 5, 1983 | at Michigan Rivalry | W 70–65 | 11–8 (4–5) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 12, 1983 | Michigan Rivalry | L 67–74 | 11–9 (4–6) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 17, 1983 | at Purdue | L 55–61 | 11–10 (4–7) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 19, 1983 | at Illinois | L 61–69 | 11–11 (4–8) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| Feb 24, 1983 | No. 15 Ohio State | W 101–94 | 12–11 (5–8) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 26, 1983 | No. 4 Indiana | W 62–54 | 13–11 (6–8) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 3, 1983 | at Minnesota | W 79–67 | 14–11 (7–8) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 5, 1983 | at Wisconsin | W 91–65 | 15–11 (8–8) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI |
| Mar 9, 1983 | Northwestern | W 63–58 | 16–11 (9–8) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 12, 1983 | Iowa | L 57–75 | 16–12 (9–9) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| NIT ||||||
| Mar 18, 1983 | Bowling Green State first round | W 72–71 | 17–12 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 21, 1983 | Fresno State first round | L 58–72 | 17–13 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll,. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source. ||||||