# 2005–06 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2005–06 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2005–06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Tom Izzo, who was in his 11th year at Michigan State. The team played its home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan, and competed in the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished the season with a record of 22–12, 8–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Purdue and Illinois before losing to Iowa in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Washington D.C. bracket, marking the school's ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament under Izzo. They lost in the First Round to eventual Final Four participant, George Mason.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2004–05 season with a record of 26–7, 13–3 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. Michigan State received a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, their eighth straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced to the Final Four, their fourth trip under Tom Izzo.
The Spartans lost Alan Anderson (13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game), Kelvin Torbert (9.5 points per game) and Chris Hill (8.8 points and 4.2 assists per game) to graduation following the season.

## Season summary

The Spartans were led by seniors Paul Davis (17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game) and Maurice Ager (19.3 points per game), as well as junior Shannon Brown (17.2 points per game).
The Spartans began the season ranked No. 4 in the country. They started by making a trip to Hawaii to participate in the Maui Classic. Before playing in the Classic, however, they played Hawaii and were shocked, losing 84–62. After beating host Chaminade in the Maui Classic, they played No. 8 Gonzaga led by Adam Morrison in the tournament semifinals. The game was an instant classic lasting into triple overtime where the Spartans fell 109–106. In the third place game, the Spartans defeated No. 9 Arizona. The Spartans won their remaining ten non-conference games, including a win over No. 6 Boston College in the Jimmy V Classic, to finish the non-conference schedule at 12–2 and ranked No. 7 in the country.
The Spartans began the Big Ten season with back-to-back losses to No. 6 Illinois and Wisconsin. They followed those up with wins over No. 9 Indiana, No. 19 Ohio State in double overtime, and No. 23 Iowa. However, Michigan State finished the conference season losing five of their last seven games. MSU finished the Big Ten regular season with a conference record of 8–8, 20–10 overall, and slipping out of the polls. In the Big Ten tournament, MSU defeated Purdue and No. 9 Illinois before losing to No. 20 Iowa in the semifinals.
The Spartans received an at-large bid as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, their ninth consecutive trip to the Tournament. In the Tournament, they lost to eventual Final Four Cinderella, No. 11-seeded George Mason, in the First Round.
Following the season, Shannon Brown declared for the NBA draft, leaving the Spartans one year prior to graduation, just the fourth player under Izzo to declare early.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition Games ||||||
| Nov 7, 2005 7:00 pm | | Lake Superior State | W 107–73 | | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 12, 2005 8:00 pm | | Northern Michigan | W 77–58 | | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 19, 2005* 1:05 pm | No. 4 | at Hawaii | L 62–84 | 0–1 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| Nov 21, 2005* 9:30 am, ESPN2 | No. 12 | at Chaminade EA Sports Maui Invitational | W 89–67 | 1–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI |
| Nov 22, 2005* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 12 | vs. No. 8 Gonzaga EA Sports Maui Invitational semifinals | L 106–109 $^{3OT}$ | 1–2 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI |
| Nov 23, 2005* 11:30 am, ESPN | No. 12 | vs. No. 9 Arizona EA Sports Maui Invitational third place game | W 74–71 $^{OT}$ | 2–2 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, HI |
| Nov 27, 2005* 1:00 pm, ESPN Plus | No. 12 | IPFW | W 84–73 | 3–2 | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 30, 2005* | No. 13 | Georgia Tech | W 88–86 | 4–2 | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 3, 2005* | No. 13 | vs. Arkansas-Little Rock | W 72–67 | 5–2 | Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, MI |
| Dec 6, 2005* 9:00 pm | No. 14 | vs. No. 6 Boston College Jimmy V Classic | W 77–70 | 6–2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Dec 10, 2005* | No. 14 | vs. Wichita State Spartan Clash | W 83–64 | 7–2 | Palace of Auburn Hills Detroit, MI |
| Dec 16, 2005* | No. 12 | Cleveland State | W 83–75 | 8–2 | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 18, 2005* | No. 12 | Florida International | W 85–58 | 9–2 | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 21, 2005* | No. 10 | Green Bay | W 98–69 | 10–2 | Resch Center Green Bay, WI |
| Dec 28, 2005* | No. 9 | Tennessee Tech | W 80–63 | 11–2 | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 31, 2005* | No. 9 | Coppin State | W 78–54 | 12–2 | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Jan 5, 2006 | No. 7 | Illinois | L 50–60 | 12–3 (0–1) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| Jan 8, 2006 | No. 7 | Wisconsin | L 63–82 | 12–4 (0–2) | Kohl Center Madison, WI |
| Jan 11, 2006 | No. 14 | No. 9 Indiana | W 87–73 | 13–4 (1–;2) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 15, 2006 | No. 14 | No. 19 Ohio State | W 62–59 $^{2OT}$ | 14–4 (2–2) | Value City Arena Columbus, OH |
| Jan 21, 2006 | No. 11 | No. 23 Iowa | W 85–55 | 15–4 (3–2) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 25, 2006 | No. 11 | Michigan Rivalry | L 67–72 | 15–5 (3–3) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 28, 2006 | No. 11 | Penn State | W 69–60 | 16–5 (4–3) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 4, 2006 | No. 12 | Northwestern | W 77–66 | 17–5 (5–3) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| Feb 8, 2006 | No. 12 | Purdue | W 77–52 | 18–5 (6–3) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 11, 2006 | No. 11 | Minnesota | L 55–69 | 18–6 (6–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Feb 14, 2006 | No. 16 | No. 18 Iowa | L 54–66 | 18–7 (6–5) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA |
| Feb 18, 2006 | No. 16 | Michigan Rivalry | W 90–71 | 19–7 (7–5) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 22, 2006 | No. 18 | No. 13 Ohio State | L 68–79 | 19–8 (7–6) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 26, 2006 | No. 18 | Indiana | L 71–78 | 19–9 (7–7) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| Mar 2, 2006 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | Wisconsin | W 74–65 | 20–9 (8–7) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 4, 2006 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 25 | No. 10 Illinois | L 68–75 | 20–10 (8–8) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| Mar 9, 2006 5:10 pm, ESPN2 | (6) | vs. No. 11 Purdue opening round | W 70–58 | 21–10 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar 10, 2006 9:10 pm, ESPN Plus | (6) | vs. (3) No. 9 Illinois quarterfinals | W 61–56 | 22–10 | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar 11, 2006 1:40 pm, CBS | (6) | vs. (2) No. 20 Iowa semifinals | L 48–53 | 22–11 (8–8) | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 2006* 7:10 pm, CBS | (6 DC) | vs. (11 DC) George Mason First Round | L 65–75 | 22–12 (8–8) | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. DC=Washington, D.C. regional. All times are in Eastern Time 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 |
| Aerts, Jason | 11 | 2 | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ager, Maurice | 34 | 656 | 19.3 | 226 | 495 | .457 | 83 | 221 | .376 | 121 | 159 | .761 | 139 | 4.1 | 84 | 23 | 11 |
| Brown, Shannon | 34 | 585 | 17.2 | 202 | 433 | .467 | 64 | 164 | .390 | 117 | 141 | .830 | 150 | 4.4 | 93 | 50 | 5 |
| Darnton, Brandon | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Davis, Paul | 33 | 578 | 17.5 | 206 | 364 | .566 | 6 | 19 | .316 | 160 | 184 | .870 | 301 | 9.1 | 54 | 34 | 29 |
| Ducre, DeMarcus | 6 | 5 | 0.8 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 6 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gray, Marquise | 29 | 88 | 3.0 | 37 | 71 | .521 | 0 | 0 | | 14 | 38 | .368 | 104 | 3.6 | 12 | 7 | 15 |
| Hamo, Anthony | 12 | 2 | 0.2 | 1 | 5 | .200 | 0 | 3 | | 0 | 0 | | 6 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Hannon, Jake | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ibok, Idong | 20 | 7 | 0.4 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 0 | 0 | | 3 | 6 | .500 | 18 | 0.9 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Joseph, Maurice | 21 | 16 | 0.8 | 6 | 24 | .250 | 3 | 13 | .231 | 1 | 5 | .200 | 11 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Naymick, Drew | 7 | 8 | 1.1 | 4 | 8 | .500 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 11 | 1.6 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Neitzel, Drew | 34 | 283 | 8.3 | 98 | 240 | .408 | 46 | 114 | .404 | 41 | 44 | .932 | 69 | 2.0 | 189 | 20 | 3 |
| Rowley, Delco | 30 | 31 | 1.0 | 12 | 22 | .545 | 0 | 0 | | 7 | 12 | .583 | 33 | 1.1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Suton, Goran | 31 | 94 | 3.0 | 40 | 85 | .471 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 14 | 19 | .737 | 88 | 2.8 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| Tibaldi, Bryan | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trannon, Matt | 22 | 102 | 4.6 | 38 | 69 | .551 | 0 | 0 | | 26 | 44 | .591 | 94 | 4.3 | 30 | 21 | 10 |
| Walton, Travis | 34 | 61 | 1.8 | 21 | 53 | .396 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 18 | 25 | .720 | 62 | 2.4 | 81 | 36 | 3 |
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. (RV) Received votes but unranked. (NR) Not ranked. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | 4 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 25 | NR | NR | N/A |
| Coaches | 5 | | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 23 | NR | NR |
Source

## Awards and honors

* Maurice Ager – All Big Ten Second Team (Media), All Big Ten Third Team (Coaches)
* Paul Davis – All Big Ten Second Team
* Shannon Brown – All Big Ten Second Team