# 1981–82 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1981–82 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 sixth year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished with a record of 11–17, 6–12 to finish in a tie for seventh place in Big Ten play.
Due to NCAA sanctions against Wisconsin for providing improper benefits for players, MSU's official record for the year is 12–16, 7–11.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1980–81 season 13–14, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in eighth place in conference.

## Roster and statistics

1981–82 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team :
| No | Name | Pos | Year | Height | Pts | Reb | Ast |
| 5 | Kevin Smith | G | SR | 6–2 | 15.6 | 2.1 | 4.5 |
| 10 | Tim Gore | G | SO | 6–4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Sam Vincent | G | FR | 6–2 | 11.7 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| 20 | Ben Tower | F | SO | 6–8 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 0.8 |
| 22 | Bill Cawood | F | JR | 6–7 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| 23 | Randy Morrison | G | SO | 6–2 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| 24 | Richard Mudd | F | SO | 6–9 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.2 |
| 30 | Kurt James | F | SR | 6–7 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.3 |
| 35 | Larry Polec | F | FR | 6–8 | | | |
| 41 | Derek Perry | F | JR | 6–6 | 8.6 | 5.4 | 1.4 |
| 42 | Kevin Willis | C | SO | 7–0 | 6.0 | 4.2 | 0.1 |
| 43 | Evaristo Perez | F | | | 2.0 | 1.6 | 0.2 |
| 44 | Herb Bostic | G | JR | 6–4 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| 50 | Cleveland Bibbens | F | SO | 6–6 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 0.3 |
| 52 | Steve Bates | C | SR | 6–10 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1981* | Central Michigan Spartan Cutlass Classic semifinals | W 89–70 | 1–0 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 28, 1981* | Western Michigan Spartan Cutlass Classic finals | L 79–83 | 1–1 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 2, 1981* | at Detroit Mercy | W 65–62 | 2–1 | Calihan Hall Detroit, MI |
| Dec 5, 1981* | at Kansas | L 56–74 | 2–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| Dec 12, 1981* | Cincinnati | L 45–56 | 2–3 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 15, 1981* | Green Bay | W 49–48 | 3–3 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 19, 1981* | Marshall | W 101–82 | 4–3 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 27, 1981* | vs. No. 20 North Carolina State Rainbow Classic quarterfinals | L 46–67 | 4–4 | Neil S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 28, 2016* | vs. Cal State Fullerton Rainbow Classic consolation | W 51–50 | 5–4 | Neil S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 29, 1981* | at Hawaii | L 61–62 | 5–5 | Neil S. Blaisdell Center Rainbow Classic fifth place game |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Jan 7, 1982 | Indiana | W 65–58 | 6–5 (1–0) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 9, 1982 | No. 6 Minnesota | L 58–64 | 6–6 (1–1) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 14, 1982 | at Purdue | L 47–53 | 6–7 (1–2) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 16, 1982 | at Illinois | L 51–55 | 6–8 (1–3) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| Jan 21, 1982 | at Michigan Rivalry | W 64–62 | 7–8 (2–3) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 23, 1982 | Wisconsin | W 68–58 | 8–8 (3–3) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 28, 1982 | No. 6 Iowa | L 56–57 | 8–9 (3–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 30, 1982 | Northwestern | W 64–61 | 9–9 (4–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 4, 1982 | at Ohio State | L 49–50 | 9–10 (4–5) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Feb 6, 1982 | at Northwestern | L 43–48 | 9–11 (4–6) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| Feb 11, 1982 | Michigan Rivalry | W 66–55 | 10–11 (5–6) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 13, 1982 | Ohio State | L 46–51 | 10–12 (5–7) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 18, 1982 | at No. 7 Iowa | L 53–59 | 10–13 (5–8) | Iowa Fieldhouse Iowa City, IA |
| Feb 20, 1982 | at Wisconsin | L 60–65 | 10–14 (5–9) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI |
| Feb 25, 1982 | Illinois | W 56–47 | 11–14 (6–9) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 27, 1982 | Purdue | L 49–51 | 11–15 (6–10) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 4, 1982 | at No. 7 Minnesota | L 51–54 | 11–16 (6–11) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 6, 1982 | Indiana | L 58–74 | 11–17 (6–12) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll,. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Kevin Smith – All-Big Ten First Team
Source