# 1969–70 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1969–70 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1969–70 NCAA University Division 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 Gus Ganakas in his first year as head coach of the Spartans. The Spartans finished the season 9–15, 5–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place.
Prior to the season, on September 10, 1969, the Spartans head coach, John E. Benington suffered a heart attack and died after jogging at Jenison Fieldhouse at the age of 47. Ganakas, an assistant under Benington, was promoted to head coach for the season.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1968–69 season 11–12, 6–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place.

## Roster and statistics

1969–70 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team :
| No | Name | Pos | Year | Height | Pts | Reb |
| 11 | Lloyd Ward | G | SR | 5–11 | 7.4 | 2.1 |
| 12 | Tim Bograkos | G | JR | 6–1 | 3.1 | 0.9 |
| 13 | Gary Przybylo | G | SO | 6–1 | | |
| 15 | Ralph Simpson | F | SO | 6–4 | 29.0 | 10.4 |
| 21 | Rudy Benjamin | G | JR | 6–3 | 12.6 | 2.8 |
| 24 | Ronald Gutkowski | F | SO | 6–5 | 8.8 | 5.8 |
| 25 | Robert Gale | F | SR | 6–5 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| 31 | Eddie Humphrey | G | JR | 6–2 | 1.3 | 0.3 |
| 32 | Steve Kirkpatrick | G | SR | 6–2 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| 33 | Paul Dean | G | JR | 6–1 | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| 35 | Pat Miller | F | SO | 6–2 | 7.8 | 3.7 |
| 41 | James Gibbons | C | SR | 6–6 | 10.2 | 7.2 |
| 42 | Craig Larsen | C | SO | 6–9 | 0.1 | |
| 44 | Ron Binge | F | SR | 6–5 | 0.0 | |
| 45 | William Cohrs | C | SO | 6–6 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1969* | Eastern Kentucky | W 89–85 | 1–0 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 6, 1969* | Toledo | L 80–82 | 1–1 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 13, 1969* | at Western Michigan | W 86–71 | 2–1 | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI |
| Dec 17, 1969* | at Butler | L 60–81 | 2–2 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 19, 1969* | vs. Bradley Utah Classic semifinals | W 89–87 | 3–2 | John M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, UT |
| Dec 20, 1969* | at Utah Utah Classic championship | L 85–105 | 3–3 | John M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, UT |
| Dec 27, 1969* | at Oregon Far West Classic quarterfinals | L 82–87 | 3–4 | McArthur Court Portland, OR |
| Dec 29, 1969* | vs. No. 15 Illinois Far West Classic consolation game | L 77–86 | 3–5 | McArthur Court Portland, OR |
| Dec 30, 1969* | vs. Temple Far West Classic seventh place game | L 51–90 | 3–6 | McArthur Court Portland, OR |
| Jan 3, 1970 | at Indiana | W 85–84 | 4–6 (1–0) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 10, 1970 | Northwestern | W 98–93 | 5–6 (2–0) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 17, 1970 | at Minnesota | L 78–85 | 5–7 (2–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 20, 1970* | No. 20 Notre Dame | W 85–82 | 6–7 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 24, 1970 | Michigan Rivalry | L 88–91 | 6–8 (2–2) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 31, 1970 | Minnesota | L 87–92 | 6–9 (2–3) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 3, 1970 | at Purdue | L 86–105 | 6–10 (2–4) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 7, 1970 | at Wisconsin | L 79–89 | 6–11 (2–5) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI |
| Feb 10, 1970 | Ohio State | L 66–86 | 6–12 (2–6) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 14, 1970 | at No. 14 Iowa | L 77–103 | 6–13 (2–7) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| Feb 21, 1970 | Indiana | W 78–66 | 7–13 (3–7) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 24, 1970 | Illinois | L 64–74 | 7–14 (3–8) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 28, 1970 | at Ohio State | W 82–80 | 8–14 (4–8) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Mar 3, 1970 | Purdue | L 98–101 | 8–15 (4–9) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 7, 1970 | at Illinois | W 81–76 | 9–15 (5–9) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. Source ||||||