2001–02 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team explained

Hc Year:7th
Ahc Year:3rd
Ac1 Year:6th
Ac2 Year:1st
Mode:Basketball
Year:2001–02
Team:Michigan State Spartans
Conference:Big Ten Conference
Short Conf:Big Ten
Record:19–12
Conf Record:10–6
Champion:Coca-Cola Spartan Classic champion
Bowl Result:first round

The 2001–02 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by Tom Izzo in his seventh season. The Spartans played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished the regular season 19–12, 10–6 to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten. The Spartans received a bid to the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive year where they lost in the First Round to NC State.

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2000–01 season 28–5, 13–3 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. Michigan State received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, their fourth straight trip to the Tournament, and advanced the Final Four, their third straight trip under Tom Izzo.

The Spartans lost Charlie Bell (13.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.1 APG) to graduation and freshman Zach Randolph (10.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.0 APG) and sophomore Jason Richardson (14.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.2 APG) to the NBA draft following the season.

Season summary

After three consecutive years of trips to the Final Four, the Spartans began the season ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll. Michigan State was led by sophomore Marcus Taylor (16.8 points and 5.3 assists per game), freshman Chris Hill (11.5 points per game), and junior Adam Ballinger (11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game). The Spartans participated in the Preseason NIT where they defeated Detroit Mercy[1] and No. 24 Oklahoma[2] at Breslin Center, but then fell to No. 18 Syracuse[3] and No. 23 Fresno State at Madison Square Garden.[4] The Spartans also suffered non-conference losses to No. 6 Florida[5] and No. 16 Stanford,[6] but did beat No. 6 Arizona in a rematch of their Final Four clash the previous Spring.[7] MSU finished the non-conference season at 9–4 and ranked No. 19 in the country.

In Big Ten play, MSU started the season with three straight losses, the last to Wisconsin, which snapped MSU's 53-game home winning streak.[8] [9] The Spartans did defeat No. 12 Illinois,[10] No. 18 Ohio State at home[11] and on the road,[12] and No. 23 Indiana.[13] Michigan State finished the conference schedule at 10–6 and in fourth place with an overall record of 19–10. The Spartans slipped out of the ranking following their opening conference losses and remained unranked the remainder of the season. MSU lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament to No. 23 Indiana marking the first time since 1997 that Michigan State did not win either the Big Ten regular season or tournament title.[14]

The Spartans received an at-large bid as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, their fifth consecutive trip. The Spartans were eliminated in the First Round by NC State.[15]

Following the season, sophomore Marcus Taylor declared for the NBA draft.

Roster

-2001–02 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
NameClassPosHeightSummary
Aaron AlexanderSO0.3 Pts, 0.3 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Aloysius AnagonyeSOF6'8"7.7 Pts, 6.3 Reb, 1.5 Ast
Alan AndersonFRF6'6"6.5 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 1.6 Ast
Jason AndreasSOC6'10"2.6 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Adam BallingerJRF6'9"11.2 Pts, 6.8 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Tim BograkosFRG6'2"1.4 Pts, 1.9 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Chris HillFRG6'3"11.5 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 2.1 Ast
Mat IshbiaSRG5'10"1.1 Pts, 0.2 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Marcus TaylorSOG6'3"16.8 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 5.3 Ast
Kelvin TorbertFRG6'4"8.2 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 1.5 Ast
Brian WestrickJRF6'5"0.8 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Adam WolfeFRF6'9"1.7 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Source[16]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=9 style=| Exhibition|-!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=9 style=|Big Ten regular season|-!colspan=9 style=|Big Ten tournament|-!colspan=9 style=|NCAA tournament

Rankings

See also: 2001-02 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.

Awards and honors

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Men's Basketball Defeats Detroit in Season Opener, 80-70 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  2. Web site: Spartans Stop No. 25 Oklahoma, 67-55 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-09.
  3. Web site: Men's Hoops Drops One To No. 18 Syracuse, 69-58 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  4. Web site: Spartans Drop Second Straight - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  5. Web site: Spartan Rally Falls Short Against No. 6 Florida, 74-70 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  6. Web site: No. 13 Men's Hoops Downed By No. 16 Stanford, 75-64 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  7. Web site: Michigan State Keeps Arizona In Check, 74-60. ArizonaWildcats.com. 2016-02-09.
  8. Web site: Badgers End MSU's Home Win Streak. University of Wisconsin. 2016-02-09.
  9. Web site: Men's Hoops Edged By Wisconsin, 64-63 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-09. 2016-03-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20160307004131/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/011202aaa.html. dead.
  10. Web site: Spartans Sink No. 12 Illinois, 67-61 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  11. Web site: Spartans Beat No. 16 Buckeyes, 67-64 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  12. Web site: Spartans Rally To Beat Buckeyes, 81-76 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  13. Web site: Spartans Take Down No. 23 Indiana, 57-54 - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18.
  14. Web site: Spartans Fall To Indiana In Big Ten Tourney - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-18. 2016-03-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306234413/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030802aaa.html. dead.
  15. Web site: Espn.com . 2016-02-09 . Wolfpack rally to dispatch Michigan State . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20040111071527/http://espn.go.com/ncb/2002/20020315/recap/michiganstncstate.html . 2004-01-11 .
  16. Web site: 2002 Michigan State Spartans. College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. 2016-05-10.
  17. Web site: Marcus Taylor Named First-Team All-Big Ten; Ballinger Also Honored - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-09.
  18. Web site: Taylor Selected To USBWA All-District Team - Michigan State Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-02-09.