Michigan State Basketball Releases Full 2011-2012 Schedule
by Pete Rossman on Sep 7, 2011 6:27 PM CDT
in Michigan State Spartans Basketball
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I'm a little bit late to the punch on this, but Michigan State released its full schedule for the 2011-2012 season today.
It's a bit big, so I'm posting it after the jump. A note -- all times are Eastern.
October
Sun 30 FERRIS STATE (Exhib.) (BTN.com) East Lansing, Mich. 2 p.m.
November
Fri. 4 HILLSDALE (Exhib.) (BTN.com) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
REGULAR SEASON
Fri. 11 vs. North Carolina (ESPN) San Diego, Calif. 7 p.m.
Tues. 15 vs. Duke (ESPN) New York, N.Y. 7 p.m.
Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational
Fri. 18 TEXAS SOUTHERN East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sun. 20 ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 6 p.m.
Wed. 23 MILWAUKEE (BTN.com) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sun. 27 at Eastern Michigan Ypsilanti, Mich. TBA
Wed. 30 FLORIDA STATE (ESPN) East Lansing, Mich. 7:30 p.m.
December
Sun 4 NEBRASKA OMAHA East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 7 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat. 10 at Gonzaga (ESPN2) Spokane, Wash. 9 p.m.
Sat. 17 BOWLING GREEN (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Mon. 19 UMKC (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 8:30 p.m.
Thu. 22 LEHIGH East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 28 INDIANA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 31 at Nebraska (Big Ten Network) Lincoln, Neb. 3 p.m.
January
Tues. 3 at Wisconsin (ESPN2) Madison, Wis. 7 p.m.
Tues. 10 IOWA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 14 at Northwestern (Big Ten Network) Evanston, Ill. 3 p.m.
Tues. 17 at Michigan (ESPN) Ann Arbor, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 21 PURDUE (ESPN) East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.
Wed. 25 MINNESOTA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 8:30 p.m.
Tues. 31 at Illinois (ESPN) Champaign, Ill. 7 p.m.
February
Sun. 5 MICHIGAN (CBS) East Lansing, Mich. 1 p.m.
Wed. 8 PENN STATE (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 11 Ohio State (ESPN) Columbus, Ohio 6 p.m.
Thurs. 16 WISCONSIN (ESPN/ESPN2) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sun. 19 at Purdue (CBS/Big Ten Network) West Lafayette, Ind. 1/4/6 p.m.
Wed. 22 at Minnesota (Big Ten Network) Minneapolis, Minn. 8:30 p.m.
Sat. 25 NEBRASKA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 8 p.m.
Tues. 28 at Indiana (ESPN) Bloomington, Ind. 7 p.m.
March
Sun. 4 OHIO STATE (Big Ten Network/ESPN/CBS) East Lansing, Mich. 12/1/4 p.m.
A few notes:
- People will panic if MSU opens the season at 0-2. Please do not be one of them.
- The Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational reportedly is a five-team round-robin event. I'm not sure why the EMU game was scheduled in Ypsilanti, but it'll be nice for Spartans on the east side, and if MSU wins (please win), the RPI boost can't hurt.
- Gonzaga's scheduled for 9 p.m., but once again, that's Eastern Standard Time. I'd be freaking out if that was Pacific, because I don't know how well MSU can play when their body clocks are telling them it's midnight.
- The Big Ten schedule gets off to a nice start -- home against an improved Indiana squad, to Nebraska (good that they're getting that road trip out of the way on Winter break), and at Wisconsin (hopefully the students stay home while on break, but I doubt it).
- Michigan State has an easy January -- plenty of rest and practice time. Contrast that with:
- February, where MSU will play five games in 12 days at its end, three of them away. This will be the toughest portion of the season, and they'll need Izzo-type depth by then. I don't know how the Big Ten thought this was OK.
- Luckily, they'll have a five game break before Senior Day against Ohio State.
Excepting the 12-day five-game gauntlet, the Big Ten schedule sets up well for MSU -- a January where they'll have a lot of practice time before they face the brunt. Thoughts?
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Sweet!
For the first time, ever, I will actually have this dilemma: Do I root for my actual alma mater or do I root for State!
It took me a while to think about this one, but I must say, I’m totally going to be rooting for Hillsdale. Sorry, dudes. Go Chargers!
Mods, please ban for life. Thanks.
Just kidding.
Not really.
Tonight's going to be a good night.
by Spartalytical on Sep 7, 2011 6:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Gonzaga
What will we hear more of this season?:
- Delvon Roe also is an actor.
- Drew Neitzel is ambidextrous.
- Jud Heathcote now lives in Spokane, and is a big supporter of & advisor to the Gonzaga program.
by MSUDersh on Sep 7, 2011 6:53 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
Matt Trannon also plays football!!!
"You can look at the dinosaur that weighs you down or you can look at the big pot of gold (and) try to say, 'You know what? I'm going to try to live up to expectations.' " -Tom Izzo, Iron Mountain Philosopher
by Ducking Delvon on Sep 8, 2011 7:57 AM CDT up reply actions
Taking it old school
Were you aware that Eric Snow is Percy Snow’s brother?!!!
by KJ@theonlycolors on Sep 9, 2011 7:51 AM CDT up reply actions
B10 teams we play only once:
Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern – All of which are traditionally the worst teams in the B10. It seems like we never get a break in the B10 scheduling compared to other teams, namely Wisconsin (thoughI haven’t seen their schedule this year).
Yup...
Sadly the big ten league championship is a fairly meaningless award now. Sure – it takes a good team to win it – but it does not necessarily indicate the best team in the league anymore. Pretty disappointing – but I guess that’s the price we pay apparently to add another garbage team to the hoops season so we can have a league championship game in football.
those contending teams have to play us twice
Absolutely this is a far from easy B10 schedule. The 2 home only games are probably the most-likely road wins in the B10- so we lose the chance for 2 road wins in league play. Plus
IL and NW are both capable of beating us, particularily in their gyms.
However, All the contending teams would prefer not to play us twice and the schedule does let us control our own destiny as far as the reg season title. Agree, will be good to build up to that hard finish. Hopefully the seniors will keep everyone focused and not overlook any opponent in jan and early feb.
Will be interesting. Not as high of expectations can be really good for a team. Don’t count out Green, Roe, Appling. A lot will depend on the improvement and consistency of NIx and Payne.
We will see how the wings step up and the developement of Travis Trice could be key midway through the season. Chances are one or 2 of the freshman wings will step up but who ends up being our primary point guard and how well they are doing will be key. Wonder if Byrd will recover enough to contribute? Lot of fun to see how it plays out and with the 2 seniors leading,
we can hope for a big ceiling of improvement as the season plays out.
by wifeofaspartan on Sep 8, 2011 9:09 AM CDT up reply actions
Good stuff
But don’t forget there’s another senior in the mix this year.
Brandon Wood will be a major factor for this team on and off the court.
I know I feel a lot better about this team with him onboard.
"the game is out there, and it's play or get played. That simple" - Omar
Expectations & Leadership
I still have high expectations for this team and all MSU fans should because for more than a decade now the program has competed at a high level. Why should that change now? Green is, without question, the leader of this team with Roe as his “Luca Brasi”. I’ll bet $1000 that the two of them have high expectations.
More importantly Tom Izzo has high expectations. He always does. And he consistently performs at a high level.
I’d say you can expect a high ceiling of improvement. Last season is over. Done. It was a bad season. But it was an exception rather than the rule of how Izzo and his players typically perform.
We suck against those three teams
Better we have two of Nebraska( crap I think), Indiana( decent but we play them well), and Minnesota( read Indiana)
by jonathan.onne on Sep 8, 2011 1:19 PM CDT up reply actions
UM Game
On Super Bowl Sunday?!
Really sux for people driving in that have to hustle home to the Detroit Area for Super Bowl parties. Guess I’m cancelling the one I host each year.
Dear Pete,
Stop apologizing.
We understand you can’t break every story.
We appreciate you taking the time to post when you can.
Thank you.
"the game is out there, and it's play or get played. That simple" - Omar
+1
"You can look at the dinosaur that weighs you down or you can look at the big pot of gold (and) try to say, 'You know what? I'm going to try to live up to expectations.' " -Tom Izzo, Iron Mountain Philosopher
by Ducking Delvon on Sep 8, 2011 8:08 AM CDT up reply actions
Agreed
We didn’t get the most advantageous B1G schedule :(.
I normally don’t care about the league record / title but it seems to be pretty indicative of our NCAA success or failure.
sidenote I know everyone is aware of Byrd and his boot, but any word on Gauna? Should we expect a little Goran Suton-ish type play coming off the bench for 5-10 minutes a game?
Actually, I really like the @EMU game
I think this is an underrated part of the Izzo “anyone, anytime, anywhere” scheduling. In the Izzo era, I believe MSU has played: @Bradley, @UW Green Bay, @IPFW, @Evansville, @Cleveland State, @Citadel…maybe some others.
I really like this because (1) playing mid-majors (or little guys) in a hostile environment is another kind of tournament prep, (2) playing these games around the midwest is another way of signifying MSU ownership of the region, and (3) there is something profoundly honest and respectful of the game of basketball in this. Izzo doesn’t say “anyone, anytime, anywhere” as some sort of chest-thumping exercise or as a way of selling the program to the national media—he honestly believes that the small schools deserve their shot at proving themselves by playing MSU on their court and (within the constraints of the system) he gives them their chance.
Anyway, I love to see this sort of game on the schedule.
Not only does playing games around the Midwest signify "ownership" in a "we rule" sense
But I’m sure it makes recruiting a lot easier, too, in terms of visibility and being able to tell recruits that even if his hometown school is a midmajor, they’ll schedule a game against them so they can see him.
by jhitts08 on Sep 7, 2011 10:01 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
TI as a basketball ambassador
agree, I think this is great and immediately thought of some of my daughter’s friends who go to EMU. Tx sales will be huge for them and I would enjoy that game in their gym more than at Breslin due to feeling good for EMU. This will be really fun for the EMU students and has been impressive in the past, especially the @ Bradley game.
We are so lucky to have Tom Izzo and he is a great man of integrity. Could the university have a better representative, face of athletics AND the school?!!!!!!!
by wifeofaspartan on Sep 8, 2011 9:15 AM CDT up reply actions
It shows the MSU always plays a tough schedule
When I see neutral site games against UNC and Duke, an away game at Gonzaga, and a home game against Florida State, and think that it’s not too challenging of a non con schedule.
would love to see a home/away schedule with Oakland over Christmas Break
Oakland has always played us tough. I would love to see MSU/Hollis set up a regular series with them,
either an alternating home/away or 2MSU home to one away each year at the start of Christmas Break or between the holidays (depending on how close final are to Christmas). You would want practice time to prep for Oakland but would be great for little/no travel for the athletes of both teams and a very meaningful opponent to prepare for and play, again for both teams as they start league play around the new year.
by wifeofaspartan on Sep 8, 2011 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions
Haven't we essentially had this for the last few years?
Tonight's going to be a good night.
by Spartalytical on Sep 10, 2011 10:31 AM CDT up reply actions
First Impression: Good Balance
Non-conference schedule: 2 neutral site games against Top 10 level blue-bloods, 1 away game against a solid Top 25 team (Gonzaga), 1 home game against a probable Top 25 team (FSU), 1 away game against a local mid-major (EMU), and 8 home games against teams where MSU should be huge favorites.
If I could find any fault, it would be that we don’t seem to have many of those Top 100 or Top 150 RPI teams that really help the resume at the end of the year. From a quick look at last year’s final RPI, EMU was 324, Bowling Green was 245, and Lehigh was 205. Assuming that “Milwaukee” means UW-Milwaukee, they would be the highest at 93.
"You can look at the dinosaur that weighs you down or you can look at the big pot of gold (and) try to say, 'You know what? I'm going to try to live up to expectations.' " -Tom Izzo, Iron Mountain Philosopher
It is pretty balanced
It’s cupcake heavy after the first week but that first week is a gauntlet.
Who opens their season with NC and Duke back to back?
I think it makes sense to load up on some practice games at home with so many new players.
Nice touch to throw in a visit to Ypsi. EMU should be decent next year and a visit from MSU helps build interest.
Only improvement I could see is maybe moving one of the big boy games to late Dec so you could maybe play NC early then Duke after developing some cohesion to get a better feel for the team.
Instead let’s open the season with them. What the he!!? We’re the State of Basketball.
Where tough players win.
"the game is out there, and it's play or get played. That simple" - Omar
Well at least we don't play Texas again
No offense to them, but we played them so often I was beginning to think they were aditioning to join the Big Ten in basketball. But then Gonzaga appears to be the new Texas – we seem to play them nearly every year too. Why does it seem like it’s been years since we played a PAC 10 (or whatever they’re calling themselves these days) team in the pre-season?
I miss playing Texas
Usually we won first of all, and also it was a burgeoning rivalry. Id like to see more christmas time Texas games in the near future.
I want to play Texas too!
I think it’s better for recruiting.
by spartanbballfan on Sep 8, 2011 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions
I'm not sure we "usually" won
My impression was that our record against them was close to 50-50. Is Texas really much of a basketball talent hotbed? I would think playing UCLA or USC would be much better for recruiting. Or maybe St. Johns, Georgetown, Temple or Villanova, none of whom do we ever play in the non-conference schedule.
by TheCrestedHelm on Sep 8, 2011 1:23 PM CDT up reply actions
Just my opinion, but...
who besides Chris Allen (Georgia) has MSU recruited/landed in the past few years? I think Texas (Dominic Woodson) is the first step in reaching out beyond the Great Lake states. I’m definitely interested in recruiting nationally but it is my understanding that it hasn’t happened yet. Love to hear what you and others think!
by spartanbballfan on Sep 8, 2011 1:56 PM CDT up reply actions
Good players are good players
No matter where they are from. We’ve been pretty damn good the last 15 years so it’s hard to criticize Izzo’s recruiting (not saying you were criticizing). If a player wants to come all the way from Florida, or wherever, and play at MSU-cool. If Izzo wants to stay within a certain radius-I think he’s earned the right to do it his way.
Agree
I’d like to see them play some other traditional powers too but I doubt it would have much to do with recruiting. The way Coach recruits, I think he prefers the kids to be nearby. Besides there’s a lot of talent in Michigan, there’s even more in Indiana and that seems to be where he focuses the most. That’s fine with me.
He’s got access to the Spartan G6 but he uses it to fly to Vegas to watch kids from Michigan and Indiana…
"the game is out there, and it's play or get played. That simple" - Omar
UCLA
We did a home-and-home with them in the ’04 – ’05 area. Right before they went on their string of 3 straight Final 4s.
"You can look at the dinosaur that weighs you down or you can look at the big pot of gold (and) try to say, 'You know what? I'm going to try to live up to expectations.' " -Tom Izzo, Iron Mountain Philosopher
by Ducking Delvon on Sep 8, 2011 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Arizona
We did a home-and-home with them, playing @AZ in ’99 (the crazy reverse-putback dunk by J-Rich) and hosting them in ’01 (where we kept the home winning streak alive against Luke Walton and co.). We also scheduled Stanford in a 2-year neutral site series, playing in San Francisco (?) and then at the Palace in ’03.
"You can look at the dinosaur that weighs you down or you can look at the big pot of gold (and) try to say, 'You know what? I'm going to try to live up to expectations.' " -Tom Izzo, Iron Mountain Philosopher
by Ducking Delvon on Sep 8, 2011 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions
I know we play PAC schools sometimes
but we’ve literally played Texas every year for a half-decade. UNC also seems to show up more often on our schedule than necessary. I’m not opposed to a home and home with those teams now and then, but more variety would, IMO, be nice. I know UNC is a special case because of the Big Ten-ACC challenge.
I didn’t bring up the recruiting angle – my response was intended to point out that if we wanted to play some team for a half decade straight to improve recuiting, there are far greener pastures than Texas we could have arranged to play in.
Instead of playing Texas for what seems like 5 years straight, we could have played a home and home with them, and had one with Georgetown or Villanova, although at this point I really don’t think we need to play in a particular area to draw interest.
I think, as noted above by others, that Izzo likes to recruit regionally for the most part. That said, he’s built enough of a reputation that if he wanted a kid from Philly or DC (or LA or NY), his call would probably be warmly received, and he’d get a fair shake relative to any other coach that was recruiting said kid. That would be true whether we had recently played a team from that area or not.
by TheCrestedHelm on Sep 9, 2011 9:18 AM CDT up reply actions
We've had Texas on the schedule because
Izzo and Barnes are pretty good friends and both athletic departments felt that the games would be good for each others’ non-conference schedule (they were right). I expect to see them on the schedule again fairly soon as well as even a football game when/if possible. Texas has the type of athletic department with which MSU wants to do business.
I think everyone would like to see Georgetown, Villanova, etc on the schedule. But the reality is that most coaches and ADs (Barnes and Texas being exceptions) at prominent programs aren’t that interested in bulking up their non-conference schedules.
I’d like to see Texas back on the schedule again. I think that series was good for both schools and established, or at least introduced, a good-spirited rivalry. Even though they pantsed us last year at home, I’d like to keep that one going.
Tonight's going to be a good night.
by Spartalytical on Sep 10, 2011 10:34 AM CDT up reply actions
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