The Season- Code: Select all
Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
11/14 #11 (n) Western Kentucky W 69-60 1-0 C. Armstead (18 pts 18 reb 3 ast) C. Perry (16 pts 7 reb 1 ast 1 blk)
11/16 #11 (n) San Diego State W 86-64 2-0 C. Armstead (35 pts 12 reb 4 blk) M. Phillips (11 pts 8 reb 4 ast 6 stl)
11/18 #11 (n) New Mexico State W 80-74 3-0 C. Armstead (17 pts 11 reb 1 ast 1 blk) J. Brown (23 pts 7 reb 10 ast)
11/20 #5 (n) #4 Kansas L 76-83 3-1 C. Armstead (17 pts 6 reb 4 blk) D. Molinari (12 pts 3 reb 2 blk)
11/21 #5 @ Xavier W 81-80 (OT) 4-1 C. Armstead (14 pts 10 reb 2 ast 2 blk) C. Wheat (17 pts 8 reb 3 ast)
11/24 #5 VA Commonwealth W 79-77 5-1 C. Armstead (22 pts 11 reb 2 blk) J. Brown (14 pts 4 reb 11 ast 1 blk)
11/28 #5 @ #12 UCLA W 78-68 6-1 C. Wheat (27 pts 3 reb) C. Armstead (18 pts 6 reb 1 ast)
Tonight was my 300th win as a head coach, and I’m just seven wins away from my 100th as a coach at Michigan State! It’s hard to believe I have only been in this game for 12 years, considering all the wonderful people I’ve crossed paths with already.- Code: Select all
Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
12/1 #5 #2 Louisville L 81-85 6-2 C. Armstead (18 pts 12 reb 3 ast 3 blk) J. Brown (19 pts 3 reb 6 ast)
12/5 #7 @ #3 North Carolina L 52-74 6-3 D. Adams (9 pts 2 ast) M. Phillips (8 pts 6 reb 2 stl)
12/8 #7 @ Butler W 76-60 7-3 C. Armstead (23 pts 9 reb 1 ast 3 blk) M. Phillips (10 pts 6 reb 3 ast)
12/12 #7 Arizona L 73-84 7-4 C. Armstead (15 pts 11 reb 1 ast 1 blk) M. Phillips (12 pts 12 reb)
12/19 #14 #24 Seton Hall L 71-82 7-5 C. Armstead (29 pts 6 reb 2 ast 2 stl) C. Wheat (13 pts 4 reb 1 ast)
Our home win streak ended against Louisville, and we were truly brought down to earth with the brutal loss at North Carolina, where no one on our team got into double figures scoring. But losing to 3-4 Arizona on our own court really made it clear -- this is going to be a tough year with a young team trying to find wins where we can. And it’s gonna take work, a lot of it, to take a 7-5 start and turn it into a solid Big Ten season. I can already hear the other teams in the conference chomping at the bit ready to challenge us.
- Code: Select all
Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
12/30 #19 @ Rutgers L 82-103 7-6 (0-1) C. Armstead (21 pts 13 reb 3 ast) C. Wheat (12 pts 6 reb 2 ast)
1/2 #24 Ohio State L 60-63 7-7 (0-2) M. Phillips (11 pts 11 reb 2 ast 1 blk) J. Fox (12 pts 2 ast)
1/6 #24 @ Michigan L 82-100 7-8 (0-3) C. Armstead (27 pts 10 reb 3 ast 1 stl) J. Brown (14 pts 4 reb 8 ast)
1/11 Iowa W 77-56 8-8 (1-3) C. Wheat (18 pts 3 reb 3 ast) J. Brown (12 pts 5 reb 12 ast 2 stl)
1/16 Minnesota L 62-72 8-9 (1-4) C. Armstead (28 pts 5 reb 3 ast) J. Brown (10 pts 6 reb 7 ast 1 stl)
1/18 @ Northwestern L 66-70 8-10 (1-5) C. Armstead (15 pts 11 reb 2 ast) C. Wheat (17 pts 6 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
1/20 #21 Rutgers W 96-90 9-10 (2-5) C. Armstead (29 pts 15 reb 2 blk) M. Phillips (10 pts 8 reb 2 ast 3 stl)
1/25 Indiana W 76-61 10-10 (3-5) C. Wheat (19 pts 2 reb 1 ast) C. Armstead (13 pts 13 reb)
1/27 @ Purdue L 62-82 10-11 (3-6) C. Armstead (18 pts 14 reb 4 blk) M. Phillips (6 pts 7 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
Cameron Armstead is, midway through the season, in the top five of the Norton race. But our team is falling apart, with rivalries between players for time on the court, and an overall frustration level that we are barely off the edge of .500, with the very real potential that if we don’t straighten the ship, we may not make the postseason at all. Tom Canal is on a two week disciplinary suspension, and if he doesn’t straighten his attitude out Nick Collum may join him. This is simply turning into a season nightmares are made of, and there are still elevel Big Ten games left to play. The silver lining is our NET ranking -- we’re still 49th in that metric, and we’re in 9th place in the Big Ten. If we can just get back above .500 we’ll still have a shot at being on the bubble.- Code: Select all
Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
1/30 Wisconsin W 66-54 11-11 (4-6) C. Armstead (8 pts 11 reb 2 ast 4 blk) N. Collum (11 pts 4 reb 3 ast)
2/1 @ Penn State W 71-59 12-11 (5-6) C. Armstead (12 pts 18 reb 4 blk) J. Brown (26 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
Nick Collum got into another altercation after practice with Jules Hooper and he’d been warned. I’ve now got hin on a two week suspension as well. Just as I think we’re getting the ship righted, this s--- keeps happening. There won’t be any more warnings. I will cut players from this team if I need to.- Code: Select all
Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
2/6 Maryland W 94-78 13-11 (6-6) C. Armstead (38 pts 12 reb 3 ast 3 stl) D. Adams (13 pts 4 reb 1 ast)
2/8 @ Illinois W 94-74 14-11 (7-6) C. Armstead (32 pts 9 reb 1 blk) J. Brown (29 pts 4 reb 6 ast 1 stl)
2/10 Michigan W 74-61 15-11 (8-6) C. Armstead (22 pts 11 reb 3 blk) J. Brown (25 pts 5 reb 8 ast)
2/15 #21 Purdue L 68-86 15-12 (8-7) C. Wheat (20 pts 4 reb 9 ast) C. Armstead (11 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 blk)
2/17 @ Nebraska W 92-89 16-12 (9-7) C. Armstead (32 pts 10 reb 1 blk) C. Wheat (23 pts 5 reb 6 ast 1 stl)
2/20 @ Wisconsin W 61-58 17-12 (10-7) C. Wheat (23 pts 6 reb) C. Armstead (10 pts 14 reb 4 blk)
2/22 @ Ohio State L 60-65 17-13 (10-8) C. Armstead (12 pts 10 reb 3 blk) J. Brown (16 pts 1 reb 2 ast)
3/1 Penn State W 70-42 18-13 (11-8) C. Armstead (15 pts 13 reb 3 blk) J. Brown (14 pts 6 reb 6 ast 1 stl)
3/3 @ Indiana L 65-86 18-14 (11-9) C. Armstead (24 pts 2 reb 2 blk) C. Wheat (16 pts 4 reb 2 ast)
I won my 100th game as the Michigan State coach when we hosted Maryland on the 6th. And we would go on to win five straight before falling to Purdue on our court, though by that point we were at least off the bubble for the time being. Everyone came off suspension and I hoped for once we were back in a rhythm, ready to play as a team and forget the petty bulls---. We won on the road against Nebraska and Wisconsin, and could have taken a share of third place in the Big Ten with a win at Ohio State, but we stumbled down the stretch and couldn’t pull it out. We wound up finishing tied with Rutgers for fifth place, and since they had the tiebreaker we’ll go into the Big Ten Tournament with a sixth seed. Purdue, Nebraska, Minnesota and Ohio State won the double byes.
On March 4th Cameron Armstead was named a top ten finalist for the Norton Award, and he’s expected to finish second behind Duke’s Charlie Kelley, though earning 1st Team All America status in the process. He and Chad Wheat have declared for the draft, and Nick Collum told me this week he is quitting the team and plans to transfer. Based on his attitude all year, I say good riddance. I hope he finds somewhere to shine in his senior year.
We’re way behind in the recruiting race, but I have my eyes on a pair of four star players and a three-star potential recruit from overseas who, if they work out and agree to play here, should help us at least fare well in the middle of the Big Ten pack. And next year we’ll have graduating seniors and the ability to go hard after the top recuits again.
Big Ten Tournament- Code: Select all
Date Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
3/8 (11) Penn State W 78-71 19-14 C. Armstead (11 pts 13 reb 2 ast 3 blk) J. Brown (19 pts 4 reb 3 ast)
3/9 (3) Minnesota L 76-84 19-15 C. Wheat (23 pts 5 reb 4 ast) C. Armstead (16 pts 6 reb 1 stl 1 blk)
We should still be safely in the tournament at this point based on our #30 NET ranking. The WSSN bracketologists have us right now on the edge of an 8 or 9-seed, so we’ll see what actually happens. (10) Illinois upset Minnesota, earning a shot at (1) Purdue in the championship game of the Big Ten Tourney, but they were blown out by twenty points ensuring they’ll likely be NIT bound instead of stealing an extra NCAA bid.
Big Ten teams in the NCAA Tournament:
Boston: (2) Purdue
Boston: (9) Michigan State
Indianapolis: (7) Nebraska
Indianapolis: (10) Rutgers
Tampa: (8) Minnesota
Boise: (9) Ohio State
The Committee must have been drunk, forcing Rutgers and Nebraska to face each other in the first round, when Rutgers could have easily been placed on the 9-seed line at the opposite end of the bracket.
Maryland got sent to the NIT, while Indiana was relegated to the CIT Tournament. The only two postseason-eligible teams in the Big Ten who were snubbed were Penn State (17-15, 8-12, 96 NET) and Illinois (18-16, 8-12, 109 NET) and I don’t think anyone’s crying about them being left at home.
NCAA Tournament- Code: Select all
Date Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
3/17 (8) Colorado L 69-74 19-16 M. Phillips (24 pts 7 reb 2 ast) C. Wheat (15 pts 4 reb 1 ast)
This is only my second time ever finishing outside a 20-win season, but I’m going to look at the silver lining and say at least we have Morris Phillips coming back next year. The rest of the team is going to be raw, with him and senior guard Jeremy Brown as the leaders of what looks to be a really raw young team. If I can’t find a way to outflank expectations, I worry I’ll find myself on the hot seat if the season sputters like this one.
Purdue advanced with a 77-53 win over (15) Murray State, while Nebraska outlasted Rutgers in the “Big Ten Screwjob” game, winning 87-80. Fresno State blew out (8) Minnesota 98-68, and Ohio State couldn’t figure out (8) Tennessee, losing 66-81. That led to a pair of 7/2 matchups in the Saturday games, with neither one going the way the Big Ten team hoped. (2) Purdue was stumped by USC 78-63, while (7) Nebraska collapsed against (2) Memphis losing 87-73. So there you go, no Big Ten representation in the Sweet Sixteen this year.
Maryland advanced to the NIT Final Four by beating Temple 62-46. In the NIT Semifinals they faced Florida A&M (20-14) and won an offensive shootout, 101-86, proving they’re able to win playing fast or slow. They faced off against Weber State (23-11) in the title game, winning easily 77-66 to take home the NIT title -- oddly, the second Big Ten team in a row to do so.
In the Final Four we saw four new faces take the floor. (1) Texas lost a stunner in the Semifinals to (3) VA Commonwealth, 80-68, while (7) DePaul fell to (5) Villanova 85-68. That set up a rare 3/5 matchup in the title game, as (3) VA Commonwealth won out in a tightly contested battle, 86-84.
Team Leaders
Scoring: Cameron Armstead (19.1 ppg) Chad Wheat (13.4 ppg) Jeremy Brown (12.5 ppg) Morris Phillips (7.6 ppg)
Rebounding: Cameron Armstead (10.1 rpg) Morris Phillips (6.4 rpg) Chad Wheat (3.9 rpg) Jeremy Brown (3.8 rpg)
Assists: Jeremy Brown (6.2 apg) Chad Wheat (2.5 apg) Morris Phillips (1.7 apg) Darryl Adams (1.7 apg)
Steals: Morris Phillips (2.2 spg) Darryl Adams (1.0 spg) Tom Canal (1.0 spg)
Blocks: Cameron Armstead (2.2 bpg) Morris Phillips (0.8 bpg)
Graduating Players
None.
Leaving Early
Cameron Armstead (4.0 GPA) 13.8 ppg 8.0 rpg 1.3 apg 0.5 spg 1.7 bpg (100 starts)
Chad Wheat (3.1 GPA) 13.4 ppg 3.9 rpg 2.5 apg 0.4 spg 0.1 bpg (34 starts)
Awards
1st Team All American: Cameron Armstead
Big Ten Player of the Year: Cameron Armstead
1st Team All Big Ten: Jeremy Brown
1st Team All Big Ten: Cameron Armstead
Texas’ Donny Swoger won National Coach of the Year.
Purdue’s Antwan Armstrong won Big Ten Coach of the Year.
[u]Commmitted Recruits -- Final List
6’8” SF George Carey (HS Senior, Thatcher AZ) 3.1 GPA (#107 Ntl, #19 Reg) 17.2 ppg 3.5 rpg 2.6 apg 2.5 spg 1.8 apg
6’3” SG Ray Nielsen (JuCo Sophomore, Waycross GA) 2.4 GPA (#129 Ntl, #24 Reg) 15.3 ppg 6.5 rpg 2.6 apg 1.6 spg
6’8” PF Saipele Berkowitz (Intl Senior, Israel) 2.6 GPA (#213 Ntl, #16 Reg) 15.5 ppg 5.9 rpg 3.9 apg 1.7 spg 3.3 bpg
I failed every one of my job goals according to the board, and they’re not happy. I got the players I wanted out of the kids who weren’t early signings, but that means three role players who the administration feel were desperation grabs, good enough for maybe the middle of the pack in Big Ten recruiting. WSSN is predicting we’ll finish with a top 75 class nationally, just outside the top five in the Big Ten. We’ll see what actually happens.
Indiana, Wisconsin and Penn State are all looking for new coaches, so there should be some interesting happenings in the conference next season. We’ve extended the contract of 2nd Assistant / Lead Scout Ed Williams, for four years at $77,250 -- a slight increase as the 67-year old says he’d like to retire here. He’s among the top scouting coaches in the nation, so I was inclined to accept.