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Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
11/14 #1 (n) Kent State W 87-65 1-0 C. Midnight (21 pts 10 reb 5 stl) S. Berkowitz (14 pts 8 reb 3 ast)
11/16 #1 (n) South Dakota St. W 83-71 2-0 C. Midnight (28 pts 10 reb 3 stl) S. Berkowitz (10 pts 10 reb 8 ast)
11/18 #1 (n) #2 Duke W 83-69 3-0 C. Midnight (20 pts 13 reb 4 blk) R. Costanueve (21 pts 7 reb 3 stl)
11/20 #1 (n) #3 West Virginia W 90-87 (OT) 4-0 J. Gehlhausen (25 pts 4 reb) R. Costanueve (22 pts 23 reb 2 ast 1 blk)
11/22 #1 #18 Villanova W 71-47 5-0 S. Berkowitz (14 pts 21 reb 9 ast 7 blk) R. Costanueve (30 pts 7 reb)
11/25 #1 #15 Memphis W 93-70 6-0 S. Berkowitz (15 pts 16 reb 12 ast) C. Midnight (19 pts 9 reb 4 ast)
11/29 #1 @ #17 Louisville W 93-85 7-0 R. Costanueve (27 pts 13 reb 2 stl) S. Berkowitz (12 pts 11 reb 9 ast)
12/2 #1 Indiana State W 72-61 8-0 C. Midnight (24 pts 10 reb 6 stl) R. Costanueve (18 pts 12 reb 4 ast)
12/6 #1 Xavier W 81-64 9-0 C. Midnight (29 pts 7 reb 2 ast) J. Gehlhausen (22 pts 4 reb)
12/9 #1 @ #3 Duke W 83-61 10-0 C. Midnight (24 pts 8 reb 5 ast) R. Coastanueve (20 pts 10 reb 4 ast)
12/13 #1 @ #10 Virginia L 76-95 10-1 R. Costanueve (28 pts 13 reb) J. Gehlhausen (14 pts 6 reb 3 ast)
12/20 #1 Butler W 75-42 11-1 R. Costanueve (36 pts 18 reb 2 ast) C. Midnight (14 pts 15 reb 3 blk)
Berkowitz is as good as ever, but the difference this year is he has a whole team of support to push this team to the top! He had his third career triple-double at home against Memphis, and he seems to be fitting in well to our new fast-paced offense, where he can focus on defending and let the points come where they will. The loss at Virginia was disappointing, but we’re playing the toughest schedule in the country and I think we’ll be well prepared for a deep run if we can get through the Big Ten without too many blemishes.
That said, getting through the Big Ten may be an interesting journey. #5 Maryland is 11-1 as well, and Northwestern (10-1) is right behind, though they’re not ranked yet. Purdue and Michigan are both 8-2, while Iowa (7-2) and Indiana (8-3) aren’t far back. Everybody in the Big Ten has a winning record except Wisconsin (4-5), and only Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin are outsid the top 100 NET.
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Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
12/26 #1 Northwestern W 80-59 12-1 (1-0) R. Costanueve (24 pts 11 reb 4 ast) J. Gehlhausen (21 pts 3 reb 1 ast)
12/28 #1 @ Penn State W 99-73 13-1 (2-0) S. Berkowitz (10 pts 17 reb 6 blk) C. Midnight (28 pts 12 reb 3 ast)
1/2 #1 Purdue W 73-50 14-1 (3-0) R. Costanueve (26 pts 12 pts 3 ast) C. Midnight (13 pts 14 reb 5 blk)
1/4 #1 Indiana W 82-57 15-1 (4-0) R. Coastanueve (22 pts 3 reb 3 ast) C. Midnight (10 pts 15 reb 2 ast)
1/9 #1 @ Rutgers L 79-84 15-2 (4-1) R. Costanueve (27 pts 7 reb 3 ast) C. Midnight (18 pts 10 reb 6 blk)
1/13 #1 Iowa W 83-51 16-2 (5-1) R. Costanueve (31 pts 4 reb 2 ast) S. Berkowitz (14 reb 15 ast 7 blk)
1/18 #1 @ #5 Maryland L 84-94 (OT) 16-3 (5-2) R. Costanueve (22 pts 16 reb 6 ast) S. Berkowitz (10 pts 15 reb 8 blk)
1/23 #1 @ Indiana W 82-61 17-3 (6-2) C. Midnight (20 pts 6 reb 4 ast) S. Berkowitz (15 pts 10 reb 8 ast)
1/25 #1 Penn State W 81-45 18-3 (7-2) R. Costanueve (29 pts 13 reb 3 ast) C. Midnight (27 pts 15 reb 5 blk)
1/27 #1 @ Iowa W 93-73 19-3 (8-2) S. Berkowitz (16 pts 8 reb 10 ast) R. Costanueve (24 pts 8 reb 6 ast)
Our depth means even when someone manages to slow down Berkowitz’s scoring, which has happened significantly this year, we have so many other options offensively that it’s difficult to get the upper hand on us. Both our Big Ten losses to this point have been on the road in close games, and neither really puts up any red flags. We’re currently tied for first in the conference with #23 Michigan, and half a game up on #6 Maryland, with Northwestern (6-3) and Penn State (7-4) just each a game and a half back -- so it’s important not to start playing like we think we’ve got a lock on anything. But the way we’ve been playing all year suggests to me that our team of young potential NBA-ers is gelling into a cohesive unit, one that easily is the best I have coached to this point in my career. It’s hard not to start looking ahead. Berkowitz remains in the top five of the Norton polling, while Gehlhausen, primarily due to his prolific scoring, at least made the first cut. It’ll be interesting to see who among these young stars choose to stay and who, if not all of them, decamp for NBA glory.
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Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
2/1 #1 Wisconsin W 75-61 20-3 (9-2) R. Costanueve (36 pts 7 reb) C. Midnight (12 pts 12 reb 2 stl 3 blk)
2/3 #1 @ Purdue L 65-78 20-4 (9-3) J. Gehlhausen (23 pts 6 reb 1 ast) R. Costanueve (19 pts 7 reb 1 ast)
2/6 #1 @ Northwestern W 75-58 21-4 (10-3) R. Costanueve (24 pts 7 reb 2 ast) C. Midnight (15 pts 13 reb 3 ast)
2/10 #1 Ohio State W 86-60 22-4 (11-3) S. Berkowitz (10 pts 13 reb 8 ast) J. Gehlhausen (26 pts 3 reb 2 stl)
2/15 #1 @ Michigan W 96-79 23-4 (12-3) S. Berkowitz (11 pts 15 reb 14 ast) R. Costanueve (32 pts 11 reb)
This, Berkowitz’s fifth triple double, officially breaks the 2023-24 record of Ledaryl Fry of Kansas, who had four triple doubles in his career. His remarkable consistency is impressive, having flirted with more than a dozen already, as well as a couple of quad doubles that never quite materialized. To this point he’s AVERAGING just shy of a triple, with 7.9 points 8.4 assists and 12.0 rebounds per game this season (and 10.6 points 7.1 assists and 12.7 rebounds per game over his career -- unbelievable!)
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Date Rank Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
2/17 #1 Illinois W 77-51 24-4 (13-3) R. Costanueve (24 pts 13 reb 2 ast) J. Gehlhausen (22 pts 3 reb 1 ast)
2/22 #1 Minnesota W 83-64 25-4 (14-3) S. Berkowitz (16 pts 28 reb 4 blk) C. Midnight (12 pts 13 reb 3 blk)
2/24 #1 @ Ohio State W 88-66 26-4 (15-3) R. Costanueve (24 pts 7 reb 2 blk) C. Midnight (10 pts 16 reb 2 stl)
3/1 #1 @ Wisconsin W 87-62 27-4 (16-3) R. Costanueve (32 pts 10 reb 3 ast) J. Fox (21 pts 2 reb 7 ast 2 stl)
3/3 #1 Nebraska W 79-58 28-4 (17-3) C. Midnight (28 pts 10 reb 4 blk) S. Berkowitz (9 pts 13 reb 12 ast)
We finished the Big Ten season tied with #3 Maryland, so we get that share of 1st Place but will be playing from second seeding in the conference tourney since we don’t get an at-home rematch against them this year. Penn State (18-11, 13-7) finished with the third seed over the two teams THEY tied with, Northwestern (23-8, 13-7) and Michigan (21-9, 13-7). Indiana (20-11, 12-8) finished sixth. Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, eight teams are currently postseason eligible. Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska have to win the entire tournament in order to get into even a tertiary postseason one. Rutgers and Purdue each have 17 wins, but due to their double-digit Big Ten losses they each need to win a couple games to get off the NCAA Tournament bubble (as of right now Rutgers could get an 11-seed regardless, but Purdue is on the outside looking in.)
Saipele Berkowitz is a finalist for the Norton Award, and will again earn 1st Team All American honors. He has chosen to return for his junior year, ensuring he should break almost every Michigan State player record in the process. Our three freshmen, Joseph Gehlhausen, Cole Midnight and Rico Costanueve, however, have chosen to leave for the NBA, and each is expected to be drafted in the first round. We have a good list of remaining recruit prospects, and I expect to be able to fill their open spots without having to depend on the transfer portal.
Big Ten Tournament
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Date Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
3/9 (10) Ohio State W 74-50 29-4 R. Costanueve (17 pts 6 reb 1 blk) J. Gehlhausen (32 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 blk)
3/10 (3) Penn State W 92-80 30-4 R. Costanueve (24 pts 11 reb 1 ast 1 stl) C. Midnight (15 pts 13 reb 4 stl)
3/11 (1) Maryland W 62-42 31-4 R. Costanueve (13 pts 11 reb 2 ast) J. Gehlhausen (17 pts 6 reb 1 ast 1 stl)
On Wednesday, Purdue likely played its way into the NIT (or lower) by losing 58-63 to (9) Minnesota. Rutgers lost to (10) Ohio State as well, 71-75, putting them as one of the first four out as well so they’re now going to be biting their nails too. We ended Ohio State’s postseason hopes on Thursday when they dropped to 15-18 overall, and Maryland did the same with Minnesota, beating the Gophers 64-45 and dropping them to 13-18 on the season. So it’s looking more and more likely that six Big Ten teams will make the NCAA Tournament, with Rutgers likely in the NIT, and Purdue playing in one of the tournaments (though it’s hard to gauge if their loss in this tourney knocked them out of the NIT as well. We and Maryland got our rematch in the title game, with both of us safely as top seeds for the NCAA Tournament, so the game itself was just a neutral-court grudge match for revenge on our part for the overtime loss on their court. And in that rematch we knocked them flat defensively, proving yet again that we’re the team to beat in the Big Dance.
Big Ten Teams in the NCAA Tournament:
Dayton: (12) Indiana -- Plays into Lexington Regional
Philadelphia: (1) Michigan State
Lexington: (9) Michigan
Lexington: (8) Northwestern
New Orleans: (1) Maryland
Anaheim: (8) Penn State
Northwestern got truly snubbed by being forced to play Michigan in a first-round game in the NCAA tournament. They easily could have been placed in a 10/7 matchup instead -- the Big Ten continues to be treated shabbily by the committee. Rutgers will play on in the NIT, while Purdue wound up dropping into the CBT Tournament.
NCAA Tournament
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Date Opponent Score W/L Record Leaders
3/16 (16) UC-San Diego W 86-40 32-4 C. Midnight (21 pts 15 reb 2 ast) R. Costanueve (25 pts 6 reb 5 ast)
3/18 (9) NC State W 78-55 33-4 C. Midnight (25 pts 9 reb 5 stl) S. Berkowitz (9 pts 12 reb 10 ast 4 blk)
3/23 (5) Memphis W 77-71 34-4 R. Costanueve (27 pts 10 reb 4 ast) S. Berkowitz (14 pts 11 reb 6 ast 2 blk)
3/25 (7) Mississippi W 77-53 35-4 R. Costanueve (25 pts 12 reb 2 ast) J. Gehlhausen (26 pts 5 reb 3 ast)
4/1 (5) Villanova W 94-75 36-4 S. Berkowitz (9 pts 16 reb 10 ast 4 blk) R. Costanueve (26 pts 6 reb 2 ast)
4/3 (1) Maryland W 71-53 37-4 R. Costanueve (29 pts 12 reb 3 ast 2 stl) C. Midnight (17 pts 15 reb 5 blk)
On Tuesday night in their play-in game, Indiana lost a close one against NC-Wilmington, falling 68-72 and missing the chance to move on. Purdue won its first two games in the CBT Tournament, beating Delaware 74-65, and then outlasting Southern Methodist 80-70 to advance to the second weekend. Rutgers advanced in the NIT by beating Fairfield 82-64, then advanced to the second weekend by winning a 73-71 squeaker over UC-Santa Barbara. We absolutely slaughtered UC-San Diego, winning by 46 points in a game we’d led 51-20 at the half. Michigan outlasted Northwestern later in the afternoon, winning 78-68. On Friday Maryland did pretty much the same thing we did the day prior, blasting (16) Jacksonville State 91-56, while Penn State blew away (9) Oklahome State 97-74. Not a bad first few days!
On Saturday we made it back to the Sweet Sixteen by blasting NC State by 23 points in a game Berkowitz almost triple doubled in, while Michigan won a tighter game in an upset over (1) Washington, winning 65-57 and advancing to their first Sweet Sixteen since 2029! Penn State, in the second round for the first time since 2027, hasn’t been to the Sweet Sixteen since 2001 (and their last time in the Elite Eight was in 1954!) But Andre Wright, in his first year as the Nittany Lions head coach, had them in prime position to do just that, after more than a decade as an assistant at Indiana. They went into their game against (1) Duke fired up on all cylliders, building a 44-40 lead on the Blue Devils at halftime and then successfully holding them off to win 88-82! Maryland successfully held off (9) Butler 79-76 as well, but the Penn State stunner over Duke was the highlight of the weekend. Only two #1 seeds remain and both of us are in the Big Ten, and the two #1s that lost were beaten by Big Ten teams! That says something good.
Purdue beat Maine 64-53 to advance to the CBT Tournament Semifinals, while Rutgers won a 95-83 shootout in the NIT over Rhode Island to advance to the Semifinals of that tournament.
In the Sweet Sixteen we had a rematch of the 93-70 victory over Memphis from earlier this seaosn, and though they kept it closer, we still won the 77-71 contest, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in three years! Michigan, however, was blown away by (5) Villanova by a 49-75 margin. Penn State fought back from a 39-51 halftime deficit to give BYU a scare, but they ultimately lost 93-94, missing out on their first Elite Eight in more than eight decades. Maryland handled their business against (4) Pittsburgh by an 80-74 margin.
In the Elite Eight we were the first to advance, beating (7) Ole Miss by a 24 point margin, while later in the afternoon (5) Villanova upset (2) Virginia in a much closer 59-56 battle. (1) Maryland advanced early Sunday afternoon over (7) Clemson, 75-64, while (5) Brigham Young earned their way back to the Final Four by upending (3) Tennessee 74-69.
An interesting side note -- has 62-year-old Arizona legend Tim Davis stuck around too long? His Wildcats won the 2032 National Title and made it back to the 2033 Finals they would ultimately lose. However, since then they finished 17-16 in 2034, losing in the first round, made the Sweet Sixteen in 2035 while finishing 28-7, and then this year totally free-fell, finishing 15-17 (9-9) and failing to quality for the postseason, snapping Davis’ perfect record of NCAA apparances. He still has a 423-97 record overall, with 11 Pac 12 Titles and 5 National Championships -- tied with Mike Krzyzewski and only second to John Wooden. But he’s had an abysmal recruiting year, is likely to finish with just a single four star recruit, and looks as though the strains of this job are breaking him down.
Will he choose to retire? Will the school decide he’s on the downward spiral and let him go after all these years?
Quite frankly, I’m stunned to see his program falling off so quickly and hope the school gives him time to right the ship. I’ve been asked if I’d be interested in the job and it’s been a flat-out no. I am already quickly becoming a legend here at Michigan State, and I’d rather continue to build this program to the levels he did at Arizona, not go there and try to shine in his long shadow. I have a supportive administration here that is putting the money in to allow me to bring in top classes nationally. Why mess with a good thing?
Besides, we’ve got a Final Four to play right now.
We played in the first National Semifinal, casually dismantling Villanova 94-75 after a first half that was relatively close. Berkowitz almost had a triple double, and he was our only starter to NOT finish in double figures scoring. Maryland, meanwhile, won a shootout against Brigham Young, leading 44-27 at the half and then holding off any comeback attempts to win it by the same margin, 88-81, setting up an all Big Ten title matchup, a rubber-match between the two of us to determine the best in the nation and the conference, once and for all! That was a contest we would win handily, dominating the game from start to finish as we won by 18 points.
For the second time in five seasons, I’m cutting down the nets with my National Champion Spartans! That’s something no other Michigan State coach has done, and it’s something that can’t be taken away from any of us!
In the CBT, Purdue beat San Francisco 65-54 and then creamed St. Bonaventure 76-55 to take home the bottom-level tournament’s title. Rutgers, meanwhile, lost in the NIT Semifinals to Texas State 65-68. Texas State then went on to get their asses whipped by Iowa State 76-59.
Team Leaders
Scoring: Rico Costanueve (22.9 ppg) Joseph Gehlhausen (16.4 ppg) Cole Midnight (16.1 ppg) Saipele Berkowitz (7.3 ppg)
Rebounding: Saipele Berkowitz (11.9 rpg) Cole Midnight (10.1 rpg) Rico Costanueve (9.4 rpg) Joseph Gehlhausen (3.7 rpg)
Assists: Saipele Berkowitz (8.3 apg) Jesse Fox (3.9 apg) Cole Midnight (2.2 apg) Rico Castanueve (2.2 apg)
Steals: Cole Midnight (2.0 spg) Rico Costanueve (1.3 spg) George Caray (0.7 spg)
Blocks: Saipele Berkowitz (3.3 bpg) Cole Midnight (3.1 bpg) Rico Costanueve (0.9 bpg)
Graduating Players
Ray Nielsen (3.5 GPA) 3.9 ppg 1.2 rpg 1.0 apg 0.1 spg (67 games, 7 starts)
Courtney Perry (3.4 GPA) 6.0 ppg 2.7 rpg 1.1 apg 0.8 spg 0.5 bpg (119 games, 45 starts)
Leaving Early
Rico Costanueve (3.3 GPA) 22.9 ppg 9.4 rpg 2.2 apg 1.3 spg 0.9 bpg (35 starts)
Cole Midnight (3.6 GPA) 16.1 ppg 10.1 rpg 2.2 apg 2.0 spg 3.1 bpg (35 starts)
Jason Gehlhausen (2.8 GPA) 16.4 ppg 3.7 rpg 1.9 apg 0.4 spg 0.3 bpg (35 starts)
Awards
NCAA Tourney Most Oustanding Player: Rico Costanueve
National Coach of the Year: Dale Connover
1st Team All American: Saipele Berkowitz
Big Ten Player of the Year: Rico Costanueve
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: Rico Costanueve
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year: Saipele Berkowitz
1st Team All Big Ten: Rico Costanueve
1st Team All Big Ten: Saipele Berkowitz
1st Team All Big Ten: Cole Midnight
2nd Team All Big Ten: Joseph Gehlhausen
Maryland’s William Riddick won Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Commmitted Recruits -- Final List
6’8” SG Calvin Katterhenry (HS Senior, Clarksville TN) 3.2 GPA (#3 Ntl, #1 Reg) 32.4 ppg 5.0 rpg 4.0 apg 3.2 spg 1.3 bpg
6’5” SF Alan Troesche (HS Senior, Tell City IN) 3.1 GPA (#6 Ntl, #1 Reg) 22.5 ppg 7.2 rpg 2.7 apg 4.4 spg 1.3 bpg
6’2” SG Beau Morris (JuCo Sophomore, Palmyra VA) 2.6 GPA (#91 Ntl, #25 Reg) 16.3 ppg 4.2 rpg 4.3 apg 1.8 spg 1.9 bpg
6’8” SF Brandin Green (HS Senior, Beech Grove IN) 3.3 GPA (#109 Ntl, #21 Reg) 17.6 ppg 6.9 rpg 3.1 apg 1.9 spg 2.0 bpg
6’6” PF Jaraan Dillon (HS Senior, Dearborn MI) 2.8 GPA (#293 Ntl, #57 Reg) 16.3 ppg 9.0 rpg 3.3 apg 2.3 spg 2.8 bpg
Arizona is sticking by Tim Davis for another year. The biggest coaching openings of the year were Texas in the Big 12, Tennessee in the SEC and Pittsburgh in the ACC. In the Big Ten, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota had open positions -- business as usual. During the staff hiring period I extended the contract of Associate Head Coach Jon Fox, boosting his salary to $213,240 per year through next season. I keep thinking he’ll want to leave for a head coaching postiion -- he’s immensely qualified -- but so far he’s continued to sign extensions, and I’m glad to have him at my side. I bumped Justin Smith up to second assistant, giving him a raise to $52,000/yr through his remaining five years on contract. We hired former Dartmouth assistant Coray Davis at $33,750/yr for four years to be our practice coach, bumping Smith up to lead scout.
For the second year in a row the administration has refused to make upgrades to our facilities. But I will keep bugging them about it until they give in -- I’m very good at that kind of thing!
As a sucker for good names, I've made it a habit to edit the names of my recruits starting in the last few seasons, to avoid having so many players on my team with similar names ... I think Steve Victory would approve of that as well!