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1956–57 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

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1956–57 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
Big Ten co-champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 11
Record16–10 (10–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Bob Stevens (3rd season)
  • Clarence "Sonny" Means (1st season)
CaptainGeorge Ferguson
Home arenaJenison Field House
Seasons
1956–57 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Indiana 10 4   .714 14 8   .636
No. 11 Michigan State 10 4   .714 16 10   .615
Minnesota 9 5   .643 14 8   .636
Ohio State 9 5   .643 14 8   .636
Purdue 8 6   .571 15 7   .682
Michigan 8 6   .571 13 9   .591
Illinois 7 7   .500 14 8   .636
Iowa 4 10   .286 8 14   .364
Wisconsin 3 11   .214 5 17   .227
Northwestern 2 12   .143 6 16   .273
Rankings from AP Poll


The 1956–57 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1956–57 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Forrest "Forddy" Anderson in his third year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished the season with a record of 16–10, 10–4 to win a share of the Big Ten Championship. They received the conference's bid to the NCAA tournament where they beat Notre Dame and Kentucky to advance to the Final Four. There they lost to eventual champion North Carolina. They lost to San Francisco in the third-place game.

Previous season

[edit]

The Spartans finished the 1955–56 season with an overall record of 13–9, 7–7 to finish in fifth place in Big Ten play.

Season summary

[edit]

Johnny Green led MSU in rebounding at 14.6 a game and Jack Quiggle led in scoring at 15.3 points per game. Green and Quiggle were both named first team All-Big Ten.[1]

After starting the season 4–3, Green joined the Spartans after he was discharged from the Marines.[1] In his first four games with the Spartans, MSU lost all four games.[1] However, the Spartans won their next 10 games before a loss in the regular-season finale to Michigan. The loss cost the Spartans an out-right championship, but they still earned their first trip to the NCAA tournament as the Big Ten representative to the NCAA Mideast Region.[1]

In the NCAA Mideast Regional on Kentucky's campus, the No. 11-ranked Spartans played two games at 10,000-seat Memorial Coliseum: MSU avenged an earlier loss to No. 17 Notre Dame in the semifinal winning 85–83.[2] In the final, the Spartans upset No. 3 Kentucky 80–68 to earn the school's first trip to the Final Four.[2]

In the national semifinal, the Spartans faced No. 1 North Carolina. In a game that would be referred to as one of the greatest games in college basketball history, the lead changed 31 times.[3] Quiggle made a half-court shot after regulation expired that would have won the game for the Spartans, but was ruled too late.[4] Green missed a free throw at the end of the first overtime that also would have sealed the win for the Spartans. North Carolina's Pete Brennan made a basket as time expired to force a second overtime.[3] Lennie Rosenbluth took over the Tar Heels in the third overtime as they eliminated the Spartans from championship contention.[5]

MSU lost to San Francisco in the third-place game the following day.[6]

Roster and statistics

[edit]
1955–56 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
No Name Pos Year Height Pts Reb
11 Harry Lux G SR 5–10 0.9 0.9
12 David Scott G SO 6–2 3.5 1.8
14 Jim Stouffer G SO 6–0 0.5
20 Tom Rand G SO 6–2 0.6 0.9
21 Jack Quiggle G JR 6–3 15.3 5.6
22 Joe Reading F JR 6–5
23 Bob Anderegg F SO 6–3 8.5 5.0
24 Johnny Green C SO 6–5 13.2 14.6
25 Larry Jennings C SO 6–5 0.0
30 George Ferguson F SR 6–3 13.1 5.8
31 Charles Bencie F JR 6–6 5.5 3.6
32 Gary Siegmeier C SO 6–5 0.5 0.2
33 Larry Hedden F JR 6–5 14.3 7.8
34 Tom Markovich F SO 6–3 1.1 0.7
35 Pat Wison G SR 6–0 4.2 2.8
Ralph Andreson
Don Arend
Larry Jennings G 6–5
Warren Marazita
Joe Reading F 6–5
John Russell F 6–1

Source[7][8]

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1956*
Iowa State L 53–60  0–1
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 8, 1956*
Brigham Young W 79–61  1–1
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 17, 1956*
at Butler L 79–83  1–2
Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 22, 1956*
Marquette W 92–65  2–2
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 27, 1956*
vs. Nebraska
Big Seven Classic quarterfinals
W 79–65  3–2
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
Dec 28, 1956*
vs. Colorado
Big Seven Classic semifinals
L 87–90  3–3
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
Dec 29, 1956*
vs. Oklahoma
Big Seven Classic third-place game
W 76–74 OT 4–3
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
Jan 5, 1957
Purdue L 71–72  4–4
(0–1)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 7, 1957
Michigan
Rivalry
L 69–70  4–5
(0–2)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 15, 1957*
Notre Dame L 76–86  4–6
Notre Dame Fieldhouse 
South Bend, IN
Jan 19, 1957
at No. 17 Ohio State L 51–70  4–7
(0–3)
St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
Jan 26, 1957
at Minnesota W 72–59  5–7
(1–3)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Jan 28, 1957
No. 12 Ohio State W 73–64  6–7
(2–3)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 2, 1957
at Northwestern W 77–63  7–7
(3–3)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 9, 1957
No. 15 Illinois W 70–64  8–7
(4–3)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 11, 1957
at No. 17 Purdue W 68–66  9–7
(5–3)
Lambert Fieldhouse 
West Lafayette, IN
Feb 16, 1957
Iowa W 77–67  10–7
(6–3)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 18, 1957
at No. 16 Illinois W 89–83  11–7
(7–3)
Huff Hall 
Champaign, IL
Feb 23, 1957
Minnesota W 70–65  12–7
(8–3)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 25, 1957
at Wisconsin W 78–62  13–7
(9–3)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
Mar 2, 1957
No. 10 Indiana W 76–61  14–7
(10–3)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Mar 4, 1957
Michigan
Rivalry
L 72–81  14–8
(10–4)
Yost Field House 
Ann Arbor, MI
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1957*
No. 8 vs. No. 17 Notre Dame
Region semifinals
W 85–83  15–8
Memorial Coliseum 
Lexington, KY
Mar 16, 1957*
No. 8 vs. No. 3 Kentucky
Region finals
W 80–68  16–8
Memorial Coliseum 
Lexington, KY
Mar 22, 1957*
No. 8 vs. No. 1 North Carolina
Final Four
L 70–74 3OT 16–9
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
Mar 23, 1957*
No. 8 vs. San Francisco
National third-place game
L 60–64  16–10
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll,. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time
Source[9][10].

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910Final
AP811

Source[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Michigan State jump start to first Final Four". Shanahan Report. March 30, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "The night Adolph Rupp met Johnny Green". Shanahan Report. March 16, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "USATODAY.com - Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  4. ^ "Michigan State first confronted Final Four perfection in 1957". Shanahan Report. March 31, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  5. ^ "Carolina's History with Michigan State". Tar Heel Blog. April 5, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  6. ^ "San Francisco vs. Michigan State Box Score, March 23, 1957 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  7. ^ "1956-57 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  8. ^ "2016-17 Michigan State Spartans Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  9. ^ "1956-57 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results".
  10. ^ "1956 Big 7 Holiday Tournament - Varsity Pride".
  11. ^ "1956-57 Michigan State Spartans". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.