Wikipedia

1969–70 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1969–70 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season as members of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Michigan and were coached by Gus Ganakas in his first year as head coach of the Spartans. The Spartans finished the season 9–15, 5–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place.[1]

1969–70 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record9–15 (5–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Robert Nordmann
  • Matthew Aitch
Captains
  • James Gibbons
  • Lloyd Ward
Home arenaJenison Fieldhouse
Seasons
1969–70 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 Iowa 14 – 0   1.000 20 – 5   .800
Purdue 11 – 3   .786 18 – 6   .750
Ohio State 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625
Illinois 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625
Minnesota 7 – 7   .500 13 – 11   .542
Michigan 5 – 9   .357 10 – 14   .417
Wisconsin 5 – 9   .357 10 – 14   .417
Michigan State 5 – 9   .357 9 – 15   .375
Northwestern 4 – 10   .286 9 – 15   .375
Indiana 3 – 11   .214 7 – 17   .292
Rankings from AP Poll

Prior to the season, on September 10, 1969, the Spartans head coach, John E. Benington suffered a heart attack and died after jogging at Jenison Fieldhouse at the age of 47.[2] Ganakas, an assistant under Benington, was promoted to head coach for the season.[2]

Previous season

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The Spartans finished the 1968–69 season 11–12, 6–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place.[3]

Roster and statistics

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1969–70 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
No Name Pos Year Height Pts Reb
11 Lloyd Ward G SR 5–11 7.4 2.1
12 Tim Bograkos G JR 6–1 3.1 0.9
13 Gary Przybylo G SO 6–1
15 Ralph Simpson F SO 6–4 29.0 10.4
21 Rudy Benjamin G JR 6–3 12.6 2.8
24 Ronald Gutkowski F SO 6–5 8.8 5.8
25 Robert Gale F SR 6–5 2.3 1.6
31 Eddie Humphrey G JR 6–2 1.3 0.3
32 Steve Kirkpatrick G SR 6–2 0.7 0.7
33 Paul Dean G JR 6–1 1.4 0.6
35 Pat Miller F SO 6–2 7.8 3.7
41 James Gibbons C SR 6–6 10.2 7.2
42 Craig Larsen C SO 6–9 0.1
44 Ron Binge F SR 6–5 0.0
45 William Cohrs C SO 6–6 0.7 0.6

Source[4][2]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1969*
 Eastern Kentucky W 89–85  1–0
 Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 6, 1969*
 Toledo L 80–82  1–1
 Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 13, 1969*
 at Western Michigan W 86–71  2–1
 University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
Dec 17, 1969*
 at Butler L 60–81  2–2
 Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 19, 1969*
 vs. Bradley
Utah Classic semifinals 		W 89–87  3–2
 John M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, UT
Dec 20, 1969*
 at Utah
Utah Classic championship 		L 85–105  3–3
 John M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, UT
Dec 27, 1969*
 at Oregon
Far West Classic quarterfinals 		L 82–87  3–4
 McArthur Court 
Portland, OR
Dec 29, 1969*
 vs. No. 15 Illinois
Far West Classic consolation game 		L 77–86  3–5
 McArthur Court 
Portland, OR
Dec 30, 1969*
 vs. Temple
Far West Classic seventh place game 		L 51–90  3–6
 McArthur Court 
Portland, OR
Jan 3, 1970
 at Indiana W 85–84  4–6
(1–0) 		Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
Jan 10, 1970
 Northwestern W 98–93  5–6
(2–0) 		Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 17, 1970
 at Minnesota L 78–85  5–7
(2–1) 		Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Jan 20, 1970*
 No. 20 Notre Dame W 85–82  6–7
 Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 24, 1970
 Michigan
Rivalry 		L 88–91  6–8
(2–2) 		Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 31, 1970
 Minnesota L 87–92  6–9
(2–3) 		Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 3, 1970
 at Purdue L 86–105  6–10
(2–4) 		Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
Feb 7, 1970
 at Wisconsin L 79–89  6–11
(2–5) 		Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
Feb 10, 1970
 Ohio State L 66–86  6–12
(2–6) 		Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 14, 1970
 at No. 14 Iowa L 77–103  6–13
(2–7) 		Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
Feb 21, 1970
 Indiana W 78–66  7–13
(3–7) 		Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 24, 1970
 Illinois L 64–74  7–14
(3–8) 		Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 28, 1970
 at Ohio State W 82–80  8–14
(4–8) 		St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
Mar 3, 1970
 Purdue L 98–101  8–15
(4–9) 		Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Mar 7, 1970
 at Illinois W 81–76  9–15
(5–9) 		Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
Source[5][2]

References

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  1. ^ "1969-70 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "MSU basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "1968-69 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  4. ^ "1969-70 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  5. ^ "1969-70 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
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