Michigan State Spartans Tickets

2007 Michigan State Spartans Season Preview For Michigan State, 2006 was a season marred by inconsistency. That inconsistency didn't come as a surprise for a team that was very young and inexperienced, but anything less than a deep run in March is a disappointment in some way for a program that reached the Final Four in 1999 before winning the national championship in 2000.

The Spartans reached the NCAA Tournament and won a tough first round game against Marquette before falling to the talented North Carolina Tar Heels.

Drew Neitzel was not only the point guard, but the leader and heart and soul of the team. Neitzel wasn't always shooting well from the outside, but still found a way to turn in a gritty performance to help his team win games.

Neitzel will be ready to roll at the start of the season after participating in the Pan American games, for which he was selected for his ability as a combo point guard. The experience will only help the point guard gain even more seasoning against different styles of play.

A staple of their 2000 national championship team was point guard Mateen Cleaves, an outstanding leader and gritty player. Neitzel is a little more of a scorer than Cleaves but certainly fits the mold. Michigan State fans can only hope for similar results this season with Neitzel running the show yet again.

Head coach Tom Izzo's teams are always extremely physical and play intelligent basketball. Even without top talent, the Spartans still manage to win basketball games on heart, desire and toughness alone. Michigan State is always an outstanding rebounding team and plays terrific defense.

The fans love Izzo's tough mentality, creating the "Izzone" at the Breslin Center. Izzo was actually rumored at one point to be interesting in trying to coach college football and there may have actually been some interest from other schools because of his intense demeanor.

Look for Michigan State to start a bit slowly out of the gates in 2007, but the Spartans should play better in the second half of the season and make the NCAA Tournament yet again, possibly even pulling off an upset or two along the way.