1981–82 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1981–82 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 Jud Heathcote in his sixth year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished with a record of 11–17, 6–12 to finish in a tie for seventh place in Big Ten play.

1981–82 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record12–16 (7–11 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Frank Rourke
  • John Holms
  • William Norton
Captains
  • Kurt James
  • Kevin Smith
Home arenaJenison Fieldhouse
Seasons
1981–82 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 Minnesota 14 4   .778 23 6   .793
No. 16 Iowa 12 6   .667 21 8   .724
Ohio State 12 6   .667 21 10   .677
Indiana 12 6   .667 19 10   .655
Purdue 11 7   .611 18 14   .563
Illinois 10 8   .556 18 11   .621
Michigan State 6 12   .333 11 17   .393
Michigan 6 12   .333 7 20   .259
Northwestern 4 14   .222 8 19   .296
Wisconsin* 1 17   .056 4 23   .148
Rankings from AP Poll
*Wisconsin forfeited all games after Jan 25, 1982 due to NCAA sanctions.
Disputed record (3–15, 6–23)

Due to NCAA sanctions against Wisconsin for providing improper benefits for players,[1] MSU's official record for the year is 12–16, 7–11.

Previous season

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The Spartans finished the 1980–81 season 13–14, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in eighth place in conference.

Roster and statistics

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1981–82 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
No Name Pos Year Height Pts Reb Ast
5 Kevin Smith G SR 6–2 15.6 2.1 4.5
10 Tim Gore G SO 6–4 0.4 0.0 0.0
11 Sam Vincent G FR 6–2 11.7 2.8 3.1
20 Ben Tower F SO 6–8 5.4 4.6 0.8
22 Bill Cawood F JR 6–7 0.5 0.4 0.2
23 Randy Morrison G SO 6–2 5.0 1.5 1.6
24 Richard Mudd F SO 6–9 3.3 1.9 0.2
30 Kurt James F SR 6–7 1.5 3.2 0.3
35 Larry Polec F FR 6–8
41 Derek Perry F JR 6–6 8.6 5.4 1.4
42 Kevin Willis C SO 7–0 6.0 4.2 0.1
43 Evaristo Perez F 2.0 1.6 0.2
44 Herb Bostic G JR 6–4 1.0 0.7 0.1
50 Cleveland Bibbens F SO 6–6 2.8 1.9 0.3
52 Steve Bates C SR 6–10 0.5 0.8 0.0

Source[2][3]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 27, 1981*
Central Michigan
Spartan Cutlass Classic semifinals
W 89–70  1–0
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Nov 28, 1981*
Western Michigan
Spartan Cutlass Classic finals
L 79–83  1–1
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 2, 1981*
at Detroit Mercy W 65–62  2–1
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, MI
Dec 5, 1981*
at Kansas L 56–74  2–2
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
Dec 12, 1981*
Cincinnati L 45–56  2–3
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 15, 1981*
Green Bay W 49–48  3–3
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 19, 1981*
Marshall W 101–82  4–3
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 27, 1981*
vs. No. 20 North Carolina State
Rainbow Classic quarterfinals
L 46–67  4–4
Neil S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
Dec 28, 2016*
vs. Cal State Fullerton
Rainbow Classic consolation
W 51–50  5–4
Neil S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
Dec 29, 1981*
at Hawaii L 61–62  5–5
Neil S. Blaisdell Center 
Rainbow Classic fifth place game
Big Ten regular season
Jan 7, 1982
Indiana W 65–58  6–5
(1–0)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 9, 1982
No. 6 Minnesota L 58–64  6–6
(1–1)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 14, 1982
at Purdue L 47–53  6–7
(1–2)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
Jan 16, 1982
at Illinois L 51–55  6–8
(1–3)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
Jan 21, 1982
at Michigan
Rivalry
W 64–62  7–8
(2–3)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 23, 1982
Wisconsin W 68–58  8–8
(3–3)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 28, 1982
No. 6 Iowa L 56–57  8–9
(3–4)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 30, 1982
Northwestern W 64–61  9–9
(4–4)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 4, 1982
at Ohio State L 49–50  9–10
(4–5)
St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
Feb 6, 1982
at Northwestern L 43–48  9–11
(4–6)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Feb 11, 1982
Michigan
Rivalry
W 66–55  10–11
(5–6)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 13, 1982
Ohio State L 46–51  10–12
(5–7)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 18, 1982
at No. 7 Iowa L 53–59  10–13
(5–8)
Iowa Fieldhouse 
Iowa City, IA
Feb 20, 1982
at Wisconsin L 60–65  10–14
(5–9)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
Feb 25, 1982
Illinois W 56–47  11–14
(6–9)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 27, 1982
Purdue L 49–51  11–15
(6–10)
Jenison Field House 
East Lansing, MI
Mar 4, 1982
at No. 7 Minnesota L 51–54  11–16
(6–11)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Mar 6, 1982
Indiana L 58–74  11–17
(6–12)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll,. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time Source[4][5].

Awards and honors

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  • Kevin Smith – All-Big Ten First Team

Source[6]

References

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  1. ^ "NCAA punishes Yoder, Wisconsin basketball (July 18, 1986)". Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  2. ^ "1981-82 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "Michigan State Spartans 2016-17 media guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  4. ^ "1981-82 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "Michigan State Spartans 2016-17 media guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  6. ^ "Michigan State Spartans 2016-17 media guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2017.