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1974–75 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

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1974–75 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record17–9 (10–8 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
CaptainLindsay Hairston
Home arenaJenison Fieldhouse
Seasons
1974–75 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Indiana 18 0   1.000 31 1   .969
No. 19 Michigan 12 6   .667 19 8   .704
Minnesota 11 7   .611 18 8   .692
Purdue 11 7   .611 17 11   .607
Michigan State 10 8   .556 17 9   .654
Ohio State 8 10   .444 14 14   .500
Iowa 7 11   .389 10 16   .385
Wisconsin 5 13   .278 8 18   .308
Illinois 4 14   .222 8 18   .308
Northwestern 4 14   .222 6 20   .231
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1974–75 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1974–75 NCAA Division I 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 sixth year as head coach of the Spartans. MSU finished the season 17–9, 10–8 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place.

Previous season

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The Spartans finished the 1973–74 season 13–11, 8–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fourth place.

Player walk-out

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The season stands as one of the ugliest moments in MSU athletics history as 10 players, led by captain Lindsay Hairston, followed by Bob Chapman, Pete Davis, Terry Furlow, Bill Glover, Thomas McGill, Cedric Milton, Lovelle Rivers, Benny White and Edgar Wilson, walked out of a team meeting before their game against Indiana on January 4, 1975.[1] At the time, it was assumed that the players were objecting to the fact that freshman Jeff Tropf, who was white, was starting over more experienced black players.[2] Later, more complaints came to light including the arena being too cold during practice due to construction and the school's lack of emphasis on basketball.[1] When the players returned an hour before game time, head coach Gus Ganakas suspended the players.[2]

As a result, the team fielded junior varsity players and Tropf for the game against Indiana and were blown out 107–55.[3] The next day, the suspended players aired their grievances with Ganakas, apologized, and were reinstated to the team. Tropf left the school after the season.[1]

Roster and statistics

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1974–75 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
No Name Pos Year Height Pts Reb
12 William Glover G SR 6–2 12.0 1.4
22 Lovelle Rivers F SR 6–5 0.8
23 Benny White G JR 5–9 6.8 1.7
24 Cedric Milton C JR 6–9 2.3 2.6
25 Terry Furlow F JR 6–5 20.4 6.8
32 Peter Davis G SR 6–1 9.0 0.8
33 Edgar Wilson F SO 6–5 3.4 2.6
41 Thomas McGill F SR 6–4 1.4 1.2
42 James Dudley F FR 6–5 0.9 0.8
44 Robert Chapman G SO 6–2 4.4 1.3
45 Lindsay Hairston C SR 6–7 19.3 11.5
52 Jeffrey Tropf C FR 6–7 5.1 5.4
Dave Jackson
Mark Talaga

Source[4][5]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 2, 1974*
Central Michigan W 82–78  1–0
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 7, 1974*
Eastern Michigan W 92–60  2–0
Jennison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 14, 1974*
Western Michigan W 62–59  3–0
Jennison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Dec 20, 1974*
at San Francisco
Cable Car Classic semifinals
W 86–78  4–0
War Memorial Gymnasium 
San Francisco, CA
Dec 21, 1974*
vs. Long Beach State
Cable Car Classic final
L 62–74  4–1
War Memorial Gymnasium 
San Francisco, CA
Dec 23, 1974*
at Detroit Mercy W 72–69  5–1
Calihan Hall 
Detroit, MI
Jan 2, 1975
at No. 18 Purdue L 86–93  5–2
(0–1)
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, IN
Jan 4, 1975
No. 2 Indiana L 55–107  5–3
(0–2)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 6, 1975
Ohio State W 88–84  6–3
(1–2)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 11, 1975
No. 11 Michigan
Rivalry
W 86–78  7–3
(2–2)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 18, 1975
at No. 16 Minnesota L 71–82  7–4
(2–3)
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
Jan 20, 1975
at Iowa L 79–83  7–5
(2–4)
Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
Jan 25, 1975
Wisconsin W 105–87  8–5
(3–4)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Jan 27, 1975
Northwestern W 54–50  9–5
(4–4)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 1, 1975
at Illinois W 75–60  10–5
(5–4)
Assembly Hall 
Champaign, IL
Feb 3, 1975
at Ohio State W 101–83  11–5
(6–4)
St. John Arena 
Columbus, OH
Feb 5, 1975*
at No. 14 Notre Dame W 76–73  12–5
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center 
South Bend, IN
Feb 8, 1975
at Michigan
Rivalry
L 84–96  12–6
(6–5)
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 15, 1975
Minnesota W 86–81  13–6
(7–5)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 17, 1975
Iowa W 90–78  14–6
(8–5)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Feb 22, 1975
at Wisconsin L 96–103  14–7
(8–6)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, WI
Feb 24, 1975
at Northwestern L 66–67  14–8
(8–7)
Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
Mar 1, 1975
Illinois W 96–82  15–8
(9–7)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Mar 3, 1975
Purdue W 84–82  16–8
(10–7)
Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, MI
Mar 8, 1975
at No. 1 Indiana L 79–94  16–9
(10–8)
Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
Source[6][5]

Awards and honors

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  • Terry Furlow – All-Big Ten First Team
  • Terry Furlow – Big Ten Scoring Champion (20.2 ppg in-conference)
  • Lindsay Hairston – All-Big Ten First Team

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Tropf returns to MSU 40 years after player walkout". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Michigan State civil rights pioneer reminds us — just as he reminded the Big Ten — that silence isn't always the best option". Land of 10. July 31, 2016. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  3. ^ Weiskopf, Herman. "THE WEEK". SI.com. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "1975–76 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "16-17 Michigan State Spartans" (PDF). Michigan State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "1974-75 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results".