Editor's note: State News men's basketball reporter Ethan Conley and women's basketball reporter Matt Bishop recapped their respective teams' seasons and look ahead to next year.

The men's team

The MSU men's basketball team wasn't supposed to be much of a threat during the 2006-07 season.

Three players from the previous season were on NBA rosters.

The recruiting class was nothing to scoff at, but none of the incoming recruits were expected to carry the team.

And the best returning scoring option was a 6-foot point guard who spent his first two seasons in green and white deferring to other players.

"It's going to be a working man's year," head coach Tom Izzo said at the beginning of the season.

That was an understatement.

Despite razor-thin depth in the backcourt, an inconsistent frontcourt, a rash of injuries and a torturous conference schedule, the Spartans finished the season with a 23-12 record (8-8 Big Ten). They topped Texas (and eventual AP Player of the Year Kevin Durant) at Madison Square Garden in mid-November. They notched a thrilling 64-55 victory over then-No. 1 Wisconsin on Feb. 20, and the Breslin Center crowd flooded the floor in celebration.

And they earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament, which seemed like a long shot when the season started.

"It was a goal of ours at the beginning of the year, but who's kidding who?" Izzo said. "It was kind of a long-range goal at the time, and through the adversity of the injuries and the illnesses, and then the strength of that schedule, I think this team probably accomplished as much to get in as some have accomplished to get to the Final Four."

MSU downed Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 61-49, and faced North Carolina in the second round. The Spartans kept the score close until the last five minutes, when the Tar Heels' depth and talent finally broke MSU's will. An 81-67 defeat ended the team's season.

The Spartans should be back even stronger next year: Three highly touted recruits enter the mix, and every scholarship player from the 2006-07 season should be back in uniform. Senior guard Drew Neitzel, junior guard Travis Walton and sophomore forward Raymar Morgan will be able to get some much-needed rest. After a one-year hiatus, the Spartans will be running again.

"We did things that were painful for me this year — more painful for me than them," Izzo said. "I am not going to play that way next year. It's not the system I run, it's not the way I want to play, it's not the way I'm going to play."

The women's team

After a tough loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the MSU women's basketball team is expected to reload and make another run in the 2007-08 season.

Despite losing four seniors, including two 1,000-point scorers, the Spartans return three starters — junior guard Mia Johnson, junior forward Aisha Jefferson and 6-foot-9 sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan. Add to that a recruiting class that is ranked 16th in the nation, and the makings of a solid team are there.

But the team will have to do it without head coach Joanne P. McCallie, who backed out of a revised contract in April to accept a head coaching job at Duke. MSU officials are searching for McCallie's replacement, who has yet to be announced at press time.

With DeHaan, the Spartans return one of the top post players in the country. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game. She obliterated every MSU and Big Ten single-season blocks record, finishing the season with 145 rejections. That number put her sixth on the NCAA single-season list and set the NCAA freshman record.

She helped MSU to a 24-9 overall record, including 13-3 in the Big Ten — the second-best league record in school history.

The Spartans will be aided by both senior center Laura Hall and sophomore center Lauren Aitch returning to full health. Hall was limited all season with a foot injury, while Aitch missed the entire season with a torn ACL.