Michigan State University
Seton Hall
Men's Basketball Defeats No. 8 Seton Hall, 72-57
12/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2000
By JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Michigan State gave Seton Hall a lesson in what it takes to win big games.
The second-ranked Spartans dominated the boards in a 72-57 victory in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night and gave the eighth-ranked Pirates a taste of toughness
"We played the kind of game I thought we'd have to play to win here," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said after the defending national champions extended the nation's longest winning streak to 20 games. "They did an incredible job of rebounding and got our running game going and at the same time didn't let they get into their runs."
Point guard Charlie Bell had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Spartans (9-0) who finished with a 60-39 advantage on the boards, including 27-13 on the offensive end.
Jason Richardson added 16 points for the Spartans, while Aloysius Anagonye had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Andre Hutson had nine points and 13 rebounds.
"I think they are a very tough basketball team and right now we aren't," Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker said. "I think it's a major step for us to become a tougher team, a stronger team and a more determined team. When you look at Michigan State you really think that of their team and their program and that's where we need to get."
Michigan State was coming off a poor offensive performance in a 46-45 victory over Kentucky, but the Spartans turned almost every missed shot against Seton Hall into a basket.
"I'm a little worried about our shooting for the second game in a row but a lot of the misses were forced shots on offensive rebounds," Izzo said.
Michigan State led 33-23 at halftime by grabbing more offensive rebounds (15) than the Pirates had rebounds (13).
Michigan State extended the lead to 40-23 by scoring the first seven points of the second half, but Seton Hall (6-2) got back within 44-34 on a 7-0 run that sandwiched two layups by Lane around a 3-pointer by Marcus Toney-El.
The Spartans then went back to the offensive boards in an 8-0 run that started with a rebound basket by Hutson and included a technical foul on Amaker on which Bell made both free throws.
"I was trying to see if there was something our team could rally around," Amaker said. "I don't know if there was anything that could have done that tonight."
Darius Lane led Seton Hall with 17 points, while freshman Eddie Griffin had 10 points, on 4-for-17 shooting, and 11 rebounds to keep his streak of double-doubles in each game intact.
"I thought they did a good job of taking things away from Eddie and made Darius and him rush their shots," Amaker said.
Lane made it sound simple.
"We just got exposed on the boards no question about it," he said. "That's where we lost."
The start matches the second-best in Michigan State history. The Spartans won their first nine games in 1916-17 and their first 10 in 1991-92.
"We knew we were playing a younger team that wasn't as strong as we were and we wanted to show them what it takes to be a championship team," Bell said. "Rebounding and defense have been a staple of this team the last three years. It took us to three Big Ten championships and an NCAA championship so obviously that's what wins games."
The Pirates' other loss was also to a highly ranked Big Ten team - an overtime loss to No. 5 Illinois in which Seton Hall led by 21 points in the first half.
The game was played at Continental Airlines Arena - Seton Hall's home court - and the charity event drew a crowd of 14,667.
"I was very excited for our team to be here with the great doubleheader and great crowd," Amaker said. "I was hoping that we would get out of the blocks early and we didn't."
In the opening game, No. 14 Virginia beat fourth-ranked Tennessee 107-89.
