Michigan State University
Valparaiso
Spartans One Step Closer To Final Four
3/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 16, 2000
By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND (AP) - Watching Michigan State's defense on videotape is nothing like facing the real thing.
Valparaiso learned that lesson the hard way Thursday night.
"We had no open looks," Crusaders center Lubos Barton said. "I tried to get open and I just couldn't."
Neither could any of his teammates.
Applying the defensive clamps from the start, the top-seeded Spartans got 15 points and eight assists from Mateen Cleaves and rolled into the second round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night with a 65-38 victory over 16th-seeded Valparaiso in the Midwest Regional.
Michigan State's tenacious defense limited the Crusaders to 25 percent shooting.
"Wow, their on-the-ball pressure," said Valpo coach Homer Drew, who used a his first timeout 44 seconds into the game and had run out of his allotment by the 14-minute mark of the second half.
"They're so good at attacking the ball," he said. "We tried to penetrate and couldn't. They've got really long arms and they are very quick. We tried to make some adjustments at halftime."
Michigan State (27-7), trying to get back to the Final Four for the second straight year, will play the winner of Thursday's late game between Saint Louis and Utah in the second round Saturday.
Kentucky, which needed double overtime to hold off St. Bonaventure 85-80, will play Syracuse, a 79-65 winner over Samford, in Saturday's other second-round game.
Despite sharing the Big Ten's regular-season title with Ohio State and winning the conference tournament, the Spartans weren't guaranteed a top seed until Cincinnati lost star Kenyon Martin and got bounced from the Conference USA tournament last week.
On Wednesday, many of Michigan State's players talked about the responsibility that comes along with being a No. 1 seed.
Then they showed the Crusaders (19-13) how serious they were.
"There's still going to be people who say we shouldn't be a No. 1 seed or that we can't shoot," Cleaves said. "We can't worry about what people say."
Freshman Jason Richardson had nine points and 10 rebounds and Morris Peterson added 12 points for Michigan State.
Barton led Valpo with 13 points.
A 16th seed has never beaten a No. 1 in the tournament, and any thoughts Valparaiso, a Sweet 16 team in 1998, had of an upset were gone shortly after pregame warmups.
Michigan State takes great pride in an in-your-face, man-to-man defense. It's a tradition passed down through the years by the Spartans, and in the first half Valpo got a full dose of the 2000 edition.
"The defense keyed our offense," A.J. Granger said. "Our offense wasn't really clicking tonight, so we relied on our defense."
The Spartans hardly gave Valparaiso room to dribble, let alone shoot, and after Milo Stovall made a 3-pointer with 17:18 left in the half, the Crusaders missed 12 straight shots as they went 10:35 without scoring as Michigan State opened a 20-3 lead.
"You think you've beat one of them," Valpo guard Milo Stovall said. "And then you run right into another."
Barton ended the drought with a 3-pointer from the wing with 6:43 left in the half, giving Valparaiso fans a rare chance to cheer. But before they could get too giddy, Cleaves drilled a 3-pointer and then fed Richardson for a spectacular alley-oop dunk as the Spartans opened a 25-8 lead.
Valparaiso finished the first half just 6-of-26 from the floor and made seven turnovers.
"They played hard but just couldn't find the basket," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I thought they had some good looks, some looks that they hit during the season. But tonight they just weren't going in."
Michigan State didn't ease off after halftime. The Spartans threw a couple of zone defenses at Valpo, which still couldn't get an open look at the basket.
"They didn't let up and they kept the pressure on constantly," said Drew, who was nonetheless pleased his team didn't quit.
The Crusaders did manage to pull within 42-27, but Cleaves scored seven points and Granger hit a 3-pointer as the Spartans ripped off 12 straight points and eventually built a 30-point lead.
