Men's Basketball Travels To Virginia
11/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#17/22 Michigan State (2-2)vs. #8/9 Virginia (3-0)ACC/Big Ten ChallengeNov. 28, 20017:30 p.m. ESTRichmond, Va.
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NOTE OF THE NIGHT
A Difference Of Experience - Virginia returns four starters from its 2001 NCAA Tournament team. In fact, current Cavaliers have a combined 267 career games started. By comparison, Spartan players have started a combined total of 59, with 20 of those coming this season.
THREE MORE NOTES NO MEDIA PERSON SHOULD BE WITHOUT
Who Put This Schedule Together? - Nine Spartan opponents are ranked, including six in the top 10 of the ESPN/USA Today poll with No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Arizona, No. 6 Florida, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 Stanford and No. 10 Syracuse.
A Lot Of Minutes - Seven Spartans are currently averaging more than 20 minutes per contest, with three players seeing more than 28 minutes per game. By comparison, in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, just five players averaged more than 20 minutes per contest.
Bench Production - It's no secret that the Spartans do not have a lot of depth, but they are getting good production off the bench. Through four games, the Spartan bench is outscoring the opponent's subs, 64-22.
Probable StartersMichigan State Spartans (2-2) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #55 Adam Ballinger (Jr., 6-9, 250) 10.5 7.8 2.3F - #25 Aloysius Anagonye (Jr., 6-8, 255)9.3 7.0 1.3G - #23 Kelvin Torbert (Fr., 6-4, 225) 7.0 3.8 0.8G - #1 Marcus Taylor (So., 6-3, 195) 11.8 2.8 5.3G - #15 Alan Anderson (Fr., 6-6, 230) 5.0 3.0 1.0 OR #5 Chris Hill (Fr., 6-3, 185) 10.5 3.5 2.3
Virginia Cavaliers (3-0) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #32 J.C. Mathis (So., 6-8, 231) 3.7 6.0 0.7F - #33 Chris Williams (Sr., 6-7, 206) 20.3 6.3 2.7C - #35 Travis Watson (Jr., 6-8, 254) 12.0 11.0 1.7G - #21 Roger Mason Jr. (Jr. 6-5, 201) 21.7 4.3 6.3G - #31 Adam Hall (Sr., 6-5, 200) 16.7 3.7 1.7
Coach Izzo - In his seventh year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 150-55 (.732), 72-28 (.720) in the Big Ten, as the coach of the Michigan State basketball program. He is the third-winningest coach in MSU history, trailing only Jud Heathcote (340) and Benjamin VanAlstyne (232) in total wins. Izzo's 148 wins in his first six years give him the fourth most by a coach in his first six seasons of coaching. In his six seasons of coaching, Izzo has won National Coach of the Year honors three times, including NABC honors in 2001. In 1999, Izzo was named national coach of the year by Basketball Times, while earning similar honors from Associated Press, Basketball News and the USBWA in '98. With MSU's 77-71 overtime win over Indiana on Jan. 11, 2000, Izzo became just the fourth Spartan coach to reach the 100-win mark.
Izzo Vs. Ranked Opponents - Tom Izzo is 38-29 against foes ranked in the AP Top 25. This includes wins in 26 of MSU's last 34 games against ranked opponents.
HERE'S THE INFO ON VIRGINIA
Coach Gillen - Pete Gillen (Fairfield, '68) is 330-165 in his 17th season as a basketball head coach, including 56-37 in his fourth season at Virginia. Prior to his arrival at UVA, Gillen coached four seasons at Providence and nine at Xavier. He has taken nine teams to the NCAA Tournament.
It's Been A Long Time - Michigan State and Virginia have not met on the hardwood since February 19, 1949 when MSU was a 62-43 winner in East Lansing. Two years earlier, the Spartans defeated the Cavaliers, 51-46, in East Lansing, giving MSU a 2-0 all-time series lead.
Offensive Explosions - In three early games, the Cavaliers have topped the 100-point mark twice, defeating Wagner, 105-74, in the season opener and pounding Howard, 115-66, last Wednesday. Through three games, the Cavaliers are averaging 101.7 points. Individually, five players are averaging double figures, including Roger Mason, Jr. (21.7 ppg) and Chris Williams (20.3 ppg) each averaging over 20.
MORE ON MSU BASKETBALL
Still Rebounding - In each of the past two seasons, MSU has led the nation in rebounding margin. The Spartans have once again made a commitment to rebounding, outrebounding their opponents this season by a +8.2 margin.
Turnovers Lead To Points - MSU is averaging 17.3 turnovers per contest. What is even more troubling is that the turnovers are being converted into points by Spartan opponents. Through four games, opponents have scored 77 points off turnovers, an average of 19.25 points per contest. This was an especially large problem vs. Oklahoma (26 pts.) and Syracuse (32 pts.).
Bouncing Back From A Loss - Prior to losing two straight games in the Preseason NIT, the Spartans had not lost back-to-back games since December 2 & 5, 1998. During the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, the Spartans responded to their 11 losses by winning the next game by an average of 24.6 points.
MSU In The ACC/Big Ten Challenge - This is the third year of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, with MSU posting a 2-0 record in the first two years. The Spartans beat North Carolina in each of the last two seasons, including 86-76 in Chapel Hill in 1999 and 77-64 in East Lansing in 2000. This will be Michigan State's first neutral-site game in the challenge's history.
Lineup Changes - Through four games, Michigan State has used three different starting lineups.
Balanced Scoring Keys Spartan Attack - Through four games, four Spartans are averaging double figures in scoring. Marcus Taylor, Adam Wolfe, Adam Ballinger and Chris Hill all average more than 10 points per game, with Taylor's 11.8 average leading the way.
Low Offensive Output - The Spartans' offensive attack was not functioning properly in New York as MSU was held under 60 points in back-to-back games for the first time since January 1997. Different factors contributed to the offensive woes as the Spartans committed 26 turnovers vs. Syracuse and shot 32.8 percent from the field vs. Fresno State, including having 10 shots blocked.
Freshmen Starters Under Izzo - Throughout his seven years as head coach, Tom Izzo has shown a willingness to put a freshman in the starting lineup. Consider the following freshmen who have all started under Izzo: Aloysius Anagonye (5 games), Alan Anderson (1 game), Charlie Bell (30 games), Mateen Cleaves (24 games), Doug Davis (1 game), A.J. Granger (7 games), Chris Hill (2 games), Andre Hutson (26 games), Jason Klein (10 games), Morris Peterson (18 games), Zach Randolph (8 games), Jason Richardson (3 games), Antonio Smith (20 games), Marcus Taylor (9 games) and Kelvin Torbert (3 games).
Freshmen Debuts - If MSU is to continue its success in 2001-02, it will need large contributions from three true freshmen. Through four games, the trio of Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert have combined to average 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
The Drive For Five - One of MSU's top goals entering the 2001-02 season is capturing a fifth-straight regular-season Big Ten Championship. If the Spartans win the title, they will join the 1960-64 Ohio State teams as the only schools to accomplish the feat.
Getting Respect - Michigan State is ranked 17th in the current ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The poll released on Nov. 25 includes nine of MSU's 2001-02 opponents, including No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Arizona, No. 6 Florida, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 Stanford, No. 10 Syracuse, No. 13 Iowa, No. 21 Fresno State and No. 24 Indiana.
Safe At Home - Michigan State will count on the friendly confines of the Breslin Center to help a young team along this season. The Spartans own the longest active homecourt winning streak in the nation at 46 games. In fact, no Spartan on the 2001-02 roster has ever lost a home game. Over the 46-game stretch, the Spartans have won by an average of 21.2 points and just six of the 46 games have been decided by fewer than 10 points. This season, MSU could eclipse the record for consecutive home wins by a Big Ten school. Minnesota won 53 straight home games from 1899-1905 before joining the Big Ten and both Ohio State (1959-63) and Indiana (1991-95) each won 50 straight at home as a member of the Big Ten.
Regulars In The AP Poll - Michigan State owns a streak of 65-straight weeks ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. Only Duke and Stanford have longer active streaks.
MSU In November - Michigan State has an all-time record of 52-14 in games played during the month of November.
Movin' On Up - Construction on the Berkowitz Basketball Complex is in its final stages. With the new auxiliary gymnasium already completed, the Spartan basketball staff is eagerly anticipating its move to the new offices in late December. The $7.5-million dollar project will provide Michigan State with one of the finest basketball complexes in the nation. Included in the addition are offices for the coaching staff, a large video review room, a video workroom and a conference room.
Air Time - Michigan State will appear on national television networks at least 16 times during the regular season, including nine games on ESPN, four on CBS, three on espn2 and one on Fox Sports Net. That number could increase to 18 depending on television decisions regarding two late-season Big Ten contests. In total, MSU could have 24 regular-season contests televised.
What I Did On Summer Vacation - Five Spartans plus head coach Tom Izzo spent part of their summer taking part in international basketball competition. Red-shirt sophomores Jason Andreas and Adam Wolfe were members of the Big Ten Foreign Tour team, where Wolfe led the squad in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). Juniors Aloysius Anagonye and Adam Ballinger played on NYC Hoops coached by St. John's coach Mike Jarvis that competed in Greece against Olympic caliber competition. Finally, both sophomore Marcus Taylor and Tom Izzo represented USA Basketball in separate competitions. Taylor was a member of the gold-medal winning USA Young Men's World Championship team, averaging 5.7 points and 2.8 assists. Izzo was an assistant coach on the USA Basketball squad that won the gold medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Australia. In total, the six Spartans logged a combined 70,000 miles in international travel.
Winning With Rebounding, Defense And Offense - Despite several new faces, the Spartans already have a blueprint for championship basketball: rebounding, defense and offense. Over the past four years that the Spartans have won the Big Ten regular-season championship, it comes as little surprise that the Spartans have led the conference in rebounding in each year and ranked among the top three in scoring defense. In addition, MSU led the Big Ten in field-goal percentage in 2000-01 and ranked second in scoring offense in all games.
Championship Similarities - The 2001-02 Spartans will have many similarities to the 1997-98 Spartans that posted a 22-8 record and won the first of MSU's four straight Big Ten Championships. Consider the starting lineup from 1997-98: G - Charlie Bell (Fr.), G - Mateen Cleaves (So.), F - Andre Hutson (Fr.), F - Jason Klein (Jr.), F - Antonio Smith (Jr.). Coming off the bench for the Spartans were DuJuan Wiley, David Thomas, A.J. Granger and Doug Davis.
Monsters On The Glass - The 2000-01 season marked the second-straight year that the Spartans led the nation in rebounding margin. The Spartans' margin of +15.4 last season tied for the fifth-greatest margin in NCAA history since the statistic was first kept in 1973 and the largest since 1980.
Taylor Is Most Recent Wooden Nominee - Marcus Taylor is one of this year's 50 John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-Americans. He is just the latest Spartan to be nominated for the prestigious award. Last season, both Charlie Bell and Andre Hutson were preseason nominees while Bell and Jason Richardson were among the 20 finalists. At season's end, Bell was named a Wooden All-American. During the 1999-2000 season, Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson were both recognized as Wooden All-Americans, an honor that Cleaves also received in 1999.
The Golden Arches - Michigan State is becoming the home for McDonald's All-Americans. Over the past three seasons, four McDonald's All-Americans have joined the Spartan squad, including Jason Richardson in 1999, Marcus Taylor and McDonald's All-American All-Star game MVP Zach Randolph in 2000 and Kelvin Torbert in 2001.
Home To Mr. Basketball - The last three recipients of Michigan's Mr. Basketball Award, presented to the top high school player in the state, have all gone on to wear a Spartan jersey. Jason Richardson (Saginaw Arthur Hill HS) won the award in 1999, followed by Marcus Taylor (Lansing Waverly HS) in 2000 and Kelvin Torbert (Flint Northwestern HS) in 2001.
Missing Parts - Missing from Michigan State's 2001 Big Ten Champion and Final Four squad are seven lettermen who accounted for 81 percent (2,068) of the points, 75 percent (1,046) of the rebounds and 76 percent (438) of the assists.
The Past Is Too Good To Ignore - While past success does not guarantee future championships, some stats from the past four-plus years are worth repeating, including MSU's record in Big Ten action, 54-10, in the Breslin Center, 58-3, in postseason play, 22-5, in the NCAA Tournament, 16-3.
Anybody, Anywhere, Anytime - 12 of Michigan State's opponents in the 2001-02 season earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament (Arizona, Florida, Fresno State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Syracuse, Virginia, Wisconsin), while four more appeared in the NIT (Detroit, Minnesota, Purdue, Seton Hall). Additionally, nine schools were ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the 2001 season (No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Arizona, No. 8 Florida, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 16 Virginia, No. 17 Syracuse, No. 20 Indiana, No. 24 Ohio State and No. 25 Wisconsin). Besides an always difficult Big Ten slate, Michigan State will face a challenging non-conference schedule. The youthful Spartans will face road contests at Virginia (Richmond, Va.), Florida and Stanford (Oakland, Calif.), home games against 2001 NCAA runner-up Arizona and Seton Hall and the potential of facing several difficult opponents in the Preseason NIT.
Spartans In The NBA - Michigan State leads the Big Ten with nine current players in the NBA. Listed below is an update on each former Spartan. (Stats current through Nov. 18.)
Charlie Bell (Phoenix): 5 GP, 8.4 mpg, 1.6 ppg, currently on injured list Mateen Cleaves (Sacramento): 5 GP, 3.8 mpg, 1.4 ppg, 0.8 apg Jamie Feick (New Jersey): 0 GP, currently on injured list Morris Peterson (Toronto): 15 GP, 32.1 mpg, 13.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.5 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 12 GP, 5.5 mpg, 2.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 14 GP, 24.8 mpg, 10.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.8 apg Steve Smith (San Antonio): 12 GP, 30.0 mpg, 13.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.3 apg Eric Snow (Philadelphia): 0 GP, currently on injured list Kevin Willis (Houston): 14 GP, 22.6 mpg, 9.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg
