Michigan State's Road To Minneapolis Runs Through Memphis
3/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2001
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State coach Tom Izzo isn't in the mood to celebrate just yet.
The defending national champion Spartans (24-4) earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the third straight season and play Friday in Memphis, Tenn., against Alabama State (22-8).
"I'm not going to be satisfied until we win another championship," Izzo said Sunday night. "That's our goal and it's a legitimate goal. Unfortunately, there's too many teams that can end that dream. But that's the way we're playing right now.
"We're playing for another championship. We're not playing to look good in the tournament and win a couple games."
If the Spartans beat Alabama State in the first round of the South Regional, they'll play the winner of the game between No. 8 California (20-10) and Fresno State (25-6) on Sunday.
The other top seeds in the South are: No. 2 North Carolina, which lost to Michigan State this season, No. 3 Florida, which lost to the Spartans this season and in last year's NCAA title game, and Oklahoma, which Michigan State beat in the Sweet 16 two years ago before losing to Duke in the Final Four.
Michigan State was one of the handful of high-seeded teams to be upset in its conference tournament. The Spartans are coming off a 65-63 loss to Penn State in the quarterfinals on Friday.
The other upsets allowed Michigan State to earn a No. 1, even though they were moved out of the Midwest. Illinois (24-7), which beat the Spartans in their only meeting of the season in Champaign, Ill., was given the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Duke will be the top seed in the East, while Stanford is the No. 1 seed in the West.
"I thought we would be a No. 1 seed in the Midwest, but it's great to be a No. 1 seed anywhere," Michigan State's Jason Richardson said.
Michigan State has been successful this season for some of the same reasons it won the school's second national championship last year. The Spartans are the No. 1 rebounding team in the nation and they take pride in playing suffocating defense.
"If we play Spartan basketball and don't have any letdowns, there's no doubt we can win it again," Michigan State's Charlie Bell said.
Along with wins over North Carolina and Florida, Michigan State beat Kentucky and Seton Hall before sharing the regular-season championship with Illinois.
The Spartans lost at Indiana, Ohio State and Illinois and to the Nittany Lions in the conference tournament. Those four teams will represent the Big Ten in the NCAA Tournament along with Michigan State, Iowa and Wisconsin.
"It's really a special feeling knowing that we're a No. 1 seed for the third straight year," Michigan State's Andre Hutson said. "We're really looking forward to getting back in action."
