Spartans' Style Put To The Test At NCAA Tournament
3/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 21, 2001
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - It's like cramming for a final exam without having a chance to study for it until the day before the test.
That's similar to what Fresno State has had to do as it prepares to play Michigan State on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
There are few teams that play like the Spartans.
They have between 40 and 50 set plays on offense - even players on the team aren't sure of the exact number - and they have a balanced attack.
They send four players after offensive rebounds following every shot, unlike any other team in the country.
Michigan State also has the size, the strength and the desire to physically wear teams down at both ends of the court. The Bulldogs can't eat enough Wheaties and lift enough weights to match Michigan State's muscle.
"Those guys look like, if they wanted to, they could lift up this building and move it," Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian joked.
These factors will not ensure the Spartans a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16, but they will help.
Coaches from both Michigan State and Fresno State put in long hours Friday night and Saturday analyzing film of their opponent after winning first-round games. Plays were charted and trends were discovered.
"Coach Tarkanian said they are like a football team," Fresno State's Chris Jeffries said, "and they run a lot of plays."
Michigan State's Charlie Bell said it's easier to prepare for teams such as Fresno State because of the few set plays it runs.
"It's better for us because we don't have to get ready for a million plays," Bell said. "Our coaches do a great job of breaking down film and giving us their tendencies. But we still have to be ready because they're an athletic team and when things break down, it just comes down to playing basketball."
A difference in philosophy emerged during Saturday's news conferences.
While the Spartans have enough plays to make opponents dizzy as they prepare to play them, as North Carolina coach Matt Doherty observed after losing to them this season, Tarkanian believes in having his players run just a few.
"I think teams that run a lot of set plays get good shots, but they don't go in as often," said Tarkanian, who led UNLV to the 1990 national championship. "It's a theory of mine. If a guy has it in his head that he's got to do this, got to do this and do that, then he becomes more of a robot instead of playing instinctively."
Michigan State plays man-to-man defense most of the time. Tarkanian sends two players after opposing ballhandlers to trap them and create chaos on the court.
If the Spartans' point guards, Bell and Marcus Taylor, wilt under Bulldog pressure, it won't matter how many plays Michigan State has because steals and layups will be made by Fresno State.
But if the Spartans can withstand Fresno State's pressure, it will be tough for Tarkanian's team to know what's coming.
"We know it's got to be tough to prepare for us because of all the things we do," Bell said. "I think that's why we see a lot of zone defenses. We have a ton of plays, but we only use about 10 each game and teams don't ever know what 10 they will be."
Bell also believes teams struggle against Michigan State because they not only don't know what plays are coming, they also don't know which player to try to stop.
"If teams try to take Andre (Hutson) away down low, we can go to J.R. (Jason Richardson) on the wing," he said. "If they take away J.R., we go down low to Andre. If they try to take both away, I can make them pay by looking for my shot. And if a few of us are struggling, we have other guys like Zach (Randolph) and Marcus (Taylor) who are capable of scoring, too."
