Men's Basketball Opens Big Ten Season At Minnesota
1/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
2001-02 Michigan State BasketballMichigan State (9-4, 0-0)at Minnesota (7-5, 0-1)January 5, 20024:30 p.m. ESTWilliams ArenaMinneapolis, Minn.
Media Coverage
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM (1240 AM/97.5 FM)
TV: ESPN Plus Local - Jim Barbar (Play by Play), Jim Dutcher (Color)
Michigan State Game Notes
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NOTE OF THE NIGHT
Going Home - Michigan State freshman Alan Anderson is sure to have several family members and friends at the Minnesota game as the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Player of the Year from DeLaSalle High School makes his first trip back home. Anderson has started nine of MSU's 13 games this season, averaging 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Spartans.
MSU OPENS BIG TEN PLAY VS. MINNESOTA
The Drive For Five - Michigan State enters the 2001-02 Big Ten season looking to capture its 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.
MSU's Four-Straight Big Ten Championships - Michigan State has won four straight regular-season Big Ten Championships. Here is a closer look at some impressive numbers and facts about MSU's run through the Big Ten.
* MSU has a four-year Big Ten record of 54-10. * MSU is 31-1 at home and 23-9 on the road over the four seasons. * MSU has led the Big Ten in rebounding margin four straight years. * MSU has finished in the top three in FG% defense all four years. * MSU has ranked among the top five in scoring all four seasons, including the last two seasons in the top three.
Coach Izzo - In his seventh year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 157-57 (.734), 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.
Carry The Torch - As the Olympic Torch makes its way to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games, it will make a stop in the Lansing area on Sunday, Jan. 6. Among the privileged few selected to carry the torch is Tom Izzo. Izzo's two-tenths of a mile segment is on Grand River Avenue from Charles Street to Bailey Street in East Lansing across from the MSU campus.
Izzo Ranks Among Best Active Coaches - Tom Izzo ranks 10th (.734) in winning percentage among active coaches with at least five full seasons of coaching experience. Kansas' Roy Williams is first at .803. He is followed by John Kresse (College of Charleston, .801), Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State, .800), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, .745), Rick Majerus (Utah, .743), Rick Pitino (Louisville, .741), Bob Huggins (Cincinnati, .740), Lute Olson (Arizona, .739) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke, .735). (Through games of Jan. 2.)
MINNESOTA NOTES
Spartans Vs. Gophers - Minnesota leads the all-time series with Michigan State, 53-45, including a 32-16 advantage at games in Minneapolis. MSU, however, has won six of the last seven games between the two squads.
Coach Monson - Dan Monson (Idaho, '85) is 89-52 in his fifth year as a collegiate head coach. Now in his third season at Minnesota, Monson is 37-35 with the Golden Gophers. Prior to his arrival in Minneapolis, Monson spent two seasons at Gonzaga, leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1999. Monson's father, Don, was a head coach at Idaho and Oregon after serving as an assistant coach to Jud Heathcote at Michigan State from 1976-78. Together the Monson's have 305 wins, putting them ninth on the NCAA's all-time winningest father-son coaching combinations.
Spartan Success At Williams Arena - Although Minnesota has a 32-16 record vs. Michigan State in Minneapolis, the Spartans have experienced success at Williams Arena lately, winning three in a row. Last year, MSU won 94-83 (Feb. 10, 2001). In 1999, the Spartans rallied to earn an 84-82 victory (Feb. 13, 1999) . On Jan. 14, 1998, the Spartans defeated the Gophers, 74-60. In Izzo's tenure as head coach, Michigan State is 4-1 at Minnesota.
A CLOSER LOOK AT MSU'S DEFENSE
Defensive Stoppers - Despite their youth, the Spartans are playing great team defense this season. MSU leads the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 35.9 percent from the field.
The 35 Percent Barrier - Michigan State has held seven of 13 opponents this season to less than 35 percent field-goal shooting, including the last five Spartan opponents. MSU is 7-0 when holding its opponent below 35 percent from the field.
MSU's Defensive Streak - Stanford shot 56.5 percent from the field against Michigan State, breaking a string of 49 straight games where a Spartan opponent failed to shoot above 50 percent. Before Stanford, the last team to shoot better than 50 percent against the Spartans was Utah in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament as the Utes hit on 24-of-46 attempts (52.2 percent).
MSU BASKETBALL NOTES
Super Soph - Marcus Taylor is off to a great start in his sophomore campaign. He leads the Big Ten with 5.8 assists per game, while his 15.5 points per game lead the Spartans and rank sixth in the conference. In MSU's 13 games, he has led the team in scoring nine times and assists in 12 games. Taylor also raises his game a notch against top-caliber competition. He scored a career-best 21 points vs. Stanford, 19 vs. Arizona, 18 vs. Seton Hall and 17 vs. Florida. Over the last nine games, Taylor is averaging 17.2 points and 6.0 assists.
One Heck Of A Non-Conference Schedule - In its non-conference schedule, Michigan State played six ranked opponents, posting a 2-4 record against ranked teams. In addition, MSU also played a ranked Virginia team, before the game was suspended and eventually canceled due to unsafe playing surface conditions. At one point in the second half vs. Virginia, MSU held a nine-point lead.
Looking For A Road Win - Although the Spartans bring an impressive 9-4 record to the Big Ten season, they are 0-4 when playing on the road or on a neutral court. Michigan State will not return to the Breslin Center until Jan. 12 vs. Wisconsin.
A New Year - 2001 was a good year for Michigan State. During the calendar year, the Spartans posted a 26-9 record. MSU also captured a fourth-straight Big Ten Championship and made a trip to a third-straight Final Four in 2001.
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 +9.2 margin.
Outrebounding MSU Is A Rarity - Michigan State has outrebounded its opponent in 11 of 13 games this season, with Florida and Stanford being the only teams to better MSU on the boards. In 2000-01, MSU was outrebounded only once in 33 games. In 1999-2000, the Spartans were outrebounded in just two of 39 games. In 1998-99, MSU outrebounded the opposition in 35 of 38 games. This means that in the last three-plus seasons, MSU has outrebounded 115 of 123 (93.5 percent) teams. In Tom Izzo's tenure as head coach, the Spartans have won the battle of the boards in 185 of 214 (86.4 percent) games.
Money From The Charity Stripe - Michigan State leads the Big Ten in free throw percentage, shooting 76.3 percent from the line. The Spartans are also among the nation's best in converting at the charity stripe, ranking sixth in the nation. (NCAA Stats updated as of 12/17).
Regulars In The AP Poll - Michigan State owns a streak of 70 straight weeks ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. Only Duke and Stanford have longer active streaks. Growing Up Quickly - MSU's success relies on contributions from three true freshmen. Through 13 games, the trio of Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert have combined to average 27.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
A Lot Of Minutes - Seven Spartans are currently averaging more than 20 minutes per contest, with three players seeing more than 27 minutes per game. By comparison, in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, just five players averaged more than 20 minutes per contest.
Safe At Home - MSU has won 53 straight games at the Breslin Center, an ongoing Big Ten record for consecutive home wins. MSU's 53-game streak is also the longest active streak in the nation. Ohio State (1959-63) and Indiana (1991-95) previously shared the Big Ten record with 50 straight home wins. Minnesota won 53 straight home games from 1899-1905 before joining the Big Ten Conference. Kentucky (1943-55) owns the all-time longest homecourt winning streak at 129 games.
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 13 games, the Spartan bench is outscoring the opponent's subs, 269-173.
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 (9 games), Charlie Bell (30 games), Mateen Cleaves (24 games), Doug Davis (1 game), A.J. Granger (7 games), Chris Hill (3 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 (11 games).
Getting Respect - Michigan State is ranked 17th in the current ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The poll released on Dec. 30 includes eight of MSU's 2001-02 opponents, including six in the top 11. The teams are No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Virginia, No. 7 Illinois, No. 9 Iowa, No. 10 Syracuse, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 13 Stanford and No. 14 Arizona.
Movin' On Up - Upon the Spartans return from the Pete Newell Challenge, the men's basketball staff moved into their new offices in the newly constructed Berkowitz Basketball Complex. The $7.5-million dollar project provides 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, a conference room and an additional auxiliary gymnasium.
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.
Air Time - Michigan State will appear on national television networks at least 16 times during the regular season, including seven games on ESPN, four on CBS, four 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.
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.
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, 65-3, in postseason play, 22-5, in the NCAA Tournament, 16-3.
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.
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).
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.
Spartans In The NBA - Michigan State led the Big Ten with nine players on opening day rosters in the NBA. Listed below is an update on eight former Spartans currently on NBA rosters. (Stats current through Jan. 2.)
Mateen Cleaves (Sacramento): 16 GP, 3.9 mpg, 1.9 ppg, 0.7 apg Jamie Feick (New Jersey): 0 GP, currently on injured list Morris Peterson (Toronto): 31 GP, 30.2 mpg, 12.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.3 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 25 GP, 6.2 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 31 GP, 27.1 mpg, 10.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.5 apg Steve Smith (San Antonio): 29 GP, 28.7 mpg, 12.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.1 apg Eric Snow (Philadelphia): 10 GP, 34.7 mpg, 9.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 6.0 apg Kevin Willis (Houston): 31 GP, 20.3 mpg, 7.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg
Spartans Keep Reloading - Michigan State signed four players to National Letters of Intent in the early signing period.
Maurice Ager (G, 6-4, 175, Detroit/Crockett High School) averaged 23 points, six rebounds and three assists as a junior, leading Crockett High School to a 23-3 record and a state championship in Class B. An all-state honoree, he is ranked as the No. 16 player in the nation by ESPN.com. Ager is also's Coach Izzo's first recruit from the Detroit Public School League.
Paul Davis (F, 6-10, 235, Rochester, Mich./Rochester High School) averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks as a junior and is a consensus top-10 player, including being ranked No. 3 by Bob Gibbons and FoxSports.com's Frank Burlison.
Rashi Johnson (G, 6-2, 195, Chicago/King High School/Mott Community College) averaged 17 points over eight games in the 2001 NJCAA Division II Tournament, leading Mott to an appearance in the national championship game. As a junior at Chicago King High School, he helped lead his team to the Chicago city championship. He is a combo-guard with excellent toughness.
Delco Rowley (F, 6-8, 235, Indianapolis/Arlington High School) is a very athletic and strong forward who earned first-team all-city and all-sectional honors as a junior. He is a preseason first-team all-state selection and is ranked No. 71 in the nation by Bob Gibbons.
