Men's Basketball Hits The Road Again
1/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
2001-02 Michigan State BasketballMichigan State (9-5, 0-1)at Indiana (9-5, 2-0)January 8, 20027:00 p.m. ESTAssembly HallBloomington, Ind.
Michigan State Game Notes
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Media Coverage
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM (1240 AM/97.5 FM)
TV: ESPN - Dave Barnett (Play by Play), Quinn Buckner (Color).
NOTE OF THE NIGHT
Close Calls At Assembly Hall - The last two Michigan State-Indiana contests at Assembly Hall have been decided on the final play. On Feb. 26, 2000, Indiana defeated MSU, 81-79, in overtime as Lynn Washington rebounded an A.J. Guyton airball and scored with 0.5 seconds left. Last season, on Jan. 7, 2001, the Hoosiers shocked the undefeated and No. 1-ranked Spartans when Kirk Haston connected on a three-pointer as time expired to give IU a 59-58 victory. In fact, three of the last four MSU-IU games have either been decided by a single point or in overtime. On Jan. 11, 2000, the Spartans won, 77-71, in overtime in East Lansing.
Spartans From The Hoosier State - Michigan State's roster features two players from the state of Indiana. Junior Adam Ballinger enjoyed a successful prep career at Bluffton High School. A first-team All-State selection as a senior in 1998, Ballinger averaged 26 points and 9.5 rebounds, helping his team to a No. 3 ranking in the state. Freshman Chris Hill earned All-State accolades in 2001 after averaging 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists to lead Lawrence North to a 21-6 ranking and a No. 3 ranking in Class 4A. Hill was selected as the conference player of the year as a junior and senior.
Michigan State Spartans (9-5, 0-1) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #3 Adam Wolfe (So., 6-9, 230) 10.8 5.7 0.5F - #25 Aloysius Anagonye (Jr., 6-8, 255)7.7 7.1 1.9F - #15 Alan Anderson (Fr., 6-6, 230) 6.4 4.4 1.6G - #23 Kelvin Torbert (Fr., 6-4, 225) 9.7 4.0 2.0G - #1 Marcus Taylor (So., 6-3, 195) 15.5 3.2 5.8OR #5 Chris Hill (Fr. 6-3, 185) 12.1 3.4 2.0
Indiana Hoosiers (9-5, 2-0) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #1 Jared Jeffries (So., 6-10, 215) 16.2 7.1 1.5F - #43 Jarrad Odle (Sr., 6-8, 220) 7.3 4.4 0.3G - #3 Tom Coverdale (Jr., 6-2, 200) 11.1 3.4 4.5G - #11 Dane Fife (Sr., 6-4, 200) 8.9 2.7 2.4G - #32 Kyle Hornsby (Jr., 6-5, 205) 5.9 2.7 1.7
Coach Izzo - In his seventh year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 157-58 (.730), 72-29 (.713) 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 stopped in the Lansing area on Sunday, Jan. 6. Among the privileged few selected to carry the torch was Tom Izzo who carried the flame for a two-tenths of a mile stretch on Grand River Ave in East Lansing.
INDIANA NOTES
Spartans Vs. Hoosiers - Indiana leads the all-time series with Michigan State by a 58-36 margin. In Bloomington, the Hoosiers own a 37-9 edge. MSU, however, has won five of the last seven games in the series. MSU's last win at Indiana was a 73-59 victory on Jan. 24, 1999.
Coach Davis - Mike Davis (Thomas Edison, '95) is 30-18 in his second year as head coach at Indiana. In his first season at IU, Davis led the Hoosiers to a 21-13 mark.
Hoosier Tidbits - Indiana enters the MSU contest tied for the Big Ten lead with a 2-0 conference mark after a road win at Northwestern and a home victory vs. Penn State. The game will also mark just the fourth home game of the season for Indiana.
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 36.4 percent from the field.
The 35 Percent Barrier - Michigan State has held seven of 14 opponents this season to less than 35 percent field-goal shooting. 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
A Short Bench Gets Even Shorter - Entering the season, the Spartans knew the one thing they could least afford was injuries. Unfortunately, MSU has been hit with a few key injuries over the past weeks. Adam Ballinger, MSU's leading rebounder and fourth leading scorer has missed the last three games with a severely sprained right ankle. Marcus Taylor missed the Minnesota game with back spasms. Adam Wolfe missed the UNC-Asheville game with a sprained ankle.
Doing So Much More Than Before - In addition to playing three true freshmen and one redshirt freshmen, the Spartans are counting on other players to play a much larger role than they have in the past. For example, through just 14 games Adam Wolfe has played more than twice as many minutes as he did last season and has scored three times as many points. Jason Andreas has doubled his point production and already has more total minutes than last season. In just 11 games, Adam Ballinger's 117 points surpassed his previous season high of 73 points in 1999-2000.
Three Freshmen In The Lineup - Spartan freshmen Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert all started the Minnesota contest. Although Izzo has started many freshmen in his seven years as head coach, this marked the first time that three true freshmen started the same game.
The Drive For Five - Michigan State is looking to capture its fifth-straight regular-season Big Ten Championship during the 2001-02 season. 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 had a four-year Big Ten record of 54-10 from 1998 to 2001. * MSU was 31-1 at home and 23-9 on the road over the four years. * MSU led the Big Ten in rebounding margin four straight years. * MSU finished in the top three in FG% defense all four years. * MSU ranked among the top five in scoring all four seasons, including the last two seasons in the top three.
Super Soph - Marcus Taylor is off to a great start in his sophomore campaign. He is second in 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 own a 9-5 record, they are 0-5 when playing on the road or on a neutral court. Michigan State will return to the Breslin Center on Jan. 12 vs. Wisconsin, three weeks after their last home game.
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 +9.6 margin to lead the Big Ten for a fifth-straight year.
Outrebounding MSU Is A Rarity - Michigan State has outrebounded its opponent in 12 of 14 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 116 of 124 (93.5 percent) teams. In Tom Izzo's tenure as head coach, the Spartans have won the battle of the boards in 186 of 215 (86.5 percent) games.
Money From The Charity Stripe - Michigan State leads the Big Ten in free throw percentage, shooting 75.8 percent from the line.
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. (Does not include poll to be released Jan. 7.)
Growing Up Quickly - MSU's success relies on contributions from three true freshmen. Through 14 games, the trio of Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert have combined to average 28.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists. The three have started a combined 26 games and are averaging a combined 74.6 minutes per contest.
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 14 games, the Spartan bench is outscoring the opponent's subs, 272-195.
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 (10 games), Charlie Bell (30 games), Mateen Cleaves (24 games), Doug Davis (1 game), A.J. Granger (7 games), Chris Hill (4 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), David Thomas (3 games )and Kelvin Torbert (12 games).
Getting Respect - Michigan State is ranked 22nd in the current ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The poll released on Jan. 6 includes eight of MSU's 2001-02 opponents, including six in the top 11. The teams are No. 2 Florida, No. 5 Virginia, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 8 Syracuse, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Stanford, No. 13 Iowa and No. 21 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.
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.
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).
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. 5.)
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 currently on injured list Zach Randolph (Portland): 25 GP, 6.2 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 33 GP, 27.4 mpg, 11.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg Steve Smith (San Antonio): 31 GP, 29.3 mpg, 13.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.0 apg Eric Snow (Philadelphia): 12 GP, 34.3 mpg, 9.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 5.9 apg Kevin Willis (Houston): 33 GP, 19.9 mpg, 7.5 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.
