Michigan State University
Minnesota
Men's Basketball Bounces Minnesota, 74-55
2/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 21, 2002
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State took one step toward getting where it wants to, and Minnesota took one step back.
Adam Ballinger had 20 points and nine rebounds and Chris Hill added 15 as the Spartans beat the Golden Gophers 74-55 Thursday night, in a matchup of teams competing for an NCAA tournament bid.
"There's no secret what we're playing for," Ballinger said. "We just have to keep winning, so that we don't leave anything to chance."
The Spartans (16-10, 7-6 Big Ten) have won five of their last seven and have four wins over ranked teams, including double-digit victories over No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 14 Arizona.
"At least, it is in our own hands," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "We know what we have to do."
The Gophers (14-10, 7-6) have fallen from contending for the Big Ten title to a fifth-place tie, with three consecutive losses.
Both the Spartans and Gophers have three games left.
Michigan State plays host to No. 23 Indiana on Sunday. Then it travels to No. 19 Ohio State on Tuesday, and plays Iowa at home, before the conference tournament starts on March 7 in Indianapolis.
The Gophers play at Penn State on Saturday, then play Northwestern at home, and at No. 16 Illinois.
"I have no idea how many (wins) we need," Minnesota coach Dan Monson said. "So, I'd like to get all three. Our big thing is, we can't let this snowball into Saturday."
Minnesota's Dusty Rychart and Kerwin Fleming scored 13 each. Freshman Rick Rickert scored just four points, after entering the game averaging a team-high 14.6 points.
Michigan State held the Gophers to 42 percent shooting, despite their 8-of-12 start from the field.
"I thought we defended them well, that was the difference in the game," Izzo said.
The Spartans took command of the game with a 16-5 run, which gave them a 65-51 lead with 5:17 left.
Near the end of the spurt, Hill made a key 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. He also gave the Spartans their first lead at the 5:49 mark of the first half, with a 23-foot 3-pointer.
"Those seemed to come at the right times," Hill said.
Marcus Taylor scored 11, and Minneapolis native Alan Anderson added eight for the Spartans.
Michigan State had to overcome Minnesota's great start.
The Gophers had two nine-point leads over the first eight minutes of the game. They didn't trail until Hill's long 3-pointer gave the Spartans a 23-21 lead.
Michigan State led 32-29 at halftime, although Taylor and Kelvin Torbert shot a combined 0-for-9.
The Spartans outscored Minnesota 9-2 to start the second half, and take a 41-31 lead. The Gophers later scored seven straight to pull to 49-46 with 11:42 left, but couldn't get closer.
"Their strength was the biggest key," Monson said. "It just seemed like every time there was a rebound, they ended up with it."
