Men's Basketball Opens Big Ten Play Against Ohio State
1/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
2002-03 Michigan State Basketball#20/25 Michigan State (8-4)vs. Ohio State (7-4)January 9, 20037:00 P.M. ESTBreslin Center (14,759)East Lansing, Mich.
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM (1240 AM/97.5 FM)
TV: ESPN2 - Dave Barnett (Play by Play), Bill Raftery (Color)
Michigan State Game Notes
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The Opening Tip
Dominating The Big Ten - Over the past five seasons, Michigan State has posted a 64-16 Big Ten record, a remarkable winning percentage of .800. Illinois is the only other team to have as many as 50 conference wins over that same time period, posting a 51-29 mark. Michigan State was selected as the preseason favorite for the 2003 Big Ten Championship by both the league's media and coaches, prior to the start of the season.
Game 12 Notes - Oklahoma 60 - Michigan State 58
* The game was played in front of 18,034 fans, the largest crowd ever to watch a basketball game in the state of Oklahoma.
* Michigan State outrebounded Oklahoma, 34-28. The Sooners entered the contest with a +8.9 rebound margin. In the second half, MSU outrebounded OU, 18-10.
* Maurice Ager played just his fourth game of the season, scoring a season-high and team-best 12 points.
* Paul Davis earned his first career start, scoring eight points and grabbing a season-high nine rebounds.
* Both teams shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the field, but Oklahoma shot 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the foul line compared to 64.7 percent (11-of-17) for MSU.
Probable StartersMichigan State Spartans (8-4) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #25 Aloysius Anagonye (Sr., 6-8, 260)8.6 6.0 0.7F - #15 Alan Anderson (So., 6-6, 220) 8.9 3.1 3.3F - #40 Paul Davis (Fr., 6-11, 240) 8.6 4.8 0.4G - #5 Chris Hill (So., 6-3, 190) 16.0 3.1 4.3G - #23 Kelvin Torbert (So., 6-4, 215) 8.8 3.8 1.3
Ohio State Buckeyes (7-4) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #33 Zach Williams (Jr., 6-7, 230) 11.3 6.3 1.5C - #14 Velimir Radinovic (Jr., 7-0, 230)8.4 5.5 0.4G - #3 Sean Connolly (Sr., 6-5, 210) 15.4 4.1 2.3G - #4 Brent Darby (Sr., 6-1, 195) 18.3 4.5 4.9G - #40 Matt Sylvester (Fr., 6-7, 200) 4.7 2.0 1.4
Coach Izzo - In his eighth year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 175-68 (.720), 82-34 (.707) 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 167 wins in his first seven years give him the fifth most by a coach in his first seven seasons of coaching in college basketball history. In his seven 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.
Izzo's Two Decades - The 2002-03 season marks Tom Izzo's 20th with the Spartan basketball program. Now in his eighth year as a head coach, Izzo spent 12 years as an assistant under Jud Heathcote.
Ohio State Notes
Coach O'Brien - Jim O'Brien (Boston College, '71) is in sixth season as head coach at Ohio State with a record of 109-61. Overall, he is in his 21st season as a head coach with a record of 344-278, with head coaching stints at St. Bonaventure (1982-86) and Boston College (1986-97). He was named National Coach of the Year in 1999.
Spartans Vs. Buckeyes - Michigan State leads the all-time series with Ohio State, 54-45, making this the 100th meeting between the two schools. This includes a 36-13 advantage in games played in East Lansing. Dating back to 1993, the Spartans have won 14 of the last 16 games, including eight straight victories in the Breslin Center.
The First And The Last - Michigan State and Ohio State open the Big Ten regular-season against each other. Eight weeks later, they will close conference play with a contest on either March 8 or 9 in Columbus.
Buckeye Bits - Ohio State's four losses have come to teams with a combined three losses ... senior guard Brent Darby ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring (18.3 ppg) and second in assists (4.9 apg) ... Ohio State has won 11 or more Big Ten games in each of the last four seasons ... the Buckeyes are playing just their second true road game of the year, having lost 69-49 at Pittsburgh on Dec. 18.
Recent Big Ten Titles - Over the last five years, Michigan State and Ohio State have combined to win six regular-season Big Ten Championships. The Spartans won four straight titles from 1998-2001, sharing the 2000 crown with the Buckeyes. Last season, Ohio State was one of four teams to lay claim to a championship, as MSU finished one game out of first. In addition, Michigan State captured the 1999 and 2000 Big Ten Tournament titles, while Ohio State won the 2002 tournament.
MSU Basketball Notes
Spartans From The Buckeye State - Juniors Jason Andreas (Sugarcreek) and Adam Wolfe (Westerville) both hail from the Buckeye state. Andreas' father, Dan, was a three-year starter for the Ohio State basketball team (1968-70), while his uncle, Bill, was also a three-year starter for the Buckeyes (1973-75).
Big Ten Openers - In its 52 seasons playing basketball in the Big Ten Conference, Michigan State has compiled a 22-30 record in Big Ten openers. When the conference opener is in East Lansing, MSU's record improves to 13-9. Tom Izzo is 4-3 in Big Ten openers, 3-0 in East Lansing.
Big Ten Home Openers - Over the past 52 seasons, Michigan State has posted a 33-19 in Big Ten home openers. Tom Izzo is 5-2 on the first conference game played in East Lansing.
One For The Thumb - Last season, Michigan State missed becoming just the second team in Big Ten history to win five straight conference championships, finishing just one game out of first place. This season, however, the Spartans still have a chance to reach elite status by winning a fifth Big Ten crown in a span of six years. Only the Ohio State squads of 1960-64 that captured five championships in a row can claim such an honor.
Torbert's Breakout - Recently, Kelvin Torbert has shown flashes of the skills that made the national high school player of the year coming out of Flint Northwestern High School. Over the last five games, he is MSU's second-leading scorer at 11.0 points per game. Against Oklahoma, foul trouble kept him from getting into the flow of the game and limited his production. In the two games prior to Oklahoma, he averaged 14.5 points per contest, while shooting 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the field.
Spartans Hit Hard By Injuries - Injuries are a part of sports, but they usually don't hit a squad as hard they have attacked the Spartans this season. In fact, Michigan State has not had all 13 scholarship players healthy for a single practice or game this year. Maurice Ager (8), Rashi Johnson (5) and Adam Wolfe (8) have combined to miss 21 games, while several other Spartans have missed multiple practices throughout the year. While people understand the effect that missing games has on the team, the effect of missed practices is not as easy to comprehend. With a young Spartan team, practices are essential to developing continuity among teammates.
Anagonye's Emergence - As one of Michigan State's two scholarship seniors, Aloysius Anagonye is counted on for solid contributions in the post. Over the last three games, he is averaging 12.3 points, good for second-best on the team. He leads the Big Ten's leading rebounding team with 6.0 rebounds per game. In the last seven contests, he is shooting a remarkable 70.6 (24-of-34) from the field. Just as important, Anagonye is staying out of foul trouble. He has fouled out of only one game and picked up four fouls in just one other contest.
Ager's Impact - Freshman Maurice Ager returned to action vs. Oklahoma and tied for the team lead with 12 points. He missed the first six games of the year with a stress fracture in his right foot and made his regular-season debut in front of 23,145 people against Kentucky in Lexington. He played 14 minutes off the bench and hit his first shot, a floating jumper in the lane after dribble penetration. He also added a three-pointer in the second half. That performance was followed by a six-point, five-rebound effort vs. Loyola, including a spectacular dunk in transition that showed just a glimpse of his athleticism that had Coach Izzo singing his praises during the first weeks of practice. Ager also adds a perimeter threat as he has already attempted 10 three-pointers in four games, ranking tied for third on the team. During practice on Christmas Day, Ager fainted and was taken to the hospital for two days of tests forcing him to miss the Jacksonville State and Toledo contests. This season, Ager has participated in about one-third of MSU's practices.
Rebounding And Defense Key In Victories - Michigan State's defense and rebounding are two keys to its performance in any game. In MSU's eight wins, the Spartans are holding opponents to 38.6 percent shooting and own a rebound margin of +9.6. In the four losses, MSU opponents are shooting 46.0 percent, including 41.8 percent from long range. On the boards, the Spartans own just a +2.8 advantage in the defeats.
Wolfe's Return - Adam Wolfe appeared in the season opener vs. UNC Asheville in his first action since a Jan. 19 hamstring injury that left doubt as to whether he would ever play again. Due to inconsistency in his ability to practice in the days following the game, Wolfe underwent further rehabilitation, missing eight straight games. He returned to practice following the holiday break and played 12 minutes vs. Jacksonville State, scoring four points. Two days later, he scored five points vs. Toledo. Last season, Wolfe averaged 20.9 minutes, 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in 17 contests.
Fast Starts - Michigan State has made a habit of jumping out to early leads over its opponents. Consider these game opening runs by the Spartans this season: 11-0 vs. UNC Asheville, 16-3 vs. Montana, 12-3 vs. Oklahoma State, 12-4 vs. Kentucky, 22-4 vs. South Florida, 12-3 vs. Jacksonville State.
Hill Ranks Among Big Ten Leaders - The Big Ten Conference recognizes individual statistics in 12 categories, nine of which do not include rebounding. Chris Hill ranks in the top 10 in seven of them, including eighth in scoring (16.0 ppg), seventh in assists (4.25 apg), tied for eighth in free throw percentage (.833), tied for second in steals (2.00 spg), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.448), second in three point field goals made (3.25) and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.31).
Too Many Turnovers - Turnovers have been a problem for Michigan State all season long. The Spartans are averaging 16.3 turnovers per game and have a negative turnover margin at -0.7. In two games this year, MSU has committed at least 20 turnovers, including 20 vs. Cleveland State and 21 vs. Jacksonville State. Considering that the Spartans are shooting .485 from the field, it is easy to see that they are costing themselves several points per game, while giving up easy scoring opportunities for opponents in transition.
Balanced Scoring - Chris Hill is leading Michigan State in scoring at 16.0 points per game. No other Spartans, however, are averaging double-figures. Although it's too early to expect this trend to continue, Michigan State has not had just one player average in double figures since the 1955-56 season when Julius McCoy averaged 27.2 points. While Hill is currently the only Spartan in double-figures, several players are contributing to the offensive attack as MSU has eight players averaging six points per game or more this season.
Getting To The Charity Stripe - Last season, Michigan State shot 77.1 percent (442-of-573) from the free throw line, ranking fifth in the nation. The problem was that MSU attempted just 18.5 free throws per game, finishing the year with just 12 more attempts than its opponents. This season, the Spartans are shooting 72.8 percent (222-of-305). The difference is that the Spartans are averaging 25.4 attempts per game. This means the Spartans are scoring over four points a game more from the foul line this year. That is significant in that MSU lost five games last season by four points or less, including four in the Big Ten season. The Spartans have nearly made more free throws (222) than their opponents have attempted (223).
Not So Free - Although the Spartans are getting to the free throw line more this year, they have struggled to convert in recent games. Through the first seven games of the year, Michigan State shot 77.7 percent (122-of-157) to lead the Big Ten Conference. In the five games since then, MSU is shooting 67.6 percent (100-of-148). Against Oklahoma, MSU was 11-of-17 from the line and missed the front end of two one-and-ones.
It's All About Boardwork - Through 12 games, the Spartans have a +7.3 rebounding margin to rank lead the Big Ten, outrebounding 10 of their 12 opponents and tying one other. The 2001-02 season marked the fifth-straight year in which Michigan State led the Big Ten in rebound margin, outrebounding its opponents by an average of 7.9 boards per game. In Tom Izzo's seven years as head coach, Michigan State has never ranked worse than second in the Big Ten in rebound margin.
Alan Of All Trades - Since returning from Alaska, Alan Anderson has been a steady contributor, while being asked to do a little bit of everything. The natural wing is usually asked to guard one of the opponents' top offensive perimeter players, and has also moved into duty as MSU's reserve point guard. In the last eight games, Anderson is averaging 10.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
From Way Downtown - In just a little over one year, Chris Hill has established himself as one of the finest shooters in Michigan State history. He currently ranks eighth on the MSU career list with 105 made three-pointers. His career three-point field-goal percentage of .447 ranks third in MSU history. This season, Hill is 39-of-87 (.448) from three-point range.
The Soft Touch - Seniors Aloysius Anagonye and Adam Ballinger are among the top field-goal shooters in Michigan State history. Anagonye is shooting .566 for his career (222-of-392), which ranks sixth in MSU history. Ballinger is shooting .535 (200-of-374), which ranks just outside the top 10.
Block Party - Senior Aloysius Anagonye ranks tied for third on the MSU career blocked shots list with 75 rejections. With one block, he will pass Andre Hutson for sole possession of third place. Anagonye's teammate, Adam Ballinger, is 10th on the career blocks chart with 60, just one short of Anthony Miller's 61 in ninth place.
The Breslin Experience - Although MSU's Big Ten-record 53-game homecourt winning streak was snapped in 2002, the Breslin Center continues to be one of college basketball's great homecourt advantages. Since the start of the 1998-99 season, Michigan State has won 65 of its last 68 regular-season games in Breslin, a winning percentage of .956. Additionally, the Breslin Center has been sold out for 74 consecutive regular-season games.
Young At Heart - Depth does not always equal experience. Although Michigan State has eight players returning who averaged more than 10 minutes per game in 2001-02, just four players (Aloysius Anagonye, Jason Andreas, Adam Ballinger and Adam Wolfe) have more than one year of playing experience with the Spartans. MSU does not have a backcourt player with more than one year of experience.
In The Polls - Michigan State is ranked 20th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll released on Jan. 6. Four Spartan opponents are ranked, including No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 11 Illinois, No. 15 Indiana and No. 19 Kentucky. In The Associated Press Top 25 released on Jan. 6, MSU is ranked 25th, while four opponents (No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 10 Illinois, No. 15 Indiana and No. 18 Kentucky) are ranked.
Coaching Consistency - One of the keys to MSU's success is continuity on the coaching staff. The four member coaching staff have been at MSU for a combined 43 years. Tom Izzo is in his 20th season as a Spartan, having spent the first 12 as an assistant. Associate head coach Brian Gregory is in his 10th year at MSU and fourth year in his current stint. Mike Garland is a college teammate of Izzo's and has been an assistant for seven of Izzo's eight years as head coach. Mark Montgomery is in his second season as an assistant, after four years (1988-92) as MSU's point guard.
Hill Is Most Recent Wooden Nominee - Chris Hill 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, Marcus Taylor was a preseason honoree. In 2000-01, 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.
Air Time - Over the last four years, Michigan State has averaged over 29 television broadcasts per year, including more than 21 per year on national television networks. In 2002-03, MSU will have 24 regular-season games televised (not including postseason). Of those 24, 16 could be broadcast by national networks, including eight on ESPN, three on ESPN2 and five more on CBS.
Home To Mr. Basketball - The last four 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, Kelvin Torbert (Flint Northwestern HS) in 2001 and Paul Davis (Rochester HS) in 2002.
The Golden Arches - Michigan State is becoming the home for McDonald's All-Americans. Over the past four seasons, five 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, Kelvin Torbert in 2001 and Paul Davis in 2002.
Spartans In The NBA - Michigan State led the Big Ten with eight 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): 3 GP, 3.7 mpg, 0.3 ppg, 0.3 apg, Jamie Feick (New Jersey): 0 GP, currently on injured list Morris Peterson (Toronto): 34 GP, 36.9 mpg, 15.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.0 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 30 GP, 13.8 mpg, 7.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 32 GP, 34.1 mpg, 15.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.3 apg Steve Smith (San Antonio): 26 GP, 24.4 mpg, 8.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.7 apg Eric Snow (Philadelphia): 33 GP, 37.8 mpg, 10.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 7.0 apg Kevin Willis (San Antonio): 29 GP, 11.3 mpg, 4.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg
Spartans Keep Reloading - Michigan State signed three players to National Letters of Intent in the early signing period. The class is a consensus top-five class, including a No. 4 ranking from recruiting analyst Dave Telep.
Shannon Brown (G, 6-3, 190, Maywood, Ill./Proviso East) is the consensus pick as the No. 1 shooting guard in the nation. As a junior, he averaged 24 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals en route to earning first-team all-state honors. Overall, Dave Telep and Bob Gibbons have him ranked as the No. 9 player in the nation.
Brandon Cotton (G, 6-0, 170, Detroit/DePorres) averaged 28.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals as a junior. He earned Class C All-State and All-Detroit honors from both the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. Cotton is ranked the No. 17 player in the nation and No. 3 point guard in the country by PrepStars.com. Cotton led DePorres to a 17-4 record and a Catholic AA Division title.
Drew Naymick (C, 6-10, 235, Muskegon/North Muskegon) averaged 21.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 6.4 blocks as a junior, earning Class C All-State honors. He also shot a remarkable 70.6 percent from the field. Over the summer, he gained significant national experience while playing at the 2002 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival (with Brown and Cotton) and participating at the Nike Camp where he was named to Dave Telep's All-Nike Camp team.
