No. 3 Men's Basketball Opens Season On Friday Night
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#3/3 Michigan State (0-0)vs. Bucknell (0-0)November 21, 20037 P.M. ESTEast Lansing, Mich.Breslin Center (14,759)
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM (1240 AM/97.5 FM)
TV: None
Michigan State Game Notes
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The Opening Tip
No. 3 Michigan State opens the 105th season in the program's history on Friday night against Bucknell in the first meeting between the two schools. The Spartans have opened the past 26 seasons with a win. MSU is coming off an 1-1 exhibition season, most recently defeating Nike Elite, 85-81, on Nov. 13. Bucknell played just one exhibition game, defeating Big Apple Basketball, 79-64, on Nov. 14.
The Starting Five
For Openers - Michigan State is 83-21 all-time in openers, including 26 straight season-opening wins. The last loss in a season opener came on Nov. 29, 1976, when the Spartans fell to Central Michigan, 81-76. Tom Izzo has won his eight season openers by an average of 25.0 points.
For Openers, Part II - Michigan State is 86-18 all-time in home openers. The Spartans last lost a home opener on Dec. 4, 1976, falling to Western Michigan, 74-73. Overall, the Spartans are 72-11 in season openers at home. The Spartans last lost a season opener at home Dec. 1, 1970, to Northern Illinois, 76-75.
Off And Running - Although it was just two exhibition games, the Spartans did show that they are looking to play up-tempo basketball in 2003-04, averaging 84.0 points. Against Nike Elite, the Spartans scored 17 fast-break points.
Spartans Spread Minutes - Thirteen different Spartans saw action in the exhibition games, with the coaching staff looking to see how different combinations worked in game situations. Eleven players averaged more than 10 minutes, with no one averaging more than 26 minutes.
MSU In November - Michigan State has an all-time record of 55-16 in games played in the month of November. This includes an 38-3 mark at home.
Exhibition Games Notes
* Michigan State shot just 58.3 percent (28-of-48) from the free throw line in the two games.* Paul Davis was MSU's leading scorer at 16.5 points per contest, followed by Alan Anderson and Chris Hill at 15.0 ppg.* MSU averaged 12.5 steals per exhibition contest.* MSU's freshman trio of Shannon Brown, Brandon Cotton and Drew Naymick averaged 15.5 points.* Alan Anderson shot 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the field.* MSU grabbed just four offensive rebounds against the Harlem Globetrotters, but collected 23 against Nike Elite.
Bucknell Notes
Coach Flannery - Pat Flannery (Bucknell '80) is 135-121 as he enters his 10th season at Bucknell. Overall, he is in his 15th year as a college head coach (230-164). He is a two-time recipient of Patriot League Coach of the Year honors.
Bucknell's MSU Connection - Bucknell athletic director John Hardt was MSU's associate director for administrative and compliance services for four years from 1996-2000.
Common Opponents - Michigan State and Bucknell will both play Penn and Penn State in 2003-04. Last year, Bucknell lost at Penn State, 59-55, while the Spartans defeated the Nittany Lions in East Lansing, 70-36.
Bison Briefs - Bucknell placed fifth in the Patriot League last year with a 7-7 conference record ... Sophomore guard Kevin Bettencourt is Bucknell's leading returning scorer (11.1 ppg in 2002-03) and led the Bison with 17 points in their lone exhibition contest ... Bettencourt was the 2002-03 Patriot League Rookie of the Year ... The Bison have five seniors on their roster ... Bucknell outrebounded Big Apple Basketball, 52-36, in the exhibition game.
MSU Basketball Notes
Hill For Three - Through two seasons Chris Hill is among the best three-point shooters in MSU history. He ranks third in career three-point field goals made (161) and sixth in career attempts (383) and career three-point field goal percentage (.420). Hill has made at least one three-point field goal in 63 of 66 games in his career.
Playing The Best - Michigan State's 2003-04 schedule has the opportunity to go down as one of the greatest in college basketball history. Opponents on this year's slate have combined for 32 National Championships, 406 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven of the 11 all-time winningest programs, five of the six all-time winningest Final Four teams, eight 2003 conference champions and 14 2003 postseason teams (10 NCAA Tournament and four NIT).
One-Of-A-Kind Schedule - Michigan State's 2003-04 schedule is heading into uncharted waters. No team has ever played Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and UCLA during the same regular season. Add Oklahoma to that group and you have one of the greatest schedules of all-time.
Returning Talent - Michigan State is a popular preseason pick for the 2004 Final Four based upon its returning talent from the 2003 Elite Eight squad. The Spartans return five of their top six scorers from last year, 71.6 percent of their scoring and 70.7 percent of their minutes played.
Sustained Excellence - The mark of an elite program is sustaining excellence over time and doing it against top-flight competition. There are 13 programs that have amassed 125 or more victories over the last five seasons. Michigan State is third on that list with 134 victories. However, MSU is also the team most willing to play top-notch competition, ranking first with 59 games against ranked opponents, while winning a nation's best 38. Michigan State and Kentucky are tied with 21 games in the regular-season against non-conference ranked teams. A look deeper into the numbers shows that of those 21 games for MSU, 13 were against top-10 teams. (Rankings based on The Associated Press Top 25 poll at the date the game was played.)
Spartan Debuts - Of the 17 players on MSU's roster, eight have never played in a regular-season game. Five of the eight (Shannon Brown, Brandon Cotton, Drew Naymick, Justin Ockerman and Delco Rowley) played in MSU's exhibition games and could see their debut against Bucknell.
Preseason Favorites - Michigan State was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference by both the league's media and coaches. This is the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last six years that MSU has been selected as the preseason favorite.
Davis And Hill Earn Individual Honors - Junior guard Chris Hill and sophomore center Paul Davis were both selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team as selected by the league's coaches. Hill also earned a spot on the media's all-conference team. Davis is the only non-guard to earn a spot on either team, while no seniors were honored. Davis and Hill were also named John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-Americans in August and Naismith Award candidates last week.
Breslin Success - Since the start of the 1998-99 season, Michigan State has won 73 of its last 77 regular-season games in Breslin, a winning percentage of .948. In addition, the Breslin Center has been sold out for 83 consecutive games.
Winning The Right Way - In addition to excelling on the court, the Spartans are standouts in the classroom. Ten Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees over the last three years, including five each in 2001 and 2003. MSU entered the semester with a cumulative grade point average of 3.04.
It's All About Boardwork - Michigan State has led the Big Ten in rebounding margin for six straight seasons, including leading the nation in both 2000 (+11.7) and 2001 (+15.4). In Tom Izzo's nine years as head coach, MSU has outrebounded its opponent in 224 of 267 games (83.9 percent).
Statue Specifics - The statue honoring Earvin "Magic" Johnson was unveiled on Nov. 1. The structure, entitled "Always A Champion," symbolizes Johnson's championships at the high school, collegiate, NBA and Olympic levels with a statue of his body erupting from four abstract figures. The total height of the structure and base is approximately 12-feet tall, with the actual statue of Johnson less than 9 feet tall. The cost of the project is approximately $250,000 and is funded entirely through private donations. In the sculpture, Johnson is looking up the court with the basketball in one hand and is directing his teammates with the other hand, all of which were attributes that made him one of the greatest basketball players of all time and the man who made "triple-double" part of the basketball vocabulary. The statue was designed by sculptor Omri Amrany from the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany, based in Highland Park, Ill. Amrany's previous works include the Michael Jordan statue in front of Chicago's United Center, a Harry Caray statue at the entrance to Chicago's Wrigley Field and six statues of great Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Most recently, he's completed statues of Vince Lombardi and Earl "Curly" Lambeau at Green Bay's Lambeau Field and a statue of Al McGuire at Marquette.
A Critical Pair - Strong games from juniors Alan Anderson and Kelvin Torbert are critical to MSU's success. In two plus years, MSU is 12-2 when they both score in double figures, including a mark of 11-0 in 2002-03.
U-S-A, U-S-A - Four Spartans had the opportunity to represent their country in international competition over the summer. Sophomores Maurice Ager and Paul Davis played for the USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team that posted a 7-1 mark in Greece. Davis was the squad's leading scorer (17.7 ppg) and rebounder (8.7 rpg). Junior Chris Hill was a member of the USA Basketball Pan American Games Team in the Dominican Republic with Tom Izzo serving as head coach.
New Faces - With Brian Gregory and Mike Garland becoming the latest members of the Tom Izzo coaching tree to get head coaching jobs, Izzo was forced to add two new assistants to the staff. Doug Wojcik filled one of the positions after serving as an assistant at Navy, Notre Dame and North Carolina. The other opening was filled by former Spartan letterwinner Dwayne Stephens who had served as an assistant at Oakland and Marquette.
The Golden Arches - Michigan State is becoming the home for McDonald's All-Americans. Over the past five seasons, seven 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, Paul Davis in 2002 and Shannon Brown and Brandon Cotton in 2003.
Home To Mr. Basketball - Four of the last five recipients of Michigan's Mr. Basketball Award, presented to the top high school player in the state, have 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. Although Brandon Cotton (DePorres HS) finished second in 2003, Shannon Brown (Proviso East HS) captured Illinois' Mr. Basketball Award.
Spartans In The NBA - Listed below is an update on six former Spartans currently on NBA rosters: (Stats current through Nov. 19.)
Morris Peterson (Toronto): 11 GP, 17.3 mpg, 6.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.1 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 11 GP, 38.5 mpg, 20.3 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 3.0 apg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 7 GP, 38.0 mpg, 18.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.1 apg Steve Smith (New Orleans): 11 GP, 12.6 mpg, 6.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.4 apg Eric Snow (Philadelphia): 12 GP, 35.9 mpg, 10.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.4 apg Kevin Willis (San Antonio): 5 GP, 9.8 mpg, 4.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.4 apg
