Men's Basketball Faces First Tough Road Test Of Season
11/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#3/3 Michigan State (1-0)at #5/6 Kansas (1-0)November 25, 20039 P.M. ESTLawrence, Kan.Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM (1240 AM/97.5 FM)
TV: ESPN - Dan Shulman (Play by Play), Dick Vitale (Color), Doris Burke (Sidelines).
The Opening Tip Michigan State travels to Kansas for one of the premier games in the Spartans' amazing non-conference schedule. Both teams are ranked in the top six of the national polls and are coming off strong performances in the 2003 NCAA Tournament as MSU made it to the Elite Eight and KU advanced all the way to the National Championship game. MSU head coach Tom Izzo will be facing a familiar foe as former Illinois head coach Bill Self is in his first season patrolling the Jayhawk sidelines.
Michigan State Game Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Starting Five
Tough Road Wins - Everyone knows it's tough to win on the road, but Michigan State has recorded wins at some historic arenas over the last four seasons, including wins at North Carolina (86-76, Dec. 12, 1999), Kentucky (71-67, Dec. 14, 2002), and Indiana (67-62 OT, Feb. 8, 2003).
Bench Production - It's tough to draw conclusions after just one game, but Michigan State got solid production from its bench in the season opener. Spartan reserves accounted for 21 of MSU's 64 points (32.8 percent), with Maurice Ager (9 points) and Shannon Brown (8 points) leading the way. By comparison, Jayhawk reserves scored 15 of KU's 90 points (16.7 percent).
Limiting Turnovers - Michigan State did a good job taking care of the ball in the season opener, committing just nine turnovers. The Spartans struggled with turnovers for much of last season, averaging 14.3 per game.
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.
MSU In November - MSU has an all-time record of 56-16 in November.
Game 1 Notes - MSU 64 - Bucknell 52
* Michigan State won its 27th straight season opener, improving to 84-21 in openers.
* Michigan State improved to 87-18 all-time in home openers.
* The Spartans scored just four seconds into the season. Paul Davis tipped the jump ball to Jason Andreas, who passed it to Chris Hill, who lobbed an alley-oop pass to Kelvin Torbert for a dunk. Torbert was fouled on the dunk and made the free throw for a three-point play.
* Bucknell shot just 1-of-17 from the foul line, including 0-of-8 in the second half.
* Bucknell scored just nine points over the final 15:44 of the game, as MSU closed the contest on a 25-9 run.
* Chris Hill tied his career best with seven assists; Paul Davis tied a career high with 21 points and Maurice Ager grabbed a career best six rebounds.
Kansas Notes
Coach Self - Bill Self (Oklahoma State '85) is 208-105 in his 11th season as a college head coach. In his first year at Kansas, Self previously served as head coach at Illinois (three years), Tulsa (three years) and Oral Roberts (four years). Self has a career record of 3-3 against Tom Izzo and Michigan State, going 3-2 while at Illinois and 0-1 at Tulsa.
Michigan State Vs. Kansas - The all-time series between Michigan State and Kansas is tied 3-3. Kansas won the only game played in Lawrence, posting a 74-56 win on Dec. 5, 1981. On two other occasions, the Spartans lost to KU on a neutral court near Lawrence, falling 93-69 on Dec. 16, 1960, in Manhattan, Kan., and 96-86 in overtime at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., on March 21, 1986.
Jayhawk Briefs - Kansas is the third all-time winningest program in NCAA history with 1,802 wins ... The Jayhawks have appeared in 12 Final Fours to rank fifth in NCAA history ... Four of Kansas' starters played more than 30 minutes against Tennessee-Chattanooga ... Freshman David Padgett recorded a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) in his Jayhawk debut, while adding five blocked shots.
MSU-Kansas Notable Games
Michigan State 66 - Kansas 54 (Dec. 7, 1999) - No. 4 Michigan State faced No. 5 Kansas in the 1999 Great Eight at the United Center in Chicago. The Spartans entered the game without All-American Mateen Cleaves, but had already won at No. 2 North Carolina behind 31 points from Morris Peterson. In this game, Charlie Bell led the Spartans with 21 points, as Peterson added a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds). MSU dominated KU on the glass, 47-27.
Kansas 96 - Michigan State 86, OT (March 21, 1986) - With 2:20 showing on the clock in the second half of the Sweet Sixteen of the 1986 NCAA Tournament, time stood still for 15 seconds. MSU held an 80-74 lead with just over a minute, only to watch Kansas score three straight baskets, the last one coming on a Archie Marshall tip-in with :10 seconds left, 10 seconds that should not have existed. The Jayhawks then outscored the Spartans 14-2 in the last 3:29 of overtime.
Michigan State 85 - Kansas 61 (Feb. 4, 1979) - On Feb. 1, 1979, Michigan State stood at 11-5, 4-4 in the Big Ten. That night, the Spartans defeated Ohio State, 84-79, in overtime and added a win over Northwestern on Feb. 3. The next day brought about a rare national television appearance for a game against Kansas. MSU was impressive in an 85-61 win. Greg Kelser scored 22 points, Jay Vincent added 20 and Earvin "Magic" Johnson recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in posting the only triple-double ever accomplished against the Jayhawks . "That game turned everything around for us," Johnson said later. "The crowd was roaring. We were running and dunking, and we left that game convinced we were back on track."
MSU Basketball Notes
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 amassed 125 or more victories between 1998-99 and 2002-03. 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.)
Hill For Three - Chris Hill is among the best three-point shooters in MSU history. He ranks third in career three-point field goals made (163), fifth in career attempts (392) and seventh in career three-point field goal percentage (.416). Hill has made at least one three-point field goal in 64 of 67 games in his career.
Spartans Spread Minutes - Twelve different Spartans saw action in the season-opener vs. Bucknell. Nine players played at least eight minutes, as just two Spartans played 30 minutes or more.
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).
Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime - This year's Spartan schedule is just the latest in Tom Izzo's trend to play the best teams across the country. Consider the squads that have appeared on MSU's schedule under Izzo: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, Stanford, Syracuse, Temple, Texas, UCLA and Virginia.
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.
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 74 of its last 78 regular-season games in Breslin, a winning percentage of .949. In addition, the Breslin Center has been sold out for 84 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 225 of 268 games (84.0 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.
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.
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. 23.) Morris Peterson (Toronto): 12 GP, 17.5 mpg, 7.1ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.1 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 12 GP, 38.9 mpg, 20.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 3.0 apg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 8 GP, 38.4 mpg, 20.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.5 apg Steve Smith (New Orleans): 12 GP, 12.0 mpg, 6.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.3 apg Eric Snow (Philadelphia): 14 GP, 35.9 mpg, 10.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 6.4 apg Kevin Willis (San Antonio): 6 GP, 10.8 mpg, 4.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.3 apg
