Michigan State University
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Kansas
MSU Edged In Top-10 Matchup
11/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov 25, 2003
By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Wayne Simien scored 28 points and No. 6 Kansas withstood a Michigan State rally to beat the No. 3 Spartans 81-74 Tuesday night in college basketball's first marquee matchup of the year.
Kansas, now 2-0 under new coach Bill Self, hit its first six shots of the second half, giving the Big 12 preseason favorites a 54-39 lead over the favorites in the Big Ten.
But Michigan State's Shannon Brown, who had only one point in a first half, hit three straight buckets and ignited a 12-2 run for the Spartans (1-1).
Paul Davis, Michigan State's 6-foot-11 sophomore, sliced the lead to 76-72 with a follow shot at the 2:22 mark.
But on Kansas' next possession, J.R. Giddens rebounded a Michael Lee miss and dunked the ball, bringing the crowd of 16,300 to its feet and putting Kansas on top 78-72.
Lee then rebounded a Davis miss inside and Aaron Miles hit a pair of free throws with 26 seconds to go to seal the win.
Simien, a 6-7 junior who missed 22 games last season with a separated shoulder, had 18 points in the rough-and-tumble first half en route to his career-high 28.
Miles had 17 points and six assists while Keith Langford had 13 points - all in the second half.
Maurice Ager had 17 points and Alan Anderson 16 for the Spartans, whose only lead was 4-2. Davis had 13, while guard Chris Hill, in foul trouble most of the second half, had nine.
The Spartans did not get one blocked shot and committed 24 turnovers while the Jayhawks had seven blocks and only 18 turnovers.
The first 3-pointer of Simien's career gave Kansas a 7-4 lead and the Jayhawks never trailed. He was 9-for-9 from the foul line and 9-for-12 from the floor.
Giddens, a 6-5 member of the Jayhawks' highly touted freshman class, brought a deafening roar from the crowd when he stole a pass near the Michigan State bucket and drove the length of the court for a thunderous running dunk during an 8-4 run in the first half.
Kansas led by as many as nine points in the first half and went into intermission with a 38-31 lead when Bryant Nash stole an inbounds pass and dished to Miles, who scored on a running layup with 3 seconds left.
The Jayhawks are Michigan State's first stop on a nonconference schedule that shapes up as one of the roughest ever. Before beginning play in the Big Ten, the Spartans will meet Duke, UCLA, Kentucky, Oklahoma and defending champion Syracuse.
