Michigan State Earns Ninth Straight Trip To NCAA Tournament
3/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State was hoping for a short trip to The Palace of Auburn Hills to open the NCAA tournament, but didn't get sent much farther from home.
The Spartans (22-11) will be about 250 miles from campus Friday in Dayton, Ohio, where they will be a No. 6 seed playing No. 11 George Mason (23-7).
"For families, it's kind of nice because it's within driving distance for most of them," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said Sunday night. "Other than being in Detroit, personally I couldn't ask for anything better for us."
If the Spartans win, they will face the winner of the North Carolina-Murray State game.
Michigan State hopes to benefit from the short trip and playing on the second day of the tournament because its depth-deprived team was worn down with three games in as many days during the Big Ten tournament. The Spartans won two straight in the conference tournament before losing to Iowa in the semifinals.
After starting the season ranked fourth in the country and as favorites to win the Big Ten, Michigan State crumbled toward the end of the regular season with five losses in seven games.
The Spartans can make their late-season slide a distant memory with another long run in the NCAA tournament. Last year, they followed up an uneven season with their fourth trip to the Final Four in seven years.
"This team has confidence because they've played in so many big games," Izzo said. "We know how to get it done and we know what we've got to do."
Izzo, leading Michigan State to a school-record ninth straight NCAA tournament, is 23-7 in the Big Dance and his 76.7 winning percentage trails only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (78.6 percent).
The Spartans will face George Mason without one of its standouts. Guard Tony Skinn was suspended by his team for one game for punching a Hofstra player in the groin with 55 seconds left in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament semifinals.
The Spartans are 2-0 against George Mason, with victories last season and in 1990.
"They're scrappy," Michigan State guard Maurice Ager said. "They play hard."
