Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State Men's Basketball Media Day Notes
10/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 12, 2000
Audio:
? Coach Izzo
? Coach Izzo - Q & A
? C. Bell
? M. Chappell
? D. Thomas
? A. Hutson
? A. Anagonye
? A. Ballinger
? Z. Randolph
? M. Taylor
? J. Richardson
Important Dates For Spartan Basketball
Friday, Oct. 13 - The Main Event - 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 28 - Green and White Game - Approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the MSU-Illinois FB Game.
Tuesday, Nov. 7 - Northern Michigan - 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 13 - Harlem Globetrotters- 7:00 p.m. ESPN2
Sunday, Nov. 19 - Oakland Univ. - 2:00 p.m.
Putting The Past Behind Us - In 1999-2000, the Spartans won many championships, but with the start of the 2000-01 season just days ahead, the team is focused on the upcoming season. One of MSU's goals this year is to capture a fourth-straight Big Ten Championship. Should the Spartans accomplish this feat they will become just the fourth team to win four-consecutive Big Ten titles, joining Chicago (1907-10), Ohio State (1960-64) and Indiana (1973-76).
Okay, The Past Is Too Good To Ignore - While past success does not guarantee future championships, some stats from the past three years are worth repeating, including MSU's record in Big Ten action, 41-7, in the Breslin Center, 40-3, in postseason play, 18-3, in the NCAA Tournament, 12-2.
In Case You Missed The Trip To Indy Last March - MSU plays host to the other three teams from the 2000 Final Four (Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin) in East Lansing this season. This is the first time in history that a defending NCAA Champion has played the other three Final Four participants at home the following year. The always tough schedule also includes non-conference contests at home against Kentucky and in East Rutherford, N.J., against Seton Hall. Nine of the Spartans' 2000-01 opponents made an appearance in the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
Thirty-Something x 2 - Michigan State is the only school in the nation to record 30 or more victories in each of the past two seasons, posting a 33-5 mark in 1998-99 and 32-7 record in 1999-2000.
Thirty Something x 2 (Take Two) - MSU is just the second school in Big Ten history to record 30 or more wins in consecutive seasons. Indiana did it in 1974-75 and 1975-76. The 65 Spartan wins over the past two years are the most ever by a Big Ten school in a two-year period.
Home Cooking - Michigan State enters the 2000-01 season with a 28-game home winning streak. It marks the second-longest active streak in the nation behind only Utah's 52-straight wins. In 1999-2000, the Spartans won their 14 home games by an average of 25 points. The 16 games at the Breslin Center this season mark the most regular-season home games for Michigan State since the 1996-97 season.
Poll Cats - Michigan State has spent the last 44 weeks ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including 37-straight weeks in the top 15.
Proving The Old Saying True - Rebounding and defense really do win championships. Just ask the Spartans. During Coach Izzo's tenure, they have regularly been ranked among the nation's leaders in both categories, including the 1999-2000 season when they led the country in rebounding margin at +11.7, two full rebounds ahead of second-place Stanford, and ranked eighth in scoring defense at 58.9 ppg.
Tom Izzo Doing Well And Doing Well Quickly - In just five years as head coach of the Michigan State basketball program, Tom Izzo has amassed a career record of 120-48. The 120 wins are tied for seventh most by a coach in his first five seasons of coaching.
The Golden Arches - Michigan State boasts one of the top freshmen classes in the nation with McDonald's All-Americans Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor. Randolph earned MVP honors at the 2000 McDonald's All-American game. Randolph and Taylor join sophomore Jason Richardson as McDonald's All-Americans on the Spartan roster.
U-S-A, U-S-A - Three members of the MSU squad gained experience playing for Team USA over the summer. Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor were on the 2000 USA Hoop Summit Team that defeated an International Select squad, 98-97. Randolph earned MVP honors at the Hoop Summit. Randolph and Jason Richardson were members of the silver-medal winning World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team, where Richardson ranked second on the team in points and third in rebounds, while Randolph ranked third in points and second in rebounds. Richardson also earned a spot on the Men's Select Team that competed against the 2000 US Olympic Dream Team, scoring a team-high 20 points along with a team-best five rebounds and four assists.
Preseason Polls
Sporting News1. Duke2. Arizona3. Michigan State4. Stanford5. Maryland6. Tennessee7. Kansas8. Illinois9. Seton Hall10. Kentucky11. North Carolina12. Florida13. Cincinnati14. Utah15. Alabama16. Wisconsin17. Notre Dame18. UCLA19. Virginia20. Connecticut21. USC22. Arkansas23. Oklahoma24. DePaul25. Missouri
Street and Smith's1. Arizona2. Duke3. North Carolina4. Michigan State5. Stanford6. Seton Hall7. Illinois8. Kansas9. Maryland10. Tennessee11. Florida12. Arkansas13. Connecticut14. Kentucky15. Cincinnati16. Utah17. UCLA18. Wisconsin19. Oklahoma20. Notre Dame21. Iowa State22. Wake Forest23. St. John's24. Virginia25. Iowa
CBS Sportsline1. Arizona2. Duke3. North Carolina4. Maryland5. Tennessee6. Kansas7. Stanford8. Michigan State9. Seton Hall10. Kentucky11. Illinois12. UCLA13. Florida14. DePaul15. Iowa State16. Virginia17. Utah18. Notre Dame19. Arkansas20. Connecticut21. Wake Forest22. Cincinnati23. St. John's24. USC25. Dayton
