Michigan State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Coca-Cola Spartan Classic
11/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#3/4 MICHIGAN STATE Basketball (1-0)
Coca-Cola Spartan Classic
Bradley, Cornell, Eastern Washington
November 24-25, 2000 - 6/8:20 p.m.
East Lansing
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Coca-Cola Spartan Classic ScheduleFriday, Nov. 24Michigan State vs. Cornell - 6:00 p.m.Bradley vs. Eastern Washington - 8:20 p.m.Saturday, Nov. 25Consolation Game - 6:00 p.m.Championship Game - 8:20 p.m.
Note Of The Classic
Have A Coke And A Smile - Michigan State will welcome Bradley, Cornell and Eastern Washington to East Lansing over Thanksgiving weekend for the 19th edition of the Coca-Cola Spartan Classic. MSU has won 14 of the previous 18 championships, including four in a row. The Spartans and Cornell will open the tournament on Friday, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m.
Four More Notes No Media Person Should Be Without
1. Magic Company - Charlie Bell made a strong statement in the season opener, becoming just the second player in Michigan State history to record a triple double. His 13-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist effort gave MSU its first triple-double since March 24, 1979 when Earvin Johnson recorded a triple-double against Pennsylvania in the NCAA Tournament. In his career, Johnson had eight triple-doubles. Prior to the Oakland game, Bell had never even recorded a double-double.
2. Defensive Stopper - While Bell's triple-double got most of the publicity after the Oakland contest, his defensive effort was equally impressive. He held Oakland's Jason Rozycki, who scored 32 against Michigan on Friday, to three points in 32 minutes. "I would almost call it a quadruple-double because I really think the defense he played might have been what won the game," said Tom Izzo. "If there's a better defensive guard, I want to see him."
3. For Openers - Michigan State opened its 102nd season of basketball with a 97-61 win over Oakland, marking the 24-straight season in which MSU has opened with a win. MSU is 81-21 all-time in openers. Tom Izzo has won his six season openers by an average of 29.3 points. The win also marked the 24th-straight home opener for the Spartans, who improved to 84-18 in home openers and 70-11 in season openers at home.
4. 1999 Coca-Cola Classic Recap - The Spartans captured their 14th Classic title with victories over Howard (75-45) and Eastern Michigan (74-57). Andre Hutson was named Tournament MVP, while Morris Peterson, Charlie Bell and Jason Richardson earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
Coach Izzo - In his sixth year, Tom Izzo is 121-48 (.716), 59-25 (.702) in the Big Ten, as the coach of the Michigan State basketball program. In 1999, Izzo was named national coach of the year by Basketball Times, while earning similar honors from Associated Press, Basketball News and the USBWA in '98. With MSU's 77-71 overtime win over Indiana on Jan. 11, 2000, Izzo became just the fourth Spartan coach to reach the 100-win mark. Izzo's 120 wins are tied for seventh most by a coach in his first five seasons of coaching.
Much Too Young To Feel This Old - Although just in his sixth year, Tom Izzo is currently tied for the second-longest coaching tenure in the Big Ten, trailing only Purdue's Gene Keady (21st year). Penn State's Jerry Dunn and Wisconsin's Dick Bennett are also in their sixth year.
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.
Coca-Cola Spartan Classic Notes
TALE OF THE TAPE - COKE CLASSIC STAT BREAKDOWNSCategory MSU CU BU EWUScoring Offense 97 62 92 65Scoring Defense 61 72 107 74Scoring Margin +36 -10 -15 -9Field Goal Pct. 45.9% 34.4% 60.0% 39.7%Field Goal Pct. Defense 33.3% 47.9% 49.3% 62.8%3Pt. FG Pct. 50.0% 37.5% 61.1% 37.5%Free Throw Pct. 84.0% 46.2% 65.6% 61.9%Rebound Margin +30 +7 -5 -2Turnovers per game 20 13 18 18
Scouting The Big Red - Cornell enters the Coca-Cola Classic with a 0-1 record, having lost to Lafayette, 72-62, on Nov. 18. 6-5 senior forward Ray Mercedes led the Big Red with 19 points. 6-0 freshman guard Ka'Ron Barnes added 18 points for first year head coach Steve Donahue. Previously, Donahue served as an assistant coach at Pennsylvania for 10 years. MSU leads the all-time series, 4-1. The Spartans won the last meeting, 83-69, on Dec. 29, 1993.
Scouting The Braves - Bradley enters the week with a 0-1 record after losing at No. 23/24 Southern California, 107-92, on Nov. 18. 6-3 senior guard Jerome Robinson led the Braves with 31 points and 7 assists as Bradley shot 60% from the field and 61% from three-point range. Jim Molinari is in his 10th season as Bradley's head coach with a record of 146-121 at BU, 188-138 overall in 12 seasons. In the only meeting between MSU and BU on Dec. 19, 1969, the Spartans took a 89-87 win. The Braves host Alaska-Fairbanks on Wed. night before traveling to East Lansing.
Scouting The Eagles - Eastern Washington is 0-1 after a 74-65 loss at home against Gonzaga. The Eagles will host Evergreen State on Tuesday before journeying to East Lansing. Against Gonzaga, EWU was led by 6-0 senior guard Jamal Jones' 15 points. 6-2 freshman guard Alvin Snow added 12 points off the bench. Ray Giacoletti is in his first season as Eastern's head coach after three seasons as the head coach at Division II North Dakota State. EWU and MSU have never met on the basketball court.
Looking Ahead - North Carolina (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
Conference Challenge Rematch - North Carolina journeys to East Lansing on Nov. 29 for a rematch from last season's ACC/Big Ten Challenge when the Spartans defeated UNC, 86-76, in Chapel Hill. Morris Peterson scored a career-high 31 points as MSU handed North Carolina its first loss in a home opener since 1928. Coming off a berth in the 2000 Final Four, this year's Tar Heel squad features a potent lineup led by 6-4 sophomore guard Joe Forte and 7-0 senior center Brendan Haywood. First-year head coach Matt Doherty is 3-0 as head coach at his alma mater after one season at Notre Dame (22-15).
More On MSU Basketball
Home Cooking - Michigan State currently owns a 29-game home winning streak. It marks the second-longest active streak in the nation behind only Utah's 53-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.
Winning Streaks - Michigan State owns the nation's longest winning streak at 12 games. The last loss came Feb. 26, 2000 at Indiana, with the Spartans falling to the Hoosiers, 81-79, in overtime.
The Champs! Round Four - Michigan State was recently tabbed as the preseason favorite by the league's coaches at Big Ten Basketball Media Day. Should the Spartans capture the conference crown, 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). The league's media selected Illinois to win the league with MSU picked to finish second.
Poll Cats - Michigan State has spent the last 46 weeks ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including 39-straight weeks in the top 15. This includes the Spartans' number-three ranking in the current AP poll.
MSU vs. Unranked Opponents - Michigan State has won 11-straight games against unranked opponents with the last loss coming at Purdue, 70-67, on Feb. 8, 2000. The Spartans have not lost a home game to an unranked opponent since Dec. 13, 1997, when they fell to Detroit, 68-65, a span of 26 straight wins.
Getting Comfortable At Home - The Spartans open the regular season with six games at the Breslin Center, including contests against 2000 Final Four participants North Carolina and Florida. MSU has not opened the season with six home games since the 1985-86 season, going 6-0 to open the year.
Missing Parts - Michigan State is without three starters from the 2000 NCAA Championship team. The trio of Mateen Cleaves, A.J. Granger and Morris Peterson accounted for 46 percent (1342) of the points, 32 percent (486) of the rebounds and 46 percent (276) of the assists in 1999-2000.
Streak Busters - With a 72-68 win over the Harlem Globetrotters on Monday night, the Spartans snapped the Globetrotters' 1,270-game winning streak. The Trotters had not lost since 1995 and had not dropped a game to a college squad since 1962 when they lost 101-89 to a group of college all-stars.
The Past Is Too Good To Ignore - While past success does not guarantee future championships, some stats from the past four years (including the 2000-01 season) are worth repeating, including MSU's record in Big Ten action, 41-7, in the Breslin Center, 41-3, in postseason play, 18-3, in the NCAA Tournament, 12-2.
No Frequent Flyer Miles - Last year, Michigan State traveled 8,650 miles by the time the team took the first semester academic finals. Over a period of 20 days, the Spartans played nine games including a tournament in Puerto Rico and trips to North Carolina, Arizona and Chicago to play Kansas. Things are much different this season as the Spartans will only travel to Loyola (Chicago) before finals.
MSU Rebounds vs. Opponent Points - Against Northern Michigan, the Spartans had more rebounds (56) than the Wildcats had points (40). Last year, Michigan State posted similar efforts on seven occasions, including games against Wisconsin (4/1 - 42 reb., 41 pts.), Valparaiso (3/16 - 39 reb., 38 pts.), Minnesota (3/2 - 45 reb., 43 pts.), Wisconsin (2/12 - 50 reb., 44 pts.), Northwestern (1/27 - 42 reb., 29 pts.), Howard (12/3 - 54 reb., 45 pts.) and Toledo (11/22 - 45 reb., 33 pts.).
Double-Double Trouble - Last season, Andre Hutson was third in the Big Ten Conference with eight double-doubles. Although the Spartans have only played two exhibition games and one regular season game, it appears as if double-doubles will be a regular occurence for many team members. Hutson (10 pts., 14 reb.) and Zach Randolph (11 pts., 13 reb.) posted double-doubles against Northern Michigan. Jason Richardson, who just missed a double-double against Northern by one rebound, posted a 10-point, 12-rebound effort against the Harlem Globetrotters. Charlie Bell did them one better with a triple-double against Oakland (13 pts., 11 reb., 10 ast.).
Carrying On With The Flintstone Tradition - Charlie Bell was named Preseason First-Team All-Big Ten by both the league's media and coaches. Should he finish the season with first-team all-conference honors it will mark the fourth consecutive season in which a Spartan has been named first-team all-league, joining former MSU stars and Flint natives Mateen Cleaves (1998-2000) and Morris Peterson (1999-2000).
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.
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.
In Order To Be The Best, You Have To Play The Best - Once again, the Spartans boast one of the nation's most difficult schedules. Six of MSU's opponents are ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25, including four in the top 11. They include North Carolina (7), Illinois (8), Seton Hall (10), Florida (11), Wisconsin (20) and Kentucky (21).
No Slivers Here - Last year, ten Spartans averaged over 10 minutes per game with only Mateen Cleaves seeing more than 30 minutes of action. Look for this year's playing group to be just as deep.
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.
Wizards Of Westwood - Seniors Charlie Bell and Andre Hutson were named to the John Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team. Bell was also announced as a top-25 vote getter. Last year, Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson earned spots on the 10-man Wooden All-American Team. Bell is also one of 30 Preseason Candidates for the Naismith Award.
Spartans Sign Another Strong Recruiting Class - While Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor teamed last year to give MSU one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, the Spartans have once again landed a strong group of high school athletes. On Nov. 8, 2000, Tom Izzo announced three players signed their National Letters of Intent to play for Michigan State. In keeping with a tradition of tough players at MSU, all three recruits played football in high school.
Alan Anderson is a 6-5, 218-pound G/F from Minneapolis (De LaSalle HS). He averaged 21.3 points as a junior and is ranked by many to be among the top 25 seniors in the country after being named by The Sporting News as the number one surprise player of the summer.
Chris Hill is a 6-3, 175-pound combo guard from Indianapolis (Lawrence North HS). He averaged 17 points and four assists as a junior in helping his team to an 18-4 mark. He was selected to the 2000 All-Tournament Team at the AAU adidas Big Time Tournament.
Kelvin Torbert is a 6-4, 200-pound shooting guard from Flint, MI (Northwestern HS). He ranks among the top players in the nation including No. 2 by The Sporting News and Bob Gibbons. He averaged 25.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4 assists as a junior in helping his team to a 20-3 record, while also earning Parade Magazine third-team All-America honors.
