Men's Basketball Battles Stanford In Oakland
12/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Spartans Make Rare Bay Area Appearance
2001-02 Michigan State Basketball
Michigan State (9-3)
vs. Stanford (6-2)
December 29, 2001
7:30 p.m. PST
The Arena In Oakland
Oakland, Calif.
Media Coverage
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Terry Braverman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM (1240 AM/97.5 FM) TV: FSN - Steve Physioc (Play by Play), Marques Johnson (Color), Leila Feinstein (Sidelines)
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
NOTE OF THE NIGHT
One Heck Of A Non-Conference Schedule - Stanford will be the sixth ranked opponent that MSU has played in the non-conference schedule. In its five previous games against ranked opponents, MSU posted a 2-3 record. In addition, MSU also played a ranked Virginia team, before the game was suspended and eventually canceled due to unsafe playing surface conditions. At one point in the second half vs. Virginia, MSU held a nine-point lead.
MSU IN THE PETE NEWELL CHALLENGE
Pete Newell's Spartan Roots - Pete Newell posted a 45-42 record in four seasons as head coach at Michigan State from 1950-54. The 1950-51 season marked MSU's first in the Big Ten as Newell led the Spartans to a 67-62 win over Northwestern in their first Big Ten contest. His 1951-52 squad was the first Spartan team to be ranked in The Associated Press poll, and also registered a win over No. 14 Notre Dame, the first win over a ranked opponent in school history. In 1952-53, Newell led the Spartans to a win over No. 2 Kansas State and a third-place finish in the Big Ten.
Probable StartersMichigan State Spartans (9-3) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #3 Adam Wolfe (So., 6-9, 230) 10.8 5.5 0.4F - #25 Aloysius Anagonye (Jr., 6-8, 255)7.7 7.3 2.0F - #15 Alan Anderson (Fr., 6-6, 230) 7.0 4.6 1.8G - #23 Kelvin Torbert (Fr., 6-4, 225) 9.8 3.9 1.8G - #1 Marcus Taylor (So., 6-3, 195) 15.1 3.5 5.6
Stanford Cardinal (6-2) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - # Justin Davis (So., 6-8, 230) 7.0 4.2 1.5C - # Curtis Borchardt (Jr., 7-0, 240) 14.9 11.0 2.4G - # Casey Jacobsen (Jr., 6-6, 210) 21.9 5.2 3.9G - # Julius Barnes (Jr., 6-1, 180) 9.0 2.4 2.4G - # Tony Giovacchini (Sr., 6-2, 180) 4.8 3.0 3.6
Coach Izzo - In his seventh year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 157-56 (.737), 72-28 (.720) in the Big Ten, as the coach of the Michigan State basketball program. He is the third-winningest coach in MSU history, trailing only Jud Heathcote (340) and Benjamin VanAlstyne (232) in total wins. Izzo's 148 wins in his first six years give him the fourth most by a coach in his first six seasons of coaching. In his six seasons of coaching, Izzo has won National Coach of the Year honors three times, including NABC honors in 2001. 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 Ranks Among Best Active Coaches - Tom Izzo ranks ninth (.737) in winning percentage among active coaches with at least five full seasons of coaching experience. College of Charleston's John Kresse is first at .802. He is followed by Roy Williams (Kansas, .802), Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State, .801), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, .744), Rick Pitino (Louisville, .743), Rick Majerus (Utah, .742), Bob Huggins (Cincinnati, .740) and Lute Olson (Arizona, .739). (Through games of Dec. 22.)
Izzo Vs. Ranked Opponents - Tom Izzo is 39-30 against foes ranked in the AP Top 25. This includes wins in 27 of MSU's last 36 games against ranked opponents.
Izzo's Best Friend - While in the Bay Area, Tom Izzo is sure to see San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci. The two coaches hail from Iron Mountain, Mich. and were college roommates at Northern Michigan University. Last season, Mariucci attended the Michigan State-Indiana game at the Breslin Center, including sitting in the Izzone for part of the game. This past October, Izzo was on the 49ers sideline for San Francisco's game at Chicago.
STANFORD NOTES
Coach Montgomery - Mike Montgomery (Long Beach State, '68) is 325-148 in his 16th year as head coach at Stanford. Overall, he is 479-225 in 24 years as a collegiate head coach.
Spartans Vs. The Cardinal - Michigan State leads the all-time series with Stanford, 3-1. The two teams last met on Dec. 28, 1991 in East Lansing, with MSU posting a 72-62 victory in the championship game of the Oldsmobile Spartan Classic. In the only meeting between the two teams in California, the Cardinal defeated the Spartans, 81-80, in the 1960 Los Angeles Classic (12/29/60).
Stanford Tidbits - Stanford brings a 6-2 record into the Pete Newell Challenge, having most recently lost to BYU, 81-76, in the Las Vegas Showdown. The Cardinal does have one win this season over a Big Ten opponent, defeating Purdue, 78-62, in the Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis. All-America candidate Casey Jacobsen leads Stanford in scoring at 21.9 points per game, while also leading the Cardinal in assists with 3.9 per game.
A CLOSER LOOK AT MSU'S DEFENSE
Defensive Stoppers - Despite their youth, the Spartans are playing great team defense this season. MSU leads the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 34.6 percent from the field, which ranks third nationally.
The 35 Percent Barrier - Michigan State has held seven of 12 opponents this season to less than 35 percent field-goal shooting, including the last five Spartan opponents. MSU is 7-0 when holding its opponent below 35 percent from the field.
MSU's Defensive Streak - No Spartan opponent has shot better than 50 percent from the field this season. In fact, the last team to shoot better than 50 percent against the Spartans was Utah in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament as the Utes hit on 24-of-46 attempts (52.2 percent). That is a string of 49 straight games without an opponent shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
MSU BASKETBALL NOTES
Looking For A Road Win - Although the Spartans bring an impressive 9-3 record to the Pete Newell Challenge, they are 0-3 when playing on the road or on a neutral court this season. Michigan State will not return to the Breslin Center until Jan. 12 vs. Wisconsin.
MSU vs. Pac-10 - Stanford is the second Pac-10 team that MSU will play this season, having previously defeated Arizona, 74-60. In MSU basketball history, the Spartans are 18-24 against the Pac-10. Tom Izzo has a 2-2 record against the Pac-10.
A Look Back At 2001 - 2001 was a good year for Michigan State. During the calendar year, the Spartans posted a 26-8 record. MSU also captured a fourth-straight Big Ten Championship and made a trip to a third-straight Final Four in 2001.
Let's Go Bowling - The Spartan basketball team shared a charter plane out to California with the MSU football team, which will take on Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Football Classic on Dec. 31 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose. The football Spartans posted a 6-5 record in the regular season and are led by second-year head coach Bobby Williams. After playing Stanford, the basketball team will travel to San Jose and watch the football team in the bowl game.
Battle On The Boards - The rebounding battle should be fierce between Michigan State and Stanford as the two teams are among the nation's best in rebounding margin. MSU has led the nation in that stat in each of the past two seasons. In 1999-2000, Stanford's +9.7 margin finished second to MSU's +11.7. This season, Stanford has a +12.3 advantage, while MSU is at +10.8
Going Back To Cali - Michigan State has not played a game in California since March 19, 1996, when the Spartans fell to Fresno State, 80-70, in the second round of the NIT. The Spartans have not played in the Bay Area since participating in the 1986 Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara.
J-Rich's Beginnings - Part of MSU's California experience will be watching the Golden State Warriors play Houston on Friday, Dec. 28. The Spartan players will most likely be pulling for the Warriors as they watch former teammate Jason Richardson. Richardson was a two-time letterwinner at MSU, earning All-America honors as a sophomore in 2000-01, averaging 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and shooting 50.3 percent from the field. At MSU, Richardson won two Big Ten Championships and the 2000 National Championship.
Still Rebounding - In each of the past two seasons, MSU has led the nation in rebounding margin. The Spartans have once again made a commitment to rebounding, outrebounding their opponents this season by a +10.8 margin.
Outrebounding MSU Is A Rarity - Michigan State has outrebounded its opponent in 11 of 12 games this season, with Florida being the only team to better MSU on the boards. In 2000-01, MSU was outrebounded only once in 33 games. In 1999-2000, the Spartans were outrebounded in just two of 39 games. In 1998-99, MSU outrebounded the opposition in 35 of 38 games. This means that in the last three-plus seasons, MSU has outrebounded 115 of 122 (94.3 percent) teams. In Tom Izzo's tenure as head coach, the Spartans have won the battle of the boards in 185 of 213 (86.9 percent) games.
Money From The Charity Stripe - Michigan State leads the Big Ten in free throw percentage, shooting 76.2 percent from the line. The Spartans are also among the nation's best in converting at the charity stripe, ranking sixth in the nation. (NCAA Stats updated as of 12/17).
Growing Up Quickly - MSU's success relies on contributions from three true freshmen. Through 12 games, the trio of Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert have combined to average 28.0 points, 10.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
A Lot Of Minutes - Seven Spartans are currently averaging more than 20 minutes per contest, with three players seeing more than 27 minutes per game. By comparison, in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, just five players averaged more than 20 minutes per contest.
Safe At Home - MSU has won 53 straight games at the Breslin Center, an an ongoing Big Ten record for consecutive home wins. MSU's 53-game streak is also the longest active streak in the nation. Ohio State (1959-63) and Indiana (1991-95) previously shared the Big Ten record with 50 straight home wins. Minnesota won 53 straight home games from 1899-1905 before joining the Big Ten Conference. Kentucky (1943-55) owns the all-time longest homecourt winning streak at 129 games.
Bench Production - It's no secret that the Spartans do not have a lot of depth, but they are getting good production off the bench. Through 12 games, the Spartan bench is outscoring the opponent's subs, 250-166.
Freshmen Starters Under Izzo - Throughout his seven years as head coach, Tom Izzo has shown a willingness to put a freshman in the starting lineup. Consider the following freshmen who have all started under Izzo: Aloysius Anagonye (5 games), Alan Anderson (8 games), Charlie Bell (30 games), Mateen Cleaves (24 games), Doug Davis (1 game), A.J. Granger (7 games), Chris Hill (3 games), Andre Hutson (26 games), Jason Klein (10 games), Morris Peterson (18 games), Zach Randolph (8 games), Jason Richardson (3 games), Antonio Smith (20 games), Marcus Taylor (9 games) and Kelvin Torbert (10 games).
The Drive For Five - One of MSU's top goals entering the 2001-02 season is capturing a fifth-straight regular-season Big Ten Championship. If the Spartans win the title, they will join the 1960-64 Ohio State teams as the only schools to accomplish the feat.
Getting Respect - Michigan State is ranked 12th in the current ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The poll released on Dec. 16 includes eight of MSU's 2001-02 opponents, including No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Virginia, No. 7 Illinois, No. 9 Iowa, No. 11 Syracuse, No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 15 Stanford and No. 16 Arizona.
Movin' On Up - While the Spartans are in California, workers back in East Lansing will move the men's and women's basketball staffs into their new offices in the newly constructed Berkowitz Basketball Complex. The $7.5-million dollar project will provide Michigan State with one of the finest basketball complexes in the nation. Included in the addition are offices for the coaching staff, a large video review room, a video workroom, a conference room and an additional auxiliary gymnasium.
Regulars In The AP Poll - Michigan State owns a streak of 69-straight weeks ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. Only Duke and Stanford have longer active streaks.
What I Did On Summer Vacation - Five Spartans plus head coach Tom Izzo spent part of their summer taking part in international basketball competition. Red-shirt sophomores Jason Andreas and Adam Wolfe were members of the Big Ten Foreign Tour team, where Wolfe led the squad in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). Juniors Aloysius Anagonye and Adam Ballinger played on NYC Hoops coached by St. John's coach Mike Jarvis that competed in Greece against Olympic caliber competition. Finally, both sophomore Marcus Taylor and Tom Izzo represented USA Basketball in separate competitions. Taylor was a member of the gold-medal winning USA Young Men's World Championship team, averaging 5.7 points and 2.8 assists. Izzo was an assistant coach on the USA Basketball squad that won the gold medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Australia. In total, the six Spartans logged a combined 70,000 miles in international travel.
Air Time - Michigan State will appear on national television networks at least 16 times during the regular season, including seven games on ESPN, four on CBS, four on ESPN2 and one on Fox Sports Net. That number could increase to 18 depending on television decisions regarding two late-season Big Ten contests. In total, MSU could have 24 regular-season contests televised.
Winning With Rebounding, Defense And Offense - Despite several new faces, the Spartans already have a blueprint for championship basketball: rebounding, defense and offense. Over the past four years that the Spartans have won the Big Ten regular-season championship, it comes as little surprise that the Spartans have led the conference in rebounding in each year and ranked among the top three in scoring defense. In addition, MSU led the Big Ten in field-goal percentage in 2000-01 and ranked second in scoring offense in all games.
Championship Similarities - The 2001-02 Spartans will have many similarities to the 1997-98 Spartans that posted a 22-8 record and won the first of MSU's four straight Big Ten Championships. Consider the starting lineup from 1997-98: G - Charlie Bell (Fr.), G - Mateen Cleaves (So.), F - Andre Hutson (Fr.), F - Jason Klein (Jr.), F - Antonio Smith (Jr.). Coming off the bench for the Spartans were DuJuan Wiley, David Thomas, A.J. Granger and Doug Davis.
Monsters On The Glass - The 2000-01 season marked the second-straight year that the Spartans led the nation in rebounding margin. The Spartans' margin of +15.4 last season tied for the fifth-greatest margin in NCAA history since the statistic was first kept in 1973 and the largest since 1980.
Taylor Is Most Recent Wooden Nominee - Marcus Taylor is one of this year's 50 John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-Americans. He is just the latest Spartan to be nominated for the prestigious award. Last season, both Charlie Bell and Andre Hutson were preseason nominees while Bell and Jason Richardson were among the 20 finalists. At season's end, Bell was named a Wooden All-American. During the 1999-2000 season, Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson were both recognized as Wooden All-Americans, an honor that Cleaves also received in 1999.
The Golden Arches - Michigan State is becoming the home for McDonald's All-Americans. Over the past three seasons, four 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 and Kelvin Torbert in 2001.
The Past Is Too Good To Ignore - While past success does not guarantee future championships, some stats from the past four-plus years are worth repeating, including MSU's record in Big Ten action, 54-10, in the Breslin Center, 65-3, in postseason play, 22-5, in the NCAA Tournament, 16-3.
Home To Mr. Basketball - The last three recipients of Michigan's Mr. Basketball Award, presented to the top high school player in the state, have all 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 and Kelvin Torbert (Flint Northwestern HS) in 2001.
Missing Parts - Missing from Michigan State's 2001 Big Ten Champion and Final Four squad are seven lettermen who accounted for 81 percent (2,068) of the points, 75 percent (1,046) of the rebounds and 76 percent (438) of the assists.
Anybody, Anywhere, Anytime - 12 of Michigan State's opponents in the 2001-02 season earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament (Arizona, Florida, Fresno State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Syracuse, Virginia, Wisconsin), while four more appeared in the NIT (Detroit, Minnesota, Purdue, Seton Hall). Additionally, nine schools were ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the 2001 season (No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Arizona, No. 8 Florida, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 16 Virginia, No. 17 Syracuse, No. 20 Indiana, No. 24 Ohio State and No. 25 Wisconsin).
Spartans In The NBA - Michigan State led the Big Ten with nine players on opening day rosters in the NBA. Listed below is an update on eight former Spartans currently on NBA rosters. (Stats current through Dec. 24.)
Mateen Cleaves (Sacramento): 12 GP, 4.3 mpg, 2.3 ppg, 0.9 apg Jamie Feick (New Jersey): 0 GP, currently on injured list Morris Peterson (Toronto): 27 GP, 30.3 mpg, 12.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.4 apg Zach Randolph (Portland): 22 GP, 6.5 mpg, 3.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg Jason Richardson (Golden State): 28 GP, 26.5 mpg, 10.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.5 apg Steve Smith (San Antonio): 25 GP, 28.4 mpg, 13.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.0 apg Eric Snow (Philadelphia): 5 GP, 33.8 mpg, 9.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 7.2 apg Kevin Willis (Houston): 28 GP, 21.6 mpg, 7.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg
Spartans Keep Reloading - Michigan State signed four players to National Letters of Intent in the early signing period.
Maurice Ager (G, 6-4, 175, Detroit/Crockett High School) averaged 23 points, six rebounds and three assists as a junior, leading Crockett High School to a 23-3 record and a state championship in Class B. An all-state honoree, he is ranked as the No. 16 player in the nation by ESPN.com. Ager is also's Coach Izzo's first recruit from the Detroit Public School League.
Paul Davis (F, 6-10, 235, Rochester, Mich./Rochester High School) averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks as a junior and is a consensus top-10 player, including being ranked No. 3 by Bob Gibbons and FoxSports.com's Frank Burlison.
Rashi Johnson (G, 6-2, 195, Chicago/King High School/Mott Community College) averaged 17 points over eight games in the 2001 NJCAA Division II Tournament, leading Mott to an appearance in the national championship game. As a junior at Chicago King High School, he helped lead his team to the Chicago city championship. He is a combo-guard with excellent toughness.
Delco Rowley (F, 6-8, 235, Indianapolis/Arlington High School) is a very athletic and strong forward who earned first-team all-city and all-sectional honors as a junior. He is a preseason first-team all-state selection and is ranked No. 71 in the nation by Bob Gibbons.