Michigan State University Athletics
Men's Basketball In Search Of 20th Win
2/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Michigan State (19-3, 8-3 Big Ten)vs. Iowa (17-7, 6-5 Big Ten)February 18, 20014:00 p.m. ESTBreslin CenterEast Lansing, Mich.
Media Coverage
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - George Blaha (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color), Scott Moore (Broadcast Host). Flagship - WJIM (1240 AM/97.5 FM) - 35 affiliates.
TV: CBS - Verne Lundquist (Play by Play), Bill Raftery (Color)
Michigan State - Iowa Game Notes
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Note Of The Game
Looking For Number 20 - With a win over Iowa, Michigan State would record its fourth-consecutive 20-win season. The Spartans have never collected four-straight 20-win seasons. In its previous 101 seasons of playing basketball, MSU has posted 10 20-win seasons.
And The Rest Of The Starting Five
1. Return Of The Bench - After being outscored in three of the previous four contests, Michigan State's bench outscored Minnesota's reserves, 29-8. The 21-point margin was the third-largest this season. MSU returned to the original starting lineup of Bell, Richardson, Hutson, Anagonye and Thomas against Minnesota. With that starting lineup, the Spartan bench has outscored the opponent bench in 13 of 14 games.
2. The Biggest Show In Town (Any Town) - Michigan State has sold out 47 consecutive home games, including 13 in 2000-01. The Spartans are also proving to be a big draw on the road. The Seton Hall contest at Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands and the games at Northwestern and Minnesota are the only games MSU has played in front of a less than capacity crowd. MSU has provided Loyola, Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan with their first sell-outs of the year. In addition, the Spartans filled the Palace of Auburn Hills for a neutral-site game against Bowling Green.
3. It's All About Boardwork - In the 1999-2000 season, Michigan State led the nation in rebounding margin at +11.7 rebounds per game. The Spartans are leading the nation again in 2000-01, posting a rebound margin of +16.6 through 22 contests. MSU has not been outrebounded in a game this season.
4. In Fact, It's So Much About Boardwork That We Provide More Stats - * In the Spartans 19 victories, MSU is outrebounding opponents 829-486, an average of 43.6-25.6 (+18.0).
* In the three losses, the count is 108-85, an average of 36.0-28.3 (+7.7).
* The Spartans have a rebound advantage of 39.9-24.8 (+15.1) in the Big Ten.
* MSU owns a rebounding advantage of 43.3-25.5 (+17.8) at home.
* MSU owns a rebounding advantage of 41.6-26.6 (+15.0) on the road.
* In Tom Izzo's tenure, MSU has outrebounded 162 of 190 opponents, posting a 127-35 record in those games.
Coach Izzo - In his sixth year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 139-51 (.732), 67-28 (.705) 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 120 wins in his first five years tied him for seventh most by a coach in his first five seasons of coaching. 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 Vs. Iowa - Tom Izzo is 8-1 against Iowa.
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 is also in his sixth year.
Izzo Ranks Among Best Active Coaches - Tom Izzo ranks ninth (.732) in winning percentage among active coaches with at least five full seasons of coaching experience. Kansas' Roy Williams is first at .805. He is followed by Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State, .804) John Kresse (College of Charleston, .803), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, .744), Rick Majerus (Utah, .742), Lute Olson (Arizona, .737), Bob Huggins (Cincinnati, .736) and John Chaney (Temple, .732) (Through games of Feb. 16.)
Izzo Vs. Ranked Opponents - In his five-plus seasons of coaching, Tom Izzo has posted a 35-26 record against foes ranked in the AP Top 25. This includes wins in 23 of MSU's last 28 games against ranked opponents.
Iowa Notes
Hawkeye Tidbits - Iowa enters the week with a 17-6 record, 6-4 in the Big Ten. One week ago, the Hawkeyes were half a game back in the conference standings, but have dropped consecutive games at home to Ohio State, 69-68, and at Northwestern, 69-61. Iowa suffered a setback last week when it was announced that Luke Recker will miss the remainder of the regular season due to injury. Recker had ranked third in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.1 points-per-game. Iowa plays at Michigan on Wednesday night before traveling to East Lansing.
TALE OF THE TAPE - MSU/IOWA STAT BREAKDOWNSCategory MSU IOWAScoring Offense 80.4 75.0Scoring Defense 62.8 69.7Scoring Margin +17.6 +5.3Field Goal Pct. .497 .431Field Goal Pct. Defense .402 .4293Pt. FG Pct. .342 .361Free Throw Pct. .738 .691Rebound Margin +16.6 +7.3Turnovers per game 14.1 14.9
Probable Starting LineupsMichigan State Spartans (19-3, 8-3) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #34 Andre Hutson (Sr., 6-8, 240) 13.0 7.1 2.0F - #25 Aloysius Anagonye (So., 6-8, 255)5.2 3.1 0.7F - #11 David Thomas (Sr., 6-7, 210) 4.8 4.3 2.0G - #23 Jason Richardson (So., 6-6, 220)15.6 6.0 2.3G - #14 Charlie Bell (Sr., 6-3, 200) 14.8 4.7 5.6
Iowa Hawkeyes (17-7, 6-5) Ppg. Rpg. Apg.F - #4 Glen Worley (Fr., 6-7, 220) 6.3 3.8 0.7F - #32 Reggie Evans (Jr., 6-8, 245) 15.5 12.0 1.6F - #52 Courtney Scott (Fr., 6-6, 245) 2.9 2.4 0.4G - #11 Brody Boyd (Fr., 5-11, 155) 3.6 0.8 1.0G - #20 Dean Oliver (Sr., 5-11, 175) 14.3 2.8 4.5
Coach Alford - Steve Alford (Indiana, '88) is in his second season as head coach at Iowa with a record of 31-23. Overall, Alford is in his 10th-year as a head coach with a career mark of 187-100. Prior to his arrival in Iowa City, Alford spent four seasons at Manchester (1991-1995) and four at Southwest Missouri State (1995-1999).
MSU Vs. Iowa - Michigan State leads the all-time series with Iowa by a 50-45 margin. The Spartans have won seven consecutive contests and eight of the last nine games. MSU holds a 31-17 advantage in games played in East Lansing, including six straight wins in the Breslin Center.
The Nation's Best Rebounders: Man Vs. Team - The Iowa - Michigan State matchup features college basketball's best individual rebounder and college basketball's best rebounding team. According to the most recent NCAA stats (Feb. 12), Iowa's Reggie Evans leads the nation with 12.0 rebounds per game. On the team side, Michigan State leads the nation with a 16.6 rebounding margin.
Looking Ahead - Indiana
Buzzer Beater Rematch - Two days after facing Iowa, MSU will host Indiana on Tuesday night. In the first meeting between the two teams, Indiana defeated Michigan State, 59-58, as Kirk Haston hit a three-pointer as time expired. In fact, the last three matchups between the Hoosiers and Spartans have been close as both meetings last year went into overtime. Indiana currently owns a 16-9 record, 7-4 in the Big Ten.
More On MSU Basketball
Home Cooking - Michigan State owns the longest home winning streak in Division I basketball at 41 games. Over the 41-game stretch the Spartans have won by an average of 22.0 points. Five of the 41 games have been decided by fewer than 10 points.
Home Winning Streak Among Big Ten's Best - MSU's 41-game home winning streak has a ways to go before it reaches the NCAA record of 129 set by Kentucky (1943-55). It ranks fifth by a school currently in the Big Ten and third by a school competing in the Big Ten at the time of the streak. Minnesota holds the record among Big Ten schools at 53-straight home wins from 1899-1905. Indiana (50, 1991-95), Ohio State (50 games, 1959-63) and Penn State (45, 1951-55) also own streaks longer than MSU's current streak.
You'll Miss More Than You Make - Michigan State ranks fourth in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense at 40.2 percent. The Spartans, however, are the only Big Ten school to not allow an opponent to shoot over 50% from the field in a game this season. Bowling Green came the closest, shooting 48.1% (26-54). The last Spartan opponent to shoot better than 50% was Utah in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament when the Utes shot 52.1% (24-46). By contrast, MSU has shot over 50% in nine games this year.
Conference Leaders - The Big Ten Conference issues team rankings for 19 statistical categories in men's basketball. Michigan State currently ranks first in 10 of those 19 categories (scoring offense, scoring margin, FG percentage, rebounding offense, rebounding defense, rebound margin, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, assists and assist/turnover ratio.) The Spartans place in the top three in 12 categories.
Dre's Shooting Touch - Andre Hutson leads the Big Ten in field-goal percentage in conference games, shooting 64.0%. Over the last eight games, Hutson is shooting 67.2% (43-64). Following Hutson in Big Ten field-goal percentage are Zach Randolph at 57.9% and Jason Richardson in fourth at 55.7%.
Team Effort - Michigan State leads the Big Ten in both scoring offense and rebounding in all games, but does not have an individual in the top five of either category. Jason Richardson is the top scorer, ranking sixth in the conference at 15.6 ppg. Andre Hutson's 7.1 rebounds per game rank sixth in the conference.
The 700 Club - With nine rebounds against Wisconsin, Andre Hutson topped 700 for his career. Currently standing at 741 career boards, Hutson is in seventh place on the MSU career rebounding list. He needs 63 rebounds to pass Lindsay Hairston (803 rebounds) for sixth place on the MSU career list.
CB Climbing The Assist Ladder - With 325 career assists, Charlie Bell is among the career leaders in Michigan State history. Bell is currently in eighth place on the MSU career assists list. Bell needs 25 more assists to pass Kevin Smith (349 assists) for seventh place on the all-time list.
1,000, 500, 300 - With six assists against Northwestern, Charlie Bell became just the third Spartan to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists for his career. Steve Smith and Ken Redfield are the two other players to reach the mark. For his career, Bell has 1,348 points, 573 rebounds and 325 assists.
Second Chances - Through 22 games, Michigan State owns an impressive 351-196 advantage on the offensive glass. In fact, MSU has almost as many offensive rebounds (351) as its opponents have defensive boards (375). This means that the Spartans get the rebound after 48.3% of their own missed shots. In seven games, MSU has posted more offensive rebounds than its opponent had defensive boards.
Charlie Bell Getting Defensive - Look for Charlie Bell to regularly defend the opponent's top scorer. Also look for Bell to regularly hold the opposition's leading scorer under his normal scoring average. The chart below demonstrates Bell's defensive prowess, showing the opponent's points in the game before playing Bell, points in the game being guarded by Bell and points the game after playing Bell. It's important to note that MSU's defensive system employs a lot of switching.
Taking Boardwork To New Levels - Michigan State outrebounded Seton Hall by an impressive 60-39 margin, setting a few records in the process. The 60 rebounds were the most in the Tom Izzo era. The previous high was 56 against Oakland on Nov. 19, 2000. The last time MSU grabbed 60 rebounds was Dec. 1, 1992 vs. Morehead State. The 27 offensive rebounds are also the most recorded in school history.
A Class Act - The senior class of Charlie Bell, Mike Chappell, Andre Hutson, Brandon Smith and David Thomas has a record of 106-23 in the last three-plus seasons. Last year's Spartan seniors had a four-year mark of 104-32, the fourth-most number of wins by a Big Ten senior class. Indiana owns the most wins over a four-year period with a record of 108 from 1972-73 to 1975-76 and from 1990-91 to 1993-94. Indiana also posted 105 wins from 1989-90 to 1992-93, 102 from 1973-74 to 1976-77 and 100 from 1974-75 to 1977-78. (Note: David Thomas is a fifth-year senior, while Brandon Smith and Mike Chappell transferred into MSU.)
MSU Rebounds vs. Opponent Points - Against Seton Hall, the Spartans had more rebounds (60) than the Pirates had points (57). Michigan State accomplished the same feat vs. Illinois-Chicago, with 54 boards compared to 53 points for the Flames. 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.).
Mr. Double-Double (Almost) - Andre Hutson has posted three double-doubles this season with 11 points, 12 rebounds against Illinois-Chicago, 20 points, 13 rebounds vs. Penn State and 15 points and 10 rebounds vs. Michigan. In five other games, Hutson was just a single point or rebound shy of a double double, including contests against Eastern Washington (11 pts., 9 reb.), North Carolina (14 pts., 9 reb.), Seton Hall (9 pts., 13 reb.), Northwestern (19 pts., 9 reb.) and Wisconsin (10 pts., 9 reb.) For his career he has 12 double-doubles.
JR Earns Player Of The Week Honors - Jason Richardson was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 15 for his efforts against Northwestern and Wisconsin. For the week, he averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. In MSU's overtime victory over Wisconsin, Richardson tied his career high with 25 points and set a new personal-best with four three-pointers. Richardson shared the honors with Iowa's Dean Oliver.
C-Bell Earns Big Ten Honors - Charlie Bell earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors on Dec. 31, 2000. In games against Bowling Green and Wright State, Bell averaged 22.0 points, 8.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds. He shared the honor with Northwestern's Tavaras Hardy. This marked the second time Bell was named player of the week, as he also earned the honor after a triple-double against Oakland in the first game of the season.
1,000 - 500 Club - With six rebounds against Florida, Charlie Bell (1,348 points, 573 rebounds) became the 17th player in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career. Teammate Andre Hutson (1,224 points, 741 rebounds) reached the milestone against North Carolina when he topped the 1,000-point mark.
High Flying J-Rich - Everyone has heard the stories of Jason Richardson's dunks. He's on Dick Vitale's All-Dipsy-doo Dunk-a-roos Team and leads MSU with 25 dunks, but there is much more to his game. He leads the team with a 15.6 points-per-game scoring average. He is shooting 55.3% from the field, including 42.5% from three-point range, tied for fifth-best in the Big Ten.
Stat Sheet Stuffer - Charlie Bell continues to contribute to the team's success in a variety of ways. He ranks among the leaders in the Big Ten in assists (1st, 5.59 apg), scoring (11th, 14.8 ppg), free throw percentage (10th, .795) and assists-to-turnover ratio (3rd, 2.32). In the season opener against Oakland, Bell joined Earvin Johnson as the only two Spartans to record a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Perfect At The Charity Stripe - Michigan State was a perfect 18-of-18 from the foul line against Michigan, tying the school record for free-throw percentage. MSU also shot 18-of-18 from the foul line against Illinois on Jan. 12, 1986.
The Champs! Round Four - Michigan State was 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.
A Floor Fit For A Champion - The Spartans' current basketball court is the floor used at the 2000 Final Four. As the NCAA Champion, Michigan State purchased the floor for $75,000. It was placed in Breslin with the Final Four paint job on Sept. 23 for a National Championship celebration. It was then shipped to Dollar Bay in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the same place it was built, for a new paint job. It was reinstalled in Breslin in time for the Coca-Cola Classic.
The 70-Point Barrier - Through 22 games, Michigan State has scored more than 70 points in every game but five, while holding its opponents to fewer than 70 points in all but four games. MSU is 17-0 when scoring 70 points or more. Last season, MSU posted a 22-2 record when scoring more than 70 points. This has also led to some happy Spartan fans who receive a free crunchy taco if MSU scores 75 points or more, courtesy of a promotion on the ticket stubs.
Reaching A Milestone - Andre Hutson became the 30th player in Michigan State history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his career with 14 points against North Carolina. Hutson (1,224 career points) needs 19 points to pass Stan Washington (1,242) and become MSU's 17th-leading scorer. Teammate Charlie Bell has also reached 1,000 career points, with a current total of 1,348, good for 14th place. With 30 more points, Bell can become MSU's 13th-leading all-time scorer, passing Julius McCoy (1,377).
Poll Cats - Michigan State has spent the last 58 weeks ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including 51-straight weeks in the top 15. This includes the Spartans' number-five ranking in the current AP poll.
Offensive Explosions - Michigan State has topped the 90-point mark seven times this season, the highest season total for a Tom Izzo-coached squad. The last MSU team to score at least 90 points seven times in a season was the '85-86 unit that topped 90 points in eight games.
2000 Was A Good Year - The 2000 calendar year was very good to Michigan State. In 2000, the Spartans won the NCAA Championship, a third-straight Big Ten Championship and a second-consecutive Big Ten Tournament. Overall, MSU posted a 34-3 record during the year, including a perfect 17-0 at home.
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.
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 Nov. 13, 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.
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 three in the top nine. They include North Carolina (1), Illinois (5), Florida (9), Wisconsin (20), Iowa (24) and Kentucky (25).
In Case You Missed The Trip To Indy Last March - Wisconsin was the fourth and final member of the 2000 Final Four to play in the Breslin Center this season. MSU defeated North Carolina, 77-64, on Nov. 29, and defeated Florida, 99-83, on Dec. 6. 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.
Wizards Of Westwood - Senior Charlie Bell and sophomore Jason Richardson are among the 30 midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award and All-America Team. Andre Hutson was named to the John Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team, but did not make the midseason list. 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.
