Michigan State University
Alabama State (NCAA Tournament)
Spartans' Second Half Steamrolls Hornets
3/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 16, 2001
Gear Up at the Spartan FANstore! | Send a FANcard! | Tourney Central
By ELIZABETH A. DAVIS
AP Sports Writer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Alabama State was close to a record in the first half, and Michigan State made sure the Hornets at least matched one in their first NCAA tournament appearance.
After a poor first half, Jason Richardson and Andre Hutson got the defending national champions rolling in a 69-35 victory Friday night in the first round of the South Regional.
"I think we were a little nervous because of all the upsets. I've heart a lot of people say, 'You should look at all of Thursday's games and your guys should be ready for Friday," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "Teams like Alabama State saw upsets can happen and that gets them more ready."
Richardson scored 14 points and Hutson added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan State (25-4), which is trying to become the sixth team to win consecutive titles and the first since Duke in 1991 and '92.
The Spartans will play the California-Fresno State winner in the second round Sunday.
A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed, but it looked possible in the first half.
Alabama State (22-9), winner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference title, hung close to a sloppy and seemingly uninspired Michigan State team in the first half.
"They weren't afraid of anything," Izzo said of the Hornets, who were down by only four at halftime. "(They) had us on their heels. We got a few more rebounds and a few more stops and that was the difference."
The Michigan State starters began the second half by slapping the floor, and the rout was on.
The Spartans started to rebound like they always do and pulled away in the first five minutes of the second half.
"I never felt we were going to lose the game," Izzo said. "Once we got the running game going, I thought we really responded."
Alabama State didn't get any closer than 33-27 with 17:53 left after Tyrone Levett scored as the shot clock ran out.
"They got more aggressive. We basically did all we could," Levett said of the second half.
Richardson tipped the ball toward David Thomas under the basket for an easy score, and then Richardson hit a 3 at the top of the key to put Michigan State ahead 42-27 with 15:05 left.
Richardson made another smooth move going under the basket and lifted the ball in with one hand for a 45-32 lead 2 1/2 minutes later.
That basket started a 26-0 run over 13:24, and it didn't end until Malcolm Campbell hit a 3 with 15.8 seconds left.
Alabama State scored just 10 points in the second half, and made their own history by matching Wake Forest's record-setting first-half production Friday against Butler.
Wake Forest fell behind 43-10 at halftime in the Midwest Regional. It is the lowest-scoring half in any NCAA tournament game since the introduction of the shot clock in 1985-86.
"I thought we stayed on 32 points forever," Alabama State coach Rob Spivery said.
Zach Randolph added 12 points for Michigan State, which held Alabama State to the third-worst shooting percent ever in the first and second rounds. Michigan State also held Valparaiso to 25 percent shooting from the field in last year's first-round game.
Levett led Alabama State with 17 points.
Michigan State didn't look anything like a national championship team in the first half. The Spartans missed shots, didn't rebound well, made bad decisions and kept Alabama State in the game.
The Hornets shot only 10-of-26 from the field but used an effective zone defense, and they weren't bullied on the boards. Michigan State, which leads the national with an average 15.3 rebounding margin, had just six more than Alabama State in the first half.
Michigan State led by as many as eight, but the Hornets pulled to 29-25 at halftime.
Levett converted a four-point play when he hit a 3 with 6.4 seconds to go before halftime and was fouled by Adam Ballinger.
"They played the second half like a national championship team," Spivery said.
