Michigan State University
Penn St. (Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals)
Spartans Sputter At Big Ten Tournament
3/9/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2001
Big Ten Tourney Audio
| Format | Date | Player/Coach |
 | 03/09/01 | MSU Coach Tom Izzo Postgame press conference following 65-63 loss to Penn State in 2nd Round of Big Ten Tourney. |
| 03/09/01 | Charlie?Bell, Andre?Hutson and David?Thomas. Michigan State postgame press conference. |
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) - Michigan State isn't going to win any tournaments like this, Big Ten or otherwise.
Joe Crispin made an off-balance 3-pointer with 21 seconds left, then sealed Penn State's victory with a pair of free throws as the Nittany Lions upset the sloppy Spartans 65-63 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament Friday night.
The No. 2 Spartans are the highest-ranked team Penn State (19-10) has ever beaten, and the players rushed the floor as the buzzer sounded. Coach Jerry Dunn hugged his daughter and son while Gyasi Cline-Heard picked up the Nittany Lion mascot and threw him over his shoulder.
Crispin finished with 22 points, 12 from 3-point range. Titus Ivory added 17 and Cline-Heard had 10.
It was an all-around ugly effort from the Spartans (24-4), who won a share of their fourth consecutive regular-season title and were looking for their third straight tournament crown. They couldn't take care of the ball, turning it over 17 times and giving up a whopping 21 points off the miscues.
They also couldn't make free throws, going 16-for-30 from the line. The only thing that kept Michigan State in the game was its offensive rebounding, but even that wasn't enough.
Not with Crispin taking over in the second half. He had two Michigan State defenders hanging on him and he ran into Charlie Bell as he put up his shot, but he still connected on the 3 with 21.6 seconds left to give Penn State a 63-59 lead.
Jason Richardson answered back with a 3 of his own with 7.4 seconds to go, and the Spartans immediately called a timeout. Michigan State had no choice but to foul, and the only player they could get to was Crispin, who made both shots with 5.7 seconds left to give Penn State a 65-62 lead.
Penn State then called timeout, and Dunn showed some inspired coaching, telling his players to foul a Spartan right away. That meant Michigan State would have to make a shot, miss the second, grab the rebound and get off another shot - all in less than six seconds.
The Spartans couldn't do it. Marcus Taylor made his first shot and missed the second, but Penn State came up with the rebound and the game was over.
Richardson led Michigan State with 19 points, and Andre Hutson added 17. Bell had just six points, eight below his average. The Spartans did shoot 48 percent from the floor, but it wasn't enough to make up for their other mistakes.
The Spartans looked like they were going to have an easy time with Penn State early. When David Chappell hit a 3-pointer with 8:40 left in the first half, it gave him seven points - the same as the entire Penn State team.
But the Nittany Lions stepped up the pace, and you could almost see the Spartans come unglued. Aloysius Anagonye fouled Tyler Smith twice in a 70-second span. Then David Thomas turned the ball over when he squared up for a jumper and the ball flew backward out of his hands.
Then there was Adam Ballinger grabbing a rebound - and tossing it right to Jon Crispin. He took it in for a layup, got fouled and converted the three-point play to cut Michigan State's lead to 28-26 with 2:17 left.
After a Michigan State shot-clock violation with 1:41 left, Smith converted another three-point play to give Penn State a 29-28 lead, its first since the opening seconds of the game.
The Spartans opened the second half with a 7-0 run to regain the lead, but Joe Crispin wouldn't go away. He hit back-to-back 3s, the second giving Penn State a 52-49 lead with 7:18 left.
Hutson tied it on a free throw, but there was Joe Crispin again. The 6-foot guard threaded his way through three Michigan State players to score on a driving layup.
