Men's Basketball Looks For Second Straight Victory
12/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#25 Michigan State (4-4)at UCLA (3-2)Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM (1240 AM/97.5 FM)
December 20, 20036:30 p.m. ESTLos Angeles, Calif.Pauley Pavilion (12,800)
TV: Fox Sports Net - Steve Physioc (Play by Play), Marques Johnson (Color).
The Opening Tip
No. 25 Michigan State looks for its first road win of the season against UCLA as the Bruins honor one of the game's all-time great coaches. Prior to the game, UCLA will name the Pauley Pavilion court for Nell and John Wooden. MSU head coach Tom Izzo currently serves on the John R. Wooden Award Board of Governors. MSU is hoping to enter the holiday break on a two-game winning streak after having snapped a three-game losing streak with a Tuesday victory over South Florida.
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The Starting Five
Davis Emerging - Paul Davis scored in double figures in the first two games of the season. In the three contests that followed he was held under 10 points. In the last three games, he has recorded solid performances, averaging 17.7 points and 9.3 rebounds. Against Oklahoma, he played 44 of 45 minutes, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds. In the game with Kentucky, he scored a career-best 24 points, including shooting 14-of-14 from the foul line, while collecting eight rebounds, five on the offensive boards. Most recently, he recorded his first career double-double vs. South Florida with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Hitting The Mark - Michigan State shot 50.0 percent from the field vs. South Florida, marking the first time all season that the Spartans connected on at least half of their shots. The Spartans also hit .462 from behind the three-point arc. In the three previous games, MSU shot just 40.0 percent from the field and 27.5 percent from three-point range.
Free Throw Streak - Alan Anderson has made his last 26 free throw attempts, dating to the DePaul game. This includes an 11-of-11 performance vs. Oklahoma. Anderson also has turned in an 8-of-10 effort at Kansas and a 9-of-10 performance vs. DePaul. He currently leads the Big Ten in free throw shooting at .900 (36-of-40).
Money At The Charity Stripe - In addition to a few impressive individual performances, Michigan State is shooting well as a team from the free throw line. The Spartans lead the Big Ten in free throw percentage at .771 (142-of-181). In its last three games, MSU is shooting .839 (78-of-93).
BasketBowl Breaks Attendance Record - A world-record crowd of 78,129 attended "The BasketBowl" between Michigan State and Kentucky on Dec. 13, 2003 at Detroit's Ford Field. The attendance total shattered the previous record of 75,000 held by the Harlem Globetrotters during a 1951 exhibition game in Berlin, Germany. The previous NCAA record was 68,112 for a game between Louisiana State and Notre Dame on Jan. 20, 1990 at the Louisiana Superdome. The largest crowd ever to watch a Michigan State game prior to the BasketBowl was 45,406 at the 2001 Final Four in Minneapolis.
Game 8 Notes - MSU 73 - South Florida 60 - Dec. 16, 2003
* Paul Davis recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
* MSU opened the game with an 18-4 run; last season, the Spartans opened the USF game with a 22-4 run.
* Nine different Spartans scored, while just five Bulls recorded a point.
* MSU jumped to a 42-19 halftime lead, shooting 59.3 percent from the field and allowing USF to shoot just 26.7 percent.
* The game marked the first time that neither Alan Anderson or Kelvin Torbert was in the starting lineup during their careers.
* The Spartans' 50 percent field-goal shooting was a season high.
* MSU closed the first half on an 18-1 run over the final 6:25 while USF opened the second half on a 15-1 spurt over the first 4:36.
* The starting lineup of Shannon Brown, Chris Hill, Tim Bograkos, Paul Davis and Jason Andreas is the fifth different starting lineup MSU has put on the hardwood through eight games this season.
UCLA Notes
Coach Howland - Ben Howland (Weber State, '79) is in first season as head coach at UCLA with a record of 3-2. Overall, McCullum is 171-101 in his 10th season as a collegiate head coach, having previously spent four years at Pittsburgh and five seasons at Northern Arizona.
Michigan State Vs. UCLA Series Notes - UCLA leads the all-time series with Michigan State, 3-1. Three of the meetings have been played in Los Angeles, with the Bruins holding a 2-1 advantage. The two squads have not met since Dec. 28, 1960, when UCLA defeated MSU, 98-61 in Los Angeles. MSU's only victory in the series was a 63-61 win on Dec. 27, 1957 in Los Angeles. All four previous games in the series have been played in the month of December.
Bruin Briefs - UCLA is allowing opponents to shoot just .399 from the field and .329 from three-point range ... Three Bruins are averaging more than 30 minutes per game ... Six Bruins are averaging more than 10 points per contest ... Senior forward T.J. Cummings made his season debut vs. UC Santa Barbara, scoring 14 points.
Common Opponent - UCLA and Michigan State have both lost to Kentucky this season. The Wildcats defeated the Bruins, 52-50, in the 2003 Wooden Classic at Anaheim, Calif. on Dec. 6. Dijon Thompson led UCLA with 14 points as the Bruins held UK to just 27.1 percent shooting from the field. Kentucky defeated Michigan State, 79-74, in "The BasketBowl" on Dec. 13 at Detroit's Ford Field as the Wildcats shot 60.4 percent from the field.
MSU Basketball Notes
Turnovers Critical - MSU stands a better chance of winning when it takes care of the ball. In their four wins, the Spartans are averaging 13.5 turnovers. In the four losses, however, MSU has averaged 19.0. Michigan State committed just 12 turnovers vs. Kentucky, but made two critical turnovers down the stretch.
Bench Production - Through seven games, Michigan State is taking advantage of its depth as the Spartan bench has scored 188 of MSU's 578 points (32.5 percent). Against Kentucky, however, MSU's bench scored just nine of the team's 74 points.
Balanced Scoring - Michigan State's offense has many different weapons as four Spartans are currently averaging double figures in scoring. Paul Davis leads the way with 14.0 ppg, followed by Chris Hill (12.0), Kelvin Torbert (11.0) and Alan Anderson (10.0). To contrast, Hill was the only Spartan who finished last season averaging double figures at 13.7.
One-Of-A-Kind Schedule - Michigan State's 2003-04 schedule is heading into uncharted waters. No team has ever played Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and UCLA during the same regular season. Add Oklahoma to that group and you have one of the greatest schedules of all-time.
What To Wear - Michigan State has worn four different jerseys. In addition to their normal white home and green road jerseys, the Spartans have two alternate uniforms. This is the third straight season the Spartans have worn the 1979 throw back uniform featuring a script "State" across the chest and shorts with a basketball on the right leg. In honor of the Silver Anniversary of the 1979 NCAA Championship team, MSU wore a silver version of its home uniform against Duke.
Hill For Three - Chris Hill is among the best three-point shooters in MSU history. He ranks third in career three-point field goals made (180), fourth in career attempts (427) and sixth in career three-point field goal percentage (.422). Hill has made at least one three-point field goal in 70 of 74 games in his career.
Playing The Best - Michigan State's 2003-04 schedule has the opportunity to go down as one of the greatest in college basketball history. Opponents on this year's slate have combined for 32 National Championships, 406 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven of the 11 all-time winningest programs, five of the six all-time winningest Final Four teams, eight 2003 conference champions and 14 2003 postseason teams (10 NCAA Tournament and four NIT).
Returning Talent - The Spartans return five of their top six scorers from last year's squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, 71.6 percent of their scoring and 70.7 percent of their minutes played.
Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime - This year's Spartan schedule is just the latest in Tom Izzo's trend to play the best teams across the country. Consider the squads that have appeared on MSU's schedule under Izzo: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, Stanford, Syracuse, Temple, Texas, UCLA and Virginia.
Spartans Spread Minutes - Fifteen different Spartans have seen game action this season, including nine averaging 8.5 minutes or more per contest. Six average 20 minutes or more, while Chris Hill (31.1 mpg) is the only one averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
Sustained Excellence - The mark of an elite program is sustaining excellence over time and doing it against top-flight competition. There are 13 programs that amassed 125 or more victories between 1998-99 and 2002-03. Michigan State is third on that list with 134 victories. However, MSU is also the team most willing to play top-notch competition, ranking first with 59 games against ranked opponents, while winning a nation's best 38. Michigan State and Kentucky are tied with 21 games in the regular-season against non-conference ranked teams. A look deeper into the numbers shows that of those 21 games for MSU, 13 were against top-10 teams. (Rankings based on The Associated Press Top 25 poll at the date the game was played.)
Breslin Success - Since the start of the 1998-99 season, Michigan State has won 77 of its last 82 regular-season games in Breslin, a winning percentage of .939. In addition, the Breslin Center has been sold out for 88 consecutive games.
Preseason Favorites - Michigan State was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference by both the league's media and coaches. This is the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last six years that MSU has been selected as the preseason favorite.
Davis And Hill Earn Individual Honors - Junior guard Chris Hill and sophomore center Paul Davis were both selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team as selected by the league's coaches. Hill also earned a spot on the media's all-conference team. Davis is the only non-guard to earn a spot on either team, while no seniors were honored. Davis and Hill were also named John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-Americans in August and Naismith Award candidates in November.
Winning The Right Way - In addition to excelling on the court, the Spartans are standouts in the classroom. Ten Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees over the last three years, including five each in 2001 and 2003. MSU entered the fall semester with a cumulative grade point average of 3.04.
It's All About Boardwork - Michigan State has led the Big Ten in rebounding margin for six straight seasons, including leading the nation in both 2000 (+11.7) and 2001 (+15.4). In Tom Izzo's nine years as head coach, MSU has outrebounded its opponent in 229 of 275 games (83.3 percent).
U-S-A, U-S-A - Four Spartans had the opportunity to represent their country in international competition over the summer. Sophomores Maurice Ager and Paul Davis played for the USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team that posted a 7-1 mark in Greece. Davis was the squad's leading scorer (17.7 ppg) and rebounder (8.7 rpg). Junior Chris Hill was a member of the USA Basketball Pan American Games Team in the Dominican Republic with Tom Izzo serving as head coach.
Home To Mr. Basketball - Four of the last five recipients of Michigan's Mr. Basketball Award, presented to the top high school player in the state, have 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, Kelvin Torbert (Flint Northwestern HS) in 2001 and Paul Davis (Rochester HS) in 2002. Although Brandon Cotton (DePorres HS) finished second in 2003, Shannon Brown (Proviso East HS) captured Illinois' Mr. Basketball Award.
Statue Specifics - The statue honoring Earvin "Magic" Johnson was unveiled on Nov. 1. The structure, entitled "Always A Champion," symbolizes Johnson's championships at the high school, collegiate, NBA and Olympic levels with a statue of his body erupting from four abstract figures. The total height of the structure and base is approximately 12-feet tall, with the actual statue of Johnson less than 9 feet tall. The cost of the project is approximately $250,000 and is funded entirely through private donations. In the sculpture, Johnson is looking up the court with the basketball in one hand and is directing his teammates with the other hand, all of which were attributes that made him one of the greatest basketball players of all time and the man who made "triple-double" part of the basketball vocabulary. The statue was designed by sculptor Omri Amrany from the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany, based in Highland Park, Ill. Amrany's previous works include the Michael Jordan statue in front of Chicago's United Center, a Harry Caray statue at the entrance to Chicago's Wrigley Field and six statues of great Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Most recently, he's completed statues of Vince Lombardi and Earl "Curly" Lambeau at Green Bay's Lambeau Field and a statue of Al McGuire at Marquette.
The Golden Arches - Michigan State is becoming the home for McDonald's All-Americans. Over the past five seasons, seven 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, Kelvin Torbert in 2001, Paul Davis in 2002 and Shannon Brown and Brandon Cotton in 2003.
