Spartans Fall In Battle Of Sixes

Dec 3, 2003

By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP)Duke's talent, grit and mystique made Michigan State crumble.

With stifling defense and balanced scoring, the Blue Devils turned the marquee matchup of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge into a classic rout.

Shelden Williams scored 16 points to lead four Blue Devils in double figures and No. 6 Duke forced a slew of turnovers in a 72-50 victory over No. 5 Michigan State on Wednesday night.

Duke (4-1) took control of the game in the first half with a 20-2 run during which the Spartans committed 17 of their 20 turnovers.

"Our kids played an unbelievable game defensively," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And I think we were efficient for the first time for a whole game on the offensive end."

The Blue Devils handed Michigan State (3-2) its most-lopsided loss at the Breslin Center since a 25-point setback against Minnesota in 1997, and just its fifth loss at home since the start of the 1998-99 season.

"We played scared," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I've never seen anything like it."

Duke's J.J. Redick scored 13 points, Shavlik Randolph had 11 and Chris Duhon added 10 points and six assists.

"This is one of the most hostile environments we'll ever play in," Randolph said. "And it showed a lot that we not only won, but won handily."

Michigan State didn't have a player score in double figures, after entering the game with six averaging at least 9.8 points. Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert each scored eight.

When Duke didn't harass the Spartans into a turnover, it made it tough for them to make shots. The same was not true when the Blue Devils had the ball.

Duke shot 59.2 percent and limited Michigan State to 40 percent.

"We didn't want to give them anything easy," Duhon said. "We wanted to contest every shot and every pass. Their possessions weren't over until we got the rebound."

The Spartans have only begun one of the toughest schedules in college basketball history.

Michigan State, which lost to top-ranked Kansas last week, will play Oklahoma, Kentucky, Syracuse and UCLA before the Big Ten season starts.

"I guess you've got to watch what you wish for," Izzo said.

After losing 78-68 to Purdue in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout, Krzyzewski decided to replace Redick and Daniel Ewing in the starting lineup with Randolph and Sean Dockery.

"You have to give Mike credit for changing the lineup, shaking things up and getting guys to play hard," Izzo said.

The Spartans, who lack a true point guard, had 24 turnovers against Kansas.

Paul Davis and Alan Anderson, two of Michigan State's top players, were benched for most of the second half. Davis had seven points and Anderson had four points and five turnovers.

At one point, Izzo sat between the two standouts toward the end of the bench.

"It's about time our boys become men," Izzo said. "If that means I'm calling them out, then I am."

Duke's defense led to Michigan State's horrific start.

The Spartans missed their first six shots and had six turnovers less than five minutes into the game. But despite having as many turnovers (10) as points, it led midway through the first half.

Moments later, Duke took over.

Its decisive run gave the Blue Devils a 33-15 lead with four minutes left, and they led 38-24 at halftime.

Duke scored the first six points of the second half to earn a 20-point cushion that it didn't have any trouble maintaining.