Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Earn NCAA Bid For 10th Straight Year
3/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan State proved a rebuilding season still includes an NCAA tournament appearance.
Coach Tom Izzo's Spartans received their 10th straight bid, the second-longest streak in Big Ten history.
"It was a goal of ours at the beginning of the year, but who's kidding who? It was kind of a long-range goal," Izzo said Sunday night, shortly after the field was announced. "Through the adversity of the injuries and the illnesses and the strength of that schedule, this team probably accomplished as much to get in as some (of my teams) have accomplished to get to a Final Four."
Michigan State is a ninth-seeded team and will play eighth-seeded Marquette on Thursday in the first round in Winston-Salem, N.C. The No. 18 Golden Eagles (24-9) are led by former Izzo assistant Tom Crean,
"It's never fun to play your best friends," Izzo said.
Crean was Izzo's top assistant from 1995-99 and was a Michigan State graduate assistant during the 1989-90 season, when Izzo was on Jud Heathcote's staff.
"I can't even focus on that," Crean said. "I'll tell you, though, we've talked so much and last night, we talked late, said we've dodged this bullet so many years. And personally, I kept saying to him, `It's going to be a 7-10 (matchup of seedings).' I didn't see an 8-9.
"My wife said to me, because we always talk about our teams with each other, she said, `Be quiet, don't talk until Sunday night.'"
The Michigan State-Marquette winner will likely play top-seeded North Carolina, not far from its campus.
An NIT berth was expected in East Lansing this season after three players -- Shannon Brown, Maurice Ager and Paul Davis -- were among the first 34 picks in the NBA draft. Ager, Davis and Brown combined for 54 of the 74 points the Spartans averaged last season.
Junior guard Drew Neitzel was the only player returning with extensive starting experience.
"Don't feel sorry for us," Izzo said on June 8, 2006, when Brown announced he was skipping his senior season. "We'll find a way of getting it done."
Izzo got back to the fundamentals of his program: defense, rebounding and toughness.
The Spartans are 22-11, including wins over then-No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 15 Texas and No. 23 BYU.
"We're not perfect, but I can honestly say now that in my deepest and darkest times alone that I would've predicted this team would win 22 games with the schedule they played," Izzo said. "Now, we change goals again and see what we can do. If we can shore up that defense, who knows?"
At the Big Ten tournament, Michigan State beat Northwestern and lost to Wisconsin in the quarterfinals.
Indiana is the only other Big Ten school ever to make at least 10 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, going to 18 in a row from 1986-2003.
Just four schools have an active streak longer than Michigan State's: Arizona (23), Kansas (18), Kentucky (16) and Duke (12).
"We just wanted to carry on the tradition," Neitzel said. "It was really important to coach."
When Izzo helped the Spartans win the 2000 national title and advance to three straight Final Fours, he said it would take eight to 10 years to determine whether he had built an elite team.
"I've got to accept that we've got a pretty good program, one that has lasted the test of time," he said. "And with the kids coming in next year, it might last a little longer."
Izzo is 23-8 in the NCAA tournament. His .742 winning percentage trails only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (.782) and Louisville's Rick Pitino (.756) among active coaches.
By LARRY LAGE, The Associated Press
