Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Play UConn in Maui Semifinals
11/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2010
| No. 2/2 Michigan State (3-0) vs. Connecticut (3-0) | |
| Date | Tuesday, Nov. 23 |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| Location | Lahaina, Hawai'i | Lahainia Civic Center (2,400) |
| Televison | ESPN (Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery) |
| Radio | Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) (Will Tieman, Gus Ganakas, Matt Steigenga) |
| Satellite Radio | NA |
| Tickets | NA |
| Game Notes | Michigan State |
| Statistics | Michigan State | Connecticut |
| Internet Coverage | NA |
| Social Media | @MSU_Basketball  | Facebook  |
The Opening Tip
After defeating Chaminade, 82-74, Michigan State advances to face Connecticut in the semifinals of the 2010 Maui Invitational. MSU is 1-1 all-time in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational. This is the first meeting between the Spartans and the Huskies since the 2009 Final Four.
MSU Basketball Notes
* MSU is making its fourth trip to Maui, posting a record of 7-3 all time at the Maui Invitational.
* The Spartans are 1-1 all-time in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational, defeating Rice, 75-67, in 1991, and falling to Gonzaga, 109-106, in a triple overtime thriller in 2005.
* MSU is 13-7 all-time in Hawai'i.
* MSU is shooting .529 from the field, while holding opponents to .373 shooting. Beyond the arc, MSU is shooting .477 (21-of-44), while holding opponents to .368.
* Five different Spartans are shooting at least 50 percent from 3-point range: Keith Appling (.750), Austin Thornton (.600), Draymond Green (.571), Durrell Summers (.500), Korie Lucious (.500).
* Michigan State is averaging 38 points per game in the paint, out-scoring opponents by an average of 15.33 points per game.
* Durrell Summers needs 36 points to reach the 1,000 point mark for his career.
* Eight months after injuring his left Achilles in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Kalin Lucas is averaging a team-best 17.0 points and a team-high 5.0 assists. He scored a career-best 28 points against Chaminade.
* Draymond Green is MSU's stat-sheet stuffer, averaging 13.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.3 steals. Green is MSU's active leader with 10 double-doubles in his career, including two this season.
* Kalin Lucas (Achilles), Delvon Roe (knee), Garrick Sherman (foot), Adreian Payne (shoulder), Russell Byrd (foot) and Austin Thornton (back) all missed at least a month due to injury this summer.
* In the Tom Izzo era, MSU has out-rebounded 398 of 513 opponents (.776), posting a 316-82 (.794) mark in those games. After leading the nation in rebounding margin in each of the last two seasons, MSU owns just a +1.0 margin this season.
* With 89 wins in their careers, MSU's senior class is tied with the 2007 class for eighth most in school history. The 2008 class ranks seventh with 98 wins.
* Ten different Spartans played at least seven minutes vs. Chaminade. Nine players average more than 10 minutes on the season.
* Kalin Lucas ranks 16th in MSU history with 1,469 points, needing 66 points to pass Drew Neitzel for 15th place.
* MSU has an all-time record of 88-25 in games played in the month of November.
* MSU is forcing 18.3 turnovers per game, recording 9.3 steals per contest, led by Draymond Green with 10 steals.
* Draymond Green is one of just two players in the Big Ten averaging a double-double (13.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg).
* Five different Spartans average 9.0 points per game or more, while eight average at least 5.0 points per contest.
MSU vs. Connecticut Notes
Series History
Michigan State leads the all-time series with Connecticut, 2-1, as all three meetings have come since the 1998-99 season.
The Last Meeting
Michigan State defeated Connecticut, 82-73, on March 4, 2009, in the National Semifinals at the Final Four in Detroit. Kalin Lucas led MSU with 21 points and Raymar Morgan added 18 points and nine boards. Freshman Korie Lucious scored 11 points in just nine minutes off the Spartan bench, while Durrell Summers scored 10. Four Huskies scored in double figures, led by Hasheem Thabeet's 17. Stanley Robinson posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. MSU led by two points at the half and as many as 11 in the final four minutes, but UConn cut the lead to three points in the final 70 seconds, although MSU would hold on. The Spartans recorded 11 steals, including five from Morgan.
What Does It Mean?
Although the Spartans and Huskies, last played just two seasons ago, both rosters have changed, including one that looks drastically different. MSU has five players that saw action at Ford Field, including two (Kalin Lucas and Delvon Roe) that started. The five Spartans combined for 54 points and 98 minutes. UConn has just two players that saw action in the Final Four. Kemba Walker and Donnell Beverly combined for 22 minutes and five points against MSU.
The Book On Tom Izzo
Coach Izzo
In his 16th year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, '77) is 367-146 (.715), and 174-76 (.696) in the Big Ten, as the coach of the Michigan State basketball program. He ranks as the winningest coach in Michigan State history, having passed his mentor Jud Heathcote with his 341st career victory on Nov. 28, 2009 . In his 15 seasons as a head coach, Izzo has won National Coach of the Year honors four times, including the Clair Bee Award in 2005 and NABC honors in 2001. In 1999, Izzo was named National Coach of the year by Basketball Times, while earning similar honors from The Associated Press, Basketball News and the USBWA in '98. He earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 1998 and 2009.
Among The Big Ten's Best
Tom Izzo's .696 winning percentage in Big Ten games ranks second all-time among league coaches with at least 10 years of service, behind former Indiana coach Bob Knight (.700) and ahead of Purdue's Ward Lambert (.685). In all games, Knight ranks first at .734, followed by Izzo (.715), Wisconsin's Walter Meanwell (.712) and Lambert (.709). With 174 conference victories, Izzo ranks tied for seventh all-time.
Izzo Among Best Ever
Through his first 15 seasons, Tom Izzo won 364 games, ranking sevent in college basketball history for most wins by a college coach in his first 15 years.
Izzo's Coaching Tree
Five current Division I head coaches all served as assistants to Tom Izzo, including Jim Boylen (Utah), Tom Crean (Indiana), Brian Gregory (Dayton), Stan Heath (South Florida) and Doug Wojcik (Tulsa). Mike Garland served as head coach at Cleveland State for three seasons and Stan Joplin, an assistant during Izzo's first season, spent 12 seasons as head coach at Toledo.
