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03-11-2002 05:40 PM

Let's use this thread to compile as much information about Michigan State as we can. I'm going to post some links I find from espn.com and cnnsi.com. I've already been on some boards today talking to Spartan fans and State fans that have been following Michigan State this year. I'll post that info in a little while after I get it all together.

And please, any visiting Spartans, feel free to ask questions about State and provide info about your team!

03-11-2002 05:48 PM

ESPN does a brief breakdown of both teams with these two links:

<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney02/teamPage?collegeId=127" target="_blank">Spartans</a>

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> How They Got Here

While in each of the last three years -- seasons that ended with a trip to the Final Four -- the NCAA Tournament was pretty much a given, the Spartans had to work this season.

With Jason Richardson and Zach Randolph opting for the NBA, Tom Izzo's team opened the season with eight scholarship players. Marcus Taylor was the only returning scoring threat and the Spartans were going to have to get production out of freshmen Chris Hill, Kelvin Torbert and Alan Anderson.

Not surprisingly, the Spartans were inconsistent at times. There were nice home non-conference victories over Oklahoma and Arizona, but the Spartans also lost two games in final four of the Preseason NIT and lost at Florida in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the final four-point margin indicated.

In addition to the sheer lack of bodies, the Spartans were hurt by injuries. Forward Adam Ballinger missed games because of a high ankle sprain, Adam Wolfe was lost for the season in January and Marcus Taylor missed games because of back spasms and a concussion.

But after losing their first three Big Ten games, the Spartans were 9-7 overall. The Spartans won 10 of their final 13 conference games to finish in the top division and reach the tournament.

What We Like

Sure the Spartans aren't as talented as they've been in the past, but they still play Izzo's style of basketball. That means Michigan State is still going to play hard, the Spartans are still going to defend and rebounding is still mandatory.

Once again Michigan State, with Ballinger and Aloysius Anagonye playing in the middle, led the Big Ten in rebounding margin. That effort and toughness keeps the Spartans in games until the end and makes them a difficult team to beat.

What We Don't Like

Unlike past Michigan State teams, this one is not immune to depth-related issues. Izzo simply can't run waves of players at a team. When Marcus Taylor, Adam Ballinger or both aren't in the lineup, Michigan State is vulnerable.

In addition, Anagonye had struggled at times with foul trouble. On the perimeter, the Spartans start two freshmen. While a lot of teams have young players in important roles, there might not be a program in the country that's had to rely on freshmen more than the Spartans. While Hill, Anderson and Torbert are talented, none of them have played an NCAA Tournament game.

<hr /></blockquote><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney02/teamPage?collegeId=152" target="_blank">Wolfpack</a>

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> How They Got Here

North Carolina State making its first NCAA trip in 11 years thanks to a typically tenacious defense that leads the ACC in scoring defense and an offense rebuilt in Princeton's image.

The offensive transformation was slow to come, highlighted -- or lowlighted -- by consecutive dismal shooting performances in losses to then-unproven Ohio State on Nov. 27 and Massachusetts and Dec. 1. The Wolfpack won seven of their next games, though, highlighted by a win at Syracuse that was rare on two counts -- it came against a top-10 team, and it came on the road.

Then, in the ACC tournament, the Wolfpack knocked off Virginia and surprised Maryland before falling to Duke in the final.

Like many NCAA teams, N.C. State has beaten every team it should beat since that loss to Massachusetts, and has lost only to high-quality teams (Maryland, Duke, Wake Forest).

What We Like

North Carolina State is excellent at the backdoor cut and usually has four players on the court who can hit the 3-pointer -- and sometimes all five when Marcus Melvin is at center and Ilian Evtimov at power forward.

Best of all, this team has senior leadership in the backcourt in All-ACC candidate Anthony Grundy and Archie Miller, among the best pure shooters in the conference.

What We Don't Like

The tradeoff for all that shooting ability is shaky interior defense, especially when the slim, 6-8 Melvin and the strong-but-only-6-7 Evtimov are the big men.

Replacements Josh Powell (6-9) and Jordan Collins (6-10) are bigger, but only freshmen. During the regular season, teams with strong inside offense, like Maryland and Wake Forest, were tough on North Carolina State. But the Wolfpack can compensate if they are hitting the 3s -- they made 11 in the ACC semifinal win over Maryland.

<hr /></blockquote>

[ March 11, 2002, 06:26 PM: Message edited by: whitevillepack ]

03-11-2002 06:10 PM

Here is CNNSI's break down...

<a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/teams/nat/" target="_blank">Wolfpack</a>

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> Incredible as it may seem, this is the first NCAA appearance for the Wolfpack in 11 years. Coach Sendek finally found the combination of players to get him over the top and perhaps save his job. The strength of this team is in its senior backcourt. Grundy leads the team in scoring and assists and is the first player in school history to pile up more than 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals in his career. Miller will finish second on State's all-time three-point field goal list. A young front line was bolstered this season by Parade prep All-American Hodge and workmanlike Powell. <hr /></blockquote><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/teams/may/" target="_blank">Spartans</a>

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> The Spartans are in the midst of a run unmatched by anyone in the country, save defending national champion Duke. Michigan State has been to three straight Final Fours and won the 2000 national championship. Despite a lack of depth this year, the Spartans have turned in a solid season except for a four-game losing streak after the holidays. Taylor has doubled his scoring average this season and Torbert, a freshman who was the Gatorade Player of the Year last season, has a deadly jump shot and tremendous explosion to the basket. Ballinger can score inside or out. Anagonye is an experienced banger and Anderson, another freshman, is an impressive shooter. Hill, also a freshman, averages in double figures off the bench and Izzo calls him one of the best shooters he's coached. <hr /></blockquote>

[ March 11, 2002, 07:36 PM: Message edited by: whitevillepack ]

03-11-2002 06:20 PM

CBS sportsline...

<a href="http://www.sportsline.com/u/basketball/college/conferences/ACC/NCST.htm" target="_blank">Wolfpack</a>

<a href="http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,5115130_55,00.html" target="_blank">More Wolfpack stuff</a>

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> For much of the season, the Wolfpack and beleaguered coach Herb Sendek were the ACC's feel-good story.

Herb Sendek's job security has been a topic, but now the talk is about his hot Wolfpack.(Allsport)

Losses in three of the last five games had folks scratching their heads again, but their play in the ACC Tournament erased those doubts.

First, N.C. State (22-10) knocked off Virginia and then used a full-court trap and more passionate play to seize an 86-82 victory over regular-season champ Maryland, denying the Terps another date with Duke. The Blue Devils crushed the Pack in the final, 91-61, but Sendek's group had made its point (and had elevated itself from bubble status).

One thing's for certain: No team in the league regularly plays with more fire. The veteran backcourt and young front line give State an interesting mix, and nobody wants a piece of tough-as-nails guard Anthony Grundy with the game on the line.

The Wolfpack are often at their best when the game is at its ugliest. They thrive on turnovers and defensive pressure and Grundy is often unstoppable out of their spread offensive sets. The key for State is contributions from other players.

North Carolina State scouting report
STARTING LINEUP
Click on a player's name for game-by-game stats

G Archie Miller (5-10, 160, Sr.): Miller has been a play-hard poster kid this year, battling back from a left leg stress fracture to provide leadership and ballhandling for the young team. When he's on from the perimeter, it's an added bonus.

G Anthony Grundy (6-3, 185, Sr.): Any discussion of ACC Player of the Year should have included Grundy, who does everything for this team except drive the bus. He played down the stretch on a sore ankle, but you'd never know it with his continued hard-nosed defense and fearless drives to the basket. Had 24 points in the upset of Maryland.

C Marcus Melvin (6-8, 225, So.): Melvin is headed the opposite direction of freshman Josh Powell, coming out of a slump as the season winds down. He's capable of stringing together baskets and hitting big shots at the right time.

F Ilian Evtimov (6-7, 215, Fr.): A long-range shooting specialist, the 6-7 Evtimov has helped spread defenses since joining the starting lineup.

F Julius Hodge (6-6, 180, Fr.): Hodge had 21 points in the last regular-season game at Wake and the Pack hope he's back on track after a couple of subpar performances. He often handles the ball for the team, and his reemergence could be a postseason key.

THE BENCH
The bench could be a real strength, particularly if Josh Powell busts out. Scooter Sherrill and Clifford Crawford have been logging key minutes in the backcourt all season and 6-10 Jordan Collins has helped up front recently, too. The loss of 6-7 Levi Watkins earlier this season to a knee injury was a blow.

THE GOOD NEWS
N.C. State showed its mettle in the ACC Tournament, advancing to the final and serving notice that its first NCAA appearance in a decade could include an extended stay.

THE BAD NEWS
Some of the freshmen looked late in the season as if they hit that "wall" when they've played more games than they ever did in high school. How will they hold up? Can you write off the 30-point loss to Duke in the ACC final as "just one of those things?"

THE COACH
Herb Sendek saved his job with his team's performance this year. The Pack is a team no one likes to play because of its tenacity on defense, ability to spread the offense and attack a variety of ways. The Pack has a young talent base, but replacing Grundy next season seems like a tough task.

North Carolina State NCAA Tournament history
Jim Valvano running this way, then that way, looking for somebody, anybody, to hug.

It's one of the permanent snapshots of the NCAA Tournament, perfectly capturing the pure joy, the sheer unpredictability, the raw emotion of March Madness.

Dereck Whittenburg heaving a 35-foot prayer in the final seconds. Lorenzo Charles grabbing the ball in front of the rim and stuffing it home. A huge 54-52 upset of top-ranked Houston and its Phi Slamma Jamma fraternity -- Clyde Drexler, Akeem Olajuwon and Michael Young.

Jim Valvano running wild around the court.

The 1983 national championship is particularly special around North Carolina State, but in a sense, it belongs to all of college basketball. Valvano's club put together one of most stirring runs in history, with four of its six victories coming by two points or less.

And to think, North Carolina State might not have even made the tournament if it hadn't won the ACC Tournament to get the automatic bid with a 20-10 record.

Nine years before that, the Wolfpack won their first national title with a David Thompson-led powerhouse that interrupted John Wooden's string of eight championships at UCLA. N.C. State knocked off the Bruins 80-77 in a double-overtime classic of a national semifinal in what was the "real" title game.

To make it official, North Carolina State handled Marquette 76-64 a couple of days later.

<hr /></blockquote>Extra sidebar on State:

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Quick take
There is no question last season's 13-16 record and the criticism that followed wore on Herb Sendek. He is truly a nice man, not one who seems overly comfortable in the spotlight, be it good or bad. He hardly likes discussing victories with the media, let alone defeats.

He is smart, a guy who graduated from Penn Hills High School outside Pittsburgh with a 4.0 GPA and then, while playing basketball at academically strong Carnegie-Mellon, earned a 3.95 -- "higher than my scoring average."

You get a sense that the man is happiest watching film, working a practice or spending time with his wife and three daughters than dealing with all the public trappings his job entails. This is no used car salesman of a coach, no slick media personality. This is a basketball coach's basketball coach.
--Dan Wetzel <hr /></blockquote><a href="http://www.sportsline.com/u/basketball/college/conferences/BIG10/MIST.htm" target="_blank">Spartans</a>

<a href="http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,5104471_55,00.html" target="_blank">More Spartans stuff</a>

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> Before a loss to Indiana in the Big Ten quarterfinals, the Spartans (19-11) were one of the hottest teams in the league.

Marcus Taylor has been coming up big in big games.(AP)

Remember, this team has been to three consecutive Final Fours, and while it doesn't appear to have the talent, experience or depth of those teams, it plays hard for head coach Tom Izzo.

Michigan State's nasty junkyard dog defense prevents opponents from running set plays, and Marcus Taylor has the kind of jaw-dropping talent to take over a game in crunch time. The Spartans have great chemistry and, the loss to Indiana notwithstanding, appear to be getting better.

They didn't fumble around down the stretch and then wage some spin campaign on why they should get into the tournament. They won their final five regular-season games -- beating Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio State along the way -- getting inspired play from Taylor.

Izzo challenged the sophomore on Feb. 24 to be the team's superstar starting right then. He has accepted the challenge.

So don't count this team out.

It won't be easy being a 10th seed, especially with a first-round game against North Carolina State, which upset Maryland to advance to the ACC tournament final.

Scouting report
STARTING LINEUP
Click on a player's name for game-by-game stats

PG Marcus Taylor (6-3, 195, So.): The Spartans got a huge lift from Taylor all season, and he elevated his game in the final weeks of the season. Even though Taylor did not have much experience coming into this season, he handled the leadership role well and averaged a team-high 16.7 ppg in the regular season.

SG Kelvin Torbert (6-4, 225, Fr.): After struggling early in the season, the freshman started to make a serious contribution. While he shot just 41 percent, there were several games in the second half where Torbert hit big shots.

C Jason Andreas (6-10, 245, So.): Has manned the center position since midseason and given the Spartans an occasional lift. In the final game of the regular season vs. Iowa, Andreas hit both of his shots from the floor and looked as if he belonged on the court in key situations.

F Aloysius Anagonye (6-8, 255, Jr.): Has the size and strength to do a solid job on the boards for the Spartans. Is a willing competitor who will sacrifice his body for the good of the team.

F Adam Ballinger (6-9, 250, Jr.): One of the main reasons the Spartans were able to close the season as one of the hottest teams in the conference. He stepped up his game dramatically in the last month, finishing the regular season with averages of 11.4 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds.

THE BENCH
Tom Izzo knows how to use his bench as well as any coach in the country. Look for Tim Bograkos, Alan Anderson and Chris Hill to make major contributions in the postseason. Hill connected on 44 percent of his shots from beyond the arc in the regular season.

THE GOOD NEWS
This team has a history of postseason success -- three straight trips to the Final Four -- and has been improving significantly. Marcus Taylor has the talent and desire to become a go-to player. The Spartans have great chemistry and confidence in themselves.

THE BAD NEWS
Michigan State is an extremely young team and simply does not have the depth that it had in the past. The Spartans have improved quite a bit this season, but they don't appear to have anything close to Final Four talent.

THE COACH
Tom Izzo gets it. He knows how to drive his players and get the most out of them without draining the life force from them like some coaches. If anyone can get the most out of his team under difficult circumstances, it's Izzo. As long as he is coaching the team, they have a chance to pull some major surprises.

Michigan State NCAA Tournament history
It will be awfully difficult for the Spartans to do what they have done each of the past three seasons -- reach the Final Four.

But that's the challenge that awaits Tom Izzo -- maintaining the excellence. In the past four seasons, Izzo has a remarkable 16-3 tournament record, including a 6-0 run to the 2000 national championship, giving him the best winning percentage of all-time (.842).

APPEARANCES: This is the Spartans' 16th appearance overall and 10th in the past 13 seasons.

TOURNAMENT RECORD: Five runs to the Final Four, including the Spartans' other national championship under Jud Heathcote in 1979, gives Michigan State an outstanding overall record. Last year's 4-1 mark makes MSU 33-14 all-time.

2000 NATIONAL TITLE: As the top seed in the Midwest, the Spartans steamrolled their way to the championship, winning all six games by no fewer than 11 points. The only game with drama in that stretch was the 11-point victory over Iowa State, which was closer than the final margin -- provided thanks to a spate of technical fouls against Cyclones coach Larry Eustachy -- would indicate.

In the championship game, Michigan State beat Florida 89-76 in front of 43,116 at the RCA Dome. Mo Peterson had 21 points to lead the Spartans. Point guard Mateen Cleaves was selected the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

The Greatest
Although the 2000 team certainly was special, it was hardly as magical as Magic Johnson's 1978-79 team that helped turn the NCAA Tournament into the March Madness it is today. The prime-time matchup with Larry Bird's Indiana State team still holds the TV torch for highest-rated college basketball game ever.

Johnson was named the Final Four MVP after scoring 24 points in the title game, a 75-64 win in Salt Lake City. The Spartans actually lost five Big Ten games before running through the postseason to a 26-6 final record.

Greg Kelser joined Johnson on the all-tournament team.

<hr /></blockquote>

[ March 11, 2002, 09:00 PM: Message edited by: whitevillepack ]

03-11-2002 08:55 PM

This is what I've got so far from the articles and from posts on other boards from Spartan Fans...

Marcus Taylor is their Grundy, but probably without the overall game. He's a great scorer and a great leader. If Taylor plays well, Michigan State plays well. If Taylor plays bad, Michigan State plays bad. I think we put either Grundy or Hodge on him. I think either one could do a good job on him, but I'm leaning more towards putting Hodge on him. This way Grundy can concentrate more on his offensive game. And if Hodge pulls a game out like he did against Temple's Lynn Greer (that is holding him to zero field goals), then I think we win this one easily.

Rebounding will be a big factor. Michigan State is a great rebounding team...NC State is not a good rebounding team. But for some reason we've had games where we've rebounded very well against better rebounding teams. Hopefully this will be one of those games. We'll need Melvin to grab rebounds like he did against Maryland. Grundy and Hodge will also have to do a good job on the boards and hopefully we can get some offensive rebounds.

We'll have the turnover advantage. Taylor seems to be there only really good ballhandler, but there was a Spartan poster on another board that says he's quite inconsistent and will have games where he goes off and has a lot of turnovers. Even if he has a solid ballhandling game, the other Michigan guards aren't solid handling the ball. Hopefully the long arms of Grundy and Hodge can get in the lane get some steals, as well as the on ball defending of Grundy, Hodge, and Crawford. Maybe we can put together some full-court of half-court traps that will creat some turnovers and easy baskets.

If we can put together a good perimeter defense on their guards, then our inside defense wont have as much work to do. They should have the advantage, but I dont see them being as good as Boozer, Songaila, Watson, or Baxter and Wilcox. If Melvin, Evtimov, Powell, and Collins can do the same job against the Spartans as they did against the Terrapins, then we win easily.

On the offensive end, I think we need to get out to a quick lead. Michigan State hasn't faced an offense like this before. Tom Izzo is a great coach, and they can watch all the game tape that they wont, but the best way to prepare for another team is through experience, and the Spartans dont have experience against our offense. Hopefully this will help us out to the early lead and we can take control from there. I dont think we need to be hitting all of our shots, but we need to shoot decent from 3 pt land. There big guys look like they are mainly inside defenders. Hopefully Melvin and Evtimov will make some 3-pointers early and stretch the defense so our backdoor cuts are open for the easy layups.

At first I looked at the matchup and I was like..."Great, we get the tough 10 seed in the bracket...AND they're one of the hottest teams in the country." But looking closely at the matchups (and also being the optimistic State fan that I am), I think we have a great chance of winning this game.

GO PACK!!

03-12-2002 10:06 AM

Do you feel bad every time you see Tom Izzo on the TV complaining about how Michigan State is better than a 10 seed? Don't. While Mr. Izzo is talking to the press, Herb and the boys are practicing. The more Michigan State talks, the more layups Grundy makes.

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