Thursday, March 28, 2024

Izzo still aiming for Big Ten crown

February 18, 2003

Plain and simple, the Big Ten picture is cloudy.

It wasn't particularly sunny in the preseason, but three teams were supposed to vie for the conference crown: MSU, Indiana and Illinois.

With three weeks left in the season, not one of those teams are leading the Big Ten. In fact, the teams predicted to finish 1-2-3 by the Big Ten's media are in fourth (Illinois), sixth (MSU) and eighth (Indiana).

The three teams leading the conference - Wisconsin, Purdue and Michigan - were predicted to finish in the middle or the bottom of the conference.

And it doesn't look like the Badgers, Boilermakers or Wolverines are showing signs of slowing down. At 8-3 in conference play, all three teams hold a 1 1/2 game lead over the two teams tied for fourth.

But with four of the Spartans' last six games at home, head coach Tom Izzo didn't eliminate MSU's chances of winning its fifth conference title in six seasons.

"We still have a lot of work to do after digging that big hole, but we've got ourselves in a position that we really control our own destiny," Izzo said. "And I like that."

Back already?

After suffering an open dislocation on his pinkie 11 days ago, there is a chance sophomore forward/guard Alan Anderson might get some playing time during tonight's game at Illinois.

Originally, Anderson's timetable was 3-4 weeks, however, both he and Izzo are pushing for a sooner recovery.

Anderson was wearing his uniform under a jump suit on the bench during MSU's 64-51 win over Northwestern on Saturday.

"I'm ready to go whenever they need me," Anderson said on Saturday. "I keep saying I'm day-to-day, but they are telling me I probably still have another week."

On Monday, Izzo said Anderson might play 2 percent of the game if the Spartans need strong defense in the closing minute.

Slump

In MSU's last three games, sophomore guard Chris Hill has struggled immensely from 3-point land.

Hill is 3-of-17 from beyond the arc - 17.6 percent. Hill is shooting .406 from 3-point range this season. That seemed to be the least of Izzo's worries.

"Don't worry, Chris Hill is going to hit some shots," he said.

Bracketology update

Despite a 1-1 mark last week, the Spartans (14-9 overall, 6-5 Big Ten) are still holding the No. 10 seed in the South region. They would square off against Oregon (17-6) in the first round with a possible contest with Marquette (18-4) or Valparaiso (15-8) in the second round.

CBSSportsline.com slated MSU in the East region as a No. 12 seed with a first-round game against California (18-4). A possible second-round contest would be against No. 4 Duke (17-4) or No. 13 Manhattan (19-5).

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