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Izzo calls team 'soft' after game, demands toughness

November 24, 2003

Tom Izzo slammed his right fist into the palm of his left hand. The veins were clearly visible in his forehead and neck as he screamed across the court to any Spartan who would listen.

It was a reoccurring scene Friday night in the Spartans' sloppy, 64-52 victory over Bucknell at Breslin Center.

Rebounding, a staple in MSU's program during Izzo's tenure, evaporated against the Bison (0-1).

The Spartans (1-0) weren't crashing the boards, and when the final buzzer sounded, MSU was slimly the victor in the rebounding category, 42-39.

The poor display and representation of Spartan basketball caused Izzo to call this squad the softest team he's had in his nine-year reign as head coach.

"This team needs a toughness transfusion," Izzo said. "We had some guys that didn't go after the ball - batting it around with one hand and not wanting to get bodies hurt. We're not very tough inside right now."

Adding to Izzo's displeasure were the types of rebounds the Spartans allowed the Bison to recover.

Bucknell finished just 1-of-17 from the free throw line, a woeful 5.9 percent. Still, the Spartans struggled to box out, and the Bison were able to create second-chance points. Of Bucknell's 39 boards, 14 came on the offensive glass.

"I liked the way we scrapped on it and I like the way we battled them - it became contagious," Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said. "We weren't going to get any transition buckets, so the one thing we tried to do was get five people on the glass. We were on the boards all night."

Senior center Jason Andreas acknowledged Bucknell's tenacity to attack the glass.

"As long as you have a nose for the ball, and as long as you aren't afraid to get in there and get bumped around, and you jump up with a bunch of guys, you can get a rebound," Andreas said. "There were a couple of opportunities on free throws that we missed - those should be the easiest rebounds to get.

"It just shows our focus wasn't there to go and get that ball."

Sophomore center Paul Davis led the Spartans with eight rebounds, five on the offensive end, while adding 21 points. Junior swingman Alan Anderson had seven, while sophomore guard Maurice Ager and junior guard Kelvin Torbert chipped in six and five boards, respectively.

The Spartans couldn't keep a consistent lineup on the floor because of foul trouble. Izzo said the referees' tendencies to call numerous touch fouls during the contest added to MSU's rebounding problems.

Redshirt freshman forward Delco Rowley picked up three fouls in a three-minute span in the first half. Davis also was whistled twice in the opening half, and ended up fouling out in the game's final minute. With the big men on the bench, Izzo was forced to play a small lineup - one that consisted of junior guard Tim Bograkos, senior guard Rashi Johnson and freshman guard Shannon Brown.

Bison guard Kevin Bettencourt, last season's Patriot League freshman of the year, said Bucknell's game plan was to not only play the Spartans close, but to win the game, and rebounding was a key part of that plan.

"We tried not to think about all the hype they had," said Bettencourt, who led the Bison with 21 points. "We expected to be up with six minutes left - I know a lot of people find that hard to believe, but a few bounces here and there, and I think it's a different game."

The Spartans will find themselves in a different game come Tuesday when they travel to Lawrence, Kan., for a 9 p.m. tipoff against the No. 6 Jayhawks.

Izzo made one thing clear after the game - if the Spartans play Kansas the same way they did Bucknell on Friday, especially as far as crashing the boards is concerned, the season and its elite aspirations will go up in smoke.

"I'm not only looking forward to going there (Kansas), I'm looking to the next three days of practice before we go there," he said. "We're either going to play like this and get beat by 40, or we're going to be competitive."

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