With a seemingly effortless push from senior guard Chris Hill, the ball was in the air. The crowd slowly rose to its feet in anticipation of what was about to happen.

The pass sailed from halfcourt into the outstretched arms of junior guard Maurice Ager, who climbed through the air almost in slow motion, and promptly brought the house down with a two-handed slam, putting one of many nails in the coffin of an outmatched Michigan team.

Off a set play to begin the game, Hill found sophomore guard Shannon Brown for an alley-oop against UNC-Asheville. Ager called it his favorite moment from the year.

Scenes like this have been commonplace in games this year, with Brown and Ager sending crowds nationwide into awe with their amazing ability to put together spectacular plays.

"They're playing, at times especially, much better as far as looking to make other guys better and create for other guys," Hill said. "They're taking more ownership in their game and in the team, and they're trying to become better as individuals."

But not only are Ager and Brown developing their game - they are quickly becoming one of the most exciting tandems in the Big Ten.

After clawing for a win on Jan. 18 over Purdue, MSU head coach Tom Izzo heaped praise over the duo saying, "Thank God for Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager."

In that game, the two scored 42 of the team's 71 points, with Ager scoring 19 of his 22 points in the second half, despite throwing up several times before the game.

Ager, finally totally healthy after two years of foot and ankle problems, has made an impact in his first season as a starter. He has nearly doubled his career average, coming into the season with an average of 7.5 and increasing that to 14.2 points per game, currently leading the team.

"Mo Ager's playing as good as he has his whole career here," Izzo said. "Mo has tremendous athletic ability, and I think he's gotten stronger, and right now he's playing with as much confidence as he ever has."

He has also gotten better fundamentally in other areas.

"He's better defensively right now," Izzo said.

"He's much, much better with the basketball right now, and he's thrown some great passes in the last couple games."

Ager's sidekick Brown, has not disappointed in his sophomore season, averaging 11.4 points per game, after averaging just 7.9 points per game last season.

"We're just trying to come out and play hard and play aggressive and do what it takes for the team to win," Brown said. "We still have a lot more to work on."

An important part of Hill's job as the point guard is to find his teammates - mainly to find where and when Brown and Ager are leaping for an alley-oop or coming off a screen for a jump shot.

"I try the best I can to get them the ball as soon as possible because I know what they can do with it," Hill said. "They're shooting the ball well, so anytime I see them open I try to get it to them."

Ager is thankful to have such an unselfish player at point guard to distribute him the ball.

"Chris really, really sacrificed a lot by knowing that he had to play the point, and he's got me and Shannon that can score those points," Ager said.

Not only has their play improved, but they are becoming the focus of the athletics department's promotional efforts.

"They are two very athletic kids," MSU Associate Athletics Director Mark Hollis said. "We've featured them in many of the videos we have done and that will continue this year into the next."

In two recent games, SpartanVision featured a pregame video of Ager and Brown as superheroes in a 60s cartoon drama combined with highlights of some of their best plays of the year.

Hollis compared the promotion of the two to that of Jason Richardson, now with the NBA's Golden State Warriors, who was a high-flying dunker for the Spartans from 1999-2001.

"When we had Jason Richardson here there was a lot of we could do video-wise," Hollis said.

"Those two have already come to the forefront with some pretty spectacular things as well."

Hollis said that exposing the duo to ESPN and the other national media outlets is an important part of their promotion.

"It's to make sure that they have the footage of those guys when they make those spectacular aerial moves," he said.

Izzo said a key to Ager and Brown's play is getting them to drive to the basket more.

"That's been our M.O. the last month - trying to get those guys to drive more," Izzo said. "Hopefully that will happen."

With Hill, senior guard Kelvin Torbert, senior guard Tim Bograkos and senior forward Alan Anderson all graduating after this season, most of the leadership on the team will be thrust upon Ager and Brown, which they welcome.

"At this point, I feel that it's something that we need to do," Ager said.

"We're getting older, so we have to take some of that responsibility on ourselves."

A big part of being a leader is the ability to speak out and say things to get teammates motivated.

"I've got to," Brown said. "Everybody has to take over a leadership role. We've got to be more vocal. I have to lead by example and lead with my voice."

With their words and actions, these two Spartans are something to watch and everybody knows it.