Images of MSU basketball’s past, present and future were on display for the 14,000-plus in attendance at Friday’s annual Midnight Madness for the MSU men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Fans were treated to some of the greatest moments in MSU men’s basketball history on the Breslin Center scoreboard as part of the event’s theme of “Celebrate the Moment,” then watched both teams scrimmage. Fans also received a glimpse of the men’s team’s hopeful future when men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo zoomed onto the court in a race car, representing his hope of making it to this year’s Final Four in Indianapolis.
He proceeded to the winner’s circle at center court and addressed the crowd about the team’s chances of making it back to the Final Four this season.
Perhaps the event’s biggest highlight, however, occurred when the team raised the banner from last season’s Final Four run in Detroit and unveiled new banners for the decade’s four other Final Fours — which were in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. This year will mark the Spartans’ 10-year anniversary of their last national championship, which took place in 2000 in Indianapolis.
“We wanted the banners to better resemble the places we played,” Izzo told the sold-out crowd.
The banners included larger designs of the Final Four logos and the cities where they were held. A video that went behind the scenes of the team’s trip to Detroit including the practices, games and highlights from the team’s memorable run preceded the raising of last season’s banner.
The basketball team drew tremendous crowds last April for Final Four-related events and Friday’s event continued the trend, drawing more people than any previous Midnight Madness. Izzo applauded the crowd for its show of Spartan pride last April.
“It was highlighted by the practice before the first game when 25-30,000 Spartan fans showed up — the largest crowd ever to watch a practice,” Izzo told the crowd. “Later in that day, we went to a mall in Troy, and 9-10,000 MSU fans showed up there when the owner told me it was the largest crowd that was ever in that mall. And then it culminated by the two games we played in Detroit.”
Friday’s madness began with performances by the Spartan Marching Band, MSU cheerleaders and MSU Dance Team. Next, the women’s team was introduced, with players dressed like high school dance partiers entering the court from a sideline entrance.
Head coach Suzy Merchant, clad in a black cowboy hat and boots, entered the court and broke up the celebration, telling the crowd her team needed to prepare to make a trip to San Antonio for the Final Four at the end of the season.
The team then did a Texas-style line dance as Merchant quizzed players about all things Texas.
“We have the great senior leadership we need to win the whole thing,” Merchant said.
“We have the depth and the toughness to win the whole thing.”
The women’s team returns several of its top performers from last season’s Sweet 16 run and is projected by many preseason publications to finish high.
The Spartans are led by seniors Allyssa DeHaan, Aisha Jefferson, Mandy Piechowski and Lauren Aitch.
The men’s team then entered the court as the greatest moments in Spartan basketball history were announced in conjunction with player introductions.
Each time a player was introduced, a plume of fire shot into the air and the entire arena lit up.
The winner’s circle was then set up on the court and Izzo motored in on the race car, much to the enjoyment of fans.
“I think it’s great that they let everybody get involved in the beginning and get to know all the players instead of just sitting on the bleachers,” marketing junior Ryan Adam said.
In years past, Izzo had dressed as a hippie and a Spartan warrior to mark the occasion.
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Fans also were introduced to the new Final Four banners and watched a video on the scoreboard of last year’s final week of play.
The video included footage of the team’s return to campus after last season’s regional final, as well as footage from the locker room at the Final Four and the team’s Detroit-area hotel.
“I think (the players) had fun during the video — it made them sit down and think,” Izzo said. “It’s not something you get to see everyday … and I think our fans deserved to see that.”
After last year’s banner was raised, the women’s team scrimmaged before the men’s team took the court and players wowed the crowd with slam dunks.
Included was junior guard Durrell Summers, who donned the jersey of former Spartan and dynamite dunker Jason Richardson and tried to emulate some of Richardson’s dunks.
The event concluded with a scrimmage by the men’s team, which the White team won 32-20.
Although play was a little sloppy so early in the season, fans still were able to get to see both teams in action.
The men’s team is considered by many experts to be a front-runner in the Big Ten and a potential candidate to make it back to the Final Four.
“I’m sure they’re going to make it to the Final Four again,” said advertising senior Emily Lopatoski, who was attending her second Midnight Madness.
“(The past Midnight Madness) definitely wasn’t as big as it is this year. It was fun, but this is just more exciting maybe because they did so well last year.”
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