Tom Izzo blames Bo and Woody. In the 1960s and ’70s, Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler and Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes were the poster boys of a rough-and-rugged Big Ten Conference.
The MSU men’s basketball team has all the storylines. The season is the 30th anniversary of the basketball program’s first national championship.
Fresh off making his first Final Four in 1999, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo knew the 2000 season had the chance to be even more special. With nearly every key player returning for his senior season — including Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and A.J. Granger — Izzo felt his team had the talent, experience and toughness to win a national championship.
Throngs of fans pushed and shoved their way into Breslin Center on Sunday night hoping to catch a glimpse of the men’s basketball players back in town after a victory against Louisville.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, senior guard Travis Walton collapsed into a ball in front of the MSU bench. As his teammates stormed the court to celebrate MSU’s 64-52 victory over Louisville, Walton just knelt there, head bowed between his legs, heart throbbing, tears jetting from his eyes.
School: MSU (30-6) Location: East Lansing Region: Midwest Conference: Big Ten Key players: Senior center Goran Suton (10.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game), sophomore guard Kalin Lucas (14.7 points per game, Big Ten Player of the Year), senior guard Travis Walton (third-year captain and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year). How they got here: Defeated No.
About a decade ago, Goran Suton hadn’t even heard of the Final Four. Next weekend, the senior center will have a chance to experience it. And because of him, so will his teammates.
Remember the date: March 29, 2009. The significance? It’s the day Durrell Summers became a man. Summers, MSU’s soft-spoken sophomore guard, scored 10 points during a crucial stretch in the second half, fueling the Spartans past Louisville, 64-52, and into the Final Four.
This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. At least, that’s what they said. And by “they,” I mean everyone.
Eight seasons after the MSU men’s basketball team won the national championship, the days of preparation leading up to the 2000 title game are still firmly etched in Brian Gregory’s mind.
During his career with the MSU men’s basketball team, senior forward Marquise Gray has learned a thing or two about dealing with criticism. A superstar caliber athlete coming out of Flint Beecher High, Gray came to MSU with the world on a string. Jaw-dropping athleticism, brute strength, a soft touch around the basket — Gray had it all.
Former MSU associate coach Brian Gregory and his Dayton Flyers pulled an upset over six-seeded West Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, but the No. 11 seed lost 60-43 to Kansas in the second round.
Bill Self hasn’t been around a lot of big men during his 16 years coaching NCAA men’s basketball. That might mean the praise he gave Cole Aldrich — when the Kansas coach said he can’t compare Aldrich to anyone — isn’t too impressive.
Senior center Goran Suton’s dominant defensive performance against Southern Cal didn’t strike fear into the heart of Kansas’ center Cole Aldrich. In fact, the Jayhawks star center said he’s looking forward to his individual matchup with Suton.
This late in March, no team is fully reliant on one or two players. Yet while Kansas has a lot of young, skilled players on its roster, there is no question that guard Sherron Collins (18.9 points per game) and center Cole Aldrich (14.8 ppg) make the team work.
It didn’t take much for MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo to put Kansas’ midseason improvement into perspective for his team. In fact, all it took were two words: North Carolina.
With nine minutes left and the season hanging in the balance, the MSU men’s basketball could have run its offense through a number of players. There was sophomore guard Kalin Lucas, the Big Ten Player of the Year who has been MSU’s Mr. Clutch throughout the season.
For once, Travis Walton was the offensive star on the MSU men’s basketball team. That meant it was someone else’s turn to be the unheralded defensive star.
Before his team suited up to take on Southern Cal, Marquise Gray called teammate Durrell Summers over for a little chat. “I told him we can kind of lean on each other,” said Gray, a senior forward. “Everybody has their struggles, so I just told him to go over there and play.”
Sherron Collins scored a game-high 25 points and Cole Aldrich collected a triple-double, leading Kansas to a 60-43 victory over Dayton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. With the win, No. 3 seed Kansas advances to the Sweet 16, where the defending national champs will play MSU in Indianapolis.