Entering the 2005 NCAA Tournament, many experts figured MSU would be first-round mincemeat. As the dangerous five-seed, the Spartans opened their postseason run against Old Dominion, a mid-major that experts thought was ripe for a deep run in the tournament.
During the regular season, MSU sophomore guard Chris Allen’s role on the team was fairly simple. He was a scorer, and only a scorer. On a good day, Allen was good for about 10 points off the bench. The problem was, he hadn’t been experiencing too many of those days.
After its 2000 National Championship, the MSU men’s basketball team lost Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and A.J. Granger. Luckily for head coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans had Charlie Bell, Andre Hudson and Jason Richardson coming back, along with two dynamite freshmen in Marcus Taylor and Zach Randolph.
In 2007, ESPN reporter Andy Katz wrote a piece anointing MSU as the top basketball program over the past 10 seasons. Two years later, I’m ready to take that coronation a step further. Not only has MSU been the nation’s best program in that span, head coach Tom Izzo has been the nation’s best coach.
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.
The MSU men’s basketball team won the Big Ten Championship the year before, but the Spartans dynasty arguably began in 1998-99.
Korie Lucious thought he knew how prestigious the Final Four was. Then the freshman guard met senior guard Travis Walton. That’s when Lucious truly understood what it takes to make it to college basketball’s biggest stage.
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.
As the buzzer sounded to end the MSU women’s basketball team’s season Saturday night, the players hung their heads.
One minute away from the Elite Eight, the MSU women’s basketball team saw its dreams snatched from its grip, as Iowa State walked out of Haas Pavilion victorious 69-68 on Saturday in a Berkley Regional semifinal game.
The university announced plans to hold a welcome back rally for the men’s basketball team tonight at Breslin Center following the team’s 64-52 win over Louisville in the Elite Eight in Indianapolis.
At the conclusion of a practice in late February, Tom Izzo instructed his MSU men’s basketball team to walk up the arena steps from the Breslin Center floor and meet him on the concourse. Once the Spartans were there, the MSU head coach told his team to look outside, where the February sun had not yet faded at the 5 o’clock hour.
Berkeley, Calif. — With one shot, MSU’s glass slipper was shattered. Iowa State junior guard Alison Lacey hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of play to send the Spartans packing with a 69-68 loss in a Berkeley Regional semifinal Saturday night.