A trip down memory lane: Michigan State 75, Iowa State 64 (2000 Elite Eight)

 

 

I just discovered that the NCAA has opened a vault of great March Madness games and posted them on YouTube, so right now I'm watching the 2000 Midwest Regional final between MSU and Iowa State. The Cyclones had a heck of a team, with Marcus Fizer, Jamaal Tinsley, Paul Shirley, and Michael Nurse. Fizer, Shirley, and Tinsley played in the NBA, and Nurse was a sharp-shooting guard who, despite not playing professionally after his college career, was an outstanding player.

 

I'd never seen the game in its entirety until today, because when it was played I had a job that required me to work on Saturday nights, so I and my MSU fan co-workers had to listen to the final minutes in the back room. After finally watching the game, I'm completely convinced it was the best game of MSU's run to the 2000 national title, and Iowa State presented the most formidable challenge the Spartans faced in the tournament. It wouldn't be too outlandish to say that this game was the de facto national championship game.

 

The final score was 75-64, but that is a highly deceptive score. The Spartans were clinging to a 69-64 lead with just over 30 seconds left when Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy lost his cool after what he perceived as a non-call in MSU's favor and was hit with a double technical foul. The Spartans scored its final six points (four of which were free throws) in that last half-minute of play.

 

Iowa State, in fact, dominated a good portion of the second half and was probably the only team that entire season to best Michigan State on the glass, outrebounding the Spartans 33-27. What really did the Cyclones in, however, were two primary factors, turnovers and a lack of depth. They had 19 giveaways to Michigan State's 8. And despite having an outstanding starting five, Iowa State only had two players come off the bench and contribute (Paul Shirley and Brandon Hawkins).

 

If any basketball game deserves to be compared to a heavyweight bout, than this is definitely one of those. Each team took turns delivering haymakers, with the Spartans sneaking in the final knockout blow.  

Who in the heck schedules a college basketball game at 7:30 on a Sunday night?

...it makes absolutely no sense to me. First of all, is it at all fair to the student/athletes who are participating in this MSU/Illinois game? The answer, of couse, is a resounding "no!"  But when has fairness, or even common sense, ever mattered to the NCAA or the networks who dictate when these games are played? I think you can figure out the answer to that question.

In other "strange but true" college sports scheduling stories, the Big Ten recently announced the 2015-2016 basketball schedule. Archrivals MSU and Michigan play one time instead of the usual two. Once again, where does common sense ever prevail in these decisions? I've heard that a computer...yes, a COMPUTER...creates these schedules. Okay, that's well and good. I'm sure that it's much easier and less time consuming to allow a computer to spit out a complete conference schedule in a fraction of the time it'd take a human or two to do it. But shouldn't a human "check the work" after the computer has finished its assignment? How is it possible, or even advisable, for the Big Ten to allow the Spartans and Wolverines to play just once due to the work of a computer? It'd be about as bad as a football season in which MSU and Michigan didn't play at all. (What is even worse for Michigan is that they not only play MSU only one time, but also only play Ohio State once. How does that make any sense, Big Ten Conference?).

What's particularly sad is that this is not the first time this has happened. In the 2003 and 2009 conference seasons, MSU and Michigan played only one time. With only eleven teams in the conference in those days, it was even less excusable. I understand that with 14 teams in the league now, it's inevitable that with an 18-game schedule there will be several teams that are only played once...but an archrival shouldn't be one of them. Perhaps it's time the Big Ten seriously consider expanding the conference slate and reducing the number of meaningless non-conference games.

***

Now back to the MSU/Illinois game. I fully expect the Spartans to play much better than they did the last time these teams played two weeks ago at Breslin. I'm not about to guarantee a Spartan win, but if they lose it won't be due to a lack of effort. It seems as if that debacle against Illinois turned on a light switch for this entire team, from the coaching staff on down to the last player on that bench, and they haven't looked back since.

Branden Dawson is playing with the intensity of a guy who has suddenly realized that his college career is about to end. I have never seen Dawson look better in his career than he has the last two weeks of this season. 

Ever since Tom Izzo began starting Lourawls Nairn, with Travis Trice coming off the bench, both players have been outstanding. Nairn is more confident than he was earlier in the year--and the speed, enthusiasm, energy, and great defense he brings can't be measured on the stat sheet. Trice looks more comfortable entering the game off the bench and his shooting stroke has reemerged after a mysterious absence.

Overall, the team looks poised for a strong finish to the regular season, in typical Tom Izzo style.