Sports: MSU Leads Nation in Consecutive NCAA Trips
The 2003-2004 cagers came within just a few close finishes from achieving another great season.
- On March 18, MSU lost 72-66 heartbreaker to Nevada after being up 16 points in the first half of the first-round NCAA game in Seattle.
- The previous week, Wisconsin squeaked by MSU 68-66 in the Big Ten tournament semifinals in Indianapolis, after trailing by five points at halftime.
- On March 2, MSU lost 68-64 in overtime to Wisconsin, a rare home loss that cost MSU a share of the Big Ten title.
These three close but winnable contests epitomized the frustrations of this season. Through a preseason that saw MSU play Duke, Kentucky, Syracuse, and Kansas—all Sweet Sixteen teams—MSU found itself mounting comebacks time and again. Most came close. As Izzo said ruefully, if close losses build character, then this team should overflow with character.
What overflowed were missed opportunities, as MSU went 18-12 and came ever so close to another championship. Tying for second in the Big Ten, one game behind the Illlini, was deemed a disappointment—an indication of how far the program has come under Izzo. Nonetheless, by winning 12 of 15 games late in the conference season, MSU managed to set the nation’s longest current streak of NCAA appearances, with seven straight. And, to the chagrin of some media “experts,” MSU thumped archrival Michigan twice.
Sophomore center Paul Davis was named team MVP and made First Team All-Big Ten. Junior guard Chris Hill made First Team Academic All-American, the first Spartan to garner that honor since Greg Kelser, and 2nd Team All-Big Ten. Junior swingman Kelvin Torbert was named to the league’s third team.
This year’s squad excelled more on offense than on defense and rebounding, two hallmarks of vintage Izzo teams. It became the first team in Big Ten history to win all four top offensive categories—shooting percentage (.522), free-throw percentage (.777), three-point percentage (.434), and scoring offense (71.3 points per game). MSU also ranked in the top ten nationally in the first three categories, and enjoyed some phenomenal shooting stretches, especially in the second halves of key Big Ten games. Torbert and Hill each converted treys at a rate above 46 percent!
MSU’s offensive production was keyed by an average of more than 15 assists per game, suggesting that its torrid shooting statistics derived from team efforts to get good shots.
Two games in particular were memorable:
- Jan. 28: MSU beat Minnesota 79-78 in overtime, after being down 23 points in frenzied Williams Arena. A “Hail Lazarus” trey by sophomore Maurice Ager at the buzzer sent the game into overtime, and two Davis free throws sealed a “back-from-the-dead” victory. The win sparked MSU’s late conference run.
- Feb. 24: MSU beat archrival Michigan 72-69 in Chrysler Arena, after trailing 52-40 midway in the second half. Then, led by Torbert’s 12 points in the half and sealed by a dagger trey by Hill at 0:39, MSU secures a savory win that silenced not only the Wolverine crowd but also some cavalier prognosticators in the media.
MSU mounted comebacks in many other venues, including Pauley Pavillion and Fog Allen Field House, but could not quite finish. At the Palace of Auburn Hills against Oklahoma, for example, MSU trailed 50-35 with 13 minutes left, fought back and hit what could have been the game-winning layup with 2.8 seconds left—only Ager was whistled for a seemingly phantom charge. A week later, before a world-record crowd of 78,129, MSU fell 15 points behind NCAA No. 1-seed Kentucky and clawed all the way back—only to miss a game-tying trey at the buzzer.
After its Big Ten opener at Wisconsin—won 77-64 by the Badgers, who shot 35 free throws to MSU’s 13—the Spartans sported an uncharacteristic 5-7 losing record with their chances of an NCAA bid in peril. That’s when team chemistry seemed to turn around and Izzo’s lessons finally seemed to take hold. MSU picked up its defensive intensity, upped its vigor in going after the ball, stabilized its rotation, and bulldozed through the league with an impressive 12-3 stretch to finish at 12-4, and 17-10 overall.
As columnist Terry Foster of the Detroit News noted, “The Spartans don’t always win titles. But they always seem to be sniffing around at the end. Izzo has them there again because he refused to compromise. During their darkest hour, the Monday morning quarterbacks emerged from the woodwork critical of his handling of players. During his championship days, Izzo’s tough love was seen as a virtue. When he lost, his same roughhouse tactics were slammed. But Izzo stuck to his guns and said one of the smartest things of his career, reminding us that being a champion is not pretty sometimes.“
MSU did boast many memorable individual performances. Coming off the bench at Northwestern, Ager made six straight treys enroute to his career high 24 points. At Columbus, MSU shot 73 percent as a team—a figure that could have shattered the record had the Spartans not missed some shots at game’s end, when Izzo cleared the bench. Against Indiana, Davis unleashed 32 points, inside, outside and from the foul line.
Joining Izzo are assistants Doug Wojcik, Mark Montgomery, and Dwayne Stephens. Next season, MSU will be joined by 2004 Mr. Basketball Drew Neitzel of Grand Rapids Wyoming Park, Marquise Gray of Flint Beecher, and Goran Suton of Lansing Everett.
WOMEN’S TEAM GETS MSU’S 3RD NCAA WIN
Under Joanne “Coach P” McCallie, the MSU women’s basketball team continues to improve, making their second straight NCAA tournament and earning MSU’s third NCAA win ever by beating Arizona in Austin, TX.
"We've learned a lot,” said McCallie after the Spartans lost to No. 1-seed Texas in Texas. “We are right there. We've taken lots of hits this season and lacked maturity but our freshmen will learn and we'll be back. Our team plays with pride and fight and for that I'm proud."
Indeed, the youthful Spartans, with five freshmen and two sophomores in the playing roster, achieved a No. 25 national ranking heading into the tourney. They finished 22-9—MSU’s first 20-win season in seven years and a tie for the second most wins ever. MSU ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense (55.2) and managed some impressive wins, including a 67-33 thumping of Michigan and a 92-63 demolition of No. 19 Notre Dame. MSU also upset No. 9 Minnesota before a hostile crowd of 13,000 in Minneapolis.
Four Spartans received All-Big Ten recognition—sophomore guard Lindsay Bowen made second-team, sophomore forward Liz Shimek third team, junior guard Kristin Haynie honorable mention, and Rene Haynes All-Freshman Team. Shimek made the Academic All-District team with a 3.88 GPA.
In her fourth season, McCallie wants to take MSU to the Top Ten.
"The key is that I'm not very interesting,” she explains. “All I do is serve as a mother, wife and coach and an occasional golf game. I can't imagine how long it will take. I just know it can happen.''