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Midwest notebook Eustachy displeased over campus disturbance
Posted: Friday March 24, 2000 06:57 PM
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy was disappointed about campus disturbances following the Cyclones' 80-56 victory over UCLA in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. Police said at least seven people were arrested Thursday night in Ames, Iowa. The charges included criminal mischief, public intoxication, theft and failure to disperse. Loras Jaeger, director of the ISU Department of Public Safety, said one person sustained a minor head injury when he jumped in a lake. "It doesn't need to happen," Eustachy said Friday as the Cyclones prepared to face Michigan State in the Midwest final Saturday night. "We did something that had never been done [in school history] and it creates an environment where I'm sure everybody gets excited, but it's disappointing," Eustachy said. "We as coaches and players really preach to act like you've been there and don't carry anything too far. "It's hypocritical for our fans to be that way or our students to be that way if that's what happened. We don't want any of that. We want them to enjoy it, but those kinds of things can turn into tragic situations and we certainly wouldn't want that." Michigan State coach Tom Izzo could certainly empathize with Eustachy. Rioting near the Michigan State campus resulted in many more arrests and thousands of dollars in damage after the Spartans' loss to Duke in last year's Final Four. "Last year was a sore spot to all of us," Izzo said. "For all we thought we brought to the university, it seemed like in some way shape or form it was taken away. I hope that doesn't happen here and I hope it doesn't happen at other universities."
Crowd controlIowa State players said they aren't bothered that Michigan State, some 80 minutes away from The Palace, will have a home-court advantage Saturday night."We had something close to that in Minneapolis [in the first two rounds] and now it's their turn," Cyclones guard Michael Nurse said. "We have played road games before and we can take the opponent crowds out of the game." Iowa State star Marcus Fizer said the Cyclones will have their share of noisy fans. "They're going to be supporting us 100 percent," Fizer said. "This place is going to be full, but the circle of Michigan State fans is not going to be complete because we're going to have our section of fans right there in the middle breaking their circle. Hopefully we'll get our game going out there on the floor and give our fans something to be proud of." Michigan State guard Charlie Bell said the highly partisan crowd at Thursday's game against Syracuse almost made him feel like the Spartans were playing in their own Breslin Center. "I knew there was going to be a lot of fans there, but when we got on a run it really got loud in there and it felt just like we were in Breslin," Bell said. Playing favoritesIzzo said he wouldn't mind seeing Purdue beat Wisconsin in Saturday's all-Big Ten final in the West Regional because Boilermakers coach Gene Keady has never taken a team to the Final Four."I guess why I would be pulling for him even more is sometimes I think he gets judged on what he has or hasn't accomplished in the NCAA's," Izzo said. "I'd give my right arm for winning as many Big Ten championships as he's won. It's hard to pull for one over the other, but sentimentally I think Gene Keady deserves to be in the Final Four."
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