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Balance key for Spartans MSU spreads it around, advances to Sweet 16 again
Updated: Monday March 19, 2001 8:07 AM
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- There wasn't much Michigan State didn't do well Sunday, and that's why the defending national champion is in the round of 16 for the fourth consecutive year. The top-seeded Spartans (26-4) had eight players score six or more points in an 81-65 victory against No. 9 Fresno State on Sunday as they advanced to regional semifinals. "There's no doubt in my mind that they are a great team," Fresno State head coach Jerry Tarkanian said. "They execute well, they defend well, they rebound well, they're deep. They're everything I thought they were." The Spartans will play 12th-seeded Gonzaga, which beat No. 13 Indiana State 85-68 in the second round, on Friday in Atlanta. The four consecutive appearances in the round of 16 ties Duke, the top seed in the East, for the longest current streak. "I don't talk great about my team all the time, but these guys laid it on the line today and I have nothing but admiration for my team today," Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. "I know how good a team we played, bag the seed. We're not finished yet but for one night I'm going to soak this in. Everything we went over in the game plan and film session they did. I thought our play execution was the best it's been. I think every guy was focused and that's what we want." The Spartans held the Bulldogs (26-7) 17 points below their average for the season and, as expected, dominated the rebounding. Michigan State, which led the nation for the second consecutive year in rebound margin at plus-15.5, outrebounded the Bulldogs 48-32. Fresno State was last in the Western Athletic Conference in that statistic at plus-1.6. "They just pounded us on the boards but they pounded everybody all year," Tarkanian said. "That's nothing new." Charlie Bell and Aloysius Anagonye each had 13 points to lead the Spartans, who are looking for their third consecutive Final Four appearance. Andre Hutson added 12 points and eight rebounds for Michigan State, while David Thomas had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Bell said he knew what to expect as far as the defense went. "That's what this team does, everybody has everybody's back," Bell said. "When they penetrated or got it down low, the guards did a great job and the big guys did a great job of helping. It was a great team defensive effort, something we've been doing all season long." Melvin Ely, the WAC player of the year, led the Bulldogs with 17 points, but they came in 27 minutes as he fought foul trouble throughout and played the final 16:58 with four fouls. "It was a pretty physical game and they kept bringing in fresh guys constantly," Ely said. "There's no team in the WAC that plays like that and nobody we played this year who does things as well as they do." The loss ended Tarkanian's pursuit of a 14th trip to the round of 16 in 18 tournaments. The Bulldogs' win against California in the first round was his first NCAA win at Fresno State and first since he led UNLV to the Final Four in 1991. His other round of 16 appearances came at Long Beach State (4) and UNLV (9), where he won the national championship in 1990. "I felt we had a chance if everything went well and we got the bounces," Tarkanian said. "But we didn't shoot well. We had so many opportunities." Fresno State finished the game shooting 35 percent (24-for-68) and was 2-for-16 from 3-point range. A drive by Mike Chappell gave Michigan State its biggest lead of the first half, 34-20 with 4:49 left, and the Spartans led 37-20 at halftime, holding the Bulldogs to 29 percent shooting, including 0-for-9 from 3-point range. Fresno State was able to get within seven twice, the last at 61-54 with 9:35 to play on a jumper by Noel Felix, but the Spartans never let them close again. A three-point play by Jason Richardson started a 7-0 run that gave Michigan State a 73-56 lead with 5:07 and ended any chances of a comeback by the Bulldogs. "I thought we grit our teeth the couple of times they got within seven," Izzo said. "It was fun to see guys getting after it and getting after everybody and that's us. We still just want to be the same team that plays its tail off."
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