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MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- With the upset bug making the rounds at the 2001 NCAA Tournament, Michigan State maintained the perfect record of No. 1 seeds. Andre Hutson made all seven shots from the field, scoring 15 points, and collected 11 rebounds as defending national champion Michigan State rolled to a 69-35 rout of 16th-seeded Alabama State in a first-round South Region matchup. The Spartans (25-4) outscored the Hornets, 40-10, in the second half as Michigan State advanced to the second round on Sunday to face the winner of the California-Fresno State game. "I never felt like we would lose the game," said Spartans coach Tom Izzo, whose team had just a four-point advantage at the break. "I was a little concerned at halftime because I just didn't know how we were responding. But at the start of the second half, once we got our running game going, I thought we responded well." No. 1 seeds are 68-0 in the NCAA Tournament since it was expanded to 64 -- now 65 -- teams in 1985. Jason Richardson added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting as Michigan State continued its quest to become the first school to successfully defend its title since Duke won back-to-back crowns in 1991-92. Richardson dunked to ignite Michigan State's 10-2 run during the first 4:02 of the second half. That opened a 39-27 cushion for the Spartans and effectively ended Alabama State's giant-killing dreams. The Hornets were held to just 13 percent (4-of-30) shooting in the final 20 minutes as Alabama State's 35 points marked the lowest total in South Regional history. Tyrone Levett sank all three attempts from beyond the arc to lead the Hornets (22-9) with 17 points. The junior forward converted a four-point play in the final seconds of the first half to keep Alabama State's hopes alive with a 29-25 deficit at intermission. "I watched a lot of film on him and I knew he was an athletic and quick guy," Hutson said regarding Levett. "I got a lot of help from my teammates to slow him down a bit (in the second half)." Charlie Bell recorded his fourth assist of the first half, finding Hutson for the jam, with 2:05 left in the opening period to match Michigan State's largest lead at eight points, 29-21, but the Spartans missed four straight shots to finish the half. The Spartans committed eight first-half turnovers as they failed to discourage the Hornets in the opening 20 minutes. "We knew we had to pick it up after halftime," Richardson said. "We came out rusty and have not played in two weeks. We wanted to get it going." Michigan State was playing just its second game in 13 days after falling to Penn State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference tournament. |
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