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CHICAGO (AP) – Michigan State (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today, No. 2 AP) might have cost itself a No. 1 seed. If the Spartans keep playing like this, they're going to cost
themselves much, much more.
|  | | An emotional Joe Crispin led the Nittany Lions past No. 3 Michigan State, the highest-ranked team Penn State has ever beaten. |
Joe Crispin made an off-balance 3-pointer with 21 seconds left,
then sealed Penn State's victory with a pair of free throws as the
Nittany Lions upset the sloppy Spartans 65-63 in the quarterfinals
of the Big Ten tournament Friday night.
"Do I think we're deserving of a No. 1 seed? I don't know who else is going to lose. I would say probably not," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "Do I think we're deserving of a No. 2 seed? Yes, and maybe a No. 1 if the right teams lose.
"But you know what? I don't really care," Izzo said. "If we don't play better and win the battle of the effort stats, we're not going to accomplish what we need to accomplish."
It was an all-around ugly effort from the second-ranked Spartans
(24-4), who won a share of their fourth consecutive regular-season
title and were looking for their third straight tournament crown.
They couldn't take care of the ball, turning it over 17 times and giving up a whopping 21 points off the miscues.
They also couldn't make free throws, going 16-for-30 from the
line. The only thing that kept second-seeded Michigan State in the
game was its offensive rebounding, but even that wasn't enough.
"You're not going to win against good teams doing that," Izzo said. "And make no mistake about it, Penn State's a (darn) good team."
The Spartans are the highest-ranked team Penn State (19-10) has ever beaten, and the players rushed the floor as the buzzer sounded. Coach Jerry Dunn embraced his son and daughter, while Gyasi Cline-Heard picked up the Nittany Lion mascot and threw him over his shoulder.
The victory might have sealed an NCAA bid for the seventh-seeded Nittany Lions, who were on the bubble after losing three of their last four regular-season games.
"We were looking to come here and do something special," said
Crispin, who finished with 22 points, 12 from 3-point range. "We
feel like this locks it up."
If it does, the Nittany Lions have Crispin to thank. Penn
State's leading scorer struggled against Michigan on Thursday night
and again in the first half against the Spartans.
But he found his groove in the second half, and Michigan State
couldn't do anything to stop him. He had two Michigan State
defenders hanging on him when he hit the 3 with 21.6 seconds left,
giving Penn State a 63-59 lead.
"That's a feeling I'll never forget," Crispin said. "I thought it sealed the deal. But after Jason hit his 3, I wasn't so sure."
That's Jason as in Jason Richardson, who made a 3 of his own
with 7.4 seconds to go. The Spartans had no choice but to foul, and
the first player they could get to was Crispin. He made both shots
with 5.7 seconds left to give Penn State a 65-62 lead.
Penn State then called timeout, and Dunn showed some inspired
coaching, telling his players to foul. That meant Michigan State
had to make a shot, miss the second, grab the rebound and get off
another shot – all with only 1.7 seconds on the clock.
"I didn't want to give them enough time to get a tip back,"
Dunn said.
They didn't. Marcus Taylor made his first shot and missed the
second, but Penn State's Ndu Egekeze came up with the rebound and
the game was over.
Richardson led Michigan State with 19 points, and Andre Hutson
added 17 and nine rebounds. Charlie Bell had just six points, eight
below his average.
"Their players stepped up and made big plays and ours didn't,"
Hutson said.
The Spartans looked like they were going to have an easy time
with Penn State early. When David Chappell hit a 3-pointer with
8:40 left in the first half, it gave him seven points – the same as
the entire Penn State team.
But the Nittany Lions stepped up the pace, and you could almost
see the Spartans come unglued. Aloysius Anagonye fouled Tyler Smith
twice in a 70-second span. David Thomas turned the ball over when
he squared up for a jumper and the ball flew backward out of his
hands.
Adam Ballinger grabbed a rebound – and tossed it right to Jon
Crispin. He took it in for a layup, got fouled and converted the
three-point play to cut Michigan State's lead to 28-26 with 2:17
left.
After a Michigan State shot-clock violation with 1:41 left,
Smith converted another three-point play to give Penn State a 29-28
lead, its first since the opening seconds of the game.
"Who jumped up at halftime? Nobody jumped up at halftime,"
Izzo said. "That's one of the things I think is a problem with
this year's team. ... We haven't had the kind of leadership I think
you need."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Penn State Clubhouse
Michigan State Clubhouse
Nittany Lions roar in face of pressure
Big Ten Conference
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Joe Crispin draws contact, but drains a 3-pointer to put Penn State up by four.
avi: 1023 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jason Richardson slams home the Marcus Taylor miss.
avi: 585 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Zach Randolph gets the rebound and the putback for the Spartans.
avi: 713 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Joe Crispin pierces the Spartans' defense for a layup.
avi: 657 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Gyasi Cline-Heard drives the lane and hits a running jumper.
avi: 744 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Joe Crispin hit some big shots down the stretch to lift Penn State past Michigan State.
wav: 229 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jerry Dunn credits his seniors for the Penn State victory.
wav: 246 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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