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Friday, March 30
Spartans have to stay tough
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Sure, Michigan State can get up and run and might possess the best
open-court player in the NCAA in Jason Richardson.
But this Spartan team is still like all the rest under Tom Izzo.
They are defined by their toughness and defense, and nothing else.
|  | | Charlie Bell has to make an impact defensively if the Spartans want to return to the title game. |
Izzo questioned his players' ability to defend and whether or not they had
the intensity needed to challenge for a third straight Final Four berth.
did that after the Spartans lost to Penn State in the Big Ten
tournament quarterfinals.
The Spartans responded by blitzing through the first four NCAA
Tournament games, culminating with a complete shut down of Temple's Lynn Greer and Quincy Wadley on Sunday in Atlanta.
To beat Arizona, they'll have to do more of the same against Gilbert
Arenas and Jason Gardner. That means Charlie Bell and David Thomas need to lock up the Wildcats' guards. Easier said than done.
"We just have to come out with the same intensity that we had
against Temple," Thomas said. "We definitely have to be on top of our
game."
The consensus is that the Spartans have to ensure that Loren Woods
and Michael Wright don't beat them inside. But the Spartans' staple is
their interior defense. It's the lockdown on the perimeter that should be
a given for the Spartans.
"We've got to make it tough for them to score like we did with Greer
and Wadley," Bell said. "We've got to stop their penetration and make
them put the ball on the floor."
This is the same old story for the Spartans. They've been here and
done that. To do it again won't come as a shock but more of an expected
result.
"We've been through all of this and we know what it's like to deal
with the media and all the other commitments," Thomas said. "We're just
getting the younger guys ready for it so it's not overwhelming."
The only thing that needs to be difficult to deal with should be
Michigan State's defense. If they stay true to what stifled Alabama State,
Fresno State, Gonzaga and Temple, the Spartans have a shot to get back to the title game for the second consecutive year.
Turning point: Losing to Penn State in the Big Ten tournament
quarterfinal. The Spartans needed to be humbled and the underclassmen had to understand what it takes to get to the Final Four. Losing to Penn State got the Spartans more focused and gave Izzo ammunition to get his players in line before the NCAA Tournament.
Bread 'N' Butter: Getting the ball inside to Andre Hutson or Zach
Randolph usually results in good things. Hutson and Randolph are staples
in the post and can be counted on to finish, hit a mid-range shot or get
to the free-throw line. Giving the ball to Jason Richardson along the
baseline usually results in something positive.
Red flag: Putting up a zone on the Spartans doesn't bode well for
them if they can't get the ball inside. Michigan State has struggled from the perimeter, and if they have to rely on 3s they could be in trouble. Thomas was left alone against the Owls and burned them; Arizona might take similar chances, but the odds are against Thomas from doing it again.
Mission: To do what has rarely been done before and win a second straight title. Duke did it in 1991 and '92. The Spartans want their place in history and would get it with a second straight title.
How to beat Michigan State: Make the Spartans shoot 3s, get Hutson and Randolph in foul trouble and get them in a tight game. They haven't had to handle too many of those situations.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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