BY TONY HAYNES
East Lansing, Mich.—The Michigan State team that lost to Division two Grand Valley State in an exhibition game and barely edged Oakland by four points over the weekend did not show up on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for NC State, the Michigan State team that is expected to contend for the Big Ten title did introduce itself to a rowdy Breslin Center crowd of 14,759.
The result was a thorough and convincing 81-58 victory over the Wolfpack (4-2) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Getting 17 points from sharpshooting guard Drew Neitzel, 16 points and 12 rebounds from big man Goran Suton and 15 points from swingman Raymar Morgan, the 10th ranked Spartans improved their record to 5-1.
And this one was almost over as soon as it started.
Well aware that NC State was coming off three hard-fought games in four days at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, the Spartans came out running and crashing the offensive boards.
The 6-10, 245-pound Suton, who grabbed 20 rebounds in the narrow escape over Oakland on Saturday, scored Michigan State’s first eight points, beating NC State down the floor for a pair of easy layups within the first two minutes.
After Brandon Costner knocked down a 15-foot jumper to give the Wolfpack a brief 2-0 lead, NC State would go on to miss its next 13 shots. By the midway point of the first half, the Pack was already trailing 20-7.
“I think they did what they’re capable of doing,” NC State head coach Sidney Lowe said of Michigan State. “That had us coming in here and they were ready to go. They ran their stuff well and got out and ran the floor. I think they knew we were a little tired and they kept the pressure on.”
Employing a packed-in, physical man-to-man defense, the Spartans made it difficult for the Pack to get the ball inside early and enticed some wayward jump shots that led to defensive rebounds and transition baskets on the other end.
Six of NC State’s first 12 shots were 3-point attempts that missed the mark.
“They were very aggressive on the defensive end and took away some things,” Lowe said. “When we couldn’t hit the 3-point shot it hurt us. You talk about it and say ‘let’s not take that quick one,’ but when the guy is sitting there wide open he’s going to take it. Tonight, we didn’t have our legs under us. That hurt us early and they ran and scored.”
Following an MVP performance that culminated with a 21-point outburst in the Old Spice title game, Wolfpack guard Courtney Fells went scoreless, missing all seven of his shots. Adding to Fells’ problems was the man he was guarding. In constant motion, the pesky Neitzel ran Fells and others who tried to check him into screen after screen.
“They do a nice job, and the guys that are coming off those screens are flying off those things,” said Lowe. “They’ve got pretty good timing and you can tell that they work on it.”
Freshman big man J.J. Hickson picked up his third double-double of the season to lead NC State with 21 points and 10 rebounds. After having a tough time catching the ball close to the basket in the opening half, Hickson was able to get it in better scoring spots in the second half and scored 15 of his points after the break.
But on this night, it really didn’t matter.
With NC State shooting an anemic 21.7 percent (5-23) in the opening 20 minutes, the Spartans took a commanding 41-19 lead into the locker-room. Coming into Wednesday’s contest, the Pack had held its first five opponents to just 35 shooting from the field. Michigan State, however, had no such problems, knocking down better than 50 percent of its shots in both halves to finish up at 52.2 percent (35-67).
In running its winning streak over non-conference opponents at the Breslin Center to 30 straight games, Michigan State led by as many as 32 points in the second half.
The Spartans also owned a commanding 42-31 advantage on the boards, outscoring NC State 24-10 on second chance points after securing 14 offensive rebounds.
“It’s good to play a little better,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. “NC State is a very good basketball team and will get better. I think they were a little tired after the tournament in Orlando and we were able to take advantage.”
The only other Wolfpack player to hit double-figures was point guard Farnold Degand, who finished with 11 points, four assists and only one turnover. Degand knocked down 3-of-4 3-point shots.
Fells wasn’t the only NC State starter to struggle. Between them, veterans Ben McCauley, Brandon Costner and Gavin Grant combined for just 16 points and four for 19 shooting from the floor. Like Fells, McCauley didn’t score, missing all five of his shots.
NC State will now be off for nine days before traveling to East Carolina on Saturday, December 8.
“We’re going to take some time off,” Lowe said. “We really need to get off of our feet and get our legs back. That tournament with three games in four nights was pretty tough on us.”
Courtesy: Associated Press
