Tampa subregional

Seniors seeking return to glory

Two Michigan State players remain from the 2000 national championship team, senior forwards Aloysius Anagonye and Adam Ballinger.

After winning the national title as freshmen and getting to the Final Four as sophomores, they were bounced in the first round by North Carolina State last year.

Naturally, Anagonye and Ballinger want to seize their final chance at glory.

"I feel a real sense of urgency to win another championship, because this is it for the seniors," Anagonye said. "The trick is to make sure our sophomores and freshmen also play with a sense of urgency."

SNOWED IN: A massive snowstorm prevented Colorado from traveling to Tampa as planned.

Assistant sports information director Andrew Green said the Buffaloes, who were scheduled to leave from Denver, will drive to Colorado Springs at 7:30 a.m. today and take a charter at 10. They are expected to arrive around 3:30 p.m., and their practice is scheduled for 7:10-8 p.m.

Green noted the situation could have been worse. Vermont, which is traveling to Salt Lake City to play Arizona today, was stuck in Denver on Tuesday night.

SNEAKING UP: Michel Morandais is Colorado's leading scorer at 17 per game, and the 6-foot-5 junior guard/forward has made tremendous progress each season at CU.

His breakthrough came late in his sophomore season when he filled in for injured starter D.J. Harrison. Morandais, 24, had a 33-point game against Missouri and finished averaging 10.9 points, more than double his 5.1 average as a freshman and setting the stage for his breakout junior season.

He has been slowed by a sprained ankle the past two weeks but is expected to be near 100 percent by Friday.

MARCH EXPERTS VS. NOVICES: Michigan State has the sixth-best winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament, .688 (33-15), and CU is 9-11 in nine appearances. The Buffaloes have more losses than appearances because in some seasons the tournament had consolation games.

RARE TERRITORY: This the third 20-win season in Colorado history, two of which have come under coach Ricardo Patton, who is in his eighth season.

The Buffaloes, led by star guard Chauncey Billups, were 22-10 in 1997, when they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over Indiana. They were 21-7 in 1968-69 under Sox Walseth, their last NCAA appearance before 1997.

FIRST WILSON, THEN BLAYLOCK, NOW WRIGHT: CU guard James Wright goes by the nickname Mookie. He can only hope to match the success of former Oklahoma guard Mookie Blaylock, who helped the Sooners reach the NCAA championship game in 1988.

Michigan State Quotebook

Coach Tom Izzo on the perception the Spartans no longer are an elite team:

"That bothers me, and that's what bothered me about this (past) weekend. In my mind, I really, really believe if we didn't go through what we went through with our injuries, that we would have won four or five more games. It concerns me because we worked so hard to get (among the elite) and it was taken away so fast. But the reality is, that's the way it works, and my job is to build it back up again."

Forward/guard Alan Anderson on MSU's goals:

"You don't get anything for getting to the Sweet 16, besides maybe a button. It's all about getting the hardware you get if you win it all."

Izzo on his team's goals:

"I hope we aren't thinking small. That wouldn't do it for me. I think you don't have to win games to make your own name, you have to win championships. Winning the first weekend would be a great feat for this team in some ways, but I hope they're not measuring themselves on that, because I'm not."

Guard Kelvin Torbert on MSU's goals:

"Winning a few games won't do much for us. If we don't win a championship, we will not be happy."

Colorado Quotebook

Coach Ricardo Patton on assistant Terry Dunn, who coached at Air Force and Army and has been with CU since 1996:

"Coach Dunn brings a military flavor to our team. He does an excellent job in teaching; he's our drill guy on staff."

Patton comparing CU's 1997 NCAA Tournament team, led by Chauncey Billups, to this year's:

"Last time we were there we had five seniors and an NBA point guard and just a group of guys that believed they could play with anybody. We have more young guys this year."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright