MSU named hoops program of the decade by SI

Posted: 3:31 p.m. Dec. 16, 2009
MSU named hoops program of the decade by SI

POSTED BY JAMES JAHNKE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Now here's an honor.

Michigan State has been named the college basketball program of the decade by Sports Illustrated. Here's how the magazine summed up the Spartans' qualifications:

It's hard to go against North Carolina, which went to four Final Fours and won two titles, or Florida, which in 2006-07 became college basketball's first repeat champion in 15 years. But while the Spartans only won a single championship (in 2000), they also went to four Final Fours. Moreover, unlike the other two candidates, the Spartans made the NCAA tournament every year this decade. That is a remarkable achievement in an era when the best teams so frequently lose young players to the pros.

The Spartans also were honored, in a way, for one of their shortcomings. Their 109-103, triple-overtime defeat at the hands of Gonzaga on Nov. 22, 2005, was named the regular-season game of the decade. SI's words, again:

It was just an early season game in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational, but it was a classic nonetheless. Led by Adam Morrison's 43 points, Gonzaga outlasted the Spartans in a marathon that featured 13 lead changes in the final seven and half minutes of regulation, including four in the final 1:14.

Not bad, eh, Sparties?