For Spartans, 'Six Eyes' Are Better Than Two Owls

By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 21, 2008

DENVER, March 20 -- Tom Izzo has led Michigan State to three Final Fours this decade, so he understands, perhaps better than anyone, what this time of year demands. His experience made for an unsettling past few weeks, as his team played defense he deemed unfit for the NCAA tournament. Once the regular season concluded, Izzo drilled a single message to his team.

"It's one-and-done time," he said. "And things have to change."

In a 72-61 victory Thursday over 12th-seeded Temple at Pepsi Center, the fifth-seeded Spartans (26-8) advanced to the second round of the South Region by playing defense that allayed Izzo's concern. Michigan State held the Owls' leading scorers, Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale, to 19 combined points, 17 below their season average.

The victory set up a bruising blue-collar matchup with fourth-seeded Pittsburgh on Saturday in the second round. Both teams pride themselves on stout defense and rebounding, and on Thursday, the Spartans returned to those principles.

"Defensively, for the most part, we were as good as we've been for a long time," Izzo said.

Christmas and Tyndale are pictured on the cover of Temple's media guide wearing boxing gloves, fists raised and sneering. The duo is labeled "Temple's One-Two Punch."

For an entire season they were, two Philadelphia-tough players who led the Owls (21-13) to the Atlantic 10 tournament championship. Tyndale came in averaging 15.9 points per game, but Christmas was seen as even more dangerous. He led the Atlantic 10 at 20.2 points per game and was named the conference tournament's most outstanding player.

"We knew if we didn't stop Christmas," Izzo said, "we were going home."

Years from now, when Coach Fran Dunphy recalls his first NCAA tournament game at Temple, he will curse Raymar Morgan. More than any other Spartan, Morgan hounded Christmas into his worst game of the season. Christmas, a 6-foot-5 swingman, missed his first six shots and did not score until 13 minutes 27 seconds remained, at which point the Spartans led, 44-30. He finished with three points on 1-of-12 shooting.

"I just tried to press up on him, keep a hand in his face," Morgan said. "I also have to thank my teammates."

While Morgan played the leading defensive role, he received help. Izzo employed a defense he dubbed "Six Eyes." While Morgan harassed Christmas, guards Drew Neitzel and Travis Walton -- owners of the other four eyes between them -- lurked behind him, ready to stop penetration.

Izzo borrowed the scheme from how the Detroit Pistons guarded Michael Jordan in the late 1980s, a strategy known as the "Jordan Rules." "It was just something we stole from somebody," Izzo said.

Said Christmas, "That's probably the toughest defensive team I've played all my career."

As Neitzel drew the brunt of Temple's defensive pressure, he dropped the ball to center Drew Naymick, who finished with 10 points, for easy dunks. Neitzel made only 2 of 11 shots, but five other Spartans scored at least eight points.

"If I'm having a bad game, somebody is picking up the slack," Neitzel said. "That's a bonus, and something that can help us make a deep run in this tournament."

¿ PITTSBURGH 82, ORAL ROBERTS 63: The Panthers continued the torrid streak they began last week by winning the Big East tournament, fending off an early push by the Summit League's representative by scoring 18 consecutive points midway through the first half.

Pittsburgh, paced by the three-point shooting of Levance Fields and Ronald Ramon and physical inside play, led 47-24 at halftime and held at least a 16-point advantage for the entire second half. Fields emerged as one of the tournament's early stars, scoring 16 of his 23 points in the first half, making four of his seven three-point attempts and handing out seven assists.

The Panthers won four games in four days last week to claim the Big East tournament title, a grueling run that many believed would wear down Pittsburgh and undermine its NCAA tournament chances. The last team to win the Big East tournament by winning four games, Syracuse in 2006, lost its first-round game as a No. 5 seed.

But Pittsburgh (27-9), which last week barely was ensured of a spot in this tournament, played like a possible championship contender.

"If they play like they did today, they're going to be hard to beat," said Coach Scott Sutton, whose Golden Eagles finished 24-9. "That's the best team we've seen all year."