It seems to happen once or twice every college basketball season, a day when bushels of the NCAA’s best get a firm slap in the face. Black Saturday struck the Top 25 last weekend — and even No. 3 Michigan State could not escape its wrath.
Heading into the Schottenstein Center atop the Big Ten standings, the Spartans (17-2, 6-2 Big Ten) lost 64-55 to Ohio State and fell two spots to No. 5 in the Associated Press rankings. Four top-10 teams in all — Michigan State, Tennessee, Wake Forest and Georgetown — were upset Saturday.
The Spartans — who bounced back Tuesday with a 91-64 win at Michigan — were doomed by spotty shooting and a superb performance by Ohio State guard Brian Brown. Brown scored a career-high 25 points and played all 40 minutes.
After looking sloppy in the second half of its 74-58 win over Northwestern on Wednesday, Michigan State’s offense fizzled against the Buckeyes. The heralded Spartans backcourt of Charlie Bell and Marcus Taylor combined for only 14 points on 5-for-21 shooting.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said his team’s inexperience showed in the loss.
“We all have to understand that if you lose a Mateen Cleaves and a Morris Peterson and you bring in two freshman players … it’s still a learning process,” Izzo said. “The hardest adjustment kids have to make from high school to college is playing tougher and harder.”
Ohio State’s upset supported the trend that says location, not ranking, is the biggest factor in Big Ten games. Entering the week, Big Ten teams were 99-16 on their home floors.
“I think it’s really harder for teams to win on the road if you’re a younger team, if you really don’t have the leadership and if you’re not great defensively,” Izzo said. “It’s been the hardest that I’ve seen, top to bottom, to win on the road since I came into the conference.”
TRAGEDY HITS HOME: Illinois coach Bill Self was on a recruiting trip in his home state of Oklahoma on Saturday when he heard news of the plane crash that killed 10 people, including two Oklahoma State basketball players.
“Here we are worrying about blocking out, or jumping to the ball defensively, or carrying down the side, but that’s just miniscule on the scale of real life and what they’re going through down there,” said Self, a former Oklahoma State player who also served as an assistant coach for seven years.
The small charter plane went down in a field 40 miles east of Denver. It was one of three team planes returning to Stillwater, Okla., following the Cowboys’ game against Colorado. Among those killed were Nate Fleming and Daniel Lawson, both redshirt freshman guards on the team.
It has been common practice for teams to charter several planes for road games, said Self, who telephoned Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton after learning of the incident
“I’m sure he’ll (Sutton) be a source of strength for everyone, but I can’t even imagine having to make the phone calls they’ve had to make in the last few days,” Self said.
RECKER REUNION: There are fewer familiar faces on the roster and “The General” got a dishonorable discharge — but Indiana still stirred up many emotions for Iowa guard Luke Recker, who faced his former team Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa.
Recker, who played his first two collegiate seasons in crimson and cream before transferring to Arizona and then Iowa, lit up the Hoosiers for 27 points in the Hawkeyes’ 71-66 victory Saturday. After Indiana built a 32-13 lead, Recker came alive, scoring 17 points in the second half to cap the win.
“I took a lot of heat and criticism when I left Indiana,” Recker told The Associated Press after the game. “That hurt. If we would have lost this one, I don’t feel I would have been able to show my face in Indiana.”
Coupled with his 17-point output Wednesday against Minnesota, Recker’s play earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.
