Sports Illustrated: Michigan State as the School of the Decade

Great Article in Sports Illustrated on the Naming Michigan State as the School of the Decade for NCAA Basketball.  My copy just arrived in the mail box…  My favorite does it again.. You Gotta read it..

Have to Share this with the Spartan NAtion.. There is much more in the article, I just pull a couple important parts...

College Basketball: Highlights and lowlights of the decade

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/2000s/12/08/cbb.highlights.lowlights/index.html

BEST SCHOOL: Michigan State
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.

BEST REGULAR-SEASON GAME: Gonzaga 109, Michigan State 103, 3 OT; Nov. 22, 2005
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.

College Basketball: 10 signature moments of the decade

9. "Here comes Mateen" (April 3, 2000)
Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves was writhing in pain on one baseline, having landed on Florida's Teddy Dupay after a hard foul early in the second half of the national title game. Cleaves was clutching his ankle and screaming, "It's broke! It's broke!" -- and a nation of viewers was wondering if the Flintstones' lead, as well as their championship hopes, would soon evaporate. Cleaves disappeared to the Spartans' locker room, but it soon became clear that he'd exaggerated the nature of his injury, as he returned to the court in faux-Willis Reed fashion to help seal a victory, skipping across the court in celebration. Coach Tom Izzo took Michigan State to three more Final Fours over the decade, establishing his program as a national powerhouse, but 2000 is his only season that ended with a win

Good Article.. A Must read over  the Holidays.  Great to see Love for the Spartans....

Sparty On !!