Blowout over Idaho in season opener

MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said he didn’t know much about Idaho’s basketball team entering Sunday’s game. Turns out, it didn’t really matter. Junior forward Raymar Morgan and sophomore guard Chris Allen each scored 21 points for the Spartans, who opened the season with a convincing 100-62 win over Idaho at Breslin Center.

“This was a game where I really didn’t know what to expect because of the newness of (Idaho head coach Don Verlin) being there and of course their players, there are so many different ones,” Izzo said. “Kalin (Lucas) getting 13 points, nine assists and no turnovers was big (and) I think it was decent that we didn’t turn the ball over much as a team.”

Lauded as one of the deepest and most athletic teams in MSU history, the No. 6 Spartans (1-0 overall) put on a show that the Vandals won’t soon forget.

Using a potent concoction of thunderous dunks, torrid 3-point shooting and tenacious defense, the Spartans imposed their will on Idaho right from the opening tip.

Eleven MSU players cracked the scoreboard and four players reached double digits, including senior center Goran Suton (10 points), who joined Morgan, Lucas, Allen and senior guard Travis Walton in the starting lineup.

At times, Idaho (1-1) looked every bit like a team that welcomed 12 newcomers and returned just five players from last season. In the first half, simply getting shots off seemed like a moral victory for the Vandals, who turned the ball over 16 times in the period and 22 times in the game.

“They dominated us in every phase of the game,” Verlin said.

“What we saw tonight was obviously a top-five team, or maybe even better. I thought they played extremely hard and executed their game really well.”

Allen got the scoring spree going early with a pair of 3-pointers and a spectacular reverse layup that keyed a 25-4 run to begin the game.

Idaho guard Brandon Brown finally snapped the run with a 6-foot jump shot that also ended a 5:14 Idaho scoring drought.

The Spartans entered halftime with a 54-29 lead.

Idaho played with more poise in the second half, limiting its turnovers and shooting a respectable 48.3 percent from the field. Brandon Wiley’s dunk with 14:11 left sliced MSU’s lead to 19, but that’s when Morgan and Allen took matters into their own hands.

The duo combined for 20 points during a 5:41 stretch that saw MSU extend its lead to 37 points.

Morgan played like a man possessed in the paint, commanding double-teams and still tallying eight second-half points. Allen churned one highlight reel play after another, the best of which came at the 7:30 mark, when he launched into the air and delighted the crowd with a put-back jam on freshman Delvon Roe’s miss.

“Chris is a great scorer, he can shoot it from the outside and heat it up a little bit, and I started getting going,” Morgan said.

“Our teammates did a great job at feeding us the ball and getting us the ball where we could score.”

The Spartans will look to remain perfect Wednesday when they travel to Fort Wayne, Ind., to take on Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.

Published on Sunday, November 16, 2008