MSU, Maryland gearing up for fast-paced game

---

Tweet

Spokane, Wash. — MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo has said he wants his team to be able to run the fast break as much as possible, but the rough-and-tumble play in the Big Ten sometimes prohibits the Spartans.

In their NCAA Tournament second-round game Sunday, Maryland head coach Gary Williams and his team will gladly oblige.

The No. 4-seed Terrapins, out of the ACC, are known for pressing the full length of the floor on defense and excel while accelerating on the fast break, led by guard Greivis Vasquez.

“I think Michigan State really looks to go,” Williams said. “When they get the ball, I think their transition is one of the best things they do and they will get it down there and take a quick shot if it’s a good shot.

And we try to do that too, we try to run as much as possible.”

Tip-off Sunday at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Wash., is scheduled for 2:40 ET on CBS. The winner will take on No. 9 Northern Iowa — which upset No. 1 overall seed Kansas on Saturday — in the Sweet 16 in St. Louis next weekend.

MSU and Maryland have met four times in their history, splitting the contests. They’ve met only once in the NCAA Tournament — a 60-58 MSU win in the 2003 Sweet 16 in San Antonio. Their most recent meeting came on Nov. 27, 2008 when the Terrapins beat the Spartans, 80-62, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., at the Old Spice Classic.

In No. 5-seed MSU’s 70-67 first-round win against New Mexico State on Friday, the Aggies’ defense pressured the Spartans at times. Maryland guard Eric Hayes said the Terrapins will implement much of the same pressure against MSU.

“We want to push the tempo a little bit and get it up and down and just have to see how the game’s going and see how each team’s playing,” Hayes said. “I think maybe we might press a little bit more against Michigan State just because they’re a little more balanced on offense.”

Rising star

Vasquez’s success at Maryland has been well-documented, but it’s the play of freshman forward Jordan Williams that has shone in the NCAA Tournament.

The Torrington, Conn., native had season highs in points (21), rebounds (17) and field goals made (nine) in Maryland’s 89-77 win against Houston on Friday.

“Any time I can play like I did (Friday), it helps me and my teammates,” he said. “They trust me a little bit more now and we’re playing together as a team.”

Williams led the ACC All-Rookie Team and leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game.

“He’s hungry,” Vasquez said of Williams’s play of late. “He’s a guy that wants to learn. He wants to win so bad that he’ll do whatever it takes. So (Friday) was a great game for him and his confidence level is going to be high. And (Saturday’s) going to be another challenge for him.”

History repeats itself

Beyond the teams’ match-up at the Old Spice Classic last season, Vasquez said he and Lucas got to know each other at the LeBron James Skill Academy last summer.

“I like his attitude that he’s got for the game,” Vasquez said of Lucas. “He’s pretty intense. When we were doing drills and stuff like that, he was going extremely hard. … He’s a good player overall and his team really needs him to have a good game for them to beat us.”

---