Sunday, March 27, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas No one quoted cartoonist Walt Kelly here Saturday. But either team or both teams could have.

We have met the enemy, and he is us, Kelly famously noted in his Pogo comic strip.

Welcome to the Austin Region finals (aka the Clone Wars), where Kentucky and Michigan State compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament Final Four.

Both teams believe theres strength in numbers. Both rely on blue-collar basketball: defense and rebounding, physical and mental toughness. A demanding, prodding, cajoling coach leads each team. Freshmen play point guard.

Neither team has that one true superstar or everybodys All-American, said forward Chuck Hayes, whose game epitomizes UK basketball. They had to fight their way to get here just like we did. The teams are the same. The coaching styles are the same. Even the direction and the path that we took here grinding out to advance to the next level.

Michigan State, which eliminated top-seeded Duke in the region semifinals, acknowledged the similarities.

They throw a lot of bodies at you and they like to get down on defense and play physical, senior forward Alan Anderson said. There are a lot of similarities to us.

But, he added, theyre not us.

Kentucky and Michigan State are not strangers. The teams have played five games in the past seven years. None decided by seven points, Michigan State leading the aggregate score 322-317.

UK reserve forward Bobby Perry dubbed it a clash of titans. In this case, two unsparing titans with the same ambition: the Final Four in St. Louis.

I dont think itll be pretty at all, Perry said. It will be an ugly game. Youre going to have to grind it out. The team that lasts the longest and keeps focused and executes will win.

Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo dismissed expectations of a grinding game. I dont see a beat-em-up 51-50 game at all, he said.

Yet the average score in the last five meetings 64.4-63.4 in the Spartans favor suggests a slugfest.

Im pretty sure if were able to get easy transition baskets, Coach Izzo will be fired up, said Hayes, who played for the Michigan State coach on the U.S. entry in the 2003 Pan Am Games. If we let anything come easy for them, youll see a quick timeout.

Anderson noted Michigan States grinding 78-68 victory over Duke. Duke was a tough game, a fistfight game, he said. Its going to be another fistfight game.

UK conceded that Michigan State possesses similar depth. UK has worn down several opponents, most recently Utah in the region semifinals. But like Kentucky, Michigan State has nine players averaging double-digit minutes. Each team has 11 players who average at least 7.2 minutes.

Definitely unusual, Hayes said of Michigan States depth. I dont think weve faced a team as deep as us this year and (a team that) can match us at every position.

One key difference might be scoring off the bench. While Kentucky has several reserves capable of a scoring impact (Ravi Moss, Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, Perry), Michigan State has two: former starters Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert.

Kentucky won last seasons grinder, 79-74, in the so-called BasketBowl, fittingly played at the football home of the Detroit Lions.

UK had the advantage in experience that time. Now, with five seniors or juniors among its first seven players (Paul Davis, Hill, Torbert and Anderson are 1,000-point scorers), the edge belongs to State.

Its a great asset, UK Coach Tubby Smith said. Their guys do not just make physical plays, they understand how to prepare. I thought we had a little slippage in our preparation (against Utah).

The Final Four should concentrate each teams mind.

The Cats suggested they are destined to return to the Final Four for the first time since 1998.

I think we do feel like that, Perry said. Its been a while since Kentuckys been to the Final Four. Its time to go.

Hayes all but promised a zealous effort from Kentucky.

You are definitely going to see hunger from this team to go to St. Louis, he said.

Michigan State expects to bring a similar commitment.

Every minute youre out there, try to spill it, Anderson said of the Spartans expected effort. Dont try to save yourself.

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