March 26, 2003

GAME: No. 7 Michigan State (21-12) vs. No. 6 Maryland (21-9).
REGIONAL: South, semifinals.
TIME: Friday, 9:57 p.m. EST.
SITE: The Alamodome; San Antonio.

A regional semifinal pitting two of the last three national champions is intriguing, even if neither Maryland nor Michigan State was necessarily expected to get this far.

One of these teams will move within one win of another trip to the Final Four when the experienced Terrapins take on the young Spartans.

Maryland is the reigning national champion, but entered the NCAA tournament coming off back-to-back losses and settled for a No. 6 seed in the South Regional.

"This is a team that wasn't expected to do it," Terps senior Calvin McCall said. "We've been fighting all year. It's different, and it's special at the same time. It's a great feeling."

Michigan State, which won the national title in 2000, endured an inconsistent and injury-plagued season before being given the South's seventh seed.

"I think we almost need to get our guys a little cocky to believe that we can do it," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. "But first, we have to prove we can handle success because we're getting patted on the back on campus. That's my job to make sure we handle that."

Maryland is two wins away from reaching a third consecutive Final Four and Michigan State is seeking its fourth trip in five years. They join Duke and Kentucky as the only teams to reach the round of 16 at least five of the last six years.

Both teams ousted high seeds to set up this contest.

The Terrapins beat third-seeded Xavier 77-64 in the second round Saturday, while the Spartans easily defeated No. 2 seed Florida 68-46 in a rematch of the 2000 championship game.

Four of Maryland's starters and McCall, its top reserve, are all seniors. Michigan State has just two seniors on its roster, but both Aloysius Anagonye and Brian Westrick are considered role players.

Izzo relies heavily on three sophomores - guards Chris Hill, Alan Anderson and Kelvin Torbert. They are the team's top three scorers, though Hill is the only one averaging in double figures. Hill, Anderson and Torbert also are Michigan State's leaders in assists and among its top rebounders.

"I told the sophomores, 'You guys have got to be like a special unit because we need you to take over this team a little bit more and to show more leadership,"' Izzo said.

That trio will have to keep up with a talented Terps backcourt.

Drew Nicholas, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer downed North Carolina-Wilmington in the first round, has led Maryland with 39 points in the tournament. Fellow senior Steve Blake has 16 assists in the first two games to increase his career total to 969, fifth in NCAA history.

Michigan State has limited its first two opponents to 110 points, the fewest allowed by any of the tournament's remaining 16 teams.

Maryland also played well on the defensive end in the opening two rounds, holding both NC-Wilmington and Xavier to 36 percent from the field. The Terps allowed opponents to shoot just 37.7 percent during the season, ranking third in the nation.

"We went through a couple of games when we didn't play good defense," said Maryland coach Gary Williams. "But we must have played pretty good defense to get where we are. Hopefully, it will continue."

Michigan State won at Maryland in 1955 in the lone previous meeting between these schools.

The winner will face either top-seeded Texas or Connecticut in Sunday's regional final.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Michigan State - F Anagonye, F Erazem Lorbek, G Anderson, G Hill, G Torbert.
Maryland - F Nick Caner-Medley, F Tahj Holden, C Ryan Randle, G Blake, G Nicholas.

TEAM LEADERS:
Michigan State - Hill, 14.0 ppg and 3.6 apg; Anagonye, 5.3 rpg.
Maryland - Nicholas, 17.8 ppg; Randle, 7.3 rpg; Blake, 7.3 apg.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Michigan State - At-large bid, Big Ten; beat No. 10 Colorado 79-64, first round; beat No. 2 Florida 68-46, second round.
Maryland - At-large bid, Atlantic Coast Conference; beat No. 11 North Carolina-Wilmington 75-73, first round; beat No. 3 Xavier 77-64, second round.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD:
Michigan State - 35-15, 17 years.
Maryland - 34-18, 20 years.