A little Mo-mentum from Peterson
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
INDIANAPOLIS -- Michigan State whiffed on three quarters of its shots in the first half, playing into the hands of Wisconsin's take-no-prisoners defense.
Until Morris Peterson finally found his stroke, that is. Once he got rolling, the Spartans cruised to a 53-41 victory in Saturday's first national semifinal at the RCA Dome.
|  | | Mateen Cleaves shows his appreciation by giving Morris Peterson a big hug. |
Leading 19-17 coming out of halftime, the Spartan offense got rolling. Peterson's layup to make it 26-19 -- the third shot of the possession for the Spartans -- came three minutes into the half (he was fouled on the play but didn't make the free throw). The message was being sent.
Peterson's aggressive bucket propelled him and the Spartans on a scoring surge they used to run away with the game in the second half.
"You can't give up second and third shots and still beat Michigan
State," Wisconsin center Mark Vershaw said. "Every time we thought we were
getting back in the game, they did something."
Michigan State outrebounded Wisconsin 42-20, including a 14-2 margin on the offensive glass. The Spartans also had 13 second-chance points, to the Badgers' five.
Peterson had opened the second half with a bucket to give the
Spartans a 21-17 lead. He followed a Charlie Bell jumper with four straight
points to build a 28-19 lead before Wisconsin called a timeout.
Throughout the first half, the Spartans' poor offense (0 for 7 on
3-pointers, 25 percent shooting, one assist on six field goals and a combined 2 of
11 for Peterson and Mateen Cleaves) allowed the Badgers to stay in the game.
But Wisconsin couldn't keep up with Michigan State's defense. The
Spartans clogged the middle on Roy Boone (nine points in the first half) in
the second half, got in Jon Bryant's face every time he touched the ball (1
for 5) and never let Vershaw (2 of 11) get a good look underneath the
basket.
"We went out there and gave it a lot of effort," Michigan State's
Andre Hutson said. "We heard a lot about Wisconsin's defense, but we took
that as a challenge."
With Cleaves having one of his worst shooting games of the season (1
of 7, but 9 of 11 from the free-throw line), Peterson had to become the
go-to player. He scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and added
five of seven boards, including two of his three offensive rebounds --
beginning with the third basket of the second half.
"(Peterson) was on a mission," Hutson said. "He wanted to play for
his grandmother (who passed away earlier in the week) and made some big
plays in the second half. He did a great job rebounding, making tough
offensive plays and hit some one-and-ones."
Peterson ended up with 10 points in a 13-2 run that opened the second half, putting the Spartans up 32-19. Wisconsin never cut the deficit under double digits in the second half.
"Every time we made a run," Vershaw said. "Morris Peterson came up
with a big basket."
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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