It was March 2002, and N.C. State was playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991. The Wolfpack’s first-round draw: Michigan State, which had advanced to the previous three Final Fours.
State did’t get off to a great start either, trailing 30-18 at the half and then having to send first team All-ACC performer Anthony Grundy to the bench with four fouls for much of the second half.
But two freshmen — Julius Hodge and Ilian Evtimov — helped pick up the slack with 14 points and 10 points, respectively, in the final 20 minutes of what turned out to be a 69-58 victory. Levi Watkins, a freshman on the team who was at the game but was sidelined with an ACL injury that kept him out most of the year, said it was a breakthrough for the Pack.
“Our backs were kind of against the wall in our first NCAA game in a long time for N.C. State, and then we were able to go on a huge run and win the game,” Watkins said. “So it was a great feeling.”
The coach at the time, Herb Sendek, was coming off a 13-16 season the year before. But he had guided the team to a 22-10 record going into the contest and was fresh off taking State to the ACC championship game on the strength of a win against eventual national champion Maryland.
Sendek, now the coach at Arizona State, declined a request for an interview about the 2002 MSU game.
Athletic Director Lee Fowler said the win against the Spartans meant a lot for Sendek’s program.
“It was a very good win and one that I think after a lot of years without being in the tournament, it showed that we could not only get in the tournament, but could compete and win,” Fowler said.
Tonight will mark the first time the two teams have played since that game, when the Pack takes the floor for a 7 p.m. tip-off at MSU’s Breslin Center in an ACC/Big 10 Challenge contest. The Spartans are by far the most-established team State has faced in the annual event.
“It’s going to be a good challenge for us, especially on the road. The guys, they’re not looking ahead to Michigan State,” Watkins, now the team’s video coordinator, said last week. “But they’re excited that we did get that draw.”
Fowler noted that such high-caliber games early in the season are a great way for coaches to see how their teams are progressing.
“It’s good to play those kinds of national powers to give you kind of a barometer of where your team is at this point and what you’re going to have to do to be ready to play those type of teams at the end when it counts about trying to win a national championship,” he said.
N.C. State and Michigan State in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge
N.C. State1999 @ Purdue W 61-592000 Penn State W 84-762001 @ Ohio State L 64-502002 Northwestern W 74-472003 @ Michigan L 68-612004 Purdue W 60-532005 @ Iowa L 45-422006 Michigan W 74-67
Michigan State1999 @ UNC W 86-762000 UNC W 77-642001 @ Virginia Cancelled, wet floor2002 Virginia W 82-752003 Duke L 72-502004 @ Duke L 81-742005 Georgia Tech W 88-862006 @ BC L 65-58
Sources: N.C. State, Michigan State
The LowdownNo. 24 N.C. State @ No. 10 Michigan State
Where: Breslin CenterWhen: 7 p.m.TV: ESPNRadio: Mix 101.5 FM
Last time out for MSU: defeated Oakland 75-71 at homeLast time out for N.C. State: defeated Villanova 69-68 to win Old Spice Classic
MSU’s only loss: Nov. 20 against No. 2 UCLAN.C. State’s only loss: Nov. 18 against New Orleans
-Compiled by Clark Leonard
Tonight’s ACC/Big 10 Challenge schedule
Boston College @ Michigan, 7 p.m., ESPNUN.C. State @ Michigan State, 7 p.m., ESPNIllinois @ Maryland, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2North Carolina @ Ohio State, 9 p.m., ESPNVirginia Tech @ Penn State, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
Source: ACC
