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UW men's basketball: Another round of Neitzel vs. Flowers on tap

Adam Hoge  —  3/15/2008 7:43 am

INDIANAPOLIS — Get ready for another round of the Michael Flowers vs. Drew Neitzel saga.

Neitzel, a senior guard for Michigan State, scored 28 points — a school record for a Big Ten Conference tournament game — as the Spartans topped Ohio State 67-60 Friday at Conseco Fieldhouse, advancing to a semifinal today against the University of Wisconsin and its defensive stopper, Flowers.

In the past four matchups over the last two seasons, the matchup between Neitzel and Flowers has added some extra spice to a Michigan State-Wisconsin rivalry that has picked up since Bo Ryan came to Madison in 2001.

"It's not too often in your career or in a season you get another chance to play somebody that's beaten you," Neitzel said about Wisconsin, which won the teams' only matchup this season.

Barring a rare NCAA tournament matchup between the two schools, this will be the last time Neitzel will get a crack at Flowers and the Badgers, who are 5-3 against the Spartans in the eight games the two have played against each other.

When they met in Madison on Feb. 28, Flowers held Neitzel to just three points on 1-of-10 shooting in UW's 57-42 win, a far cry from the senior guard's performance Friday against Ohio State in which he hit 9-of-17 shots and made 6-of-12 3-pointers in 37 minutes.

"(I've got to) continue to be aggressive," Neitzel said when addressing his pending matchup against Flowers. "That's about it. Just be aggressive and not let him take me out of the game."

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo admitted after his team's February loss to Wisconsin that Flowers got in Neitzel's head, to the point where he failed to take open shots in the second half because he assumed Flowers was there.

Izzo, who is just 3-10 against Ryan in his career, is eager to get another crack at the Badgers.

"I am excited," he said. "I mean, they've had our number, as we all know. They've had a good team and have played very well. I think Flowers is one of the best defensive players in this conference."

If Friday is any indication, Flowers is on top of his defensive game right now. The senior held Michigan's Manny Harris to just four points on 1-of-12 shooting in UW's 51-34 win. Both Flowers and Neitzel could be battling fatigue tomorrow, however, after playing 34 and 37 minutes, respectively, in the quarterfinal round.

"We'll have to get Drew some rest tonight, but it's a time of year that, as he said, what have you got left to hold it for? There's nothing left," Izzo said. "You have to go with your best players and our best player's feeling good now."

Michigan State's Raymar Morgan, who only had seven points in Madison in February, said Neitzel is key to the Spartans' chances today.

"I think he'll be big, really big," Morgan said. "He's shooting the ball well, he's coming off screens hard and he's knocking down shots. That's what we need."

Adam Hoge  —  3/15/2008 7:43 am