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Sporting News, The, March 23, 1998 by Steve Harrison

The first concept is the Get-Rough Theory Izzo discovered in the hotel hallway. The Spartans must bump the Tigers so they can't run their cuts. Timing is critical to the Princeton offense. It must be disrupted.

Another concept is to pressure the ball. If a guy has arms in his face, it's hard to get off a clean pass, much less see cutters. Vegas, they discover watching tape, rarely hawked the ball. But there are two concerns.

First, the Spartans are aggressive, athletic kids. When they see a problem, they want to smother it. But the other four defenders must step back and play the passing lanes. Pressure on the ball, deny the pass. Second, never double-team--that leads to an open man. And Princeton always finds the open man.

We can't double on the frickin' ball," Izzo says. "We have to use our athletic ability to stay with them.

The room grows quieter. The coaches are running on fumes. They aren't talking as much--or as loud--but they still plug away.

They've zipped through commercials and half-time, but it has taken longer to study the Princeton-Vegas game than it did to play it. Sometimes they watch a play several times because of a neat discovery--they notice that when the shot dock is winding down, Henderson or Earl signal a play by rubbing their chin. Sometimes they watch for pleasure. Once, Princeton managed to go backdoor when Vegas was in a 2-3 zone, which is nearly impossible.

"You just got to love this," Izzo says after watching Earl get an open look under the goal. Except that we have to play them.

Still, the coach is encouraged. He now knows the Tigers aren't perfect shooters. They miss plenty of 3-pointers and a fair amount of free throws. "They're good," he tells his staff. "But after watching this tape, I know we can win. Vegas did a lot of things wrong."

Shortly after 3 a.m., Izzo grabs a tape and heads for his room. He opens the door, splashing his assistants with fluorescent light They stay put and pop in the North Carolina-Princeton game, the Tigers' only regular-season loss.

They don't move for another 90 minutes.

9:15 a.m.: After dime hours of sleep, Izzo and staff are back in the conference room in their standard positions. Sunlight creeps through the curtains. On the projection screen, Princeton creeps past NC State in November.

They like this tape because the Wolfpack played tough defense. But it shows that a team can play tough for 30 seconds a possession and still get embarrassed. On the screen, the score tied 36-36 with a few seconds left, Princeton has the ball, and an NC State defender misses a cutter running from the top of the key. Bang! Princeton wins.

The Michigan State brain trust groans.

"Remember what we tell our players," Izzo tells his staff, "Never relax."

9:30 a.m.: This is the first time the team watches the Tigers on tape. The Spartans do it in three 20-minute sessions. If they're forced to watch any longer, Izzo figures they'll get bored. But the Spartans treat the Jersey kids like Pamela Lee Anderson. Their eyes don't leave the screen.