KANSAS CITY, MO. “”mdash; Tuesday night, Kevin Love learned what it’s like to go up against the big men from the No. 11 team in the country: tough.
The Spartans’ sizable front-line was all over the freshman center, making him work for everything inside the paint. Love had to constantly fight for position in the post against the variety of big bodies the Spartans threw at him.
Love took it all in stride.
“I go against Luc (Richard Mbah a Moute), Lorenzo (Mata-Real) and Alfred (Aboya) every day, so that’s nothing new to me,” Love said. “We’ve got a lot of big bodies; we get in the weight room. That’s an everyday thing for me.”
Coach Ben Howland was impressed by Tom Izzo’s squad, commenting that their toughness and skill should take them far in the NCAA Tournament later in the season.
“I like how physical they are,” Howland said. “First of all, just look at their bodies … (Raymar) Morgan, all these kids are so built, so strong ““ they’re very athletic, they have great depth.”
The game was not a breeze for Love, who battled shooting issues early and on consecutive plays in the second half went straight up to the hoop only to get his shot rejected.
It was Love however who had the last laugh, totaling 21 points and 11 rebounds en route to earning the tournament’s MVP honors.
But Love also struggled on the defensive end. Late in the game, Howland subbed Love and Mata-Real interchangeably, putting Love in on offense and Mata-Real in the game on defense.
The entire Bruin roster felt the effect of the Spartans’ unrelenting physical play. The Spartans ended the night with 27 fouls and two fouled-out players in a contest where the referees were not calling an exceedingly tight game.
The two fouled-out players, centers Idong Ibok and Drew Naymick, owed their departures in large part to Love’s ability to draw fouls.
“I was just trying to draw fouls to get to the line,” Love said. “And it helped us in the end that we weren’t shooting one-and-one when Josh got fouled.”
Despite Michigan State’s physical presence in the paint, UCLA still owned the boards, as has been the norm for the Bruins. They out-rebounded the Spartans 37-28 and held a 22 to seven edge on the offensive glass.
DRIBBLERS: Junior Josh Shipp also earned accolades for UCLA, making the All-Tournament team. Filling out the team were Drew Neitzel from Michigan State, Stefhon Hannah from Missouri and Greivis Vasquez from Maryland. The trophy presentation immediately followed the championship game Tuesday night … Missouri took down Maryland 84-70 in the consolation game before the championship. Forward Leo Lyons led the way for the Tigers with 23 points and 10 rebounds.