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Neitzel, Michigan State take on Temple in first round

Mar 20, 2008 - 11:55 AM No. 12 Temple (21-12) at No. 5 Michigan St (25-8) 12:30 pm EDT

DENVER (Ticker) - Fifth-seeded Michigan State hopes to rebound from a disappointing defeat when they take on 12th-seeded Temple in a first round matchup out of the NCAA Tournament's South Regional on Thursday.

The Spartans (25-8), who went 6-6 in their last 12 games, blew a 12-point lead with eight minutes to play in the Big Ten Conference semifinal loss to Wisconsin, 66-64.

Senior Drew Neitzel, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game, averaged 27.0 in the two games during the conference tournament.

"We have all the ingredients and all the potential in the world to make a long tournament run," Neitzel said. "We were a five seed my freshman year when we made it to the Final Four."

The appearance in the "Big Dance" is the 11th straight for Michigan State, which is the fifth-longest streak in the nation.

The Owls (21-12) enter the tournament on a seven-game winning streak, punching their ticket by capturing the Atlantic 10 tournament title.

Junior Dionte Christmas leads Temple with an average of 20.2 points per game, scoring in double figures in every game this season except one. After scoring six points in the A-10 semifinal win over Charlotte, Christmas bounced back with 22 points in the 69-64, victory against Saint Joseph's in the conference championship game.

The winner will take on either Pittsburgh or Oral Roberts in the second round on Sunday.