What exactly was cramping Michigan State's style yesterday?

The University of Hawai'i upset the No. 4 Spartans, 84-62, yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center, but much of the talk after the game surrounded what appeared to be a contagious case of muscle cramping by MSU's top players.

Center Paul Davis and guards Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown and Drew Neitzel all had to be assisted off the court in the second half with leg cramps.

"To be honest with you, it was chaos," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "It was a MASH unit ... I've never seen anything like that."

Davis has a history of leg cramps at MSU, but he said he and his teammates were properly hydrated.

"We drank way more water than usual," he said. "On the plane, every hour everyone's drinking something. I don't believe it was dehydration at all."

Davis left the game twice in the second half because of cramps, and did not play in the final 13 minutes, 27 seconds.

Brown's case was also considered severe, and he had to be wheeled off the court on a stretcher.

After the game, Izzo expressed his anger at the Hawai'i fans who were booing while the game was delayed with Brown down on the court.

"When he was laying there and they were booing, that kid was in absolute pain from his neck to his feet," Izzo said. "That was the maddest I've ever been as a basketball coach since I've been in college."

Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace defended the Stan Sheriff Center crowd.

"The rule is, as long as he's down on the floor, the game is delayed," Wallace said. "If the fans were explained the rules, they wouldn't (boo). Hawai'i fans are very classy. They're not going to boo a kid that's hurt, ever."

In any case, the Spartans were not sure why the cramping occurred. They arrived in Honolulu on Thursday, and practiced that night and Friday afternoon, although not in the Sheriff Center.

"They had to practice in Klum Gym and Gym II, and those are probably the hottest gyms I've ever played in," Hawai'i senior forward Julian Sensley said.

TATUM TAKES CHARGE

Hawai'i senior Deonte Tatum proved his point as the starting point guard yesterday.

The 6-foot-3 co-captain had six points, four rebounds and a career-high seven assists.

"It's just the same thing I've been doing every day in practice," Tatum said. "But I would say today was more enjoyable than any game last year."

Tatum was replaced as the starting point guard late last season. Three recruits were brought in to challenge him this season, but he still managed to earn the starting role.

"I thought he orchestrated a great game," Wallace said. "When you get seven assists to only three turnovers, I'll take that all year long."

NOTE

Yesterday was Wallace's second victory over Michigan State — but the only one that counts. In 1981, as an assistant to Larry Little, Wallace coached UH to a 62-61 victory over the Spartans while Little was hospitalized for tests after complaining of chest pains. UH won it on Clarence "Pop" Dickerson's 20-footer at the buzzer. "Well, I'm 2-0 against them," Wallace said. "No matter what the record says."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.