Sparty Basketball - A Michigan State Basketball Blog

T-Walt Goes David Thomas on the Trojans

2009-03-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Travis Walton carried Michigan State on his back as they beat USC 74-69 Sunday. His performance was almost identical to David Thomas's 2001 performance in the Elite Eight. Both players were ignored and given multiple open jump shots that they converted with ease.

Durrell Summers and Chris Allen stepped up magnificently also.

The Big Ten Tournament Guide for Spartans Travelling to Indy

2009-03-11T19:16:00.001-07:00

Please excuse my recent break. I have been trying to track down my own tickets for the Big Ten Tournament and neglected the site for a few days.

Since your blogger currently resides in Indianapolis, I thought that I would put together a few things that I would check out if I was visiting the tournament for the first time.

You Must Experience
1) Spartan Pep Rally - It occurs at the Westin at 7:00PM on Thursday and admission is free. I think this is the best part of the entire weekend as it provides an opportunity for alumni to interact with each other, and maybe even with Coach Izzo like last year. They also have free food at the event, but if I were you, I would get some food before hand because what they serve isn't very good. It's as if they transport pizza from Rick's Cafe in E.L. down to Indy for the event. If you like Rick's pizza, don't worry about it. Otherwise, Loughmiller's Pub is right next to the Westin and they have pretty good food.
2) The Big Ten Tournament- If you don't have tickets, don't worry, there are plenty of them that will be available outside of the stadium. Beware, however, that the face value of tickets for each session is very high. Your best bet to save some dough is to buy extra tickets off of fans and not scalpers. Especially fans of losing teams that are looking to dump tickets.

Consider Checking These Out (No particular order)
1) Coach's Tavern - This is my favorite bar in Indianapolis. It's your typical hang out place where you can throw back a couple of yellow pops before you go to the game. Its location is awesome as it is only one block North of Conseco Fieldhouse. The best day to go would be Saturday before the games as they will be having the prominent local sports radio station broadcasting live.
2) Slippery Noodle - This is the official Michigan State designated bar for the tournament. It's the oldest bar in Indianapolis and is known for its blues music. They have great food. The only problem is that it is not particularly close to the stadium. It's probably about a half of a mile away. But, you may find more Spartans there than anywhere else.
3) Circle City Mall - If you are staying downtown, you won't be able to avoid it. It's a popular city attraction, but really doesn't have many deals. It just looks nice.
4) Clauddaugh Irish Pub - For some reason, people in Indianapolis go to the Clauddaugh as if it's more of a bar than a restaurant. It's a very popular place. They are planning on having a tent outside for the Big Ten tournament on Sunday so it might be worth checking out. You can't beat the fish and chips at the Clauddaugh.
5) Fogo de chao - High end Brazilian steakhouse that is truly unique if you have never been there before. The food is unlimited and they bring you rounds of filet, chicken, beef, etc until you say stop. Vegatarians should avoid this place.
6) Broadripple - This is a particular neighborhood of Indianapolis that is known for having a long strip of bars. People from Michigan compare it to Royal Oak, but it's not as nice. The crowd is a little bit younger, but all and all, you can always find something to do there. It is about 6 miles north of downtown, but worth the trip if you plan on partying all night.
7) The Speedway - It's located out on the Westside. It would take you about 15 minutes from downtown to get there and I am told that they have tours daily.
8) Plump's Last Shot - This is a bar in Broadripple that is owned by Bobby Plump who is the real Jimmy Chittwood from the movie Hoosiers. The place isn't particularly nice, but it has numerous photos of the famous 1954 Milan high school team who won the state high school championship. You also could consider visiting Hinkle Fieldhouse which is less than 4 miles away.

If You Have Kids
1) Children's Museum - Is really great place for children. You could spend a whole day there and not see everything.
2) Indianapolis Zoo - It's smaller and more expensive than Detroit's. I would pass on it.

Friday - I will try to get a preview up in time for the game, but I can't promise as I will be at the Pep Rally tomorrow. I will also try to run down the games this weekend, but I'm not sure how much time I will have since I plan on attending most of them.

Michigan State Pays Back Purdue 62-51

2009-03-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

The Spartans closed the regular season by getting a hard fought victory over Purdue. The Boilermakers were un able to overcome poor second half shooting as they lost to Michigan State 62-51. The Spartans were led by Kalin Lucas who had 21 points.

Player of the Game: Kalin Lucas (21 points, 5 rebs, 4 assists)

What Went Well for the Spartans
1) Defense - I will go ahead and blame Purdue's poor shooting on excellent Spartan defense although the Boilermakers looked like they missed a lot of open looks. Travis Walton continued his defensive hot streak and seemed to be all over the place. As a team, we also held Purdue to 4-23 from behind the three-point line.
2) Kalin Lucas - Kalin had a much better game than his 6 turnovers and 6-14 stat line showed. He did a great job directing the Spartan offense and was able to score effectively when he needed to. I wonder what was up with the undershirt?
3) Second Half Free Throw Shooting - When it looked like this game was going to come down to a free throw contest, the Spartans responded well by finishing 17-23 in the second half. Kalin was 7-8, while Suton and Allen were both 4-4.

What Didn't Go Well for Michigan State
1) Defensive Rebounding - Purdue is not a very good offensive rebounding team, but you would not have known it yesterday, especially in the first half. The Boilermakers finished with 12 offensive rebound for the game which is much higher than their season average. Maybe this was due to their unusually poor shooting from the floor.
2) Turnovers - We finished with 19 turnovers yesterday. Obviously, this is way too many. While I insist on getting the ball down low, we can't dump it in if it isn't open. Purdue was doing a great job denying our post men and we tried to force it too many times yesterday. We also had some careless turnovers in the open floor, especially in the second half. Raymar Morgan, what were you doing yesterday with just over 2 minutes left trying to throw the ball the length of the court?
3) Converting Offensive Rebounds - Yesterday's game looked just like the one at Purdue in this respect. We were missing point blank put backs that should have been easy twos. I guess we will have to credit Purdue's defense because this was the second game in a row that this has happened.
4) Poor Shooting - We finished 18-53 which was good for 35%. Much of this has to do with Purdue's defense, but this must improve in the post season.

Summary
I was pumped up after we won yesterday. After all, we beat the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten and won the conference by a four game margin. That is unbelievable.

After looking at the stats, however, my excitement quickly faded. 19 turnovers. 35% shooting. That's not exactly stellar. Did we win this game or did Purdue's poor shooting lose it? I mean, they only scored 20 points in the second half. I don't think too many NCAA tournament teams are going to have that happen against us in the future.

If nothing else, this game showed me that we haven't found an answer to our turnover problems, and when facing a great defense, our offense still struggles. I don't know if Izzo can correct either of these two things before the NCAA tournament. If he doesn't, we will be in a world of hurt.

Other Game Thoughts
1) Future Spartan Trivia Question - Who is the only Michigan State player to kiss the Spartan S twice? Ibok almost spent more time kissing the floor than he did standing on it yesterday. Actually, when he did play, he was busy being confused on which player to gaurd on pick and rolls. He left the shooter open twice yesterday.

DVD Giveaway
Congratulations to Ryan in North Carolina for winning the latest "Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball" DVD. I will send it out this week.

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Purdue Preview #2

2009-03-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

The long anticipated regular season finale is finally here except it lacks all of the attention that it once had received. Instead of playing for the conference championship, both teams will be playing to pad their resume for the NCAA tournament. Personally, however, I am looking forward to seeing how the Spartans respond to the Boilermakers' victory down in West Lafayette. Will they come out and show that they are a different team or will Purdue prove to everyone that, if healthy, they would have won the conference.

Purdue (22-8 Overall, 11-6 in the Big Ten)

Why Purdue Could Win
1) Pressure Defense - Purdue's in-your-face, high pressure defense tore us up in the last contest. It obviously frustrated our players as it forced a season high 22 turnovers. Michigan State will have to play with better focus this time around.
2) Three Point Shooting - Although the Boilermakers finished only 6-22 from behind the line, the majority of those three balls came in the first half off of open looks. The Spartans will have to tighten up their perimeter defense and not let Robbie Hummel get hot again.
3) JuJuan Johnson - Robbie Hummel's early outside shooting opened things up on the inside for JuJuan Johnson in the first game. He finished 5-7 from the field with 17 points. This can't happen again.
4) Efficient Offense Purdue still ranks second in the Big Ten in FG%. They are converting on over 46% of their shots from the field.
5) Defensive Rebounding - The Boilermakers are excellent defensive rebounders, despite their team's +0.6 rebounding margin. Earlier in the year, they even had more defensive rebounds that Michigan State. If they can limit Michigan State's second chance points, the Spartans will be in a world of hurt.

Spartan Keys to Victory
1) Let 'Em Play - With the conference championship wrapped up, I think it is time to let the horses run. Even with regards to seeding, this game is much more important for Purdue than it is for us. Let's counteract their pressure with an all out Y-ball attack. If they are going to be in Lucas's face the entire length of the court, then let him go all out. Don't make him run a robotic, structured offense that they have been preparing for all week. Maybe even throw some high pressure defense back at Purdue and see how they respond.
2) Limit Turnovers - As always, we have to take care of the ball.
3) Convert Offensive Rebounds - In the last game, we dominated the offensive glass with 15 boards, but we convert on less than a handful of them. Not converting on an offensive board might as well be categorized as a turnover. And, as you know, we already have too many of those.
4) X-Factors - Step up Allen and Summers. We need you.
5) Seniors - If it's me, I'm starting all of them. Izzo is worried that our lineup would be too big. Hey Coach, you started Herzog against Wisconsin because he didn't get into garbage time in the previous game. You can squeeze four seniors into the starting lineup to play the first two minutes. If you don't think they can match-up with Purdue, run some zone. Go with a 1-3-1 with Ibok out on top. That would be great.

Summary
Before the first game, I said that both teams had great defenses and that the game would be won by the team with the best offense. Unfortunately, on that night, it was Purdue. For this matchup, I'm going with the same philosophy.

In the last two games, I have been pleased with our offense. We countered Illinois high pressure defense well last weekend and executed to perfection. We also shot over 50% from the field against Indiana despite almost losing down in Bloomington. Our defense, on the other hand, has not been as stellar as it had been earlier in the year.

To beat Purdue, we will need to find ways to score consistently. I think dribble penetration is going to be key in this game as it will either lead to lay-ups or free up our big men for points in the paint. If nothing else, it will open up what should be the third option (an outside shot).

In the end, I think Michigan State rides their recent offensive success and finds a way to beat Purdue's pressure defense.

Michigan State over Purdue 68-58

Other Notes
1) Calipari Takes Shot at Michigan State, Others - The Memphis coach was defending Conference USA in this ESPN Article. Here is a quote from him:

"Ask UCLA and Michigan State if this league hurt us when we played them last year. We were up 50-20 on Michigan State. We beat Texas by 18 [85-67] in Houston. Teams in our league played us tougher than that."

Oh yeah....."You're a lousy f'ing softball player, Cal".

DVD Giveaway - Please Send Me Your Scores
I don't have many entries, so your chances of winning are really high. If you haven't seen it, it is a really nice DVD. It retails for $24.95 on Amazon.com.

Tomorrow - Purdue Post Game

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The Big Ten is Who We Thought They Were

2009-03-06T06:04:00.001-08:00

First of all, I want to say that I am so proud of this team and happy that we have won our first outright title in 10 years. It has been long overdue. Of all the teams that we have had during that time span, I am surprised that this team was able to grab the conference crown when more talented Spartan teams could not. The only logical explanation is that the Big Ten is not as strong as it usually is.

Remember the 2005 team? Paul Davis, Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown, and Drew Neitzel? They couldn't get it done. They finished 13-3 in the conference, two games behind Wisconsin. Two games!

What about last year's team? Don't you think that we would be better off if we were able to get Drew Neitzel and Drew Naymick back in exchange for our three current freshmen? Well, that team didn't even come close. They finished 4 games out of first place.

So what's different? Why has the 2009 team whizzed through the conference schedule and have a chance to win the league by a four-game margin? Is it because they are that much better than the other teams we have had? I don't think so.

Rather than just go off of what I think is true, I decided to look into some statistics to see if they backed me up. I used Pomeroy Ratings to support my case, and I must be honest, some of his data is way too complicated so I excluded some of it. Using the data, I was able to compare this year’s team to the last 5 Michigan State teams. If you look at the table below, it is pretty easy to see the difference between this year’s team and the previous 5.

First, let's look at our current team's Adjusted Offensive Efficiency. As you can see, it ranks last among all Spartan teams since 2005. This is not that surprising as we have struggled offensively all year. The next column shows the team's adjusted defensive efficiency where a lower value actually means that a team plays better defense. This seems to be our team's strong point as they only trail the 2007 team in that category. That team finished 8-8 in the conference, however, despite a better offensive rating.

Next let's look how our team compares to the last 6 Big Ten champions:

Using the Ken Pomeroy rating, it’s fitting that only the 2006 Ohio State team ranks lower. Our offense, again, is the worst and our defense is at best, average. Also similar to the Ohio State team of 2006, we played easier teams as their strength of schedules (SOS) are also the two lowest.

Lastly, the argument that most people give for why they think the Big Ten is better this year is because of the success that perennial bottom-dwellers Northwestern and Penn State are having. So, instead of focusing solely on the leaders, I took a look at the entire Big Ten. Luckily, Pomeroy averages the Pomeroy ratings of each team within a conference to come up with an overall conference average. The table below features these values.

As you can see, only 2004 had a worse overall average rating, thus defying the arguments of even the biggest Big Ten fans. If, however, you get exclude Indiana and Iowa, who are both horrible, the conference rating goes up to 0.87, which would be at least average.

In the end, we should just be happy that we have won a Big Ten title. Like this past Tuesday, a win is a win, and a championship is a championship. But, we need to realize that our conference isn’t exactly your mom and dad’s Big Ten.

Michigan State Basketball Notes

1) Travis Walton Selected For Seth Davis's All-Glue Team - Find the article here. Finally some recognition for T-Walt. Maybe Walton will win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Chris Kramer was not on Davis's list.

2) Goran Suton One of Eight on Cover of SportsIllustrated - They picked MSU to make the final 8. That's funny since they picked Purdue to win the Big Ten and they aren't in their great eight.

3) Izzo Punks Out - Not going to shave his head until after the tournament. That's not cool. Why not wait to do it until it all falls out?

4) Izzo Now Reconsidering Big Ten Celebration - Initially I was thrilled when I heard Izzo say that there wasn't going to be a celebration on Sunday because he had learned from his mistakes in the past. Well, apparently he hasn't, because he now "may" have some kind of ceremony after the game. Well, you better win the game then coach.

Other Michigan State News

1) Mushin Muhammed's House on Ebay - It looks like the economy is affecting everyone. He listed it for only 1.9 million.

Mailbag

Exerpts from an email I received:

Once you watch the replay, you'll see that the ref walked into MSU's huddle and baited Izzo into that technical ("I'm tired of you effing screwing me" is what Coach said).

The loudest I ever remember the Brez was the Kentucky game in 2000 during winter break, with no Izzone. 46-45, MSU.

I'll never understand how they lost to Wright State on Dec 30, 1999, either, but I know why they lost to Hawaii -- Leg cramps. That's why we lost to Hawaii and why we lost to Gonzaga in 3OT after we beat Chaminade, too.

Eric, CA

1) Thanks for the insight on Izzo's technical. I saw the replay and I think you are 100% correct. That referee should receive some kind of punishment.

2) I remember the Kentucky game, but unlike you, I wasn't there. All I know is that Assembly Hall was rocking. I was really impressed.

3) We should never lose to Hawaii. I don't care if our players are forced to go murderball and play in wheelchairs. That leg cramp excuse was over played.

DVD Giveaway

I'll be giving away another "The Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball" DVD for Sunday's game against Purdue. The correct prediction of the winner and closest margin of victory will take the DVD home. Please email me or post a comment to the website to be entered.

Tomorrow - Purdue Preview #2

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Big Ten Champs!

2009-03-04T05:06:00.000-08:00

Michigan State relied on another hot shooting performance to outlast Indiana 64-59 to win its first outright Big Ten title since the 1998-1999 season.

Player of the Game: Raymar Morgan (14 points, 7 rebounds)

What Went Well for the Spartans
1) Shooting - This was our second consecutive game where our offense came ready to play. The Spartans shot over 50% from the field finishing 22-43. We especially played really well in the first half by establishing Roe down low early in the game. He had all 7 of his points in the first 5:30. For some reason we got away from that later in the game. Instead, we relied on jump shots, which luckily for us, were falling in this game. If we didn't have one of our best shooting nights of the year, we wouldn't have won this game.
2) Raymar Morgan - Raymar played great yesterday. Like I said after last game, he looks like he is finally back although he still only played 22 minutes last night. He hit all of his shots from the floor, including a huge monster jam to seal the victory. How is that not on ESPN's top plays? It was a great play, and unlike most that usually make it to the highlight reel, it was a play that mattered. Ridiculous.

What Didn't Go Well for Michigan State
1) Defense - Indiana essentially dominated this game offensively. The Hoosiers dictated the tempo and were able to get any shot that they wanted in this game. Their long, drawn out possessions wore us down and we had many mental lapses that led to uncontested layups for Indiana. Shockingly, the Hoosiers won the points in the paint battle 28-22 despite their best weapons being Kyle Taber (a walk-on) and Tom Pritchard (a freshman).
2) Turnovers - The raw number of 14 isn't really that bad, but when you consider how the total number of possessions was lower than normal, you recognize how careless we were with the ball. Of the 14 turnovers, only 6 of them came off of steals, meaning MSU just threw the ball away, or more likely, travelled with it.
3) Technical Foul - Being at the game myself, I don't know what exactly Izzo did. Talking with friends, he was giving it to the refs, presumably about the travelling call on Lucas. Whatever the reason, it was a horrible mental mistake. Sure, the refs were calling every little ticky-tac foul, but it went both ways and to argue with them to the point of getting a technical is irresponsible. It lead to a monstrous comeback and I would have liked to have heard from Tom Izzo if we lost that game.
4) Too Many Jump Shots - Aside from the first 5 minutes, we didn't emphasize getting the ball down low enough. Once again, Indiana outscored us in the paint. Regardless of what our defense did, Suton should have dominated in the paint, and he didn't. Even Raymar, who had a great game, couldn't post up Brett Finkelmeier, a 6-1 guard. Did anyone see this? That little guy was pushing the hell out of Raymar down on the block and really frustrated him. His feistiness didn't allow a single point from Morgan in the paint and even created a turnover.

Summary
Having went to the game, I have to say, it was more of a nerve-racking experience than it was fun. For most of the second half, all I could think to myself was "Why does this always happen to us? Why do we lose these games?" How could we lose to Northwestern, Penn State, and potentially Indiana in the same year? How did we lose to Iowa and Penn State last year? Or what about at Hawaii in 2005? Or, for god sakes, how did the national championship team ever lose at Wright State in 2000? Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you.

But, on this night, we somehow managed to pull out of the second-half tailspin we were in. Raymar Morgan rose to the occasion and his spectacular put-back dunk finished off what was otherwise a poorly designed play to win the game. I probably will always remember how I felt when he slammed it home. Instead of jumping up and down in excitement, I gave a strong fist pump, belted out a cheesy "Yeah!", and then calmly watched the rest of the game in silence. At that time, I wasn't happy, but I was relieved. Relieved that we didn't blow a Big Ten championship in dramatic fashion.

Post-Game Quotes

"It's probably the most rewarding (championship) because of what we went through. It just doesn't feel like it tonight."
--Tom Izzo

"That play was just on instinct. I just saw the ball come off and knew that I could make a play on it. Luckily, I did. It felt great." --Raymar Morgan

"No matter how we won today, no matter the down moments, we scrapped and fought and went 8-1 on the road. Not too many teams can say they went 8-1 on the road." --Travis Walton

"That's the loudest I've ever heard them." --Indiana Forward Malik Story on the home crowd

Other Game Notes
1) Assembly Hall Was Louder Than the Breslin - Just to give you an idea of what I'm comparing it to, I was in the Izzone during the most recent "Glory Days" from 1997-2001. Last night, Assembly Hall was the loudest place I have ever been to. In particular, when they hit that three pointer to cut the lead to two points, I couldn't hear my wife next to me. Sure, Assembly Hall is bigger, but their fans really got into the game. No one has to tell even the alumni when to stand up. They know. They have lived Indiana basketball their entire lives.
2) Tom Izzo Declined Trophy Presentation - Apparently, prior to the game, the Big Ten had offered a trophy presentation to Michigan State if we were to beat Indiana, but Tom Izzo declined it. Thank god for that! It would have been brutal. He also said that there will be no pregame celebration before Purdue. I think that is a great idea too!

Other News
1) ESPN Article Features Flint Basketball - The link is here. It's pretty much your standard "blue-collared kids from Flint play good basketball" piece. It's not bad, but Jarred Field of the Flint Journal is fed up with this type of story apparently. He has his own response to this particular article. It can be found here.

DVD Giveaway
I'll be giving away another "The Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball" DVD for Sunday's game against Purdue. The correct prediction of the winner and closest margin of victory will take the DVD home. Please email me or post a comment to the website to be entered.

Break - I may be taking a day or two off. Check back sometime this week.

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Indiana Preview #2

2009-03-03T05:23:00.001-08:00

The Spartans continue on to Bloomington tonight as they look to wrap up the outright Big Ten title. Tom Crean will host Tom Izzo as the two will meet for the third time ever.

Indiana (6-22 overall, 1-15 in conference)

Why Indiana Could Win
1) Rebounding - This clearly is Indiana's strength. Currently, they are fourth in the conference in rebounding margin at +2. Compared to Michigan State's +11, however, the Hoosiers appear
2) Motivation - Indiana is coming off a great game at Penn State where they only lost by 3. Coming off of one of their worst years ever, this is one of the biggest games that they have all year. They are playing the Spartans at home with a chance for a big upset that they hope can carry over to next season.
3) Confidence - After their competitive first half against the Spartans earlier in the year, I am sure that Indiana thinks that they can hang with Michigan State. That game was much closer than the final score indicated and if the Hoosiers have a few things go their way, they will be in this game.
4) Assembly Hall - Once again, this is another venue where the Spartans have not played very well in recent years. Tom Izzo is only 2-9 in Bloomington and hasn't won at Assembly Hall in six years. I'm sure the place will be rocking since they are hosting the Big Ten champs.

Michigan State Keys to Victory
1) Efficient Offense - In their first meeting, Michigan State's offense struggled in the first half. They got off to a slow start and allowed Indiana to hang around. Kalin Lucas did not shoot the ball well as he finished 4-15. Durrell Summers also finished 1-11 including 0-8 from the 3-point line. Since that game, however, Tom Izzo has shifted the focus of the offense and has emphasized getting the ball into the post. The Spartans should be able to dominate in the paint so look for a lot of touches for Goran Suton and Delvon Roe.
2) Rebounding - As this is Indiana's strength, we will have to counter it and show them why we lead the Big Ten in this category. By cleaning up the glass, we will limit Indiana's offensive opportunities.
3) Perimeter Defense - Indiana is not a bad three-point shooting team. Within the Big Ten season, they are shooting just over 35% from distance. It will be important for Michigan State to defend the three-point shot as I think it is an essential aspect of the game that the Hoosiers will need to beat a more talented team like the Spartans.

Summary
I said this yesterday, but today's matchup against Indiana is the ultimate trap game. The Hoosiers fall near the bottom in almost every conference statistic and are obviously outmanned as their roster is filled with numerous first year and junior college transfer players. With that being said, they still have a shot at beating us. Crazier things have happened. I would argue that losing to Northwestern at home was less likely to happen than Indiana's chances of beating us down in Bloomington. Sure, Northwestern is the better team, but we were playing at home in a building where we never lose. Tonight, we play a worse team, but in a building where we struggle to win despite normally having a better team and we are doing so on only one day of rest.

In the end, I think that Spartans have too much talent to lose against Tom Crean's team. Indiana will play with passion, but I think the Spartans know that tonight is a must win game. They don't want their chances of winning an outright title to come down to the season finale against Purdue in the Breslin Center. Tonight is the night we get it done.

Michigan State over Indiana 77-58.

Other Michigan State Notes
1) Free Press Compares Spartans to '00 Team - The link can be found here. This is ridiculous. I'll tell you right now, that even if this team pulls off a miracle and somehow wins a national title this year, they won't compare to the 2000 team. Not only are they not as tough, they also lack the talent that the 2000 team had. That team had Jason Richardson coming off of the bench! This is a classic example of how a less competitive Big Ten is making Spartan fans think that our team is better than we actually are.
2) The Bleacher Report Ranks Top 5 Spartan Tournament Games - The link is here. It's not a bad list. Here's my own since Tom Izzo has been coach.

#5 - Duke vs. Michigan State 2005 - Just because it was Duke and no one ever thought we would win that game. Maurice Ager's dunk over J.J. Reddick was classic
#4 - Michigan State vs. Princeton 1998 - This was the victory that started it all. The Tigers came into the game 27-1 with their only loss coming to number one seed North Carolina earlier in the year. I was there in person and remember it clearly. The best was how the Spartans were winning by 2 with 40 seconds left and Mateen jacked up a horrible 22-foot three that miraculously went in. The rest was history.
#3 - Kentucky vs. Michigan State 2005 - The Spartans upset the Wildcats, but almost blew a late lead as Kentucky forced overtime on Patrick Sparks' three-pointer at the buzzer.
#2 - Iowa State vs. Michigan State 2000 - I still feel like we beat a better team that day. The best part was Mo Pete's back door alley-oop play to win the game. Why don't we run that anymore?
#1 - Florida vs. Michigan State 2000. The basketball wasn't that great, but the dramatics of Mateen and winning the championship was priceless.

Quotes
"IU has clinched 11th place in the conference." - hoosierreport.blogspot.com

I thought that this was pretty funny since it is written so matter of fact.

Tomorrow: Indiana Post Game

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Michigan State Clinches Share of Big Ten Title by Beating Illinois 74-66

2009-03-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

Michigan State looked like a different team yesterday as they scored effectively throughout the game and clinched a share of the Big Ten title. Kalin Lucas led the Spartans with 18 points and Raymar Morgan had 14.

Player of the Game: Kalin Lucas (18 points on 7-14 shooting)

What Went Well for the Spartans
1) Offense - Tom Izzo did a great job adjusting to the pressure of Illinois. We were able to get many baskets utilizing back door cuts. We also established our selves inside early and won the points in the paint battle 42-16. That is phenomenal. We also were able to convert some key Illini turnovers into points.
2) Kalin Lucas - He was back to his early Big Ten season form. He was able to score effectively and orchestrated the Spartan offense with ease. Early in the first half, Kalin was able to shut the Orange Krush up by answering momentum changing plays by the Illini with baskets of his own.
3) Raymar Morgan - Yesterday was the first game since his illness that I felt Raymar Morgan brought something to the table. He hustled and played well. He finished with 14 points in 22 minutes including a nice dunk in transition over Calvin Brock
4) Turnovers - Coach Izzo must have allowed his players to play more aggressive defense yesterday because we were able to force 17 Illini turnovers. Travis Walton had one of his best performances as a Spartan as he shut down McCamey and created numerous fast breaks after steals. He also shot the ball well finishing 4-5 from the field.
5) Defense - Although it wasn't stellar, the defense still played solidly. We won the rebounding battle, although only by 5, and we got some key minutes from I Dunk, I Block.

What Didn't Go Well for Michigan State
1) Chris Allen/Durrell Summers - I would have never imagined that we would have had such a great offensive game knowing how Chris Allen and Durrell Summers played in this game. Neither contributed very much which led Tom Izzo to let Travis Walton steal some of their playing time. Allen had more turnovers than baskets and Summers was 1-6 before his two late game dunks. These guys need to step their games up.

Summary
Yesterday's game felt different than any of the other games so far this year. Our offense looked very coordinated and we had almost every player contribute in some sort of way. Whatever Tom Izzo did this past week in practice truly had an effect because our players played inspired. They were beaming with confidence and it showed out on the court. Hopefully he can get this every night from now until the middle of April.

It still didn't quite feel like a true league championship, however. Maybe that will change on Tuesday night if we find a way to beat Indiana. Coach Izzo knows the importance of this game. In fact, the team isn't even going back to East Lansing. Instead, they left yesterday to go straight to Bloomington to avoid any unnecessary distractions. I think that is a great idea because this is the ultimate "trap" game.

Post-Game Quotes
"It was a panic decision. When we couldn't handle Tisdale. Ibok did a great job and stepped up for us." --Tom Izzo

I'd have to say that's one of the bigger wins I've been involved with. To clinch a share of it at a place that I have so much respect for... I thought we played, at times, some of our best basketball." --Tom Izzo

I agree. To win at Assembly Hall with the title at stake is an amazing accomplishment. The victory was much more than us just beating a #20 ranked team.

"This means a lot, but it's a share. We want to go to Indiana, play a good game and win it outright." --Travis Walton

I know you believe this T-Walt, but do your teammates? You better pound this into their head, because Indiana will be ready to knock off the Big Ten champs on Tuesday.

"With Izzo, fans might criticize his in-game decisions, but it's hard to knock his passion. I don't believe any coach is perfect, but it's hard to find anymore more perfect for MSU." Eric Lacy, The Detroit News

Very well said. As much as I criticize Coach Izzo, I agree with this statement. He is the face of the program and his passion trickled down and inspired our players yesterday.

Other Game Notes
1) Take It Easy Ref- Steve Olson missed the first few minutes of the second half due to illness. He went to the locker room, received IV fluids, and then returned to finish the game. A ref getting IV fluids is a little bit over the top for me. Just take a seat ref.
2) Tom Flailing on the Ground - In the second half, Tom Izzo was shown on his knees whining after Travis Walton fouled Chester Frazier on a 3-pointer. On his knees! What the hell? This is what Kirke from Wisconsin is talking about when he says that he can't respect how Tom Izzo conducts himself on the sideline.
3) Chester Frazier Wants to Coach - Link to the article here. Tom Izzo is quoted as saying that if Webber doesn't want him, the Spartans will take him. Speaking of which, it is about time that Coach gives Mateen a call and convinces him to join our staff. I always thought that he would make a good coach. Actually, now that UM-Flint is going to have athletics, Cleaves would be perfect for that.

That's Ridiculous
1. Sheyer Travelling - I'll quote Seth Greenburg from two years ago when Duke got away with similar calls against his Virginia Tech team: "Certainly, Duke is Duke. They are on tv more than Leave it to Beaver." Not only did Sheyer get away with it, he got to the line. Ri-dic-u-lous.

2) The Apprentice Cast - Dennis Rodman and Andrew Dice Clay on the same team. That's phenomenal. Too bad Dice got booted so early. The women's team, however, could have used a few more big names. One of the chicks on there is a model on Deal or No Deal. Another is a celebrity poker player. Apparently, Ricki Lake was not available.
3) Brandon Marshall Arrested - T.O. II was thrown in jail for disorderly conduct. He was allegedly involved in a fight in Atlanta. This is his fourth incident since March 2006

DVD Giveaway
Congratulations to Bryan of Fenton, MI who won "The Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball" DVD for his prediction of yesterdays game. He anticipated a 7-point Spartan victory.

Tomorrow - Indiana Preview #2

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Illinois Preview and DVD Giveaway

2009-02-28T05:20:00.001-08:00

Illinois (23-6 overall, 11-5 in conference)

Why Illinois Could Win:
1) Defense - The Illini currently lead the Big Ten in scoring defense allowing just over 55 points per game within the conference. They are holding their opponents to less than 39% shooting which also leads the Big Ten.
2) Efficient Passing - Illinois tops the conference in both assists and in assist-to-turnover ratio. They are also converting on more than 44% of their shots from the field.
3) Turnovers - The Illini don't really create a lot of turnovers, but they also don't turn the ball over themselves very much. Currently they are third in the league at +1.4. Any team that is has a margin over 0 could be trouble for Michigan State.
4) Home Court Advantage - Last year's victory at Illinois marked Michigan State's first win at Assembly Hall since 2002. Within that streak, we have had some miserable losses including the 2003 70-40 drubbing. I personally hate it when we play there, but I think that Orange Krush is great. If not for anything else, I like the orange shirts. It's better than plain white. The Izzone needs to go back to green by the way. Bring back the 1998 XLs with the huge neck holes for everyone to where.

Keys to a Michigan State Victory:
1) Efficient Offense - The scary part of going over the first Illinois game was how we actually shot okay against them, but yet the game was still close. In the first contest, MSU finished shooting 40% from the field. Tomorrow, we will need a similarly good percentage to assure a victory. We won't be able to rely solely on defense like we have in the past because Illinois has a great defense to. I know it is rocket science, but in order to beat teams, you have to score more points that the other guy. We will probably need to open things up a little bit on the break and if it's not there, we will have to pound it inside.
2) Rebounds - We dominated the first game in this area with a 42-30 edge. They did manage 12 offensive boards, however, and this was when we had a healthy Raymar Morgan.
3) Limit Turnovers - Obviously. The first matchup between these two teams was when our turnover problem first became exposed. We had 18 total and luckily, the Illini had an uncharacteristic 18 themselves. We can't have 18 again.
4) Bench - We will need someone from the bench to step up for us. In the last game, we got a great spark from Marquis Gray with 11 points in 15 minutes. Who is going to step up for us in this game?

Summary:
Tomorrow's game could be a defining moment for this Michigan State basketball team. They are facing a team that is sitting in second place within the conference and are going into a hostile environment to play for at least a share of the conference title. A win here and the Spartans would create some momentum that could potentially lead to a string of victories and even allow us to sneak into a number one seed if other teams were to lose.

The task at hand, however, is not easy. Traditionally, the Spartans don't play well down at Assembly Hall and the Illini have only lost two games at home so far. They even blew Purdue out earlier in the year in front of the Orange Krush.

For much of the Big Ten season, our offense has not been clicking. We haven't shot the ball very well and in the last four games, we haven't eclipsed the 70-point mark a single time. We also continue to turn the ball over carelessly despite Coach Izzo saying after every game how they are working on it. The failure to improve in these two areas leads me to go with the Illini in this matchup, especially at Assembly Hall.

Illinois over Michigan State 64-51

Other Michigan State Notes
1) Izzo Backtracking On Shaving His Head - Apparently, at the beginning of the season, Izzo said that he would shave his head if we won the Big Ten regular season title in light of the players cutting their own hair. Now he says that he will probably do it if they win it outright. If he was to do this, I would be shocked. It is so Bruce Pearl-ish, but I think it would be funny. He would get a lot of national attention for doing so, which might even help us out a smidge.
2) Durrell Summers Ankle is Fine - He practiced yesterday and should be ready to go for tomorrow.

Quotes
"Yeah, the door's been opened wider, but I want to win coming through the front door, not the back door."
--Tom Izzo after Purdue's loss to Michigan

Most of us would agree with this statement, but I must caution everyone that we definitely could lose to Indiana. Yeah, Indiana. They are a great rebounding team and in the first half of our game earlier this year, they played us very tough. The game was closer than the 75-57 score indicated. If for nothing else, we should be worried because I will be in attendance at that game. Michigan State athletics is 3-9 in games that I attend in the state of Indiana.

DVD Giveaway
I am giving away a free DVD of "The Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball" complements of Genius products to the reader with the closest prediction for Sunday's game at Illinois. Either post a comment to the website or send me an email with your prediction, the margin of victory and the total points. Who ever picks the correct team and has the closest margin of victory will win a free copy. Total points will be used for any tiebreakers.

So far, I don't have that many entries, so your chances of winning are really good.

Tomorrow: Illinois Post Game (probably a few hours after the game)

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Bitter Sweet

2009-02-27T04:59:00.000-08:00

Michigan Beats Purdue 87-78

Michigan was able to do what Michigan State couldn't. They shot the ball really well. DeShawn Simms and Manny Harris had 29 and 27 points respectively and the Wolverines shot 80% in the second half.

I honestly couldn't root for the Wolverines although thier victory really helps us out. With the win, Michigan State essentially can back into at least a share of the conference title if they have to. Hopefully, they take care of business and win out, but I don't think that is going to happen considering how we are playing. I think we will lose at least one of our last three.

DVD Giveaway

I will be giving away a free DVD of "The Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball" complements of Genius products to the reader with the closest prediction for Sunday's game at Illinois. Either post a comment to the website or send me an email with who you think will win, the margin of victory, and the total points of the two teams. Who ever picks the correct team and has the closest margin of victory will win a free copy. Total points will be used for any tiebrakers.

Tomorrow - Illinois Preview

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Michigan State Gets Past Iowa 62-54

2009-02-25T20:05:00.001-08:00

Michigan State won unimpressively yesterday over a depleted Iowa team. The Spartans were plagued by excessive turnovers and by poor performances from upper classmen. Delvon Roe and Korie Lucious were bright spots however, as the two finished with 16 and 12 points respectively.

Player of the Game: Delvon Roe (16 points, 3 rebounds)

What Went Well for the Spartans
1) Delvon Roe - He was the lone bright spot among the big men. He provided a consistent low post threat and shot the ball very well. He is developing a solid all round game.
2) Korie Luciuos - As I have said before, I love this kid. Not necessarily because of his ability to score, but because of his energy and his great passing ability. Tonight, he placed himself in the spot light by hitting three consecutive three-pointers late in the first half. These really opened things up for the Spartans and could have been the difference in the game. He also played pretty solid defense with his 5-second call being a great example.
3) Defense - Coach Izzo let our team play with a little more intensity on the defensive end and it paid off with numerous Iowa turnovers. We also dominated the boards and held Iowa to just two offensive rebounds. I don't know if I have ever seen that before.

What Didn't Go Well for Michigan State
1) Turnovers - I haven't seen one ounce of improvement in this regard since the Purdue game. You would have thought that the Wisconsin game would have scared our players and forced them to take care of the ball better, but tonight showed that this was not the case. We will not beat Illinois this weekend unless we are more careful with the ball.
2) Offense - We are not getting enough production down low and are still relying on too many outside shots. We shot 18 threes against a team who plays one forward over 6-7. There is no reason for this. After last night, our streak of not getting to 70 points is now 4 games.
3) Goran Suton - He was really that productive. He played 30 minutes and finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds against a smaller, less talented Hawkeye team. I was expecting more from him.
4) Kalin Lucas - Although he had a lot of assists, he still had some dumb turnovers in this game. We also can't have him not scoring until less than 10 minutes left in the game. What happened to him penetrating so well?
5) Marquise Gray - Although I am a big believer in this guy's potential, I am reluctantly giving in by saying that, at this point, I would turn to Green over Gray from here on out. I knew that Gray was going to get more minutes tonight and I was hoping that he would play like he did against Illinois earlier this year. Obviously this did not happen. Instead, he looked lost and had multiple turnovers.

Summary
In all honesty, Michigan State should have blown Iowa out by 20+ points. With their injuries and suspensions, the Hawkeyes are extremely depleted and probably are the worst team in the conference at this point. Yet, they were able to hang with us on our home court. That doesn't make sense.

After watching this game, I actually feel worse that I did after we snuck one out against Wisconsin. The Spartans have not shown me anything that indicates they are ready to step their game up during the final three games of the season. We are still turning the ball over, we can't score, and at least in this last game, our best players are not playing well.

Post-Game Quotes
"I would say you'd have to classify us as kind of dysfunctional offensively."
--Tom Izzo

"We would have lost (without them) and we could have anyway."
--Tom Izzo regarding the play of our freshmen

Other Game Notes
1) Did the Izzone Boo Roe After a Missed FT? - I had a similar reaction to Izzo. I didn't know if they were booing him, or if they were making noise about another play or something. I am hoping it was the later.
2) Travis Walton Featured on Big Ten Tonight - I thought this was an excellent piece on T Walt. It showed his pride in Michigan State and demonstrated his strong leadership qualities.
3) Dan Dakich on Big Ten Tonight - I liked his presence on the show. It's funny how he criticized Michigan State for not playing well, but earlier in the year when I hinted at Izzo being overrated nationally on his Indianapolis radio show, he scoffed at me.
4) "Spartan Roe-mance" - Was a great lead-in to the BTT. Props to them.

That's Ridiculous
1) USC Punter Stronger than OL, Faster than LBs at Combine - An Incredible story in the LA times about USC's punter David Buehler at the NFL combine can be found here. According to NFLDraftScout.com, Buehler put up 225lbs 25 times which was more reps than fellow teammate Ray Maualuga and projected 1st-round offensive lineman Eugene Monroe and Michael Oher. He also ran the 40 with unofficial times of of 4.56 and 4.63 seconds, which were faster than USC linebackers Brian Cushing (4.74) and Clay Matthews (4.67). There is no mention in the article as to whether or not this guy can actually punt.

Tomorrow - More Iowa post-game and details about the DVD giveaway.

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Iowa Preview #2

2009-02-24T13:30:00.001-08:00

Iowa (14-13 overall, 4-10 in conference)

Why Iowa Could Win:
1) Good 3-Pt Shooting - The Hawkeyes have continued to rely on their outside shooting. Nearly 40% of their offense this year has come from 3-pointers. Freshman start Matt Gatens leads them with a 38% conversion rate from behind the arc. He was held in check during the last matchup and finished 3-8 from distance with 13 points.
2) Free Throw Shooting - This is one of the few bright spots on this Iowa team. Within Big Ten play, the Hawkeyes have hit over 74% of their free throws. If it is a close game, this could make a difference.
3) Good Coaching - Despite their poor conference record, Todd Lickliter is doing a great job with this team. Just before the conference started, he lost his second leading scorer, Anthony Tucker, to academic inelgibility and his best rebounder, Cyrus Tate, to injury. He has still managed wins over Wisconsin and Michigan during this time. In all honesty, this is one of the most depleted teams that I have ever seen in the Big Ten and for them to have one four games so far is a major accomplishment.
4) Stamina - I just had to throw this in because they had four players play all of regulation and overtime against Michigan on Sunday. I have never seen that before. Four guys with fourty-five minutes? That has to be some kind of record.

Keys to a Michigan State Victory:
1) Score Early - I think it is important to jump ahead early against a depleted team like Iowa. We can't afford to let them hang around and think that they can win this game. The longer the game stays close, the more confidence that they will have.
2) Rebounding - The Hawkeyes surprisingly did a good job against Michigan State on the glass in their last matchup. The Spartans only grabbed 8 more rebounds than Iowa. Michigan State will need to continue their dominence on the boards.
3) Pound It Down Low - I didn't think that we exploited Iowa's lack of size very well in the first meeting. Cyrus Tate is their most dominate low post presence, but he has played very sparingly after he hurt his ankle. I think we really need to establish our bigs down on the block. Suton should be a big matchup problem for the Iowa defense. I also think that Gray would be a good option in this game.
4) Limit Turnovers - I should just say this for every game. We will have a hard time beating any team if we don't take care of the ball.
5) Push the Ball - Look for the Spartans to really dictate the tempo of this game. Iowa isn't nearly as athletic as we are.

Summary:
As appealing as it sounds, I do not think that this will be a trap game for Michigan State. I do not see any possible way that Iowa could manage to beat Michigan State at home with their limited roster. It would take 20+ turnovers from Michigan State and a very strong individual performance from Matt Gatens for the Hawkeyes to get the win.

In the end, Michigan State stays focused and eclipses 70 points for the first time in their last three games.

Michigan State over Iowa 74-59.

Quotes
"We have to improve offensively and we have to quit turning the ball over."
--Tom Izzo

"I thought he was a stretch at Penn State. Boy, was I wrong."
--Tom Izzo on the recruitment of Jamaal Cornley. Link to the article here.

Other Michigan State Notes
1) Izzo Ranked Sixth Best College Basketball Coach by Forbes - The magazine used a number of criteria, but essentially it goes back four years and takes into account Final Four appearances, championships, recruiting success, and graduation rates. Roy Williams was number one, followed by Bill Self, Ben Howland, Coach K, and Billy Donovan. In my own, unresearched poll, I put Coach K as number one, although I despise him. You can find the story here.
2) Jim Boylen Thriving at Utah - Link to article here. The Utes are winning their conference and are 19-7 overall.
3) Izzo's Name Still Being Mentioned in Arizona - Link is here. I can't see it happening. I see Izzo pulling a Barry Sanders some day and abruptly retiring, but not leaving to go to another university.

Free MSU DVD Giveaway
Keep checking back on the blog as I will be giving out DVDs of "Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball." This was featured earlier in the year on the Big Ten Network. I plan on having a contest of predicting the result and score of the Illinois game on Saturday.

That's Ridiculous
Just in case you didn't check out the link from yesterday:

Tomorrow: Iowa Post Game.

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Free DVD Giveaway and Michigan State Notes

2009-02-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

Michigan State Notes
1) Tom Herzog Featured in LSJ - The arcitle can be found here. The only thing more ridiculous than him starting the Wisconsin game is this article. Herzog reports eating 5000 calories and that his ability to gain weight and play well is due to an anxiety disorder. If he sees more playing time, I will have an anxiety disorder.
2) Rankings - Michigan State only slipped to #9 in both polls. I thought they would have slid further, but I'll take it.
3) Joe Lunardi Has Michigan State as #3 Seed in the South - Can be found in his latest bracketology. That would be a disappointment.

Free MSU DVD Giveaway
Keep checking back on the blog as I will be giving out DVDs of "Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball." This was featured earlier in the year on the Big Ten Network. I plan on having a contest of predicting the result and score of the Illinois game on Saturday.

That's Ridiculous
1) Lady's Weave Saved Her Life - Refer to the this link. I like the following quote: "I invested a lot of money in that weave and it saved my life."

Tomorrow - Iowa Preview #2

Michigan State Outlasts Wisconsin 61-50

2009-02-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

So, I have to be honest, I didn't see us coming back in this game. Halfway through the second half, I could help but think to myself "Michigan State does this every year." We choke. We don't live up to expectations. We give up two game leads in the Big Ten with only 6 games remaining.

As you know, however, we didn't choke against Wisconsin. Due to a combination of good Spartan defense and a long Badger offensive drought, we were able to rally after being down 12 with 12 minutes left and win convincingly by 11.

Player of the Game: Goran Suton 16 points and 10 rebounds

What Went Well for the Spartans
1) Points in the Paint - We dominated this area of the game with a 32-16 advantage. Goran Suton led the way with 16 points, but I thought Delvon Roe looked very impressive. Roe played strong down low and gave us good looks at the basket. He would have even had a bigger impact if he could hit his free throws.
2) Shooting - Michigan State finished shooting over 47%. Their 52% second half was very impressive and reflects their emphasis in getting the ball down low. It should be pointed out that we finished 2-9 from the three-point line, but the two makes could not have been bigger. How many of you out there wanted Allen to chuck up that three at the end? I have a world of confidence in his shooting ability and I still cringed.
3) Defense - Contrary to our Wisconsin emailer below, I think the difference in this game was when we decided to go to playing full court defense. For some reason, this seemed to fluster Wisconsin and even produced a few turnovers on their part. Normally, our "press" doesn't do anything to our opponents since essentially we just shadow their players up the court with very little pressure. In this game, however, it worked. In the future, I hope Izzo lets our athletes play all out, Chris Kramer style.
4) Crowd - If we could only have the 1979 team in the house every day. Maybe it was them, or maybe it was just because we were playing Wisconsin, but the Izzone was feeling it. They should be that loud every game no matter who we are playing.

What Didn't Go Well for Michigan State
1) Turnovers - When people think of Tom Izzo led teams, I think people should associate the words "turnover prone" just as quickly as they do "good rebounding." I don't know what the answer is on this. I think that Lucas has good ball handling ability, but even he still turns it over. Some of it may be our structured offense and its lack of creativity.
2)Tom Herzog Starting - This is ridiculous. You can't start a guy against Wisconsin because he plays hard and didn't get in against Purdue during a blowout. I like Izzo's loyalty, but geez, mix Herzog in at an opportune time during the game. Not at the start of the game against our biggest rival and in front of the 1979 team. Tom, you do know that Herzog is in the Honor's College don't you?
3) Durrell Summers - He finished with 5 points and one rebound in 24 minutes. Once again, we need more from him. I'll spare Chris Allen just because he had that dagger at the end. He didn't play very well either.

Summary
While it is nice to see that the sky is not falling, I take little comfort in this win. We were a few Wisconsin baskets away from seeing our Big Ten championship go down the drain. Looking forward, we have to find a way to take care of the ball and how to score effectively. Our defense is solid, but it can only do so much unless we find ways to put the ball in the hoop.

Other Game Notes
1) Lucas Steal and Lay-up Familiar? - Was the Kalin Lucas steal and subsequent lay-up with 25 seconds left very similar to the Alando Tucker dunk back in 2003? Like Tucker's team, the Spartans were up by nine and the victory was sealed. Shouldn't Lucas have pulled the ball out and ran the clock out? I personally would have thrown it down myself, but I also wouldn't have bitched about Tucker's dunk.
2) Lucas Had Rare Dunk - I probably have overlooked it, but I can't remember Lucas every slamming one home before this game. It happened early in the second half. It was a simple one handed jam on a break.
3) Sutton Reamed for Shooting a Three - Did you see Izzo sit him down in the second half and get right in his face. I could read his lips and he said, "No threes. You need to get your ass inside." While I agree with him needing to be a force down low, you can't give him the green light to shoot from the perimeter all season long and then pull him out when he doesn't convert from distance.
4) Krabbenhoft Gettin' Cute - I loved seeing the bounce it off the guy on the inbounds play not work.

Quotes
"I thought it was going to be our day when I started Herzog, and I did that because I didn't put him in at Purdue when I put everyone else in. The kid has worked so hard, and has been in here everyday so I apologized to him and told him I was going to start him the next game."
--Tom Izzo

So Coach, you are telling me that because he didn't get to play one minute in Purdue like all of the other scrubs, he gets to start and play three minutes against the badgers? That doesn't make any sense. If you told me that you liked the way he played in the Big Ten Tournament last year against Wisconsin, I would have given you a break. If you remember, everyone got in foul trouble forcing Izzo to go to Herzog. He played great then. Well, considering.....

"Goran has to bring it every minute of every game and as happy as I am for him, don't think he's off the hook. He has skills and abilities to do a lot of things, and so how I am going to get that out of him in the next three weeks because that kid could be a very good player."
--Tom Izzo

It's a run-on sentence, but I like it. Feed the big man. Tell him to stop labeling other teams as being dirty.

"Jud looks like he needs a whiskey on the rocks."
--My wife in reference to a shot of Jud sitting in his suite.

He probably was pissed that he had to watch this game.

Mailbag
Spartybasketball,

I am Wisconsin fan and I can appreciate what Michigan State's success on the national stage has done for the Big Ten. I also respect the athleticism of State's players year after year. Most of the aspects of the Spartan program that I respect. However, I have no respect for how Tom Izzo acts on the sideline. Bo does his share of lobbying the officials, but he recognizes when a legitimate foul was called against his team. By the way Izzo reacts, you would think that his team never fouls (which makes you wonder why else he recruited Al Anagonye). It's just childish and disrespectful to the game. Also, obviously Wisconsin didn't quite have it today and didn't seem to think they needed to score in the second half to win, but it's too bad the momentum changing play of the game came after a no-call on a double dribble by Suton.

Kirke, Somewhere in Wisconsin

First of all, thanks for visiting the blog. Let me respond to this with a few different points.
1) It's classy to recognize Michigan State's accomplishments on a national level. Unfortunately, they haven't translated to success in the Big Ten in recent years. Wisconsin takes that honor, even with less touted players.
2) Most realistic Michigan State fans recognize Izzo as a whiner. In fact, I just told a buddy today that Izzo is the kind of coach that you love to have (yeah, even I appreciate Izzo), but if he is on another team, you hate him. His red-ass face and flailing arms even annoy me and I'm one of the biggest MSU fans around. But, I have to say, most of the time, I agree with him on the calls he is arguing. I don't think that he acts like that just because he wants to. For instance, today, I found him getting upset numerous times at the refs, not for the actual fouls that they called, but when they called them. There were a few obvious fouls where it seemed like the officials half-swallowed their whistles making me think they were going to let it go, but then only to finally call the foul. That really pissed me and Izzo off.
3) Most Spartans wish we still had Al Anagonye. Ever since he left, we have lacked toughness.
4) I know what play you are talking about with Suton, but I disagree with you on a couple of points. First of all, I don't think that it was the momentum changer. As I mentioned above, I thought it was the full court press. You could also argue it was Wisconsin's inability to hit shots. Secondly, I think that the ball was actually hit out of Suton's hands allowing him to take another dribble before putting the shot up. I thought it looked funny initially, but on the replay, that's how it appeared to me. I did not hear what the announcers had to say about it.

Tomorrow - I'll try to get to some quick hits, but it may have to wait until Tuesday.

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Wisconsin Preview

2009-02-22T05:16:00.000-08:00

The Spartans look to bounce back into the win column today as they take on Wisconsin in the Breslin Center. Many argue that Wisconsin is our biggest conference rival, but it is hard to call it a rivalry since we have lost 11 of our last 14 against them. Michigan State has had success lately, however, having won their last three matchups in East Lansing.

Wisconsin (17-9 Overall, 8-6 in the Big Ten)

Why Wisconsin Could Win
1) Ball Handling - The Badgers are currently fourth in the country in regards to turnovers averaging only 9 per game within the conference. Only Northwestern has a better turnover margin at +5 within the Big Ten, while Wisconsin is +2. If they can get Michigan State to play sloppy, it will be an easy Wisconsin victory.
2) Rebounding - Wisconsin is second behind the Spartans in rebounding. Like Purdue, they are especially good at limiting offensive rebounds. This will be key as Michigan State's best offense so far this year has been an offensive rebound.
3) Balanced Attack - Unlike Big Ten team we have faced so far this year, Wisconsin is extremely balanced. They rank within the top 5 in three-quarters of all team stats. They are second in scoring defense, turnover margin, free throws, rebounding margin, third in FG%, and assist-to-turnover ratio and fourth in scoring offense, and 3-pt % defense. Surprisingly, this Wisconsin team doesn't get many steals or block very many shots.
4) Bo Ryan - This guy has owned Michigan State since coming to the conference. He is 11-3 against the Spartans with all three losses occurring at the Breslin Center. Although I am unable to pinpoint why he is so successful against us, he obviously knows something that Izzo doesn't. You don't have less talented teams and consistently beat Michigan State without being a good coach. Refer to this article by the Daily Gopher illustrating how Bo Ryan has done more with less over the past 10 years than any other coach in the conference. Would you believe that he has only had 11 top 100 recruits since 1998? Five of these guys are on this year's team! That is amazing.

My Keys to a Spartan Victory
1) Run an Effective Offense - In the last two games, we have tried to establish an inside presence early. We had success against Michigan, but our guards were not able to effectively feed the post against Purdue. Hopefully, we have worked on this since then. In order to win, I we must outscore Wisconsin in the paint. We can't rely on outside shooting to carry us. That includes shots one foot within the three-point line.
2) Limit Turnovers - This should probably be priority number one. If we turn the ball over, we are going to lose, especially knowing how good Wisconsin takes care of the rock. Hopefully, we have gotten the turnover bug out of our systems.
3) X-Factor(s) - We need Durrell Summers or Chris Allen to step up. End of story.
4) Free Throws - Like all Wisconsin/MSU games, I am expecting a lot of fouling. Wisconsin shoots a high percentage from the line so we will have to convert a high percentage of our own shots to win.
5) Bounce Back - The Spartans have rebounded from their four losses brilliantly so far this year. In those games, the Spartans are averaging 80 points per game and only giving up 69. Durrell Summers is also averaging 15.5 points in games after a loss.

That's Ridiculous
1) Tom Izzo Whining - I hate to do this to my own team, but today's article in the Free Press (here) is extremely untimely. While I appreciate the insight on the rivalry between both Michigan State and Wisconsin and between the coaches, the timing and manner of which he did it, was inappropriate. In the article, Izzo confirms what many already perceive about him already; that he is a whiner. His quotes are laced with the emotion of an eight-year old who just can't stand the fact that another coach in the conference seems to have his number. Here are all of Tom Izzo's quotes from the article:

"It really started with the dunk in the last 10 seconds of a game -- when you see every other Big Ten team holds it up and that didn't happen, that ticked me off. I said something about it, so that made every Wisconsin fan mad at me and every Michigan State fan mad at him. I brought it up and he acted like it was no big deal. Well, you know what? I didn't like that and I may not for the rest of my life.

"I don't want you to make a big deal about it, but he never ever said a word about it. Even when people said, 'Did he call and apologize? Did he do this and that?' No. Well ... we didn't do that when we beat them nine times in a row or 11 times in a row. And you know what? He beat us in the one Big Ten championship year, and that hurts, but we got Wisconsin in the Final Four and that was for a national championship."

"It bothers me, but I don't play the game. Do I sit there and say it doesn't bother me? No, of course it bothers me. But all it makes me do is work to do what I can do better and try to prepare them better, and eventually the players play the game.
"We're not hanging out, but I'm not enemies with Bo. We're on a board together, and I get along with Bo."

I remember the dunk in 2003, and personally, I think it was blown way out of proportion. Like most of the subsequent matchups, the bigger story was how we were favored to win and lost. I believe that Alando Tucker's dunk on that day rattled us, and by the statements that Izzo made just yesterday, we apparently still haven't recovered from it. Instead of approaching this as just another game, Michigan State has put too much emphasis on beating the Badgers and has since lost 11 of their last 14 against them. Since that day, In order for this trend to change, we need to forget about the past and play in the now.
2) Unfurled 2004 Big Ten Banner Happened Before - Everyone knows about the incident, but most are unaware that this had happened before. In 1998, I was in the Izzone on Senior night as we played Purdue in the final game of the regular season. The Spartans had already clinched a share of the Big Ten title with Illinois, so someone had the brilliant idea to hang the banner before the game. The result was Purdue upsetting us in overtime and we lost the outright title. Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.
3) "Why Does Bo Ryan Suck So Much?" - During an informal Q&A session during the Big Ten Tournament pep rally in Indianapolis last year, some guy asked Tom Izzo this question in front of approximately 500 alumni. Izzo respectfully declined to answer it. That would have been a better time to tell us all about our hatred of Wisconsin instead of the day of a game.

Summary
It's hard to predict a game after a loss. For some reason, when we lose, it always feels like the sky is falling. Today, Michigan State has all the motivation that it needs to perform well. They will want to play well for the 1979 championship team that will be in attendance and they want to stay one game up on Purdue for the conference championship. I'm sure that they want to win one for their coach also, but again, this should be the last thing on their mind.

Wisconsin is not as talented as Michigan State. The Spartans have the personnel to dictate a faster tempo, dominate on the offensive glass, and force the Badgers into poor shots. The difference will be on the sidelines and which coach will call a better game. While Bo Ryan doesn't have the horses that Michigan State does, it hasn't ever stopped him in the past.

My head says that momentum will get the best of the Spartans, but my heart says that they will not let this Big Ten Championship slip through their fingers, especially in front of Magic and company.

Michigan State over Wisconsin 63-60

Pregame Quotes
"I don't like Wisconsin. That's no secret. I don't think they like us, either. They're dirty, they push, they hold. Actually, I like Michigan more than I like them. That's pretty bad."
--Goran Suton

Again, just play the game G. We push. We hold. "It's the Big [Ten]. This ain't intramurals!"

Tomorrow - Wisconsin Post Game

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While I Was Gone.......

2009-02-21T05:03:00.000-08:00

Michigan State Notes While I Was Gone
1) Michigan State is Joaquin Phoenix - A must read by former Bigtenwonk author Jon Gasaway who now writes for Basketball Prospectus. He essentially says the same things about the offense I have been saying for weeks, but much more eloquently and with statistics to back it up. Hightlights include:

The Big Ten is balanced, but lacks really good teams
He believes that Oklahoma is similar to MSU in that they lack a big win.
He points out how offensive rebounding is what drives Michigan State's offense and how in March we will run into teams that will be able to take this away. He says we better have a good Plan B.
Compares us to Stanford and Villanova of last year who made it to the Sweet 16 despite poor offenses. I guess it would have been too easy to compare us to our own team from one year ago

2) Goran Suton Says Wisconsin "Plays Dirty" - Suton went into all sorts of details, but most importantly, he is annoyed by Marcus Landry's continual holding of his opponent's off-arm during jump balls. G, there is only one jump ball per game in college basketball! I don't really care for this comment before our matchup on Sunday. Why give them anything that could be motivating? Under Bo Ryan, they have already owned us. You can find the quote in Joe Rexrode's blog along with a complete recap of last year's Big Ten Tournament loss to the Badgers here.
3) Izzo is Looking For More From Lucas - This Detroit News article explains how Izzo wants Lucas to be more aggressive as the postseason is approaching. What I like about the article is that they imply that they are working on isolation sets for Kalin against high pressure defense. I thought that this was missing against Purdue. If opponents want to play high-pressure defense, we need to be able to beat them off the dribble and make them pay.
4) Izzo May Shorten His Bench - He states that while he has limited the minutes of certain players, he has not limited the number of players that have seen the floor in each game. With Morgan getting healthier, he wants to limit the rotation a little bit. As you know, I am thrilled by this news. You can find the link here.

That's Ridiculous (The Catch Up Edition)
1) Chimpanzee Mauling - I'm not as concerned about the mauling itself per se, but more about the "unusual bond" shared between the animal and the owner. A few days after the attack, experts say that this bond may have been a factor in the surprising attack. They say that the owner, Sandra Harold, cuddled in bed with the chimpanzee, drank wine together, and even bathed together. Bathed together??? Michael Jackson and Bubbles think that you are ridiculous.
2) Penn State Beats Illinois 38-33 - Yeah, that is a basketball score. Not a recap of last fall's matchup on the gridiron. That score was 38-24 in case you wondering. This matchup on the hardwood reminded me of us at Iowa last year. Like the Spartans, Illinois shot the ball better than Penn State, but still lost. Also like Michigan State, Illinois' opponent won the game because of a lopsided difference in free throws. Penn State finished 9-11 from the line, but Illinois didn't get to the stripe even once. Games like this one is why people across the country can't stand the Big Ten.
3) A-Rod Didn't Exactly Tell the Truth - It turns out that there are some flaws in his revelation that he took performance enhancing drugs. He may have received them from a banned trainer in the Dominican and not from his cousin. What's worse, A-rod not telling the truth or the continual coverage of this story?
4) Joy Behar vs. Ann Coulter on Larry King - This is just wrong on all sorts of levels. Number one, why is Joy Behar subbing for Larry King? Is that the best that CNN could come up with? That annoying lady from The View? Was Rosie O'Donnell not available? Secondly, what was I doing watching it? These two easily crack my personal top 10 list of women I can't stand. (In case you are wondering, Danica Patrick is the undisputed number one). Anyways, I just happened to be at work and found it as I was flipping through the channels. It was pretty funny to see Behar trying to go toe-to-toe with the Ice Queen Coulter. Joy was outmatched in both communication skills and overall knowledge. Her interview went about as well as I would do if I sat down with Tom Izzo and argued with him on the same points I put up on this blog. You can see the entire exchange here.

Tomorrow - Wisconsin Preview

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Brad Van Pelt Passes Away

2009-02-18T16:56:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Michigan State lost one of their greatest football players of all time as Brad Van Pelt was found dead in his home. Not only was he a true Spartan great, he was from my hometown of Owosso, Michigan. Having grown up there, I know what he meant to that city, especially if you are over the age of 40. Hell, most people in the town would say that he was the most famous person from there despite it being the birthplace of Thomas Dewey. I'm too young to have seen him play, but I went to high school with two of his sons and had a few gym teachers that were high school buddies of his. I always thought that it was funny when they told old war stories about them being with Brad and tearing up the town. After hearing so many stories about BVP, you tended to think that the legend was bigger than the player. But, those who saw him play argue otherwise even to this day.

Some of his accomplishments include:

2 Time All-American
1972 Maxwell Award Winner (first defensive back to win)
1972 Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year
Played basketball and baseball for Michigan State also.
Was drafted to play baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl five times
Was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001

I wasn't around during Brad Van Pelt's glory days, but I've heard so many legendary stories that I feel like I was. I think anyone that has any ties to Owosso probably feels the same way. In many ways, BVP was the identity of this town. Having accomplished everything he did coming from such a small community is truly amazing. For the people of Owosso, his death is the equivalent of French Lick losing Larry Bird. We were all fortunate enough to have been influenced by his legacy and we will likely never see an athlete like him again.

Brad Van Pelt Related Links
1) The New York Times - Nice, long story. LT is quoted as saying that BVP was "One of the greatest players I ever played with. I not only liked him as a player but he was one of my true friends."
2) ESPN.com
3) The Detroit Free Press
4) The Lansing State Journal

Friday - Back to MSU basketball. I'm taking more time to get over the Purdue loss.

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Purdue Destroys Michigan State 72-54

2009-02-17T18:09:00.000-08:00

Logic told me that Michigan State wasn't going to overcome Purdue's high pressure defense, but I went with my gut when said the Spartans would win this game. Boy was I wrong. Purdue harassed Michigan State all night and forced a season high 22 Spartan turnovers and a season low 32% FG%. To make things worse, the Boilermakers got hot in the second half and Tom Izzo didn't have an answer on offensively.

Player of the Game: JuJuan Johnson 17 points, 4 rebounds

What Went Wrong For the Spartans
1) Turnovers - For some reason, Michigan State can't play against teams that play extended, high pressure defense. Early in the game, it was obvious that we were trying to pound the ball down low, but we had difficulty doing so. Purdue played great interior defense and did a good job cutting off our passing lanes. Instead of working the ball around, we tried to force it inside and this resulted in too many fumbled passes. We also had problems handling the ball on the perimeter. As a result, Purdue was able to get 22 points off turnovers compared to our 4.

2) Offense - I know, it's a pretty big thing to throw around general terms like offense, but it was bad all around. We missed lay-up after lay-up. We didn't take advantage of our offensive rebounds. We didn't convert Purdue turnovers into points. And finally, we didn't establish an inside presence. What we did do was stink.

3) Perimeter Defense - Robbie Hummel got too many open looks in the first half, which led to a ton of Boilermaker momentum. E'Twaun Moore also hit numerous shots from behind the arc after he was left wide open. It also should be noted, that Suton defended the pick and roll terribly.

4) Rebounding - We only managed a +5 rebounding margin. At one point in the second half, Prude actually had more rebounds than us. We did manage 15 offensive rebounds, but couldn't convert them into points.

What Went Well for Michigan State

1) Durrell Summers - He played alright tonight. If he gave us this every game, we would be in good shape most nights.

2) Free Throws - This was the team's best offense. The Spartans finished 16-20 from the line. They were led by Kalin Lucas's who was 10-12.

3) Substitutions - I think Izzo did a decent job of sticking with his starters. One could argue that Lucious played too much, but Lucas was struggling so I can see how Izzo wanted to change it up a little. I also think that he gave Morgan just enough minutes. He didn't play bad.

Summary

It's hard to not get down after watching that game. Just when most of us think that this Spartan team is different than those in our recent past, we go and let two teams creep back into the conference title race. Going into this game, I thought that we were going to finish the season 4-2. That means that we now need to end up 4-1. After tonight, that seems pretty far fetched as we have Wisconsin, Illinois, and the Boilermakers again.

In order to move forward, Michigan State needs to find a way to put more points on the board. While at times our defense has not been great, it has been good enough to win. The same cannot be said about the offense. Our offensive sets seem too structured and predictable. We need to open it up a little bit. The return of Raymar Morgan should help some, but probably more in the next two or three games.

Quotes
“If we’re gonna get beat, we might as well have got our butts kicked. I think it’s good because hopefully they'll understand there's a different quality of teams....."

I agree with this statement. To move forward, I'd rather lose by a hundred than lose by one. Nationally, however, this does not look good.

"This kind of thing tends to happen from time to time in the Big Ten, on the road against good and desperate teams." --Joe Rexrode, LSJ.com

Two things regarding this statement:
1) I'm pretty sure this only happens to us. Every year we are one of the best teams in the conference and still get blown out on the road.
2) This is why the country is so down on the Big Ten over the past few years. The best teams in the conference shouldn't get blown out at home or on the road.

Mailbag
Spartybasketball,

When are the Spartans going to learn that if there not shooting well they need to drive to the basket and/or kick it down low to their bigs!! They can't just keep chucking up 3's all game hoping that at some point they will fall. Of course the turnovers didn't help either!! And lastly, when is Sutton going to learn how to defend a slip-screen? Jajuan Johnson did it to him several times during the game creating easy opportunities for himself.
--Ridin' the Pine, Sterling Heights, MI

The biggest problem the offense had yesterday was overcoming Purdue's interior defense. Unlike many games this year, MSU did try to establish an inside game early, but Purdue did a great job denying the entry pass. They forced a million turnovers and you really have to give them credit. I agree with the key being able to drive to the basket. If they are going to guard you the entire length of the court, we have to make them pay by getting good penetration in the lane. Lucas had a difficult time doing this yesterday. As far as the Spartans chucking up threes, they really didn't do it that much in this game. They actually only had eight attempts from distance. Instead, they jacked up probably 10 shots from just inside the line. Lastly, that's a good observation of Suton not defending the screen. JuJuan's monster jams were a direct result of Goran's defensive lapses.

Tomorrow - More Purdue Post Game

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Purdue Preview and Q&A with Docsportsblog.com

2009-02-16T15:50:00.001-08:00

Like all of the games left on the schedule, tonight's game at Purdue is a must win. The Spartans are coming off of a one week hiatus and they will have to be in perfect form to beat the Boilermakers in West Lafayette.

Purdue (19-6 Overall, 8-4 in the Big Ten)

Key Wins:
at Wisconsin 65-52

Key Losses:
vs. Oklahoma 87-82 (Neutral)
vs. Duke 76-60
vs. Illinois 71-67 (OT)
at Penn State 67-64
at Illinois 66-48
at Ohio State 80-72 (OT)

Why Purdue Could Win
1) Pressure Defense - Over the last year and a half, Purdue has won games because they play great, high pressure defense. They extend well beyond the three-point line and harass ball handlers constantly. The Boilermakers are led defensively by Chris Kramer who has a game very similar to Travis Walton. He normally defends the opposing team's best guards, but he is not really an offensive threat. Inside, Purdue has a great shot blocker in JuJuan Johnson who leads the Big Ten with 2.5 blocks per game. He also is their leading scorer in Big Ten contests.
2) Purdue Runs an Effective Offense - They are second in the Big Ten in team field goal percentage at 45%. JuJuan Johnson is shooting 56% from the floor so far this year in conference play.
3) Defensive Rebounding - While Purdue has only a +0.7 rebounding margin within the Big Ten, they actually lead the conference in defensive rebounds. They even edge out Michigan State. If they can keep Michigan State off of the offensive glass, the Spartans will be in a world of hurt since their offense thrives on second chance points. Robbie Hummel leads the Boilermakers with 7.3 rebounds per game.
4) Robbie Hummel - The Boilermaker star has been battling back problems for weeks now, but did play 24 minutes in their last game. Although he only had two points in that contest, it would only be fitting that he has a comeback game against us. It seems like that always happens to the Spartans.

My Keys to a Spartan Victory
1) Defense - We must hold Purdue to their conference scoring average of 63 points per game. This is going to be a defensive battle and if we allow them to convert open looks or easy buckets down low, we won't win this game. We also must continue our dominance on the glass, especially on the defensive end.
2) Limit Turnovers - Last year was a nightmare in West Lafayette as the Spartans had 17 turnovers. We will want Kalin Lucas to push the ball up the court, but he will have to be controlled in doing so. If we limit ourselves to less than 13 turnovers, I think we will win.
3) X-Factor(s) - Once again, our offense can go to the next level if Durrell Summers or Chris Allen shows up tonight. We can't afford an 0-8 performance from either one of these guys. We also can't afford any defensive lapses or ridiculous travel calls by them either.
4) Inside Presence - We need to establish our offense down low again like we did against Michigan. Sure, JuJuan Johnson is an intimidating presence in the paint, but we can't just settle for jump shots, especially ones just inside the three point line. We are a much better team when we attack the rim.
5) Free Throws - Although Purdue is worse than us at the line, we need to make sure that we knock down a high percentage of our freebies. Just having good form doesn't count. You need to step in there and knock them down.

Summary
They say that defense wins championships, but tonight, it will be the offenses that will determine the outcome of the game. Both teams are going to play excellent defense, but who will be able to points up on the board. Purdue will have the home court advantage and will be forcing a lot of MSU turnovers, but will they have an effective Robbie Hummel? Will he and E'Twaun Moore be the type of players that were selected to the Preseason Big Ten First Team?

In the end, I see Michigan State benefiting from their time off and having a full week to prepare for this game. I think they will take surprisingly good care of the ball and continue to rebound like they have all season. If they just do these two things, the game will at least be close at the end. If they can get Allen or Summers to contribute, they will win the game convincingly.

Michigan State over Purdue 64-59

Pregame Quotes
"Raymar Morgan could play 15-20 minutes. I'm going in thinking we're not going to get much out of him [Raymar Morgan]. Whatever we get is a bonus." --Tom Izzo

Um....I disagree. This is the type of game that Raymar would often disappear in when he was healthy, so I don't think that throwing him in there for as many as twenty minutes is a very good idea when he is coming off of an illness. If he has been looking good in practice, I would give him the Marquise Gray treatment. Get him some minutes early and see what he can give you. If doesn't play well, then sit him down.

“I’ve got to admit, I’m excitedly looking forward to this game. Some games you worry about – I’m excited.” --Tom Izzo

Other Notes
1) Check Out My Q&A Session With Docsportsblog.com - Check out the Michigan State feature here.
2) Delvon Roe Shares Big Ten Player of the Week Honors - His 14 points and 10 rebounds against Michigan was enough for him to be co-player of the week with Joe Krabbenhoft.
3) MSU #5 in ESPN/Coaches and #6 in AP - This makes us in a prime position to get upset. Hopefully not tonight.

That's Ridiculous
1) J-Rich Can't Drive 55 - Actually, he was clocked 55 mph over the speed limit. An officer found Richardson going 90 mph in a 35 mph zone. To top it all off, he had his three-year old son with him and was cited for not having him in a car seat. I guess we can all be happy that he didn't have any tree or any guns on him. He gets points for that doesn't he?

Tomorrow - Purdue Post Game

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Odds and Ends 2

2009-02-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

Michigan State Note
1) Delvon Roe Shares Big Ten Player of the Week - His 14 points and 10 rebounds were enough to earn a share of the conference's weekly honor. The co-recipient was Joe Krabbenhoft of Wisconsin.
2) Raymar Morgan Hopes to Play - He told numerous reporters that the decision to play will be made by Coach Izzo. Hopefully he is strong enough to give us quality minutes. If he isn't, he should still sit.

I expect more news from the Spartans today as they are coming off of one week of rest.

Around the Big Ten
1) Northwestern is Good, But Not Good Enough - Once again, the Wildcats played another opponent tough and had a chance to win late, but they just couldn't pull it out against Michigan. The Wolverines looked as if they were going to win narrowly in regulation until Kevin Koble hit one of his ridiculously looking three-point specials late in the game and forced overtime. Northwestern had their chances in the OT, but just couldn't come away with the victory.

Clearly, at 13-10 and 4-8 in conference, Northwestern has to win the Big Ten Tournament to get into the Big Dance. This is very unfortunate because I think that Northwestern is very similar to Davidson and I could see them making the same kind of run that Stephen Curry made last year. Although Curry is much more talented, watching Koble at the end of the game brings up a lot of similarities. You know that Koble is going to get the ball, he's going to shoot it, and chances are that it is going to go in. The amazing part is that opposing teams know this too, but they can't stop it.

That's Ridiculous
1) Best of Steven Threet? - The Free Press put together a "Best of Steven Threet" column today as the Wolverine emailed the Ann Arbor daily a notice that he will be transferring. How can he have a Best of?
2) Butler Stops Basketball Game For Missing Girl - The game was suspended for 8 minutes late in the second half as the entire crowd searched every nook and cranny for a three year old girl. It turns out that she was playing underneath the bleachers at Hinkle Fieldhouse. I'm sure the fans loved this whole ordeal. What's a college basketball game without participating in the search and rescue of an Amber Alert?
3) US Formula One Team Eyeing Danica Patrick for 2010 - The team, USF1, states that Patrick is a canditate for two driver positions in 2010. Really? The same Danica Patrick who has a total of 1 win in America's go-kart series known as the IRL? We all can only hope that USF1 selects Danica so that she will go to Europe and never be seen here again.
4) Matt Kenseth Wins Rain Shortened Daytona 500 - Even Matt Kenseth fans think that ending a race due to rain is stupid. NASCAR needs to change this rule and resume the race on the following day.
5) Brian Vickers and Dale Ernhardt Jr. Are Idiots - These two guys caused the largest wreck of the day as they were battling for the first Lucky Dog spot one lap down. In the process, they took out 10 cars including Kyle Busch who probably had the fastest car of the day.

Mailbag
Would you know who the Asst. Coach or Manager is who has sit behind Izzo for the past x-years. He is always in a suit, red hair, red beard. He always has a clipboard and is obviously associated with the team but can't find him in any MSU Team info?

Eric in North Carolina

That guy is Dr. Jeff Kovan, the team's physician. I found myself wondering who this guy was earlier in the year too. As a bonus, that tall lanky guy is the trainer. I previously thought that he might have been the doctor.

Tomorrow - Purdue Preview

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Odds and Ends

2009-02-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

College Basketball Notes
1) Illinois Wins a Game We Can't - I happened to catch the Illinois/Northwestern game on Thursday night and I had mixed feelings on it. Going into the game, I wasn't really pulling for either team. An Illinois victory would be better for the conference in general, but if Northwestern could pull off the upset, it might help MSU more since the Illini are tied for second place and we have yet to play them again. Well, you know how that game turned out. Illinois made a dramatic comeback on clutch shooting and stifling defense that created multiple Northwestern turnovers late in the game. All I could think to myself was, why couldn't we do that when we played the Wildcats? Lake the Posts (NW Blogger) says that this was the most painful loss NW has ever endured. It seems pretty drastic to me, but then again it is Northwestern.
2) Media Members Give Spartans #2 Seed in Mock Selection Committee Meeting - The mock process involved 20 media members who spent 12 hours simulating what the actual selection committee does during the week preceding March Madness. The article is here. Their final pairings had Michigan State as the #2 seed in the Midwest Regional with a potential matchup against #1 seed Pittsburg. This blogger likes everything about this. First of all, they would play in Indianapolis and secondly, if they could get to the final, it should be a rematch of last year's second round game.
Other interesting things that came from the meeting were how Michigan was left out, the number of teams from a particular conference doesn't matter, and Greg Doyle of CBS thinks that Davidson should have an edge over other mid-majors because of their dramatic run last year in the tournament.
3. Big Ten Coaches Best in the NCAA Tournament? - Check out this blog from the Big Ten Geeks. Through their analysis, the Big Ten coaches outperform all other coaches when it comes to the post-season. They were followed by the Big East, the ACC, and then the SEC. It's worth checking out.

That's Ridiculous
1) Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman- Yeah, it's old, but if you didn't see the clip, check it out at the bottom of this post. This is what we can expect from Michael Phelps in a few years.
2) Falcons Will Trade the Rights to Michael Vick - I'm sure that the Don King of dog fighting will get another shot in the NFL, but I don't expect any teams to trade for him. What would you offer for him? Maybe Al Davis will try to trade his new coach for Vick, similar to how he traded Jon Gruden in 2002.
3) "Tim Tebow Will Kick the Living **** Out of a Defensive Lineman" - This is a quote from Jon Gruden in his first interview since being fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The only way that Jesus would "kick the **** out of a defensive lineman" would be if Satan himself suited up. He later went on to say that Tebow is the "wildcat" with an arm, which is a pretty good take. You can find the entire article here.

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Should I Buy 'Em?

2009-02-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

The Spartans had a day off on Wednesday, thus I don't really have any real things to write about today. So, instead, I thought that I would ask you all where you see Michigan State ending up with regards to seeding for the Tournament. Will they get the final number one seed after North Carolina, UConn, and Oklahoma? If so what region will they be in?

Should I Buy 'Em?
I think in the end, the Spartans will be a #2 seed. With that in mind, I can only hope that they end up in the Midwest Region. You see, your blogger lives in the host city for the Midwest Regional Finals, Indianapolis. Tickets are $120 for the weekend and I am thinking about getting two. Should I pull the trigger?

Vote in the poll listed on the right.

Tomorrow - Look for little tid bits here and there until next Monday. I may take a short break while the Spartans are off.

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Delvon Roe Leads MSU Past Michigan 54-42

2009-02-11T05:05:00.000-08:00

Michigan State grinded out their sixth consecutive road win in the Big Ten as they defeated Michigan 54-42. Kalin Lucas led the Spartans with 15 points, while Delvon Roe had a career high 14 points. DeShawn Sims paced the Wolverines with 18 points.

Player of the Game: Delvon Roe 14 points, 10 rebounds

What Went Well For the Spartans
1) Emphasis on Getting the Ball Inside - From the opening tip, it was clear that Michigan State was going to take my advice and pound the ball down low. They tried to exploit Michigan's lack of height by getting Roe and Suton involved early. Delvon ended up being the biggest beneficiary with his career night while Suton struggled somewhat (8 pts on 2-7 shooting).
2) Great Defense - Led by Travis Walton, the Spartans played great pressure defense. Recognizing Michigan's tendencies to chuck up threes from all over the court, they extended their defense out a few feet further than they normally play and harassed their shooters all night. Walton held Manny Harris to 7 points on 2-10 shooting, including 1-6 from the 3-pt line.
3) Free Throws - MSU unexpectedly performed better at the free throw line than the Wolverines. The Spartans cashed in on 15 of 19 attempts while Michigan converted only 6 of 11. Michigan came into this game hitting 77% of their free throws.
4) Lack of Turnovers - I thought MSU did an excellent job of taking care of the basketball, especially against Michigan's high pressure defense. The Wolverines hasselled us all night and look really athletic in that 1-3-1 zone. It truly was a great performance by the Spartans.

What Didn't Go So Well
1) Rebounding - This is the most concerning aspect of this game. The Spartans only managed to grab a +3 rebounding margin against the Wolverines. Michigan actually grabbed more offensive rebounds than MSU as they had 9 and we had 8. This was the second straight contest where Michigan State has not blown away their competition in the rebounding margin. We were +5 against Indiana.
2) Durrell Summers - Summers got the nod from Tom Izzo in this game, presumably due to his height on the perimeter to guard against three point shots. But, he really didn't do much on the offensive end finishing 3-8 with 8 points in 31 minutes. I didn't think that Durrell Summers was playing good enough to limit Chris Allen to 9 minutes in this game.
3) Marquise Gray - As you know, I think we should try to get Gray more involved in the offense, but his two minutes of playing time last night illustrate why Tom Izzo is reluctant to do so. Immediately after he entered the first half of the game, he let Zack Gibson blow right by him for a layup. Then in Michigan State's following possession, he turned the ball over down in the post. I thought he had another turnover in that span too, but the official box score only listed him as having one. Personally, I think Izzo did the right thing here. I would manage Gray the same way. Let him play early and if he plays great, keep him in there. If he plays like a basket case, sit him down.
4) Poor Substitutions - As tradition, I have to get my regular criticism of Coach Izzo's substitutions in right here although, in general Izzo did a great job. Aside from Durrell Summers getting too many of Chris Allen's minutes, the only gripe I had was why did we need Austin Thornton in the game with 11 minutes to go? The only possible explanation is that he wanted some height on the perimeter for defense, but even then, I would have still went with Chris Allen as he isn't a bad defender and he can give you a lot more on the offensive end. Luckily, Thornton's two and a half minutes didn't hurt us, but it could have.

Post Game Analysis of My Preview
Without question, this was a weird game. Both teams strayed away from how they normally perform. Michigan State narrowly outrebounded the wolverines who are normally horrible on the boards. Michigan also uncharacteristically missed free throws and was more turnover prone than the Spartans.

Yesterday, I thought that the key to a victory would be Michigan's three-point shooting versus a stellar performance from either Durrell Summers or Chris Allen. Well, as it turns out neither team had success in these areas. Michigan went 4-24 from behind the arc and both Michigan State players really failed to make an impact. In the end, I think it came down to MSU's defense out playing the Wolverine defense.

Post Game Feelings
After watching the game last night, I was surprised by how unexcited I was with our victory. It had nothing really to do with how we played, but more about how in reality, it was just another game on our schedule that we were supposed to win. Yes, it was a rivalry game, but a rivalry game where we were the favorite for what seems like the 15th consecutive time. I would imagine that this is how Michigan fans feel each autumn when they beat us in football.

Tell me how you all feel.

Quotes
"Everybody loves to beat Michigan on its own court, and it's a big thrill to do that, but it's not the highlight of our season." --Delvon Roe

"A lot of it had to do with their defense," Harris acknowledged. "They were really tough." --Copperyale Harris

Tomorrow - More Michigan Post Game

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Michigan Preview

2009-02-09T16:47:00.001-08:00

The Spartans head down to their little' sisters house tonight to try and extend their lead over second place Purdue to three games. It's a big game for Michigan also as they are coming off of their annual January collapse and are in danger of not making the NCAA. Their season started off very strong as they had the most impressive non-conference resume with wins over Duke and UCLA. But, once Big Ten play started, they have struggled mightily and they will look to get it going as their biggest rival comes to town.

Michigan (15-9 Overall, 5-6 in the Big Ten)

Key Wins:
vs. UCLA 55-52 (Neutral)
vs. Duke 81-73
vs. Illinois 74-64

Key Losses:
vs. Duke 71-56 (Neutral)
at Maryland 75-70
at UConn 69-61

Why Michigan Could Win
1) Turnover Margin - Michigan currently is third in conference in regards to turnover margin at +1 per game. As we have seen so far this year, the 1-3-1 has given us trouble at times. Without question, Michigan's will be the most athletic and most difficult version that we face. Then, to top it off, the Wolverines don't really turn the ball over themselves. If Michigan State has more than 15 turnovers, I don't see how they win this game.
2) Three Point Shooting - Michigan is the definition of a team living and dying by the three. Although they rank 10th in the conference with regards to 3-pt % (30%), they also shoot more from behind the arc than any Big Ten team. In fact, so far this season, 47% of all shot Wolverine shot attempts have been three pointers. That is amazing. The large number of three point attempts that Michigan will put up combined with how hot opposing teams seem to get against Michigan State makes me nervous. If the Wolverines do not shoot well, it could be blow out city for the Spartans.
3) Free Throws - Spartan fans can only hope that this game is not decided by the referees as Michigan is second in the league when it comes to team FT% (75%). I don't think that Tom Izzo will be fouling these guys with three minutes left if we are somehow losing this game.
4. Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims - Both of these guys have the potential on offense to take over a game. Manny Harris is their primary scoring option and is averaging 15.3 ppg. He also is a surprisingly good rebounder and leads the team with 7 rpg within the Big Ten. Sims is essentially their lone inside presence and has real talent. Unfortunately for him, he has seen a significant drop in his numbers since conference play has started. I think this is a combination of Michigan being too reliant on three-point shooting and him not being aggressive enough rebounding the ball. Hopefully they don't get this straightened out in time for us.

Why Michigan State Can Win:
1) Rebounding - The backbone of MSU basketball will be essential to winning this game. The Spartan's lead the league with a +13 rpg margin while the Wolverines are 7th at -1 rpg. The fact that Michigan will be playing their 1-3-1 defense makes me think that Michigan State will improve on this impressive stat even more. If we do not rebound well, we have no chance of winning.
2) Inside Presence - The Spartans clearly have an advantage over the Wolverines when it comes to points in the paint. I expect the Michigan State forwards to have their way with Michigan's 4 guard lineup. We have to exploit their lack of size down low offensively and get easy baskets. I am hoping that Marquise Gray gets significant time as this could be his last game against Michigan. He may be a liability, however, if he has to guard a smaller player on the perimeter.
3) Kalin Lucas - The thing I like most about Kalin is that whether or not he shoots well, he always impacts the game. The question is how much of an impact will he have tonight? If he can effectively run the offense and limit turnovers, we will win this game convincingly.
4) Durrell Summers/Chris Allen - If one of these guys comes to play tonight, the game is over. If both play average we will still win. But if Summers has another 0-8 night from the three point line coupled with a poor performance from Allen, we will lose miserably. As we will see through the rest of the season, our fate rests on the backs of these two young men.

Summary
For me, tonight's game comes down to whose offense is going to play better. While Michigan State's is more consistent, I think that Michigan is more capable of going off for 90 points in an intense rivalry game. If the Wolverines are fortunate enough to get out to a big lead, Michigan State must find consistent ways to counter offensively and not just rely on defense to get them back into the game.

With regards to the offenses, there are two keys to the game. The first is how well will Michigan shoot from behind the arc. If they shoot close to 40% or better, I think that it will be a long night for the Spartans. The second key will be the play of Chris Allen and Durrell Summers. As mentioned above, we need one of these guys to step up and play well in order for our offense to truly work.

In the end, I see the Spartans grinding this one out in a hostile environment that they haven't won at since 2005. I expect a big swing in the score at some point due to Michigan's streaky shooting but MSU will hold on.

Michigan State over Michigan 68-62

Other Game Notes
1) No MSU Player Has Won In Ann Arbor - Just to warn you before the announcers say this over and over tonight. This has been due more to scheduling than how good Michigan is. MSU hasn't played in Crysler Arena since 2006.
2) 97% Chance Morgan is Out Tonight - Knowing this, I will say that I there is a 100% chance that Morgan might play.
3) Travis Walton Has a Cold - He is expected to play, but revealed the illness to the LSJ today.
4) Manny Harris Can't Play D? - Dan Dackich, IU's ex-interim coach who now has a radio show in Indianapolis, told a story earlier this year about Manny Harris' lack of defense. He explained that before IU played Michigan last year, Kelvin Sampson made a highlight reel exclusively featuring Manny Harris' lack of defense. Apparently it was full of opponents breezing by Harris and Sampson told his guards that they all should have career nights against him. Obviously, Harris has gotten better on the defensive end over the last year. This is evident by his 7 rebounds per game within the conference, but I still thought that was funny. For the record, Dan Dackich blasted an email of mine on his show last week when I questioned him on whether or not he thought Izzo got too much attention nationally. Add him to the list of haters I guess.
5) Copperyale Harris - How do you get Manny from that? He must have just realized how stupid a name like Copperyale is.

Quotes
"This is still the biggest rivalry for Michigan State -- no question. I want it to be a good rivalry. Hell, the media members need something to write about. I want that for all of you."
--Tom Izzo

Hey coach, the Spartan Nation has spoken and they have said that they want Michigan to be our bitch, not our rival.

"I ain't got the Raymar, just a little stuffy nose." -- Travis Walton

God only knows what "The Raymar" is.

Tomorrow - Michigan Post Game

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Michigan State Game Notes

2009-02-09T03:39:00.001-08:00

No real news on the Spartans so far today. Look for speculation on Raymar Morgan's status later in the print media.

Around the Big Ten
1) Illinois Hammers Purdue - Purdue had their worst outing of the year and suffered a rare blow out under Matt Painter. I worry that the Spartans might be too aware of the Boilermakers' recent losses. Especially as we head down to Ann Arbor tomorrow.
2) Devan Dumas Suspended Indefinitely - Kudos to Tom Crean for doing the right thing, although it's a lot easier to suspend a guy when you are a shorthanded team like IU that essentially doesn't have a chance of winning another conference game anyway. Iowa isn't on the schedule again.

That's Ridiculous
1) Jamal Anderson Is a Dirty Bird - The ESPN analyst was charged with felony cocaine possession and for smoking the chronic. The funniest part of this story was ESPN reporting their own comments on the situation. Crazy.
2) A-Roid - You all know, so I will just tell you the most surprising thing I found about this story. A-Rod's agent, Scott Boras, has a doctorate in industrial pharmacy. Coincidence?
3) Cold Play Best Rock Group? - The English band even admitted that they were miscategorized. They said that instead of hard rock, they were "like limestone." To put them up for an award against artists like Kid Rock and Metallica is ridiculous.

Mailbag
Green had a great game no doubt and was a huge help off the bench. I just hope it wasn't a fluke and when games are close especially against tougher opponents, he can step up and come through with some help.
--Glass-Half Full, Sterling Heights, MI

While I applaud Green's performance on Saturday, I don't want to be like the print media and say that Draymond all of sudden gets it because he had a great game. Unfortunately, going forward, I anticipate Green getting closer to his current season averages (2.5ppg, 2.9rpg) than the 15 and 12 he got on Saturday. I will also go on record and say that I would go with Gray over him just because I think he has a higher immediate upside to his game. Green will be a solid player in the future.

Tomorrow - Michigan Preview (It may be late in the day)

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Michigan State's Strong Second Half Lifts Them Past IU 75-47

2009-02-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

Michigan State won much less impressively than the final score showed. Indiana hung around in the first half and at one point, was only losing 33-30 before Michigan State pulled away. The Spartan offense looked uninspired with the exception of Draymond Green and Chris Allen. These two provided bench support for our starters who struggled.

Player of the Game: Draymond Green 15 points (5-5 FG), 12 rebounds in 20 minutes

What Went Well For the Spartans
1) Draymond Green - This was the game where Izzo's reluctance to go with Gray for significant minutes paid off for Draymond Green. He was a monster out there and provided an inside force for the Spartan attack. He was perfect from the floor finishing 5-5 and had 12 rebounds. I never thought that he would be capable of a game like this in his first year.
2) Turnovers - The Spartans took good care of the rock during this game. They turned it over just 10 times, while Indiana coughed it up 21 times. That will help our horrendous in conference turnover margin.
3) Points In the Paint - Michigan State outscored IU 30-18 in points in the paint. There seemed to be an emphasis to dump it down low to the big guys this game. I think we need more of this to become an efficient offense.

What Didn't Go So Well
1) Durrell Summers - He is starting to look like Dr. Jackal and Mr. Hyde. He finished 1-11 from the field incluiding 0-8 from behind the arc. Chris Allen's 4-6 performance from behind the 3-point line helped overshadow Durrell's poor performance. Kudos to Izzo for recognizing that Allen was feeling it and for sticking with him.
2. Kalin Lucas - It was his second straight game where he struggled with his shot. He finished 4-15 from the floor. Hopefully he finds his shooting touch as we will need it on Tuesday in Ann Arbor. It's an interesting time for the Free Press to come out with this article saying how Lucas could be the next Mateen. It also, for no obvious reason, mentions the city of my high school's biggest rival in it. Weird.
3. Delvon Roe at the Line - Note to all announcers: We know that his form is good. We don't care how good he looks if he doesn't make the shots. He finished 3-9 from the line and if he doesn't improve, we won't be able to have him on the floor late in games.
4. Rebounding - Of course this is all relative, but IU did a very good job rebounding the ball against us. Going in, I recognized that they were a good rebounding team. MSU edged Indiana 38-33 for the game. If I knew that the rebounding margin was going to be this close before the game started, I don't know if I would have picked us to win.

Quotes
"We didn't have a lot of energy coming out -- it's not that we underestimated them, but that's just sometimes how it is. Coach always tells guys coming off the bench that they have to bring energy, so that's what I tried to do."
--Draymond Green

It's a great place; it's a great atmosphere. I was really overwhelmed. There were cheers, and that meant a lot. To be here and be part of building that program back up ... greatest memories of my life."
--Tom Crean

That's Ridiculous
1) Devan Dumes - The only thing worse than him throwing three elbows in one game was the fact that it took three occurences before he got tossed. What was he thinking? Was he just that flustered that he had to resort to that? In my opinion, the second and the third elbows were just as bad as Devin Harris' last week.
2) IU Attendance - The announcers mentioned several times about how IU's attendance had actually increased during their latest losing streak and what an accomplishment that was. Well, why don't they mention that IU has made all balcony seats $5 for the first time ever in school history. Can you imagine it only costing $5 to get for the Spartans? That would be great.

Tomorrow - More Indiana Post Game.

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Indiana Preview

2009-02-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

The Spartans look to improve to 9-2 within the conference today by beating Indiana in the Breslin. Indiana is coming off their first Big Ten win after they beat Indiana on Wednesday night. It also marks the first time that Tom Crean returns to the Breslin since being the assistant coach from 1995-1999.

Indiana (6-15overall, 1-8 in conference)

Key Wins:
None

Key Losses:
vs. Northeastern 55-42
vs. Lipscomb 74-69

Why Indiana Could Win
1) Tom Crean - Having been an assistant under Izzo, Crean obviously knows the tendancies of Michigan State. The problem is that he doesn't have the players to stop the more talented Spartans. If the game is somehow close, this could be a factor.
2) Rebounding - Indiana ranks right behind Michigan State within the conference in rebounding margin at over +4 per game. While I don't expect them to outrebound us, if we shoot poorly and they can cutdown on our offensive rebounds, the Hoosiers could keep the game close.
3) Someone Could Go Talor Battle or Kevin Coble on Us - I can't see this happening as the Hoosiers don't have anyone as talented as these guys. Devan Dumes has potential as he leads the team in scoring at 14 points per game. He is a junior college transfer who was headed for Ohio State last year before he suddenly decided to attend IU. Tom Pritchard could also provide an inside presence down low, but he is really young. Pritchard was the high school teammate of Delvon Roe.

Why Michigan State Will Win:
1) MSU Has More Experience - Indiana only returned 19 total points and 185 minutes of experience this year. Freshman account for more than 70% of the teams total points. With this in mind, the Spartans will have no excuse for a loss to the Hoosiers.
2) Athleticism - Indiana lacks the quickness and athleticism that is needed to stop Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers. Look for them to try and slow us down. The Hoosiers will need to run an effective offense in order to beat us at home.
3) Turnovers - Indiana is tenth in the league in turnovers at -2.8 per game. The sad thing is that we are ninth at -1.8 per game. If either team has a significant advantage in this category, it could be the difference.

Summary
While I'm sure that Tom Crean is feeling somewhat excited about returning to the Breslin Center, I'm sure he would rather do it under different circumstances. He is coming into this game undermanned and faces a Spartan team that is trying to preserve their lead in the conference. His team is riding high, however, coming off their first conference win against Iowa. In the end, I don't think it will be enough for him.

Michigan State over Indiana 79-62.

Tomorrow: Indiana Post Game

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Michigan State Destroys Minnesota 76-47

2009-02-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

Michigan State cruised to their eigth conference victory by beating Minnesota at home. The Spartans shot 51% from the field while holding the Gophers to 28%. Durrell Summers led the way with 21 points on 8-10 shooting.

Player of the Game: Durrell Summers 21 points, 8-10 shooting

What Went Well For the Spartans
1) Durrell Summers - He is having an excellent two weeks of basketball. Aside from the Penn State game, he has been on fire hitting shots from all over the court. When he plays like this, it is hard to imagine the Spartans losing.
2) Rebounding - The Spartans won the battle on the boards 42-26. Goran Suton and Delvon Roe each had 7.
3) Three Point Shooting - Durrell Summers set the tone early by hitting three threes in the first five minutes. The team finished 7-12 from behind the arc.
4) Playing With the Lead - This was one of the best Spartan games that I ever saw when we were playing with a huge lead and managed to preserve it. Izzo did a good job of mixing in role players with regular starters so that we could work on a few things. Everyone out there seemed to get involved.
5) Raymar Morgan In a Suit - Great move by Izzo. Take away the temptation of putting him in again.
6) Austin Thornton Did Not Get Significant Minutes - Another great decision by Izzo. Prior to the game, he told Joe Rexrode that he had working on getting Thornton into the line up so he could get more size out on the perimeter. That would have been a big mistake.

What Didn't Go So Well
1) Kalin Lucas - He struggled a little bit with his shot finishing 4-14 from the floor, but I thought he still did a good job leading the team. If we needed him to, I bet he could have still finished with 20.

Tomorrow - Indiana Preview.

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Minnesota Preview #2

2009-02-03T17:06:00.000-08:00

Michigan State looks to bounce back from a devastating loss against Penn State by taking on the Gophers at home.

Minnesota (12-0) Ranked #21 in both polls

Key Wins:
vs. Louisville 70-64
vs. Wisconsin 78-74
vs. Penn State 79-59
vs. Illinois 59-36

Key Losses:
vs. Michigan State 70-58
at Northwestern 74-65

Why Minnesota Could Win:
1. Surprisingly Good Defense - Coming into the Big Ten season, Minnesota was ranked 8th in the conference in scoring defense. That was even with a weak non-conference schedule. But since conference play has started, they are only giving up 61 points per game which is good enough for third in the Big Ten. They lead the league in blocks and steals and are second in FG defense. Look for Al Nolan to lead a high pressure defense to try and make the Spartans turn the ball over.
2. Lawrence Westbrook is Playing Well - Westbrook has had a great Big Ten season so far. He is averaging 15 points per game and is shooting over 44% from the 3-pt line within conference play. I expect him to play better than he did against us the first time.
3. Raymar Morgan Out - We will undoubtedly miss his defense in this game. I hope Izzo thinks twice about playing Thornton more as this would make us miss Raymar even more. In case you were wondering, Morgan finished with a unflattering double-double the last time these two teams played. He had 11 points on 4-11 shooting.
4. Michigan State's Insistence to Shoot Outside Shots - If we don't pound the ball down low and settle for jump shots, I think we are at the mercy of the basketball Gods to grant us a good shooting night. I would like to see us get some good posessions in the paint that do not come off of offensive rebounds.
5. Goran Suton's Right Knee - He hurt it on Monday, but he should play. If he doesn't, I do not think we will have a chance to win.

Why Michigan State Can Snap This 2-Game Home Losing Streak:
1. Poor Gopher 3-Point Shooting - With the last two opponents shooting the lights out of the Breslin, I take comfort in the fact that the Gophers are only shooting 33% from behind the arc. With our luck, however, Blake Hoffarber will probably get his third consecutive trip the ESPYs with another miracle shot against us. See the videos at the bottom of this post if you don't know what I'm talking about.
2. Rebounding - We dominated the last game with a margin of +22. That included a 23-11 edge in offense rebounds. Minnesota has improved since this game, but I don't see them outrebounding us at home.
3. Kalin Lucas - He had a phenomenal game in the first match up and with the recent loss, I expect him to play with a purpose. We will see if Al Nolen can stop him.

Summary:
Unfortunately, I think this game will come down to how well the Spartans shoot the ball from the outside. I think we could win the game if we focus on getting the ball inside, but we haven't done that so far this season, so I don't know what would make Izzo do it now. Either way, I think our players will be ready to play despite Minnesota's harassing defense. The Spartans will escape a close one.

Michigan State over Minnesota 69-66.

Around the Big Ten
1) Ohio State Clips Purdue at Home - The Buckeyes beat Purdue in overtime behind great shooting. They shot 60% against the Boilermakers, which is incredible given Purdue's excellent defense. This game featured two of the worst plays ever to end regulation with the score tied. Evan Turner turned the ball over dribbling to the basket and Matt Painter elected not to call a timeout so that E'Twaun Moore could penetrate in the lane for some off-balanced shot. Luckily for us, it didn't go down.

Tomorrow: Minnesota Post Game #2. (Post will be up later in the evening due to real life)

Blake Hoffarber's Highlight Reels That Got Him to the ESPY's Two Years In a Row

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MSU Basketball Notes

2009-02-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

Michigan State Basketball Notes
1) Rankings - The Spartans slipped to number 13 in the AP and 14 in the ESPN/USA Today. Purdue is ranked one spot ahead of them in both polls which is appropriate. They are playing really good basketball right now.
2) Suton Hyperextends Right Knee - It happened early in practice yesterday forcing him to sit out. He says that it is fine and he will play against Minnesota. He had surgery on his left knee earlier in the year. The story can be found here.
3) Thornton to Get More Minutes - Joe Rexrode reports here that due to the absence of Raymar Morgan, Izzo is preparing Austin Thornton to play more. Why? I would just stick with the 8 guys that we currently have. Either go big with Gray or Ibok, or go small with Summers or Allen. I don't think that we need to throw a scrub into the mix. The offense is already inconsistent as it is.
4) 95% Chance Morgan Will Sit Out This Week - And my takes are correct 60% of the time, every time.
5) Isaiah Dahlman - Apparently he hurt his ankle in warmups and Izzo says that he will be out for "weeks". Insert panic statement and stat that says Spartans are X-0 in games in which Dahlman plays.
6) BTN's Tom Hamilton is the Anti-Karma - Brent Yarina of the BTN points out how coworker Tom Hamilton has been present during the last three huge Michigan State upsets on his blog here.

Quotes:
"Last night, I was watching ESPN and they were talking about the best point guards in the country and the mentioned Kalin Lucas, but I did not hear my name" Battle said. "It gave me something to work for. It keeps me going. It makes me want to go out and play well. People talk about him as one of the best point guards in the country and I wanted to show I belong in that category and that is what I did here today." -- Talor Battle after the Penn State victory.

To Quote Bob Richie, "It's not cocky... if you back it up."

"Almost every year, Michigan State enters the season with a great chance to win the Big Ten. Almost every year, MSU is very good. And every year, the Spartans fall short of the title."
--Michael Rosenburg, The Detroit Free Press.

That's Rediculous
1) Bud Selig Highest Paid Non-Yankee in Baseball in 2007 - Behind Jason Giambi, A-Rod, and Jeter. His income was 18.35 million.
2) Green Bay Students Rush the Court After Win Against Butler - Seems to be a bit much.
3) Porn Clip Shown During Superbowl in Arizona - Story can be found here. Porn enthusiests everywhere were upset because it only affected standard broadcast televisions and not those in HD.
4) Richard Dean Anderson on Saturday Night Live - What the hell happened to this guy? I didn't even think it was him at first. Hey RDA, Kirstie Alley thinks you have let yourself go. Check him out in the clip below about 33 seconds in.

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Penn State Wins at Michigan State for the First Time Ever 72-68

2009-02-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

Once again, the Spartans were beaten on their home court thanks to excellent three-point shooting. Talor Battle played like a first team all-conference point guard leading the Nittany Lions with 29 points. He finished 11-19 from the field including 6-12 from behind the arc. Kalin Lucas paced the Spartans with 23 points, but he did not shoot the ball well finishing 7-21.

Player of the Game - Talor Battle 29 points on 11-19 shooting, including 6-12 3-pt.

Why Penn State Won:
1) Talor Battle Was Unstoppable - As noted above, Battle played like a first team all-conference point guard against the Spartans. He was lights out from all over the floor. His lull you to sleep and pull up three to end the first half was amazing, especially since it was from 30 ft out. Without him going off for 29, the Spartans would have won this game handily. Battle provided inspiration for his team and his teammates stepped their games up big time.
2) Poor Michigan State Offense - As we have been doing all conference season long, Michigan State relied too heavily on outside shooting. We didn't focus on pounding the ball down low and settled to quickly for outside shots. The Spartans did win the points in the paint battle 28-26, but a lot of those points were off of offensive rebounds. We can't expect Durrell Summers to go 8-12 from the 3-pt line like he did in the two previous games. Instead, we need to pound the ball inside and get Suton more involved.
3) Rebounding - Yes, MSU won the rebounding battle, but only by a +5 margin (35-30). This was one of the Spartans' worst outings of the year and ultimately it hurt them. Was there no bigger rebound than Cornley's off of his own miss at the free throw line with 50 seconds left. How does the free throw shooter get an offensive rebounder against a Michigan State team? That was crazy.

What Went Well for MSU:
1) Delvon Roe - His first half of play was probably one of his best so far this year. He scored all 8 of his points on 4-4 shooting during that time. He didn't score in the second half however.
2) Goran Suton - Despite finishing 4-8, I thought Suton played well. He finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds, which I thought was pretty decent seeing how the offense was not going through him at all. He also had two key three pointers that helped us slow down the momentum of the Nittany Lions.
3) Kalin Lucas - I know he finished 7-21, but I think that he still played better than that stat line suggests. Obviously his shots weren't falling, but he had no support from the other guards on the team. He took it upon himself to get us back in the game and he nearly pulled it off by getting to the foul line and converting 9-10 attempts. On this day, however, Talor Battle got the best of him.

Coaching Issues (Notice how they are all the exact same as my post after the Northwestern game)
1) We Ignored Our Bigs - After the game, Izzo commented how his players were relying outside shooting too much, but I didn't see him trying to establish an offensive inside presence at all. We shot 20 threes and probably a half of a dozen more just inside the arc. Summers winds up 1-8 from the 3-pt line and we only win the points in the paint battle by 2 points (28-26). If Izzo doesn't make a consistent effort to get the ball down low, we are going to continue to lose to lower ranked teams. We cannot keep blaming our unexpected losses on an outstanding performance of one player. We need to have more outstanding offensive performances of our own players.
2) Clock Management - Again, Izzo started fouling way earlier than I would have in another loss. Understandably, with 4:19 to go Izzo wanted to get Penn State into the bonus so that we can better manage the clock. But, we were down 9 at that point and I would argue why not just play really aggressive defense and try to get a steal. We were not doing that. We were going hack-a-Shaq on these guys and just wasting fouls. Then, at one point, we got the lead down to 5 with 2:30 left and Izzo was still fouling! Why!! Can't we play good defense and then get a good shot to cut it to 2 or 3 with around 1:30 left? That doesn't make sense. I don't care if Penn State shoots 64% as a team. If you keep putting them on the line, they are going to eventually make a few of them. Ultimately, I will concede that this strategy did not hurt us, but if he continues to do this, it will hurt us in the future.
3) Substitutions - I have an excellent example to my rant earlier about how there is no rhyme or reason to Izzo's substitutions. With 12:55 left and we were down by 7, we had the following lineup in for almost one full minute: Lucious, Allen, Walton, Green, and Gray. Then for the next full minute, he replaced Lucious with Summers. What are we supposed to do with these lineups? How are we in any position to come back against a quality opponent when we have these squads in for two minutes? And then putting Raymar in the game during crunch time was nothing more than an act of despiration. If he could have helped you, he would have played before the end of the game.
4) X's and O's - As much as I hate Izzo's drawn up plays, I was surprised to see a somewhat organized offensive set to get Chris Allen an open three-point attempt to win the game. It was a good look and it would have given Allen a ton of confidence for the future if he hit that shot. The problem was, however, that we should have either had Lucas penetrate hoping for a foul or get it down low to one of the bigs. In the end, Lucas had a big rebound, was fouled, but couldn't convert on both free throws to win it.
5) Pressure Defense - After seeing a higher pressure defense against Iowa, I was hoping that we would continue that against Penn State. For some reason, the coaching staff didn't want to go in that direction. Maybe they are worried about our guys getting into foul trouble? I say every time that you have Lucious in there, I want him harassing the ball at all times. If he picks up a few fouls, who cares?

Quotes:
"The game wasn't won or lost on Kalin Lucas' free throw, it was won or lost when we were seven up and we just decided not to guard." --Tom Izzo

Besides Talor Battle playing phenomenally, I would argue that the reason we didn't win was because our offense was largely ineffective. We went over 4 minutes without a basket in the second half. Izzo even said himself that you can't do much defensively when opponents are hitting 35 foot threes and banking in threes. So which one is it? Therefore, I don't think defense was as much of a factor as our inability to score was.

"I've never seen two losses with banked-in threes, 35-foot threes." --Tom Izzo

As the saying goes, fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice and shame on me.

"Sometimes when you're playing more young guys, I think they just live in the watching of the TV where Michigan State always wins at home. You win at home because you work. You don't win at home because you're supposed to. It's an entitlement society, as we all know, and I think our players kind of feel that the past players pioneered their way through, and it's an entitlement that we're supposed to win at home"

--Tom Izzo on losing two consecutive home games.

This is starting to be a recurring theme for Spartan teams. I think that I have heard this multiple times about every MSU basketball team since 2001. Some of the responsibility has to be on the coach.

That's Ridiculous
1) Michael Phelps Pictured Smoking Tree - Apparently America's golden boy got lit up at a University of South Carolina off-campus party after a football game last fall. Even more funny are the quotes found in the story:

“He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits. Michael ended up getting a little paranoid, though, because before too long he looked like he was nervous and ran out of the place.”

This isn't surprising. I was surprised last summer when I saw how every news show, including 60 Minutes, conviently omitted Phelps' DUI arrest in Ann Arbor in 2004. I guess we should all take comfort in the fact that at least he is owning it.

2) Superbowl MVPs Smoke Tree Too - In addition to being the most decorated Olympian, kids also learned that they can smoke pot and also being a Superbowl MVP. Thank you for that Santonio Holmes.

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Penn State Preview

2009-02-01T05:00:00.001-08:00

Penn State (16-5 overall, 5-3 in conference)

Key Wins:
vs. Purdue 67-64
vs. Michigan 73-58

Key Losses:
at Wisconsin 65-61
at Minnesota 79-59

Why Penn State Could Win:
1) Talor Battle - This young point guard leads the Big Ten in minutes played and in his two years of experience, he has had two big games against Michigan State. In the last meeting, he led the Nittany Lions' ferucious comeback with a bunch of points late in the game. Battle's other great game came last year at Penn State when they upset the highly ranked Spartans. Talor Battle is a lot like Kalin Lucas. He seems to be a scoring point guard who can hit shots from almost anywhere on the court. It will be a great matchup today at that position.
2) Jamelle Cornley - Cornley is the Big Ten's leading active scorer with 1369 points. This season he is averaging 16.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the Big Ten. In the last contest against Michigan State, he had a career high 26 points. Look for Penn State to try and get him going early as he may be a matchup problem for us with Raymar Morgan and his virus thing. Izzo may be forced to have Allen or Summers guard him as he may be too quick for our bigs.
3) Three Point Shooting - The Nittany Lions are a good outside shooting team. They currently are third in the Big Ten in 3-pt percentage at near 37%. Stanley Pringle and Talor Battle lead the team on the season with 50% and 41% respectively.
4) Stanley Pringle - The outside shooter is Penn State's x-factor for this game. If he can provide a third scoring option for the Nittany Lions, Michigan State will have a hard time winning this game.
5) Rebounding - While they aren't near Michigan State's dominance, Penn State is a decent rebounding team. They rank fourth in the conference so far this year in rebounding margin. The Spartans, however, won the battle on the boards 39-23 with 15 offensive rebounds.
6) Raymar Morgan - His status is uncertain. Tom Izzo has him listed pre-game as a starter, but I'm not so sure it will happen. Then, even if he does play, which Morgan are we going to get? We need the one that played at Penn State the first time and finished with 17 points on 7-9 shooting. Even more importantly, we need him for his size so he can matchup against the Nittany Lions' big men. If he doesn't play, it will be interesting to see who Izzo chooses to go with for the majority of the game.

Why Michigan State Can Win:
1) The Game is in the Breslin Center - Penn State has looked horrible on the road this year. They were blown out at Minnesota and even struggled at Indiana. Couple these facts with how good the Spartans are at home and you have to think the odds are against the Nittany Lions. Unfortunately, Northwestern probably has every visiting team that walks into the Breslin thinking that they can beat the Spartans at home.
2) Rebounding - According to ESPN, Michigan State leads the entire country in team rebounding margin at +10.6. They have only lost the rebounding battle once this year and that was to UNC without Goran Suton. Although the Nittany Lions are a solid rebounding team, I don't expect them to be the second team to pull down more boards than the Spartans. As Izzo has said in the past, sometimes our best offensive play is an offensive rebound.
3) Durrell Summers - He is in the zone right now. In his last two games he is averaging 23.5 points and shooting 66% from behind the arc. If he has another big performance today, I am sure he will be Big Ten Player of the Week. I just hope he doesn't force any three point shots. I expect Penn State to focus on him today which should give him plenty of opportunities to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket. While he obviously is shooting a high percentage from behind the three point line, I still think he will be more dangerous attacking the basket.
4) Kalin Lucas - Lucas actually now leads the Big Ten in conference scoring at 18.8 ppg. He had a poor game the first time around so I expect him to be trying to outperform Talor Battle today. Hopefully he plays within himself and utilizes his quickness to open up the offense.

Summary
In their first contest, Penn State gave Michigan State all they could handle. MSU was plagued by a long offensive drought and a poor game from Kalin Lucas. I don't expect a repeat performance from the Spartans today in the Breslin Center. While Battle and Cornley will undoubtedly get their points, I don't think that Stanley Pringle will be able to provide a third scoring option for Penn State.

Michigan State over Penn State 69-61.

Quotes
"Losing to Northwestern, a lot of teams think they can come in here and do the same thing. So we have to come out with the same type of energy we have been coming out with on the road and hopefully sustain that." --Tom Izzo

"Their prowess has even reached historic level, with the first 5-0 Big Ten road record in MSU history. The problem for the Spartans is the next three games are at Breslin Center."
--Andrew Mouranie of the Lansing State Journal

Okay, this last one is a little bit ridiculous. At least wait until they lose in the Breslin Center again before you start implying that they can't win at home.

Other Michigan State News
1) Delvon Roe Feels Game is Starting to Come Back - A link to the Detroit Free Press story is here. I don't know about eveyrone else, but even at 100%, I don't know if I would have expected anything more out of this kid this year. He is playing good defense and is a great rebounder. Sure, his offense is lagging behind, but it will get better. I think we should just be happy with the Delvon that we have now and not worry about the Delvon that we thought we landed as a high school recruit.
2) Matt Trannon Playing Basketball in Australia - Joe Rexrode tells us how he said all along that Trannon's best option was to play basketball professionally instead of football. I don't know if I remember that, but I do know that he should have never quit playing for us. The link is here.

That's Ridiculous
1) Manny Harris Ejected Against Purdue - Manny Harris's ejection yesterday in Michigan's loss at Purdue was completely ridiculous. I can see calling the guy for a foul, or even a technical, but to be thrown out for a very common play is crazy. Watch today in the State game and see how many players swing their elbows around when they catch a ball. The difference on this play was that Kris Kramer's high pressure defense made him more vulnerable to getting elbowed. If you are going to guard a guy that tight, you are going to get hit sometimes. That is just the way it is. I didn't see any intent by Harris to hurt Kramer. I think he was just making a fundamental move to get his defender off of him. Unfortunately for Michigan State fans, this bad call turned the tide for the Boilermakers and they ended the game on a 40-20 run.

Tomorrow: Penn State Post Game.

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Michigan State Pulls Away From Iowa 71-56

2009-01-29T19:28:00.001-08:00

The athleticism of Michigan State proved to be too much for the undermanned Iowa Hawkeyes. Led by Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers, Michigan State recorded their fifth consecutive conference road victory.

Player of the Game - Durrell Summers 21 points on 7-9 shooting.

What Went Well for MSU:
1) Durrell Summers - This makes his second consecutive game with 20+ points. If he did them in the same week, he would have been Big Ten Player of the Week for sure. It's funny how one week ago, I didn't know if Summers would ever be capable of putting up numbers like he has even as a senior. Undoubtedly he is playing phenomenally, but his reliance on outside shooting still worries me. With him making so many three lately, I would think that he will have more opportunities to drive to the basket in upcoming games.
2) Kalin Lucas - Had an equally impressive game, but we are starting to expect this from him. He was able to take full advantage of his quickness in this game and finished with 24 points on 9-13 shooting.
3) Three Point Shooting - Led by Durrell Summers, the Spartans finished 5-9 from behind the arc.
4) Izzo Came to His Senses - He only played Raymar Morgan 8 minutes this game due to his illness, which was still 8 minutes too many.

What Didn't Go Well for MSU:
1) Turnovers - Once again, we started the game with way too many turnovers. The Spartans finished with 14 for the game, but had 9 in the first half. We really need to find a way to turn this around.
2) Rebounding - Of course, this is only relative. MSU still won the rebounding battle by a +8 margin. This is less than their season average though and Iowa did grab 8 offensive rebounds in this game. Michigan State pulled down 11 off of the offensive glass.
3) Points in the Paint - Izzo surprised me by not exploiting Iowa's lack of size. I thought that we should have went big against them and pounded the ball down low. It would have been a great game to go with Suton and Gray for significant periods of time to work on their offensive games. Instead, MSU only edge Iowa in points in the paint 28-22. When we have to rely on outside shooting to win games, I don't like our chances. In this game, however, it worked out.
4) MSU Caught Sleeping - I don't know if you saw it, but there was a play where Iowa inbounded the ball from their own basket, went the length of the floor with one dribble, and scored a layup on us while we weren't paying attention. That was rediculous. I've never seen that happen to a Spartan team.

Other Game Notes
1) Todd Lickliter is Doing a Great Job - Iowa does not have near the talent that his previous teams at Butler did, but they have still managed to stay competitive with teams in this conference. Their win against Wisconsin with these players was phenomenal and they have played OSU and Minnesota close. Heck, they were impressive in their comeback against us. I hope that Lickliter gets a few more years at Iowa before he is pushed out the door.

Quotes:
"I think it was a big win for us, believe it or not. It was probably the best we got our running game going, got off to a good start. Our speed was a big advantage." --Tom Izzo

I saw this Michigan State team extend their defense for the first time this season. They were picking players up beyond full court and actually pressuring the ball a little bit. They still could pressure the ball more, but I like the idea of our guards pestering other teams as they bring the ball up.

"I'm kind of on this team right now because I still don't think we have the focus you need every day, every practice." --Tom Izzo

Why does this happen to our team every single year? Why can't they focus?

Mailbag
The editor of Collegehoopsnet.com sent me a fun article about how bad Indiana is this year. You can find the link here.

Tomorrow - More Iowa Post Game.

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MSU Basketball Notes

2009-01-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

MSU Basketball Notes
1) Summers and Allen Key to Spartan's Fate - Link to complete article here. Despite Summers' career game, I still think that Allen will have the biggest impact. Look at the big games against Memphis last year and UNC this year. He stepped his game up. He is just in a funk. Don't expect Summers to go for more than twenty again this year. If he does, that will just be a bonus.
2) Newsflash: Raymar Morgan is Still Sick - No links needed. Every major newspaper has a story about it. I like Vern Lundquist's description best from the game on Sunday. "He has a upper chest viral infection." Joe Rexrode states in the LSJ today that the problem with Morgan is that "he can't go hard for long periods ." Link can be found here. I don't know if you have been watching Joe, but Morgan can't give us 30 seconds of effective play.

Around the Big Ten
1) Purdue Pulls One Out at Wisconsin - To the dismay of Spartans everywhere, Robbie Hummel hit a three with one minute left to put Purdue up for good. You know if that was Michigan State, Wisconsin would have pulled it out somehow. Can Bo Ryan ever give us a break? Protect your home floor.

That's Ridiculous
1) PETA Ad Rejected by NBC - You would think the network would kill a PETA commercial because they are a bunch of nut jobs, but apparently this commercial titled "Go Veg" was too risque.

Quotes
"For Durrell to pound his chest and feel good about something (as he did against the Buckeyes) — that's like Marquise (Gray) doing cartwheels down the floor. It's just not his style. I told him I kind of enjoyed that." --Tom Izzo

Emotion, no emotion....It doesn't matter to me. Just take the ball to the rack and if you are going to shoot threes, make sure you make them.

Tomorrow - Iowa Preview

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MSU Basketball Notes

2009-01-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

MSU Basketball Notes:
1) Spartans Ranked #9 in Both Polls - MSU only slipped one spot after their horrible loss at home to Northwestern and a come from behind win at Ohio State. We couldn't have asked for more than that.
2) Tom Izzo Thinks the Big Ten is Legit - In the Big Ten teleconference Monday, Tom Izzo stated that the conference is the toughest in the nation when examined from top to bottom. Full story here. Bo Ryan says "A lot depends on how the media spins it. Here in the Midwest, it's easy to see that the Big Ten is a pretty tough contest." I agree. Our conference has one miserable team, but all of the others could beat any team in the country given they have a good night.
3) Sit Down Big Fella' - A writer for the State News calls for Raymar Morgan to sit down until he is fully healthy. The link can be found here. The article is best summarized by this excerpt: "If Morgan’s presence was indispensable..., I would feel differently about the matter." I completely agree.

Around the Big Ten
1) Purdue Heads to Wisconsin - The Badgers are coming off of a four game losing streak, but they are always hard to beat at home. That's why they are favored by one point over the Boilermakers. I'd take the Badgers at home.
2) Kevin Coble - Was named the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week. Was there any question?

That's Ridiculous
1) Kevin Coble Sharing the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor - The powers that be said that Jamelle Cornley of Penn State had just as good of a week. Apparently the conference believes that Coble's 31 points in the Breslin center and 21 in Ann Arbor is equal to two double-doubles against Michigan and Iowa at home. Que John Stossel.....Give me a break.
2) Iowa Giving Away Basketball Tickets to Students - What the hell is wrong with Hawkeye fan? Indiana lowering their balcony prices to $5 for the first time in history thinks that you are ridiculous. So far, over 2000 students have taken advantage of the promotion for the nationally televised game. The story can be found here.
3) Oklahoma State Students Are Idiots - Did anyone catch the highlights of the OSU/Oklahoma game? Did you see the ice storm that hit Stillwater? While it is understandable that Oklahomans aren't used to ice, I have no idea how ESPN was able to capture these idiot students completely falling on their asses. Note to Oklahoma State students: Ice is slippery. You need to use a little caution when you walk on it. Check the video below. I especially like the guy with the backpack.

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Michigan State Makes Convincing Comeback to Take Down the Buckeyes 78-67

2009-01-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

Michigan State bounced back nicely with another road win in the Big Ten. Led by Durrell Summers career high 26 points and Kalin Lucas's 20 second half points, the Spartans came from behind to beat the Buckeyes 78-67. It was a very nice win.

Player of the Game - Durrell Summers 26 points (8-13 FGs, 6-9 3-pt)

What Went Well for MSU:
1) Durrell Summers - Summers had arguably the best Spartan performance of the year so far. His hot shooting single-handedly kept MSU in this game. While I still don't have complete confidence in his outside shooting and would rather see him attack the basket, the fact that he finished 6-9 from distance shows that he is a better shooter than I give him credit for. He provided the outside shooting that I thought was going to be key to winning this game. Hopefully he uses this game as a springboard for the future.

2) Rebounding - Michigan State did even a better job on boards in this game than in the previous contest against the Buckeyes. They finished with a +16 rebounding margin and limited OSU to only 3 offensive rebounds. In the first game, Ohio State managed to grab 12 offensive boards.

3) Kalin Lucas - Like the Spartans, the play of Kalin Lucas was the tale of two halves. In the first half, Lucas had trouble adjusting to coming off of the bench as he and Travis Walton were penalized for not meeting an academic goal. He looked terrible out there missing numerous good looks and turning the ball over several times. In fact, there was a good three or four minute stretch where Izzo stuck with Korie Lucious instead of Lucas due to his poor play. But after halftime, Kalin took over scoring all 20 of his points in the second half. He was able to attack the zone effectively with great penetration and may have been just as valuable as Durrell Summers in getting the victory.

4) Goran Suton - Suton continued to be the unsung hero for the Spartans. He finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds which was impressive given the statures of Dallas Lauderdale and B.J. Mullens down low. While the Buckeye big men probably have more talent, as Clark Kellog pointed out, Suton has more experience and he used it wisely to outperform Lauderdale and Mullens.

5) Free Throw Shooting - The Spartans finished 14-19 from the free throw line, good for 73%.

What Didn't Go Well for MSU:

1) Raymar Morgan - Whether he was sick or not, Raymar Morgan played terribly. He finished 1-4 from the field and with 4 points. Joe Rexrode stated in his blog this morning that Raymar got sick right before the game yesterday. If that is true, then again, why is he playing? There are two possibilities: 1) He doesn't convey how sick he is to Coach Izzo or 2) Coach Izzo is the worst guy ever and makes Morgan play because he thinks that we can't win without him. Yeah, I'm thinking number theory number one also.

2) 3-Pt Defense - The Spartans did not defend well against the three-point shot in this game. The Buckeyes finished 10-20 from behind the arc led by Jon Diebler who was 3-6. I thought Ohio State got way too many open looks as a result of blown coverage, especially on designed plays after a timeout.

Quotes:
"As you can imagine, it's a big win against a quality opponent on the road, especially after coming off that devastating loss last Wednesday." --Tom Izzo

"I was just being aggressive. Coach has been telling me all week - really, all year - just be ready to shoot and be aggressive." --Durrell Summers.

"We played one heck of a basketball team today," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "We did some things very well, but we just weren't able to sustain what we needed to do. Credit to Michigan State." --Thad Matta, Ohio State coach.

"It's not very much fun guarding a team for 35 seconds, then they take a shot and get the ball for 35 seconds again," Diebler said. "They're a great basketball team and they made us pay." --Jon Diebler, Ohio State guard, regarding Michigan State offensive rebounding.

Tomorrow - More Ohio State Post Game.

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Ohio State Preview #2

2009-01-24T19:40:00.000-08:00

The Spartans look to overcome their devastating defeat to Northwestern last Wednesday evening as they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. Earlier this year, MSU beat the Buckeyes 67-58 essentially because of excellent rebounding and good outside shooting. In that contest, the Spartans had a +8 rebounding advantage and finished 8-17 from behind the arc. Kalin Lucas led Michigan State with 20 points on 6-8 shooting.

Ohio State (13-4 overall, 3-3 in the conference)

Key Wins:
at Miami (FL) 73-68
Notre Dame (neutral site) 67-62
Butler 54-51
at Michigan 65-58

Key Losses:
West Virginia 76-48
at Minnesota 68-59
at MSU 67-58

at Illinois 67-49

Why Ohio State Could Win:

1) Inside Presence - Dallas Lauderdale and B.J. Mullens are dominating forces inside the paint, especially defensively. In their first matchup, the Spartans benefited from Lauderdale's early foul trouble which limited his play. The defensive standout finished with three blocks and together with B.J. Mullens, altered many more shots. Despite Michigan State winning the rebounding battle, the margin was only +8 (7 below MSU's conference average) and the Buckeyes gathered 12 offensive rebounds. I expect Michigan State to struggle offensively inside the paint due to Ohio States long shot blockers.

2) Good 3-Pt Shooting - As a team, Ohio State currently is the second best three-point shooting team within the conference. They are hitting 40% of their shots from behind the arc. They are led by Jon Diebler who converts 48% of his attempts within the conference. In the first meeting, however, Travis Walton effectively shut Diebler down holding him to 2-8 shooting, including 1-6 from the 3-pt line.
3) B.J. Mullens - Starting with the Michigan State game, B.J. Mullens has had five straight contests where he has scored in double figures. Currently he leads the Big Ten in FG% at a remarkable 72%. The problem for the Buckeyes, in my opinion, is that Thad Matta has generally been ignoring the young talented freshman. Instead of running the offense through Mullens, he has insisted on going through Evan Turner and Jon Diebler. Let's hope that he doesn't figure out how to feed the big man against us.

4) Michigan State Turnovers - As we all know, Michigan State cannot take care of the rock right now. Within the conference, they are ranked 10th in turnover margin at more than -3 per game. Indiana is last at -5.

5) Home Court Advantage - The Buckeyes are 10-1 at home this year with their only loss being to West Virginia. For some reason, I keep thinking that we don't usually play well at Value City Arena, but the Spartans have won 4 of their last 6 there. I think I have last year's debacle where MSU blew a 10 point lead with 12 minutes left and ultimately lost by 9.

Why Michigan State Can Win:
1) Point Guard Play - The Buckeyes biggest weakness at this point of the season is point guard play. William Buford has been hot of late, even winning the Big Ten Player of the Week last week, but he is more of a scorer than he is a floor general. I expect Kalin Lucas to have another big game against the young freshman.

2) Rebounding - As I always do, I'm expecting to win the rebounding war like we always do. Today, however, I think rebounding is especially important. Ohio State has the potential to grab more boards that Michigan State and if they do, we will undoubtedly lose.

3) Raymar Morgan - Despite struggling in the first matchup, I like him against Evan Turner. I think that Morgan can score consistently against the athletic Turner. The question is, will Raymar show up?
4) OSU's Lack of Depth - The Buckeyes effectively play only 7 players. Michigan State should have the obvious advantage if this game comes down to fatigue. The question is, can our bench step up and produce.

Summary:
This is going to be a difficult game for the Spartans. They are coming off of a horrendous loss at home and now have to win on the road within the conference. Given their recent struggles, I expect the Buckeyes to utilize a lot of zone defense. With the dominating inside presence of Dallas Lauderdale and B.J. Mullens, especially defensively, I think MSU is going to have a hard time scoring inside. As a result, this game will come down to how well the Spartans can hit shots from the outside. While my heart says to pick MSU, logic tells me that the Spartans can't pull this one out on the road.

Ohio State over Michigan State 64-56.

Quotes

"If you need a loss to straighten you out, you're either poorly coached or you have disrespectful players."

--Tom Izzo after being asked if a loss can send a message to his players.

Either way, this statement is not comforting. I guess I'll pick poorly coached because that should be easier to fix.

""I see him every game I can catch, and he's not the same player." --Dallas Lauderdale, Ohio State Center, regarding Delvon Roe to a recent Cleveland newspaper.

I'm happy with the Delvon that we have, thank you. He's playing solidly and is rebounding the ball really well. Roe Looking for Delvon.

Big Ten News

1) Michigan Beats NW 68-59 - The game featured 54 three point attempts. The difference between us and Michigan was that they only turned the ball over 8 times. Kevin Coble finished with 21 points on 9-18 shooting. The most impressive statistic in this game was how Manny Harris led the game with 12 rebounds.

2) Illinois Over Wisconsin 64-57 - Demetri McCamey had 25 points and 7 assists for a rare win against the Badgers

3) Penn State Over Iowa 63-59 - Just after I criticized Tim Staudt for having Penn State ranked 9th in the Big Ten, they looked terrible against the Hawkeyes.

Tomorrow: Ohio State Post Game #2.

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MSU notes

2009-01-24T06:46:00.000-08:00

MSU Basketball Notes

1) Raymar "Feeling Much Better Now" - You can find the story in Joe Rexrode's blog here. With this being said, I expect Raymar to play well and not to hear any more excuses. Note: Joe also says in the same article for the Spartans to become a final four team "Summers and Allen need to become steady weapons." As I said yesterday, I think if one of them can produce we will be in good shape.

2) Izzo Needs Help Motivating Players - In today's Detroit News, there is an article describing how Izzo has been proding players "...to take it personal and get in here on their own. Right now, I don't think I have enough guys that are trying to do that." You can find it here. It seems that this has become a recurring theme ever since the Hill, Anderson, and Torbert era. I put some of the blame on Izzo as he needs to address these issues before we lose to Northwestern at home.

3) Chris Allen Working On Outside Shooting - In the same article, Chri Allen mentions how everyday him and Mike Garland work on his three point shooting. He makes 100 three pointers before he goes home and said that it normally takes him 120 attempts to do so. He states that he has never missed more than 33 shots. That's crazy.

Big Ten Related News

1) Tim Staudt Ranks the Big Ten as He Sees It - The link is here. The biggest eye opener is him having Penn State ranked ninth in the conference behind Northwestern and Michigan.

2) Northwestern is 6 1/2 Point Favorite Over Michigan - Interesting to see momentum carry this line, especially since the game is in Ann Arbor. I wonder what the over/under will be for the number of three pointers jacked up in this game is. If anyone can find that, I would love to know.

Former MSU Player News

1) Andre Hutson Playing Along Side of Brandon Jennings - As you remember, Brandon Jennings was an Arizona basketball recruit last year who did not qualify acadmically and therefore, chose to play overseas instead of retaking his college enterence exam. Yesterday, I came across this blog post describing how the young man has been very frustrated with his Italian team, Lottomatica Virtus Roma. Currently he is averaging 5.8 points and 2.2 assists per game coming off of the bench. While I was on the team's website, I was surprised to see Hutson's name and that he was leading the team in scoring.

2) Andy Katz Surprised MoJo Comes off Bench for the Catamounts - He also said that Joseph needs to learn how to play better defense. I've heard that before. The link is here.

Quotes

"The key is that we have guys with big hearts. You know, guys that probably wouldn't start for me at other programs, but they really believe...."

--Tubby Smith's comments on Dan Dakich's radio show in Indianapolis.

I found it funny how he came right out in the first 30 seconds and says that the players he has aren't that talented. Link to the audio is here.

Tomorrow - Ohio State Preview #2

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Can Allen or Summers Step Their Game Up?

2009-01-23T04:50:00.000-08:00

Michigan State has had difficulty finding someone off of the bench to give them solid minutes at the 3. We need Summers and Allen to step their games up.

1) Durrell Summers - I think Summers' biggest problem is that he isn't attacking the basket. Instead, he has been looking to jack up threes way too quickly. Despite leading the team in 3-pt percentage, I do not have confidence in his outside shooting. He had a hot streak earlier in the year that essentially culminated after his buzzer beater against Texas. I would much rather see him use his athleticism to dribble around his defender and attack the rim. The only problem with that is that I don't know how great of an athlete he really is. Sure he can jump real high and run real fast, but can he do those things better than his predecessors? Can he out jump J-Rich, Morris Peterson, or Shannon Brown when they were at his stage? I don't think so. In fact, I think that a majority of our opponents from major conferences have at least one player who is more athletic than Summers.

2) Chris Allen - Chris is coming off of one of the worst games statistically that I have ever seen by a Spartan. He finished 1-11 from the field, including 0-8 from the 3-pt line, and 7 turnovers. With that being said, I agree with Izzo on sticking with him. There isn't a great way to spin Allen's stat line, but I will say I don't think it was as bad as it looks. He obviously played poorly, but given Izzo's lack of alternatives, he was the best guard available.

If Raymar Morgan plays solidly for the rest of the year, which is a big if, then Chris Allen becomes the Spartans' X-factor. He is the only true outside shooter on this team and for us to make a deep NCAA tournament run, we need him to perform well. While he is struggling in regards to 3-pt FG%, he has a tremendous amount of confidence in his ability to shoot and eventually he will turn it around. It's also reassuring that he has improved steadily on the defensive end, a feat that is probably more difficult to do than correct his current shooting slump.

Serenity
For those having a hard time finding faith in the Spartans after Wednesday's loss, you can't help but feel good after watching this feature on Mateen:

One Shining Moment

Don't think about the fact that our team isn't nearly as good as that one.

Around the Big Ten
1) Purdue Handles Minnesota on the Road 70-62 - Here it comes. Purdue is surging from the basement towards the top of the conference. They took care of the Gophers last night by relying on their pressure defense that extends past half court. The Spartans better get their act together because that defense is going to turn them over all night long. It really would have been nice if Northwestern had taken care of the Boilers in Evanston.

That's Ridiculous
1) PETA - These guys are awesome. Has anyone ever seen some of their work. They are over the top. Their latest is that they are insisting that the NFL conduct a brain scan on Michael Vick to see if he has underlying psychological problems and until they do, they will not work on an anti-dog fighting public service announcement with the former player. Do we really need a brain scan PETA? Everyone in America knows that he is messed up. Just do his commercial and be done with it.

Click here for my favorite PETA smack of all time. It's an open letter to the NBA after they changed back to the leather ball after using the synthetic one. They call Lebron and others "Sissys".

2) Allen Iverson Voted to Start in All-Star Game - What? I don't think the votes came from anyone near Detroit. Maybe they came from the same people who voted Yao Ming to start also. This is what's wrong with the NBA.

Mailbag

"Nice recap. Northwestern earned this one. Looks like the Wildcats are finally learning how to finish games, which (don't laugh) might give lots of teams the shakes over the next six weeks. Jeremy Nash was the unsung hero with the way he caused all sorts of trouble for the Spartans on the perimeter. MSU needs to figure out how to attack a zone (check out Illinois) or else they're going to see more zone down the stretch." --TD Lawlor from Hoopraker.com

Thanks for the email. You are right. Jeremy Nash did a great job causing a bunch of turnovers. I also agree with the Spartans needing to be better against the zone. Look for Ohio State to utilize the zone more after seeing the difficulites that the MSU has had.

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Reality Check

2009-01-22T04:44:00.000-08:00

Northwestern did the unthinkable Wednesday night by winning in East Lansing for the first time since 1984. Led by Kevin Coble's 31 points, the Wildcats relied on clutch three point shooting and their pressure 1-3-1 defense to overcome Michigan State's athleticism 70-63.

Player of the Game - Kevin Coble 31 points on 10-16 shooting.

Why Northwestern Won:
1) Points Off of Turnovers - Once again, it wasn't the number of turnovers that killed MSU in this game. It was Northwestern's effectiveness in turning these turnovers into points on the other end. The Wildcats turned 18 Michigan State turnovers into 27 points. That's almost 40% of their total points! Then, add in the fact that Northwestern only had 7 turnovers themselves and that is a recipe for disaster.
2) Clutch Outside Shooting - As a team, the Wildcats shot below their season average with regards to three point percentage at 32%. The key, however, was the timing of their threes. Whenever they needed a big basket, the Wildcats cashed in a three from near the hash mark. The back-to-back threes by Craig Moore and Michael Thompson with 6:31 remaining were especially clutch as they put the Wildcats up for good.
3) Kevin Coble - He went Drew Neitzel versus Wisconsin two years ago in the very same building. Whatever he chucked even near the basket was destined to go in. There was no stopping him on this night.
4) Poor Michigan State 3-Pt Shooting - If you compare the two games' box scores, the biggest difference between last night and the earlier meeting was our three-point shooting. In the first contest we finished 9-16 from behind the arc for 56%. Last night we shot less than 25% going 5-21. You can't credit all of this to Northwestern's defense either. Many of our attempts from beyond the arc were open looks that we just couldn't convert into points.
5) Excellent Coaching - Bill Carmody has done an excellent job with this team. They take care of the ball extremely well and play great pressure defense. Although I disagree with giving essentially the entire Wildcat team the green light to shoot anywhere on the floor, it might be the only way Northwestern is able to beat a team like Michigan State.

What Went Well for MSU:
1) Goran Suton - Despite not getting the ball enough, Suton managed to pull down a double-double and finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Although he still got beat a few times on the perimeter, he played solidly overall.
2) Free Throws - The Spartans finished 20-24 from the charity stripe lead by Suton's 9-11 performance. Can you imagine what this game would have been like if MSU shot their season average 68%?
3) Rebounding - Michigan State again outrebounded Northwestern in this contest with a +16 margin. They were led by Goran Suton's 14 rebounds.

Coaching Mistakes
1) We Ignored Our Bigs - Obviously we thought that our outside shooting was going to win this game. Tom Izzo even said as much in the pre-game interview. So, instead of attacking the zone inside, we got into a three-point contest with a team that lives and dies by the three. As a result, Northwestern outshot us from behind the three-point line and nearly outscored us in the paint (MSU 20, NW 18). That is unacceptable.
2) Clock Management - Although I disagree with it, I can understand fouling to get into the bonus when we are down by 7 with just over two minutes. What I can' t understand is why put Northwestern on the line when they are up by three with forty-five seconds left, especially when they are in the double bonus. Just play good defense, get a stop, and then look for a three.
3) Substitutions - I'm convinced there is no rhyme or reason to Izzo's substitutions. There's no way that Raymar should have should have seen the court, let alone play nearly half the game (18 minutes). And while I am a proponent of getting Lucas and Lucious on the court together, I certainly don't want to try it out when we are losing to Northwestern in the second half.
4) X's and O's - I got a lot of grief when I started this blog and said that I thought Izzo might be the worst X's and O's coach ever. Well, this may have been an overstatement, but you can see what I mean by watching the final two minutes of last night's game. When we desperately need a basket, a structured offensive play was not to be found. We got one good look by Chris Allen from three but this wasn't even a designed play. He was just open. Instead, we got a lot of Kalin Lucas dribbling atop the key (ala Mateen) with no results.
5) Pressure Defense - I saw for a short period of time Michigan State play in-your-face pressure defense last night. The problem was that it didn't start until 2 minutes left. Izzo needs to unleash these guys and let them pressure the ball more.

Other Game Thoughts
1) This is Why People Get Down on the Izzone - What was different between this game and the Ohio State game? Nothing. That's the problem. Someone at the LSJ needs to republish that 1999 article titled "Izzone: You Stink". The entire crowd was silent until late in the second half when it really looked like Northwestern had a chance to win this game. For as many times as Izzo has said how the Breslin crowd has won games for them in the past, he should come out today and say how they lost the game for them last night.
2) Note to the BTN: Someone please tell Tom Hamilton that Chris Hill does not play for us anymore. It's Chris Allen buddy. In the pregame, Jim Jackson also referred to Kalin Lucas as Kaden Lucas.

Quotes:
"It doesn't surprise me that we didn't go undefeated like most people around here thought we would. It does surprise me that we would lose at home in this fashion."
--Tom Izzo

Coach, before losing to Northwestern, most people around here were worried that we would blow a two game lead in the conference not whether or not we would go undefeated.

"My concern is not the loss, but rather how we respond to the loss." --Tom Izzo

"We just did not get the ball inside. I need to look at doing a better job of that myself."
--Tom Izzo

That's what I'm talking about. Feed the big men. Heck, I would like to us go without shooting a single three pointer for one game just to prove a point.

"Too many turnovers by the guards and the bigs, we've got to do a better job of being focused." --Kalin Lucas

Umm......The bigs only had two turnovers. The guards had 16. You had 6 and only 2 assists.

"People think they're bad shots. They're not. They just look different." --Kevin Coble

No...they are bad shots, but they went in. Like a true scorer, Coble hasn't ever seen a shot he didn't like.

Mailbag
"You're not helping 'em Raymar, your hurting 'em......and you shouldn't be on the court"
-Kyle from Austin, TX

Nice apparent Jim Rome reference although it wasn't Morgan's fault. As John L. said "The coach that sent him in...we shouldn't have sent him in, that's a dang coaching mistake!"

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Northwestern Preview #2

2009-01-20T19:13:00.001-08:00

Michigan State looks to beat Northwestern for the second time this year. Their previous contest featured one of Raymar Morgan's best games of the year where he went for 22 points and 13 rebounds. Today, it is uncertain whether or not Raymar Morgan will play due to an illness. Can the bench provide enough to overcome the outside shooting Wildcats? Joe Rexrode discusses it here.

Northwestern (9-6 overall, 1-4 in the conference)

Key Wins:
vs. Florida State 73-59
vs. Minnesota 74-65

Key Losses:
at Penn State 61-57
at Wisconsin 74-45
vs MSU 77-66
vs Purdue 63-61

Why Northwestern Could Win:
1. Hot shooting - We all are aware of how much Northwestern likes to shoot the three ball. In fact, 36% of all of their points this year have come from behind the arc. Craig Moore continues to be hot shooting 45% from three point land on the season. Kevin Coble can also convert from distance. If they shoot the lights out in the Breslin, we could see another overplayed BTN commercial featuring an upset of MSU.
2. Turnover Margin - Northwestern is a top the Big Ten with regards to turnover margin at +4.33. The Wildcats lead the Big Ten in steals per game averaging over 8 swipes per contest. Add that to a very efficient offense that scores on an assist 68% of the time and you have a recipe for success. If the Spartans turn the ball over like they did in the first half of the Illinois game, we will be in big trouble.
3. Look Inside More - During last matchup against MSU, Northwestern got a lot of easy buckets down low. Luckily for us, the Wildcats insisted on chucking up threes from nearly half court. If they play more disciplined and only shoot threes when they are open, they could make this a close game. Also look for them to exploit Suton's apparent lack of quickness out on the perimeter. He had a hard time defending against the drive the last time we played them probably due to his knee injury.

Why Northwestern could lose:
1. Poor Rebounding - The Wildcats are dead last in conference rebounding margin at worse than -14 per game. This is horrendous. The next worse is -4.4 per game. Look for Michigan State to dominate on the glass and probably increase their current rebounding margin of +15.
2. Lack of athleticism. If MSU gets out and running, Northwestern will have essentially no chance of winning this game. The Wildcats will need to slow it down, be patient, and run the Princeton offense effectively to beat the more athletic Spartans.
3. MSU is Shutting Down the Three in Conference - Currently Michigan State leads the Big Ten in conference 3-pt FG defense holding opponents to just under 29%. While I would hope that this is due to great Spartan defensive pressure, I'm concerned that our conference opponents have just been cold so far this year. Historically, we have not defended the three well but if we continue our current pace, we will be very successful through the end of the season.

Summary:
On paper, it appears that Michigan State will dominate nearly all aspects of this game. They should be able to dictate tempo, outrebound, and have success defending Northwestern's three point shooters without difficulty. Then, add in the fact that the game is going to be played in the Breslin Center and you have to wonder how Michigan State could possibly lose this game. Statistics do not always translate onto the court however.

The only way that Northwestern wins this game is if Coble and Moore get extremely hot and the team creates 20+ Michigan State turnovers. Don't be surprised if the Wildcats achieve one of these two goals, but I don't think both will happen. In the end, the more athletic Spartans will prevail.

Michigan State over Northwestern 72-56

Quotes:
"They're a lot different, they're going to more of those 6-7, 6-8 guys. ... They're turning people over a lot, they're a lot different team than they were, and (Craig) Moore has been pretty effective as of late. ...This is a better team than the one we played earlier, and we are, too."
--Tom Izzo on Northwestern

I agree with all of the above except for how we are a better team than when we played them earlier. Since then we have been Helter Skelter with great wins over Ohio State and Kansas, but then struggling badly against Penn State and Illinois.

"They are a fast-paced team, they get the ball out and go. We have to get back, stop the ball and make them play against our 1-3-1 zone."
--Michael Thompson, NW sophomore guard

The first step is believing. The next is going out and doing it.

Around the Big Ten
1) Michigan Destroyed by Penn State 73-58 - Michigan's insistence to jack up threes is ridiculous. They started this game with 8 three-ball attempts in the first three and a half minutes. They finished 5-30 from behind the arc while DeShawn Sims was dominating inside. Sims finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds on 10-14 shooting. Hopefully Michigan will continue to ignore Sims when we play them down in Ann Arbor.

Michigan's current 3-game skid is starting to make Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker proud. Could they be going into their typical January and February disappearing act? No way this Michigan team misses the tournament this year right? I knew I shouldn't have picked them to finished third in the conference.

2) Illinois Handled Ohio State - Illinois had their typical balanced scoring act while Ohio State had difficulty taking care of the ball. The Buckeyes finished with a season high 20 turnovers. BJ Mullens finished with 14 points on 6-8 shooting.

Email:
"Why didn't you comment on the Arkansas's hiring of John L. Smith as special teams coordinator?"
--Jon from Owosso, MI

Well, I indeed did know about it. I just didn't know if I should put it into the blog or not. It's pretty ironic that John L. Smith got this gig as a special teams coordinator. I hope he doesn't "screw it up."

Tomorrow - Northwestern Post Game

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Throw Some Tamiflu in There.

2009-01-20T05:53:00.000-08:00

Spartan Storylines:

1) Raymar Morgan Questionable - Izzo commented yesterday that Raymar is even sicker now than he was on Saturday. He thinks he has the flu and is uncertain whether or not he will play. I say, if he is sick, sit him down. Although he has the potential to change a game, we have won without him before. I'm pretty sure that we will win without him again. Besides, our team is deep enough to rotate different players into the lineup without losing that much. By the way, the team does get flu shots as stated in this article.

2) MSU Climbs to #7 in Both Polls - After looking at the poll closely, I think this is right where we belong. I think we are clearly better than the teams ranked below us, but I'm not sure if we can beat any of the teams ranked ahead of us.

3) "No One in the Country is Playing Better Than Michigan State" - Posted by Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com here (line #5). I think he forgot that Wake Forest is undefeated and beat North Carolina last week. He also must not have seen our last two games.

Fun Stuff From the Spartan Program:

1) Kool-Aid Competitions? - Raymar Morgan states that the team often has Kool-Aid Competitions and he apparently is the best mixer. He likes combining black cherry and fruit punch. He should throw some Tamiflu in there this week.

2) Tom Herzog is in the Honor's College - While I applaud his efforts, I question what the Honor's College gives you. If you get good grades, it doesn't matter whether or not you are in the Honor's College. Just keep getting those 4.0's Tom.

3) Kalin Lucas Prefers Watching the NBA Over College - Kalin, you are what is wrong with America! How can you watch that garbage? Soon enough you will be living the NBA. For now, have fun in college.

Big Ten News:

1) Michigan Plans on Building New Basketball Facility - Officials believe that it will be approved in Thursday's Board of Regents meeting. For years, college basketball analysts have stated how outdated Michigan's equipment is and stated that recruits stayed away because of it. I disagree. I would argue that Michigan has had some good recruiting classes, but they haven't been able to corral the talent they have brought in. Look at this analysis of Big Ten Basketball recruiting from '98-'08. Michigan had the second highest number of Top 100 recruits during that ten year span and managed the fourth worst conference record. In the end, I think that better coaching is going to be the difference down in Ann Arbor. Not better equipment.

Tomorrow: Northwestern Preview #2

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Michigan State Overcomes Sloppy Play and Beats Illinois 63-57

2009-01-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

The Spartans slid past the Fighting Illini in an ugly game that featured horrendous turnovers and poor shooting. In the end, the Spartans' solid team rebounding and good team defense carried them to the victory.

Player of the Game - Marquise Gray 11pts and 6 rebounds in 15 minutes

What went well for MSU:
1) Rebounding - Once again, MSU dominated the rebound margin 42-30. Illinois, however, did manage to grab 12 offensive rebounds, which is quite impressive. Raymar Morgan led the Spartans with 8 rebounds.
2) Marquise Gray - 'Quise played phenomenally after being inspired by the retirement of Morris Peterson's jersey. He put together one of the best stat lines of the game despite only playing 15 minutes. One has to question why he didn't play more after such a spectacular first half.
3) Perimeter Defense - As a team, the Spartans held Trent Meacham and Demetri McCamey to a combined 1-16 from the field. The entire Illini backcourt was essentially held in check with the exception of Alex Legion who had a career game.
4) Transition Game - The Illini were not ready to defend the Spartans and their quick counterattacking tendencies, especially on converted Illini baskets. Knowing that Bruce Webber is a great coach, I was really surprised to see that he didn't have his kids ready to defend the Spartans' quick transition game.
5) Goran Suton - Overall, he played pretty well. He was 5-8 from the field finishing with 12 points and 6 rebounds. He still is looking slow on the defensive end and is committing foolish fouls however.

What didn't go well for MSU:
1) Turnovers - For me, it wasn't the actually number of turnovers, it was the quality of them. In fact, the Spartans finished with 18 total which is only 4 more than their average. As Coach Izzo pointed out, the Illini only had 5 steals for the entire game, meaning that 13 of the TOs were either traveling violations or us throwing the ball away. That is outrageous.
2) Kalin Lucas - Nothing seemed to go very well for Kalin yesterday. He shot poorly going 3-13 from the field and had as many turnovers as he did assists (3). He did keep his composure, however, and convert on all four of his free throw attempts.
3) Raymar Morgan - Once again, Raymar was invisible for nearly the entire game. Sure, he had a great layup at the end of the game, but it wasn't enough to erase his lack of productivity up until that point. It certainly wasn't enough to warrant the "Raymar Morgan" chant that followed that nice play. Next time, the Izzone should get the "Raymar Morgan" chant going early in the first half so that he wakes up and realizes that he is playing in a basketball game. As a side note, Izzo explained that Raymar had the flu the night before and even joked about how we always have someone sick. How about we mix in a flu shot coach? It couldn't have affected Morgan that much as he played 31 minutes.
4) Three Point Shooting - After opening conference play with hot three point shooting, the Spartans had their second consecutive game where they shot less than 30% from beyond the arc (21.4%). It was also their second straight close game. I'm beginning to wonder whether or not Michigan State is a team that needs to rely on hot outside shooting to beat good teams.
5) The Bench - Aside from Marquise Gray, our bench played very poorly. Illinois bench outscored the Spartan reserves 32-21. Summers went for nada and two identical travel calls. Chris Allen finished 3-10 from the floor, although you could argue that he played better than his stat line shows. Lucious shined at times with a nice three pointer and a no-look pass to Gray for a slam, but this was marred by four turnovers in only 6 minutes of play.

Other Game Thoughts
1) Why Not Play Gray More - As mentioned above, Gray played spectacularly in a limited amount of time. I'm not sure why he didn't get more minutes, especially if Morgan wasn't feeling well. He could have played at the four along side of Suton and then a three guard line up. I know that Gray is a basket case, but as we saw today, his upside is tremendous. We need to find a way to regularly rotate him in so that we take full advantage of his skills.
2) Note to Doris Burke: Kalin Lucas is not Mateen - We know, Mateen was a rah-rah type of guy. Kalin Lucas is not. That doesn't make him a poor leader though. He leads by example and by dictating the offense. That is what a point guard does. They don't have pom-poms or do triple, no handed round-offs.
3) Izzone Pub - Here is a link to a Chicago Sun Times describing Illinois' troubles dealing with the Izzone.

Quotes:
"Welcome to the game Raymar Morgan" - Doris Burke after Raymar scored his first FG with 9:41 left in the second half

"We snuck one out we probably didn't deserve" - Tom Izzo

"I'm not sure which I like better: playing well for 35 minutes and playing poorly down the stretch or playing poorly for 35 minutes and playing well down the stretch. I guess if you win, you have to live with either one" - Tom Izzo

"Those two [Cleaves and Peterson] hanging up there gives me a little more motivation and drives me a little more" - Marquise Gray

Tomorrow - More Illinois Post Games including my worst plays of the game.

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Vacation

2009-01-13T14:12:00.001-08:00

I'm currently on vacation. I'll be back on January 18th. Hopefully I'll have a pair of Spartan victories to talk about then.

Michigan State Too Much for Kansas 75-62

2009-01-10T15:28:00.000-08:00

Once again, Kalin Lucas led the Spartans to a victory over the Kansas Jayhawks. He finished with 22 points including 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Although Sherron Collins ended up with more points (25), Lucas came away with the better overall performance. He clearly is living up to his preseason billing of being one of the best point guards in the nation.

Player of the Game - Kalin Lucas 22 points, 3-4 3-pt

What went well for MSU:
1) Rebounding - The Spartans continued to dominate the boards on both ends of the floor with a +11 margin. They effectively neutralized all of the Kansas rebounders except for Aldrich who still managed to gather 11 missed shots. They did especially well in limiting offensive rebounds holding the Jayhawks to half of their season average (7). For the Spartans, it was a total team effort as four players had five or more rebounds. This is a testament to how much Tom Izzo preaches about winning the rebound margin.
2) Kalin Lucas - He set the tone for the game by hitting early three pointers and snapping the Spartans cold start to the game. He even hit 9 of 10 free throws which has been uncharacteristic of MSU so far this year.
3) Free Throws - The team finished 26-35 from the free throw line which calculates to 74%. What was even more impressive than these stats was that the team shot over 82% in the second half when you would think there would be more pressure on the players to convert their freebees.
4) Defense of TWalt - Travis Walton played outstanding defense on Sherron Collins today. The box score doesn't really correlate with this assessment, however, as Collins finished with 25 points.

What didn't go well for MSU:
1) Goran Suton - He continues to struggle. Throughout his last three games, he has been a liability on the defensive end. Cole Aldrich, however, is a great player and it is probably asking too much for Suton to handle him defensively. Furthermore, Goran was sick and apparently vomiting the night before. He did still manage to hit two long-range jumpers that were key in the second half.
2) Raymar Morgan - Once again, he had a game that looks good on paper with 13 points and 8 rebounds, but I didn't really even notice him out there on the court. To his credit, he hit 7-11 from the line which shows that he was trying to attack the basket, but it still seemed like he dissappeared in another big game. The difference was that instead of going solely through him for offense, Izzo opened things up and allowed Lucas to contribute with regards to scoring. All in all, I'll happily take 13 points and 8 rebounds from Morgan any day.

Why Kansas lost:
1) They ignored Cole Aldrich - In the first few minutes, it was apparent that Suton couldn't guard or score on this guy. Kansas exploited this and got off to an early lead. But, then once Lucas got hot, they got away from getting Aldrich the ball. I think this was a mistake by Bill Self as Cole Aldrich appeared like a dominate force in the paint. I would have tried to slow the game down and feed the big fella' all night.
2) Rebounding - Their strength coming into this game was rebounding, but they soon found out that collectively, the Spartans are a better rebounding team. Aldrich was the only Jayhawk with more than 3 rebounds.
3) Poor free throw shooting - The Jayhawks finished just over 60% for the game, 14% off of their average.

Summary:
The key to today's victory was obviously the play of Kalin Lucas. Without question, he dominated offensively and again provided the spark that the Spartans needed to get the win. It was nice to see Michigan State come back from such a poor start and then essentialy dictate the rest of the game. It was disappointing, though, to see them let the Jayhawks cut it to within 9 towards the end of the game. I guess I'll just be happy with the victory.

Quotes:
"They [Kansas] could have collapsed in the second half and they didn't. At the same time, you have to give us a little blame. When are we going to learn to finish games?" -Tom Izzo

That is a good question coach. I wonder that everytime that we have a big lead. I think that Coach changes how he coaches games when he gets up on teams and isn't as aggressive. Keep the pedal to the metal coach!

"He [Cole Aldrich] is a really good player, but we're not doing enough to help him out." - Kansas coach Bill Self

I agree coach. It's pretty easy to correct. Just tell your guards to get it to the big man. He's the tall white guy who camps out down in the lane. Feed him! Feed him! Thank you for not perfecting this before playing us.

Vacation - I will be leaving for Jamaica tomorrow and will not be back until Sunday, Jan 18th.
I may be able to make a quick post while on vacay, but I'm unsure. Please check back.

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Kansas Preview

2009-01-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

Kansas (11-3 overall, 0-0 in the Big 12)

Key Wins:
vs Washington 73-54 (neutral court)
vs Tenessee 92-85

Key Losses:
Syracuse 89-81 OT (neutral court)
UMass 61-60 (neutral court)
at Arizona 84-67

Why Kansas could win:
1) Solid Defense - The Jayhawks enter this game with impressive defensive statistics. They are holding their opponents to 38% shooting from the field and are second in the Big 12 in blocks averaging just over 5 per game. If they can pressure Michigan State defensively, it could be a long day for the Spartans.
2) Good Rebounding - Kansas is second in the Big 12 in regards to rebounding margin at +7.6 per game. They are especially good at offensive rebounding averaging over 14 per game. I don't see any way that Michigan State can win if they were to get out rebounded by the Jayhawks. It should be a very interesting subplot to the game.
3) Great FT shooting - Unlike MSU, Kansas is hitting their free throws with great success. As a team they are converting on 73% of their attempts. If it is a close game or if the referees get whistle happy, they will have the advantage.
4) Sherron Collins - A strong individual performance by their star guard could lead Kansas to a victory. He can run the floor, is a great passer, and can score when he needs to. He currently is averaging over 17ppg and 5 assists.
5) Cole Aldrich - He is having a great sophomore year after hardly seeing the floor during Kansas' championship run last year. He is second on the team in scoring at 15.7 ppg and leads the team with 9.9 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest. He is listed at 6-11, 245lbs and has had 8 double-doubles so far this season. I expect him to be a dominant force in the middle on both ends of the court. He may be the difference in this game.

Why Michigan State could win:
1) The Spartan offense is rolling - The Spartans are on an incredibly hot shooting streak since losing to North Carolina. They are averaging nearly 80 ppg and holding their opponents to 61ppg. Their three point shooting has seen a drastic improvement, especially since they have started conference play. They will need this hot shooting streak to continue if they want to counter the high scoring Kansas offense.
2) Rebounding- As mentioned above, the rebounding margin will be key to a MSU victory. I believe that both teams win games primarily by focusing on rebounding. I think the Spartans will have the advantage in this area due to the emphasis that Coach Izzo places on cleaning up the boards.
3) Kalin Lucas is on fire - He is having a great second half of the season. Since the Oakland game, he has a scoring dimension to his game that only adds to an already superb assist/turnover ratio. Hopefully he can continue this in front of a national audience.
4) Poor KU 3-pt defense - So far this season, KU is allowing opponents to shoot more than 34% from beyond the arc. Look for Chris Allen and Kalin Lucas to get plenty of opportunities to shoot the long ball. If they get hot, the Jayhawks will be a world of trouble.
5) Deeper Bench - Kansas has only 7 players that average more than 10 minutes per game. This is unusual because they really like to push the ball up the court. If the contest becomes a run and gun type of game, Michigan State will have the advantage due to a deeper bench.

Summary:
At first glance, this game appears to be a hot Michigan State team playing a rebuilding Kansas team that probably lacks the talent that they are used to in Lawrence. But after looking at the two teams on paper, the two teams appear to be very similar in regards to their strengths and weaknesses. Both are averaging close to 80 points per game and both rely heavily on offensive rebounding to do so. Because of this, I think who ever wins the rebounding battle will ultimately win the game. The obvious player to watch out for is Sherron Collins. He can heat up quickly and really dictate a game. But, I am really worried about Cole Aldrich and his 8 double-doubles so far this season. Our interior defense has not been good since we started conference play and he could cause Suton to get into foul trouble early.

In the end I see the Spartans winning the battle on the boards and coming away with the victory in dramatic fashion.

MSU over Rock-Chalk-Jayhawk 81-79

Tomorrow: I will be trying to get a Kansas post game post up, but I am leaving early Sunday to go to Jamaica for a week. I may have a guest blogger during this time as I do not think I will have internet access.

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MSU Notes

2009-01-09T05:07:00.000-08:00

MSU Related News:
1) Izzo plans on pushing the ball against Kansas - Stated in the LSJ. The article can be found here. Coach Izzo stated that we will see a Lucious and Lucas lineup also.

2) Izzo thinks some recruits are wrongly advised regarding the Spartan offense - The same article discusses how some recruits are turned off by MSU's traditional offense. There is no question that certain kids don't want to go to Michigan State because of this. Even though we lead the Big Ten in scoring, I wouldn't say that we are an offensive powerhouse. We have the capability to put big numbers on the scoreboard, but I'm not sure if we can do it consistently. For better or worse, we win games by solid defense and great rebounding. That is Michigan State. So, instead of trying to convince people otherwise, he should just promote these aspects of the team.

3) The Morris Peterson jersey retirement not likely to happen - The Detroit News is reporting that the uncertainty is based on Peterson's practice schedule. The Hornets have a game on Friday night and then a Saturday morning practice.

Other Notes:
1) Interesting recruiting analysis - Someone at the University of Minnesota did a great analysis on Big Ten basketball recruiting over the last 10 years. It can be found here. It essentially shows which teams were the most successful in recruiting top 100 athletes and which teams got the most out of their talent. Michigan State leads the list in the number of top 100 players which is good, but unfortunately, they are tied for the second best conference record during this time period. This website also validates Wisconsin as the most overachieving team in the Big Ten with only landing 11 top 100 players in the last year but still finishing at the top of the conference.

2) Florida Gators win their second national championship in 3 years - Led by Tim Tebow, the Gators captured another BCS championship. I found it hard to really get into this game. Maybe it was because it was played a week after New Year's Day. I don't know. Anyways, is anyone turned off by Tim Tebow's super Christian-ness? Here is an article for you from The Enlightened Spartan. They refer to Tim Tebow as the anti-Brittney Spears. His girlfriend (pictured to the right) doesn't look like the anti-Brittney.

3) Mick McCabe thinks recruits are taking their school decision announcements to far - Can be found here. I don't disagree with him, but I think it is just part of the spectacle that the media drives. Also, on some level, it has happened for decades. Do you remember in Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball when they showed Magic's press conference? That seemed like a big deal to me.

That's Ridiculous:
1) Bill Romanowski inquires about the Denver Broncos head coaching job - He'll get that job right after Pac Man Jones is named VP of operations.

2) Woman cheats on same man she received a kidney from - What a dirtbag! The man is getting a divorce and says that he wants the kidney back or the cash equivalent which he says is 1.5 million dollars. Couldn't these guys just have waited to announce this on Jerry Springer? Link is here.

Tomorrow - Kansas Preview

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Izzo Starts to Limit the Bench

2009-01-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

After watching the first three conference games, I wanted to address the substitution patterns of Coach Izzo. Earlier in the year I had mentioned that Tom Izzo normally starts the year off playing 10-11 guys and by tournament time, he whittles it down to 7 or 8. (Story can be found here). Well, I think we are beginning to see this early in conference play. It appears that we have solidified our regular starting five and we know that Allen, Summers, and either Gray or Ibok are going to be the guys coming in off the bench. Sure, occasionally some of the others are going to get into the game, but they shouldn't see extensive playing time barring a disaster.

This is the way I like it. I'm not very fond of letting players like Green, Thornton, and Dahlman get chunks of playing time in meaningful games just so they can get experience. That is what practice is for. We need to put our best players on the court as much as we can and then substitute as the need arises. I don't feel that Coach Izzo always does this, especially early in the non-conference portion of our schedule. This may account for the disparity that can be found between his regular season and post-season accomplishments.

Michigan State Notes:
1) Joe Rexrode misses the Izzone - Find the article here. Undoubtedly, the team misses students, but I don't think they necessarily miss the Izzone. Having been a member of the Izzone during the glory years ('97-01), I honestly can say that the impact of this formal student section is vastly overrated. Don't get me wrong, I think the group brings an energy that was lacking before the Izzone was created, but they are no Cameron Crazies.
2) No official word regarding the retirement of Morris Peterson's jersey - I don't really understand how MSU doesn't know by now. We will have to wait and see.

Around the Big Ten:
1) Michigan pulls one out in overtime against IU - Didn't see the game, but they obviously struggled. IU had an open look for the game winner at the end of regulation but couldn't convert. Michigan then capitalized on this and came home with the victory. I can't really figure the Wolverines out.
2) Wisconsin destroyed Northwestern - Northwestern continued to live and die by the three point shot. In this game, they definitely died. They finished 3-17 from beyond the arc. On the other hand, Wisconsin appears to be living up to their reputation of flying somewhat under the radar only to capture yet another Big Ten championship. In my opinion, the schedule is definitely in their favor as they do not have to travel to the Breslin Center this year.

Mailbag:

Hey Sparty Basketball,

That was a great win, we're 3-0! ........Suton looks continually out-matched on defense. He is getting beat everytime and I think it is time to get Ibok and Gray a few more minutes if only for the improved effort/athleticism. Lucas, however, continues to impress.
-A-Fed, Saginaw

Yeah, Suton has not looked good in his last two games, especially on the defensive end. Maybe his knee is still hurting him. Hopefully he snaps out of this funk quickly.

I can't tell you why Izzo didn't play Gray more and why Ibok didn't even see the floor. It doesn't make sense. My argument against Gray would be that you don't know how much effort he is going to give you. He's a true basketcase that will hit for 18 points one night and then zero points and 5 turnovers the next.

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Spartans Get Past the Buckeyes 67-58

2009-01-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

Led by Kalin Lucas and his twenty points, Michigan State won its eighth consecutive game. The Spartans overcame a cold start as they missed 11 of their first 15 shots.

Player of the Game:
Kalin Lucas 20 points on 6-8 shooting.

What went well:
1) Kalin Lucas - He continued his recent domination of opponents by limiting turnovers and scoring effectively. Kalin has really stepped his game up and has done a complete 180 compared to the start of his season. Now he is truly living up to his super sophomore preseason hype.
2) Defense of Jon Deibler - Well, it probably was a combination of solid defense and his poor shooting. He came into this game extremely hot, but didn't shoot the ball well against us. He finished 2-8 from the field including 1-6 from behind the arc.
3) Three-point shooting - MSU finished 8-17 from three-point land making this the second consecutive game where they have shot better than 45% from distance. When we shoot the ball like that, we are extremely difficult to beat.
4) Rebounding - The Spartans again won the battle of the boards with a +8 advantage. Ohio State did manage to grab 11 offensive rebounds which was surprising since they rank near the bottom of the Big Ten in rebounding percentage.
5) Raymar Morgan - He had his third consecutive double-double despite poor shooting going 5-14 from the field. You can find a Drew Sharp column discussing how everything is coming together for Morgan here. Personally, I think this is way too premature. We need to see how Raymar plays against the best of the Big Ten. I also believe that the play of Lucas recently has been much more impressive than Morgan's.
6) Korie Lucious - He only played sparingly, but contributed solidly. I still believe that he is the most game ready freshman on this team. Watching him on the floor he appears that even might be a better passer than Lucas, although at this point statistics would not agree. I agree with Lavin on the idea that Izzo should try putting Lucious and Lucas on the floor at the same time. Heck, with both of those guys out there, the Spartans could really pressure the ball and force an uptempo game. Just an idea.

What didn't go well:
1) Shooting at the start of the game - Against a better team, we can't afford to get off to such a slow start. I would have liked to at least try to establish a presence inside initially. Instead, the very first shot was a three point attempt by Raymar Morgan. Eventually, however, we snapped out of our funk.
2) Goran Suton - This was his second consecutive performance where he struggled somewhat. He finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds which is respectable, but he went 2-6 from the line, made stupid fouls, and turned the ball over too much. Give credit to Dallas Lauderdale and BJ Mullens for their inside presence also. They combined for 5 official blocks, but altered many more shots than that.
3) Durrell Summers - Once again, Summers played essentially half of the game, but failed to impress. Yes, he did have three offensive rebounds which are invaluable, but he was 1-7 from the floor. I still think that he is shooting too many three pointers and needs to attack the basket more. I know he is currently shooting 48% from long distance, but I don't think that will last. Unlike Allen, he is not a pure shooter. He needs to be more like Mo Pete who could stroke it from distance, but preferred to take it to the hole if it was open. Please Summers, dunk more and shoot less.

Post Game Quotes:
"We found a way to win and that's the name of the game but I'm not sure we took a step forward today as far as getting better." - Tom Izzo

"We talked about pulling up, pulling up, pulling up and we just wanted to keep taking it in there so they could block shots."
-Tom Izzo on why he felt his gameplan didn't work

I find this second statement to be very interesting. Personally, I would prefer to attack shot blockers and force them into foul trouble. In fact, the Spartans essentially did this by forcing Lauderdale to the bench early in the first half. I would rather take my chances attacking the basket than settling for jump shots, especially in an era where athletes have not developed that mid-range game. But, he's the legendary coach and I write a blog.

That's ridiculous!
1) BJ Mullens' dunk and glare with thirty seconds left - What was this? Scoreboard you bastard! If I was Thad Matta, I would have called a time out and taken him out of the game right then just to prove a point. You can't be an idiot on national television.
2) The lame Breslin crowd - Nothing illustrated this more than when ESPN was having technical difficulties and switched to the WVU/UConn game. West Virginia's students were also on break, but their arena was loud and filled with plenty of excitement unlike the Breslin Center. From what I could see, the arena wasn't even full. Despite the poor atmosphere, the Spartans extended their home winning streak to 26 games.
3) Penn State basketball fans - Last night Penn State pulled off a shocking win over preseason Big Ten favorite Purdue in front of 4,014 people. Michigan State and North Carolina playing at Ford Field thinks this is ridiculous.
4) The Big Ten Tonight's stopwatch - The post game highlights timed how long it took Lucas to go baseline to baseline. He did it in 3.49 seconds. It wasn't exactly Tyus Edney though. No one really even guarded him. Thanks for the info though BTN.

Mailbag:
Dear SpartyBasketball,

I have a few comments regarding your review of the "Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball Review":

1)Greg Kelser was excited to discuss his playing career. ANY athlete would talk like he did when they remember their career, especially when he was pretty much is in Ervin’s shadow historically speaking…and Kelser was a great player.. I am not sure he “loves” himself at all. If he did love himself, you’d hear about it all the time. I’ve met him a few times and he is the most gracious person.

2) Obviously, any coach is only as good as his players. Chuck Daily would not have taken the Pistons to two championships without his “Bad Boys”. UNC wouldn’t be going to the Finals without their Studs. Izzo did take that ’05 team to the Final Four because he was a very good coach and he got his players to play at the peak of their performance. They may have gone to the Finals if Anderson hadn’t torn up his knee- remember MSU was up by 5 points against UNC at the half, but then Anderson couldn’t answer the bell.

Anyway, keep up the good work. I enjoy reading the blog. Go Green!

-Mark, unknown location

First of all, I like Greg Kelser also. I was one year old when he was in his prime so I obviously don't know him as a player. I am familiar with how good he was though. From what I see of him on television now, I can see how he could be "the most gracious person". That is exactly why I found him to be so funny during the special. I especially liked the part where he said he noticed Larry Bird was guarding him and how he knew he was going to take advantage of it. Even if they knew it was true, most people would not call out Larry Legend like that. Apparently it was Greg's time to let the world know he was a college star.

Your second point is right on. Izzo got that 2005 team to peak at the perfect time. It was amazing.

Tomorrow: More Ohio State Post Game and I'll talk briefly about Tom Izzo's substitutions.

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Ohio State Preview

2009-01-05T11:03:00.000-08:00

Today the Spartans will host The Ohio State for their Big Ten home opener. Michigan State has begun conference play with two impressive road wins and are looking to go 3-0.

The Ohio State (10-2 overall, 1-1 in the conference)

Key Wins:
at Miami (FL) 73-68
Notre Dame (neutral site) 67-62
Butler 54-51

Key Losses:
West Virginia 76-48
at Minnesota 68-59

Why they could win:
1) Evan Turner is legit - He leads the team in both scoring (16.2 ppg) and minutes played (33.8). He also has contributed solidly on the boards averaging 7.1 rpg. If the Buckeyes use the same starting lineup as they did against Minnesota, we will be in for a great matchup with him and Raymar Morgan going at it.
2) Jon Diebler is on fire of late - In his first two Big Ten games, he was 12-22 from beyond the arc. I expect him to shoot without hesitation against a Spartan defense that ranks near the bottom of the conference in 3-point FG% defense (8th).
3) Dallas Lauderdale is an underrated inside presence - Although he is only 6-8, he currently leads the Big Ten in shots blocked. I expect him to hassle Goran Suton in the middle. His offensive game, however, is less impressive.
4) The MSU students are still on break - Crowds don't win games, but they certainly help. I've been to a number of games during holiday breaks in recent years and they are kind of a downer. They lack the excitement of young college kids and this could prove to be the difference in a close game.

Why The Ohio State could lose:
1) The Spartan offense is rolling - It really seems to clicking right now and I don't see how the Buckeyes can stop them. Their best bet will be to slow the game down and hope that the Spartans help their cause by committing a lot of turnovers.
2) The Buckeye offense is struggling - They are having a difficult time scoring the ball so far this year, especially without David Lighty. In their last 5 games, they have average 57 ppg which is 9ppg below their average. I expect Evan Turner and Jon Diebler to try to carry the team offensively.
3) Lack of Depth - I am predicting that frequent substitutions by Michigan State will wear out the Buckeyes who essentially play 7 players. Look for B.J. Mullens to provide a presence inside with his tall frame, but let's hope that his breakout game doesn't happen against us. He hasn't lived up to the high expectations that he had coming out of high school, but he is tremendously talented and will contribute more as the year goes on.

Summary:
Today, I think the Spartans clearly have the advantage over Ohio State. The Buckeyes are going through a lot of adversity right now with the injury to David Lighty and the recent transfer of back up PG Anthony Crater. These losses make the Buckeyes' bench incredibly thin and will force their starters to play extended minutes. In the end, I don't think that The Ohio State can produce enough offense to win this game. Barring a legendary game from Evan Turner, Michigan State will cruise to the victory at home, even if it is in front of a student-less Breslin crowd.

Michigan State over The Ohio State 79-65.

MSU Related News:
1) Raymar Morgan wins Big Ten Player of the Week - Congratulations to Raymar. On paper, the decision makes perfect sense. He averaged a double-double and shot more than 50% from the field. If you watched the games, however, I think Kalin Lucas played better overall. Raymar's performance against the Gophers was less than stellar even though he did have a double-double.
2) Michigan State to possibly retire Morris Peterson's jersey on Saturday. This was reported as a possibility by the Detroit News here. My question is, why don't you know yet? The game is four days! Did someone last week just come up with the idea? How was this not planned out already? I hope it does happen as I will be in attendance.

That's Ridiculous:
1) After graduation, Nikola Kecman plans to play basketball professionally - Kecman, a junior college transfer, will be eligible to play for the first time all season tonight. During the past offseason, he was cited by the NCAA for an infraction while playing basketball in his native country Bosnia. On his official Ohio State biography, the statement above was written. See it here. This just proves that no one goes to Ohio State for an education.
2) Dudes wearing nuts on their chest - I don't get it. Yeah, they are buckeyes, I know.....I still don't get it. Why do you want nuts on your chest? Can't you just wear a scarlet and gray jersey and be done with it? Paint your face if you have to. Just don't wear nuts around your neck. It's disturbing.
3) No updated pictures of Raymar Morgan available. I first noticed this two days ago when I posted a picture of him on the blog. I thought I just didn't look hard enough. Well, apparently, the Big Ten didn't look very hard either because they used the same picture that I did from last year. If this is true, we need to get Drew Stanton back so that he can revive our sports information department.
4) Matt Millen on NBC - I know it's a little late, but where does NBC get off putting Matt Millen on their broadcast? What credibility does this guy bring? Who wants to listen to the opinions of a guy who just ran a franchise into the ground? I turned off my station immediately when I saw him.

Mailbag:
BTN's "Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball" was a great show. My wife and I snuggled up on the couch with a bottle of wine and a roaring fire in the background. What a wonderful way to spend an evening. I Like the site!
-SpartyMSU of blog.spartymsu.com

Ah..........Watching Spartan highlights and drinking booze with a woman. What more can you ask for? Thanks for the support.

Tim Doyle, that no-talent idiot can put an egg in his shoe and beat it. By the way, what round did he get drafted in? That's right, he just does commentary for a second-rate TV network and has gotten significantly chubby since leaving North-worstern. Now excuse me, I have to go put some water in Tim Doyle's momma's dish.
-A-Fed, Sagniaw

A-Fed, I like where your head is at. I don't remember Tim Doyle when he was a player at "North-worstern" but I think that pretty much sums up his career. I still think that it is impressive that someone thought enough of this guy to give him his job being that he just graduated 2 years ago. Even Doyle sees irony in his own bio where he describes breaking down NCAA tournament games on television despite never playing in a single one.

Tomorrow: Ohio State Post Game.

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The Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball Review

2009-01-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

I finally watched the BTN's "Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball" yesterday. I thought that it was really good and did an excellent job of summarizing the history of the program. It was both informative and entertaining. Here is a quick list of things that popped in my head when I was watching.

1) Bob Knight helped Izzo - Of all people to give Tom Izzo confidence as he was about to start post-season play, I would never have guessed that it would come from Bobby. Apparently, after the Hoosiers pulled out a close victory over the Spartans at Indiana, he asked to talk to Izzo and told him that he had a team that could win it all.

2) The 2005 team had the biggest weekend in MSU history - Now that they mentioned it, I would have to agree. Not only did they beat Duke and Kentucky, they did it when most people thought they didn't have a chance against either one. It was a sweet redemption for that senior class who up until that point, mainly underachieved.

3) Magic Johnson almost went to Michigan - This was a big surprise to me. It makes total sense, but I just imagined him being a diehard MSU fan his whole life since he was from Lansing. Watching his high school press conference was pretty cool.

4) Greg Kelser loves Greg Kelser - I really like Special K, but when you listen to him on this program, he seems to think that he was the baddest guy around. It was surprising to see him so confident when talking about his career compared to how he conducts himself while broadcasting basketball games. He normally is reserved and talks on an even keel.

5) Where would Tom Izzo be if he didn't land the Flintstones - Undoubtedly, he wouldn't have went to four Final Fours, but would he have went to one? Would he have been able to land all of the subsequent recruits?

That's Ridiculous:
1) My Original Tim Doyle Post Yesterday - Yesterday, I originally posted an opinion on Tim Doyle's pre-game comments regarding Raymar Morgan being "the girl with the curl." In my blog, I told Tim it was a poor attempt at humor and that if he wanted to make fun of Raymar Morgan, there were other ways to do so rather than attacking personal appearances. Well, apparently, I am an idiot and did not understand that this is a reference to a nursery rhyme found here. I wanted to take this time to formally apologize for accusing Tim Doyle of being unprofessional.

Quotes:
"If Raymar Morgan wasn't on the floor, I really believe that Northwestern could have-, should have won the game." - Tim Doyle, Northwestern Alumnus and Big Ten Tonight Analyst.

What a classic statement. If the Bulls didn't have Michael Jordan in the early nineties, the Detroit Pistons would have beat Chicago also. But they did, and Michigan State has Raymar Morgan so let's stay away from hypotheticals.

Mailbag:
Great past couple of games for Kalin Lucas - if he continues to mature, I really feel we are legit Final Four contenders. This is what we have been missing since Mateen left - a reliable point guard who creates opportunities but is not afraid to get to the rack and/or shoot jumpers if we need a bucket. - A-Fed, Saginaw

Indeed, Kalin Lucas is playing extremely well. Maybe he will even win the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week later today. He has had 42 points and 11 assists in his first two conference games. I would argue that we have had one point guard who could dish and score effectively since Mateen left. That guy was Marcus Taylor. But unfortunately, he got some bad advice from his dad and left prematurely. I wonder what he is doing these days. Thanks for the excellent email.

"U r a moron. dont write a basketball blog unless u actually have an understand of the game." - Anonymous Fan

I wanted to publish the first negative comment of my blogging career. I really appreciate this constructive criticism. In response, I would like to tell Mr. Anonymous that if he doesn't like this blog, he can always "turn off his station". Refer to this clip to understand more. Thanks for the email.

If you send it, I will read it.

Tomorrow: The Ohio State Preview. ( I couldn't get to it today)

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Michigan State Handles Northwestern 77-66

2009-01-04T04:45:00.000-08:00

The Spartans improved to 2-0 in conference play behind an amazing performance by Raymar Morgan who had 22 points and 13 rebounds. Kalin Lucas chipped in 18 points with 15 of them coming in the second half. This marks the first time in school history that the Spartans begin the Big Ten season with two victories on the road.

Player of the Game: Raymar Morgan 23 points and 13 rebounds

What went well:
1) Solid perimeter defense - Michigan State held Northwestern's three-point shooters to 9-29, which is well off of their 40% season average. In particular, Travis Walton did a very nice job pressuring the ball and frustrating his opponents. This Wildcat team seemed to be less disciplined compared to their teams in the past. Northwestern was too one dimensional just focusing on chucking up threes instead of running their Princeton Offense.
2.) Great rebounding - Hopefully this continues to be a recurring theme. The Spartans dominated the glass on both ends of the floor outrebounding the Wildcats 47-28. The 19-10 advantage in offensive rebounds was key in this victory.
3.) Raymar Morgan played a great game - He took full advantage of his athleticism against the less talented Wildcats and gathered his second consecutive double-double. It was almost as if he heard the comments made by Tim Doyle in the Big Ten Network's pregame show (more on this later). My only concern is that I hope his success from the 3-pt line (2-4) doesn't encourage him to shoot more from the outside in future games. I felt he got away with a few bad shots where he was clearly being defended, but the shots went down. I think he should only shoot from long distance if he is truly wide open.
4.) Kalin Lucas and Chris Allen continue to produce - Lucas had a slow start to the game, but really emerged in the second half. Chris Allen had his second consecutive productive game by shooting 4-7 from the 3-point line and finishing with 17 points. Hopefully he will continue to be a regular contributor to this team.
5.) Marquise Gray made a solid contribution - He only played 12 minutes, but was very productive with 5 rebounds and a nice no-look dish to Morgan for a jam. I thought he should have played more in the second half for Suton who was struggling.

What didn't go well:
1) Interior Defense - The Spartans looked horrible in defending the paint. Northwestern got a lot of easy buckets down low. Fortunately for us, they insisted on chucking threes from nearly half court.

2) Goran Suton - This was his worst performance of the year and is the prime example as to why Spartan fans sometimes refer to him as Moron Suton. His defense was definitely a liability as numerous defenders sped past him essentially untouched. He also struggled on the offensive end by bobbling numerous passes and loose balls. It seemed as if he had more turnovers than the one listed in the box score. Hopefully, this is the last we see of Moron and we will get Goran back for the rest of the year.
3) Durrell Summers - He played a significant amount of minutes in this game, but did not seem to utilize them very well. Yes, he had 3 offensive rebounds, but if I remember correctly, that was on the same offensive possession. He finished with only 6 points despite playing more than half of the game.
4) Turnovers - Overall, this wasn't really that big of a deal. But, in the first half, Kalin Lucas did not look sharp. He had all three of his turnovers during that time period leading to a team turnover margin of -5. In the second half, however, we tightened it up and finished with 13 total turnovers.

Post Game Quotes:
"Give Michigan State credit. It's a good team and in the second half, they really went at it in the first five minutes." -Northwestern Coach Bill Carmody

The early minutes of the second half were the key to the Michigan State victory. The Spartans went out to a 12-0 run that forced Bill Carmody to call 3 timeouts and commit a technical foul.

That's ridiculous!
1) Welsh Arena - Was this game even played on campus? Isn't there a standard for D-1 basketball arenas? I'm pretty sure that there is a rule that you can't play games at your local technical high school. The only thing Welsh Arena is missing is a bunch of volleyball lines marked out on the floor.

2) No Photos - Apparently, there were no photographers at the game last night. I've checked my usual websites and no one has any pics from the game. Even the MSU website put up a picture of Raymar Morgan from last year. I'll chalk this one up to the economy.

This post has been edited and will be explained why tomorrow.

Mailbag:
"SpartyBasketball, I like your blog. I'm also glad you've learned your lesson on predictions. . . how many was Minnesota supposed to beat State by?
-Anonymous Spartan, Whittier, California

Well, we can only be happy that I was wrong about my Minnesota prediction. I can't predict when we are going to play our best game of the season, but hopefully it wasn't against the Gophers. If we play like we did against them, we will be extremely difficult for any team in the country to beat.

Tomorrow: Ohio State Preview and a brief review of "The Greatest Stories of Michigan State Basketball"

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Northwestern Preview

2009-01-03T05:29:00.000-08:00

The Spartans look to follow up their impressive win over Minnesota with a victory at Northwestern today.

Northwestern (8-3 overall, 0-1 in the conference)

Key Wins:
vs. Florida State 73-59

Key Losses:
at Butler 57-53
at Stanford 65-59
at Penn State 61-57

Why they could win:
1. Statistically, they are playing really good defense. The Wildcats lead the conference in scoring defense allowing only 53.8 ppg. They are holding opponents to 39% shooting from the field which is second in the Big Ten, but 24th nationally. They are also second to Purdue in the Big Ten with regards to turnover margin with a +3.8 value.
2. Hot shooting. So far this season, the Wildcats are shooting 40% from behind the arc. Their best three point shooters are Kevin Coble and Craig Moore. They are shooting 40% and 47% respectively. Mix that in with the fact that Michigan State is notoriously bad at defending the three and this could be trouble. Northwestern is also making nearly 48% of their two-point shots.
3. Inspired play. Not only are the Wildcats playing to save the job of Bill Carmody, they also could be motivated by Craig Moore eclipsing the 1000 career point mark. This will most likely happen during the game.

Why Northwestern could lose:
1. Poor rebounding. Despite holding teams to poor FG percentages, the Wildcats are not rebounding very well, especially on the defensive end. They even rank worse than Minnesota with regards to cleaning the glass.
2. Lack of athleticism. If MSU gets out and running, Northwestern will have essentially no chance of winning this game. The Wildcats will need to slow it down, be patient, and run the Princeton offense effectively to beat the more athletic Spartans.
3. Their defense is likely overrated. Although statistically the Wildcats look amazingly competitive on the defensive end, their numbers are likely overinflated due to their lack of quality opponents. They are 0-3 against teams ranked in the top 50, but have played them all on the road and were extremely competitive in every game.

Summary:
This contest has all of the hallmarks of being a trap game. The Spartans are coming off of their best performance this season and face the perennial doormat of the Big Ten in Northwestern on the road. But this Northwestern team on paper appears to be cut from a different cloth. They are shooting the ball very well and forcing their opponents to take bad shots. The key to the game will be how do these stats translate against the most athletic team they have seen all season.

In the end, I see the Spartans coming home with the victory, but unimpressively. It will be a grind it out game and the Wildcats will hang around because of excellent three point shooting.

MSU over Northwestern 68-61.

Quotes:

"There has to be a point in time, and the last couple years we haven't found it, where players realize that every single game is important if you are trying to win a conference championship" -Tom Izzo in a LSJ article found here.

Email:

"Hey SpartyBasketball, I could not disagree with you more about Dahlman. I think that Izzo needs to find a way to consistently get him on the floor. I think that he is long and more athletic than most people think. He could contribute to this team greatly."

-Chris, Lansing

Again with the Dahlman thing? Once again, he's a nice kid and I do not have anything against him. If I met him, I am sure that we would get a long well. The problem is that he just isn't a good basketball player. I have no idea how you would know how athletic Dahlman is. You definitely have not seen it during an actual game. Maybe you have been to some practices or and saw something that none of us have? In the end, I think Dahlman needs to stay on the bench but I don't think that this is going to happen. I am sure that Izzo will give him some unexpected PT sometime throughout the season. When he does, I can only hope that he comes through and proves me wrong.

Tomorrow: Northwestern Post Game.

free hit counters

Spartans Pound Minnesota 70-58

2008-12-31T15:43:00.000-08:00

I love it when I am wrong! The Spartans came out with an amazing effort and got a huge road win to start the Big Ten season. They played essentially flawless and flourished under the leadership of Kalin Lucas. While he was scoring easily throughout the game, the entire team clamped down on defense to keep the Gophers' high scoring offense in check.

Player of the Game: Kalin Lucas - Career high 24 points on 9-18 shooting.

What went well:
1) Tremendous rebounding. The Spartans outrebounded the Gophers 49-27, including a 23-11 offensive rebouding advantage. This is purely a result of Coach Izzo's emphasis on winning the battle on the boards.
2) Kalin Lucas played superb. He looked like a true floor general out there today. He pushed the ball effectively and used his quickness to get easy baskets. He is going to make me eat my words about how I thought he was on pace to tie Drew Neitzel for the worst offseason regression ever.
3) Chris Allen got hot in the first half. The box score doesn't adequately reflect Allen's impact on this game. He got hot quickly and set the tone for the Spartans early in the game. You have to admire the confidence that this kid has despite not shooting the ball well so far this year. He has never seen a shot that he didn't like.
4) Great defense. We held the Gophers to a season low 39% from the field.
5) Superior Athletes. Newsflash: The team with the best athletes normally wins. That was us today. Minnesota just couldn't keep pace with our boys.

What didn't go well:
1) Raymar Morgan's Offense. He tried his best to disappear in this big game, but ended up with one of the ugliest double-doubles I have ever seen. He did not travel however, so I am thankful for that.
2) Contributions from the bench. Aside from Allen, we didn't get much from our bench today. Other than his olley-oop and his thunderous dunk, I didn't like what I saw from Summers gain. He continues to rely on an outside shot that I don't believe is legit. Even with Roe hurt, Marquise didn't find his way onto the court after he played a total of seven minutes despite not being in foul trouble. Why doesn't Izzo just tell Gray that he hates him? I mean, this guy is a basketcase, but why play Draymond Green over him? That makes no sense.

Post Game Quotes:
"When a team beats you by 22 on the boards, you have no chance of winning" - University of Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith

"....I'd say this was one of our best games"- Tom Izzo

That's ridiculous!
1) Booing Dahlman is ridiculous. The only thing more ridiculous was the fact that he got on the floor at all. Why was he playing? Because he is from Minnesota? Give me a break Coach! Everyone knows that Dahlman can't do anything without the chemistry of his fellow practice squad teammates Mike Kleber and Jon Crandell.
2) Durrell Summers' dunk not being replayed on the live broadcast. I think it was the best dunk I've ever seen him do, but I'm not sure because I can't remember it. I think he dunked right on a Gopher but if that were the case, it seems like he would have been fouled. So far, I can't find that highlight anywhere.
3) University of Minnesota Sweeper Logos. Did you notice how the University of Minnesota logo'd up their court mops with their weird block M?
4) Goran Suton getting stuffed by the rim. For all of those fans out there who wonder why he doesn't dunk more, that is why. He looked hideous!
5) This picture of Draymond Green. What could have he done that warrented this pose? All I saw him do was make a nice steal only to be caught from behind and stripped on his way to the basket.
6) Anthony Crater leaving OSU after listening to his AAU coach. This coach was quoted as saying that Noopy always had a "two- or three-year plan" at OSU and then off to the NBA. Now it is a two- or three- year plan at Mott.
Full articles here and here

Post Game Quotes:
"When a team beats you by 22 on the boards, you have no chance of winning" - University of Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith

"....I'd say this was one of our best games"- Tom Izzo

Mailbag:
Great blog, enjoyed it. I think you have to add "make free throws" to the Spartans' keys to success. We're getting killed at the line and this could really cost us.
-ShowtimeSparty in Ferndale.

Undoubtedly, that belongs on my keys to the Spartans' success. I have mentioned before on this blog, but somehow left it out of my Big Ten Preview. The good news is that yesterday, we were 12-13 from the charity stripe. Thanks for the email.

Tomorrow: More Minnesota Post Game

Minnesota Preview

2008-12-31T05:08:00.000-08:00

The Spartans travel to The Barn to open Big Ten conference play today.

Minnesota (12-0) Ranked #21 in both polls

Key Wins: vs. Louisville
Key Losses: None

Why they could win:
1. They have a potent offense. Minnesota has been very successful on the offensive end so far this season. They are led by junior guard Lawrence Westbrook who is averaging 13 ppg. He is joined in the backcourt by Blake Hoffarber who is a deadly three point shooter and most notably known for the amazing pair of shots posted here and here. He is a human highlight real and is currently converting on 46% of his shots from behind the arc.
2. They can block shots. Three players on the team are averaging right around 2 blocks per game. Damian Johnson has the highest average at 2.7 pg despite being only 6-7. The more traditional shot blockers are Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson.
3. Great Coaching. Tubby is a legend and will have his team ready to play. Can he get more out of his players than Izzo?
4. It's a Big Ten opener on the road for the Spartans. In Big Ten openers on the road, Tom Izzo is 2-6.
5. Delvon Roe is injured. You would think that losing a freshman wouldn't be that big of a deal, but this could be devistating. He provides a sound basketball presence and a solid ability to rebound the basketball. Without him, we will have to rely on Marquise Gray waking up and realizing that if he doesn't start producing in the next two months, he will be on his way back to Flint forever.

Why Minnesota could lose:
1. Suspect defense - Despite their shot blocking statistics, they have struggled on the defensive end. They are ranked 8th in the Big Ten with regards to scoring defense and to make things worse, this has been against a very weak schedule. The Spartans will put them to the test as they currently lead the Big Ten in scoring offense.
2. MSU is a better rebounding team - This will be put to the test without Roe in the line up, but I anticipate winning this battle. Suton should provide a good inside presence and hopefully gets some easy offensive boards.
3. Lack of athleticism. Undoubtedly, the Spartans have better athletes. The question is can Izzo get them to produce a win. I anticipate Tubby going to his bench often as he currently has 10 players averaging more than 10 minutes per game.
4. Good coaching. Izzo can go toe for toe with Tubby.

Summary:
Like all road games in the Big Ten, this one is going to be difficult to win. Minnesota appears on the schedule at probably the worst time as they are beaming with confidence and ready to make a name for themselves. In order for the Spartans to win, they will need superb leadership from Kalin Lucas and another great game from Goran Suton. Morgan cannot disappear and Chris Allen will have to utilize any minutes that he might see.

In the end, I see the Spartans losing a heart breaker.

Minnesota over MSU 77-72.

Other Big Ten Notes:
1. Illinois upsets Purdue - This was a great game. In my opinion, Illinois should have won but almost blew it. JuJuan Johnson missed a go-head FT with one second left in regulation for the Boilermakers. Illinois then went on to win in overtime.

Tomorrow: Minnesota Post Game.

Big Ten Preview Part 3

2008-12-30T12:43:00.000-08:00

3. Michigan 10-2
Just when God blessed all Spartan fans with Rich Rodriguez, he had to start what appears to be a dramatic turnaround to the Michigan basketball program. At 10-2, the Wolverines have already matched their win total from one year ago. John Beilein has this team playing well on both sides of the ball lead by Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims. The "Detroit Connection", as they are being promoted by the U of M athletic department, has become one of the best inside-out duos not only in the conference, but nationally. It's difficult to say what has sparked this tremendous turnaround so far this season. I directly attribute it to the dramatic improvement of Sims during the offseason. He has essentially doubled his rebounding average this year and increased his scoring average from 12 to 17 ppg. If he were to keep on this pace through conference play, he would be the conference player of the year.

I would love to say that Michigan's success has been against lackluster competition, but this is not the case. Unlike many recent Michigan teams that have had hot starts, the '08 Wolverines have the most impressive wins among all of the Big Ten teams. They beat UCLA convincingly early in the season at MSG and eventually split a rare non-conference pair of games with Duke beating them at home. Non-believers would argue that UCLA isn't that good and that the Duke game was a fluke. I could see that argument.

Why they can beat MSU:
1) The 1-3-1 Defense. After watching the UCLA game, it was obvious how the 1-3-1 was dramatically improved. Beilein has extended it to nearly half court and it has a very high pressure presence. The first thing I thought of was that this is the type of defense that has plagued the Spartans for a decade. I can see us turning the ball over a ton.
2) The "Detroit Connection" could get hot. Let's be honest, the Spartans wanted both of these guys and couldn't get it done. They are tremendous players that could take over a game against anyone in the country.
3) Laval Lucas-Perry is now playing. I was skeptical that he would contribute the way Wolverine fans thought that he would, but so far, he has scored in double figures every game.
4) Superior FT shooting. As a team, they are shooting over 80% from the line. Mix that in with the only game at Crysler this year and we are in trouble.

Why MSU will win:
1) We have a deeper bench. We don't clutter our bench with brothers of overhyped football players or former transfers from Rutgers. We will hopefully wear out the starters for the Wolverines and get some cheap baskets.
2) Better rebounding. Aside from Sims, the Wolverines are average rebounders at best. This is one of our strengths and we will exploit it.
3) We will exploit their defense. Michigan has been efficient on offense, but not on the defensive end. Currently their defense is ranked 136 nationally in Pomeroy rankings. They will have to improve on this to beat the Spartans.
4) Izzo is a better coach. While Beilein is approaching 500 wins, Izzo has the clear advantage.

In the end, I was hesitant to place the Wolverines so high in my rankings. They could very easily finish as low as 8th in the conference. They could also win it all. I'll hope for the fomer, rather than the latter.

Predicted Record: 11-5

1. Purdue (Tie) 11-3
Unlike last year, Purdue has the bullseye on their back as the conference favorite. My heart tells me that they won't live up to the hype since they will not be surprising anyone this year, but my mind tells me that they are really good. What impresses me most about Purdue is their great pressure defense that causes a lot of turnovers. They lead the Big Ten with a +6 turnover margin and are second in steals. Defense is the staple of this team and should provide a great deal of consistency throughout the year.

Offense will be the limiting factor for the Boilermakers this year. Although they have the capability to put points on the board, I don't know how well they will respond when everyone knows they have been picked to win the conference. So far this year, Robbie Hummel has continued to be a force averaging 14 points and nearly 8 rebounds per game. E'twaun Moore on the other hand has struggled somewhat so far this season. While his ppg are up, his shooting percentage is down. He shot nearly 44% from three point land one year ago and is currently shooting 32%. In order for them to be a contender for the conference title, he will have to play better.

Why they can beat MSU:
1. Aggresive defense. Like I said about Michigan's 1-3-1, Purdue plays an aggressive, in your face defense that has historically given MSU problems. I have faith in Kalin Lucas' ability to break their full court pressure, but I am unsure about the rest of the Spartans. I think that Lucious has the ability to push the ball up, but he is only a freshman and that is a lot to ask.
2. Hummel, Moore, and Johnson. These guys have the capability to put big numbers up in a hurry. If they get hot offensively, Purdue's defense will carry them to a victory.

Why MSU can beat them:
1. An efficient offense. If we play to our potential, I think we are capable of putting big numbers up on anyone.
2. Superior rebounding. As a team, we are better rebounders although JuJuan Johnson is a force individually. We will need all the second chance points we can get.
3. Deeper Bench. We can legitimately play 9 or 10 deep and with Purdue's style of play, I anticipate both teams needing to go to role players due to foul trouble.

Predicted Record: 14-4

1. Michigan State (Tie) 9-2
It is very hard for me to put the Spartans on top this year. Mainly because they have consistently let me down during conference play throughout this entire decade. Certainly I think that winning a share of the conference is a lofty prediction, especially with the way they have played so far. I know they were picked by the media and coaches to finish second, but like every other year, this is because of our success during the previous year's NCAA tournament and how we were returning most of our starters. This team is not playing as well as a #10 ranking suggests.

Keys to success:
1) Chris Allen needs to find his shot. He is really struggling right now to find his shot. His defense is weak as it is so if he isn't hitting shots, he might as well not be on the floor. He also is the only true three point shooter we have. I don't buy Summers being a legitimate threat from the perimeter although he has shot the ball well from distance so far this year.
2) Raymar Morgan needs to be consistent. No more dissappearing in big games. No more travelling in transition. He needs to continue to pound the ball inside and stay away from perimeter shots.
3) Limit turnovers. I was surprised to see that MSU is only average among Big Ten teams in turnovers and turnover margin. It seems like they have taken care of the ball better this year, but the statistics do not show this. It's probably because in recent years, their turnovers have been ridiculously high so now when they are average, I think they are doing well.
4) Lucas needs to be a consistent penetrator. Hopefully the Oakland game is the turning point for him and he starts to find his shot. If he can add some scoring to his terrific assist/turnover ratio, we will have a great shot at winning this league.
5) Avoid injuries. The conference season is off to a rough start with Roe on the bench probably for the first two games. Like everyone in the Big Ten, this team will need everyone to be 100% in order to win.
6) Consistent Rebounding. The Spartans lead the conference in rebounding margin with +7. This is solid and slightly exceeds my expectations since we don't have a dominant rebounder. We clean up on the boards because of Izzo's philosophy more than anything.

Predicted Record: 14-4

Later Today: Minnesota Preview.

Big Ten Preview Part 2

2008-12-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

7. Illinois 12-1
Statistically, Illinois is the most well balanced team in the Big Ten so far this year. On offense, they are shooting almost 49% from the field and nearly 40% from three. They lead the nation in assist percentage at 72% and are not turning the ball over. On the other side of the ball, they have shut down their opponents and are ranked 5th nationally in scoring defense. Only Clemson has scored more than 64 points against them. The Tigers were also the only team to shoot higher than 46% from the field against the Illini.

After all of that, one would think that Illinois is unbeatable. But, Bruce Webber has his work cut out for him from here on out. The Illini have a brutal Big Ten schedule that is terribly front loaded. In their first six games, they travel to Purdue, play Michigan twice, at MSU, and at home against Ohio State. That is tough. If Illinois is going to have a breakout year, they will have to be successful early on in conference play.

Why they can beat MSU:
1) MSU can't win at Illinois. Izzo rarely wins in front of the Orange Crush. Last year was the exception.
2) They have the ability to hit shots
3) They are playing great defense
4) Great coaching

Why they will lose to MSU:
1) They have to play at the Breslin
2) I question their ability to rebound (although they are outrebounding opponents right now)
3) They lack depth

Predicted Record: 8-10

6. Minnesota 12-0
It is probably a stretch to put the Golden Gophers this high, but they are undefeated and have an excellent coach in Tubby Smith. Of course, they haven't really played anyone either. Even their win over Louisville is probably overvalued as I don't think that the Cardinals are that good. Nonetheless, the Gophers' success thus far has been great for the conference but I don't expect it to last. I don't think that they can continue scoring over 75 points per game in the Big Ten. I think that they will have a good year for Minnesota and may sneek into the tournament.

Why they can beat MSU:
1) Momentum. They start the Big Ten season in The Barn against the Spartans and are riding one of the best winning streaks that they have seen in recent years. Tubby will have his boys ready to play.
2) Ability to score. So far the Gophers are averaging 75 points per game which is second in the Big Ten. I don't think that this will last in conference play, but it could
3) Good coaching. Everyone knows Tubby Smith is an elite coach. Just not the University of Kentucky.
4) Shot Blocking. They lead the Big Ten in blocked shots with more than 7 per game.

Why they won't beat MSU:
1) Suspect Defense. They have not been shutting down teams defensively so far this year despite their cupcake schedule. They will have to force more turnovers and rebound better to beat quality opponents.
2) Lack of athleticism.

Predicted Record: 9-9

5. Wisconsin 12-3
With their success during the Bo Ryan era, I consider the Badgers to be our most intense, recent rival. They probably don't look at it that way since they have pretty much dominated us during that time. While most Spartans hate Bo Ryan, you have to respect this guy's ability to coach. Unlike Izzo, he rarely has a team favored to win the Big Ten, but seems to seriously contend for the conference title year in and year out. So far, the Badgers have been quiet on the national stage. They do not have a win against a quaility opponent, but played the Texas and Marquette close. They were blown out by UConn earlier in the year.

It's hard for me to predict Wisconsin finishing fifth in the conference, but that is just the way it shook out. If not for what I think is the easiest Big Ten schedule, I might have put them even lower. Maybe it is because subconsciously that is where I want them to finish. My argument is that they don't have any quality wins so far and that they aren't rebounding the ball as well as they normally do. It is not inconceivable that they end up winning the Big Ten, but I prefer not to think that way.

Why they could beat MSU:
1) Bo Ryan owns Tom Izzo. Like it or not, it is fact. The best part of this is that they obviously don't like each other. When they both get old and senile, I could see them going John Chaney on each other.
2) Experience. Landry and Krabbenhoft have been there for freakin' ever! When will they leave? Travon Hughes is also an excellent leader as a junior and Jason Bohannon was the Sixth Man of the year last year.

Why they won't beat MSU:
1) They do not play the Spartans in Madison this year. That sucks for them, but is even better for us. It's difficult for us to win there.
2) Turnovers. Although the Badgers are known for taking care of the ball, their turnover margin this year is essentially zero and ranks 10th in the Big Ten so far. It will be interesting to see how this plays out during conference play.
3) Poor transition game. Wisconsin is better at grinding games out and if we can score in transition, I don't think they have a chance.

Predicted Record: 10-6

4. Ohio State 9-1
In contrast to Wisconsin, I was hesitant to place the Buckeyes fourth in my conference preview. Despite quality wins at Miami, at home against Butler, and against Notre Dame in a neutral site game, I do not have a ton of confidence in the way this team is playing. When I break down each of these games, I see flaws. At Miami, their best player gets kicked out for being an idiot and swinging at Anthony Crater. They barely got past Butler at home which is a good team, but not as good as they have been the last two years. They beat Notre Dame without Harongody and then most importantly of all, West Virginia went UNC on them this past weekend at home.
There is not doubt that the athleticism is there in Columbus, but how far will that get them. I don't think that their players have polished their skills enough to seriously contend for the Big Ten title. They will win some games against the league's best teams, but I don't think that they will do it consistently.

Why they can beat the Spartans:
1) Athleticism. I think they are the most athletic team in the Big Ten. Evan Turner has been dominate so far this year. He probably won't be around next year.
2) BJ Mullins could step his game up and be the big time recruit that he was supposed to be. It hasn't happened so far.
3) Defense. They are playing pretty well on the defensive end so far this year. They are only giving up 55 ppg and WV was the only team to hit for 70 or more this year against them.

Why they won't beat the Spartans:
1) Inconsistency.
2) Lack of depth.

Predicted Record: 12-6

MSU Related News:
1) Delvon Roe Doubtful. He probably won't play for MSU at The Barn on Wednesday. Ideally, I would like to go to a small line up, putting Morgan at the PF position, and play a three gaurd lineup with Lucas, Walton, and Allen. But, since Allen is struggling, I think I would put Summers at the SF. Izzo may opt to stay big and put Marquise in at the PF which would be fine, but you never know what he is going to give you.

2.) Spartans ranked No. 10 in AP; No. 15 in ESPN/USA Today. Although I don't think that we are playing as well as a top 10 team should, I take comfort in the fact that Texas is more overrated than we are. We will see if we live up to our ranking on Wednesday.

Quotes:

"We're making progress as we get guys back. And if there is a team that is prepared for road games, it should be us." -Tom Izzo on Wednesday's matchup against Minnesota.

-Okay coach. I'll hold you to this although we have had more difficult non-conference schedules in the past with better Spartan teams that didn't translate to success on the road. He must be counting the games at Ford Field and The Palace as being away games.

Tomorrow: Big Ten Preview Part 3 and Preview of Minnesota.

Big Ten Preview Part 1

2008-12-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today, I will run down what I think will be the bottom four teams in the conference.

10. Indiana 5-7
We all knew that they were going to be bad, but I'm not sure we knew it would be like this. While it is common knowledge that they lost most of their team last year, including all 5 starters, most people don't realize that their freshman class was pretty typical for IU. Sure, they lost Devin Ebanks and Terrell Holloway, but they still had a very strong incoming class. They were led by Tom Pritchard who was a teammate of Delvon Roe and led their high school team to the Ohio State Championship game without him. They also got Devon Dumes via the JUCO route who was going to go to Ohio State before Ebanks and Holloway decomitted. These two guys have become the leaders of this young team.

Why they could beat MSU:
1) They could out hustle the Spartans. Coach Crean is a great motivator and he has them playing with 100% effort.
2) MSU could play down to the level of their opponents.

Why they won't beat MSU:
1) They are inexperienced, lack chemistry, and are just not physically mature.
2) They lost to Lipscomb and Northeastern at home

Projected record: 2-16

10. Northwestern 8-2
This may be Bill Carmody's final year at Northwestern after he has failed to live up to the high expectations he brought to Evanston 8 years ago. His best finish in the Big Ten has been tied for 5th in 2003 and even then he only went 8-8. His team has been off to a pretty good start this year although most of their wins have been against cupcakes. When facing teams in the top 50, they are 0-2 but have had impressive outings in each of these games on the road. During Carmody's tenure, Northwestern has had similar records as they do now and then go onto win 2 or 3 games the rest of the entire season. I don't see it being any different this year. I think they will split with Indiana and then also pick up an unexpected win somewhere in the regular season.

Why they could beat MSU:
1) They could catch us playing to the level of the competition
2) Bill Carmody needs some big wins this season

Why they won't beat MSU: Because they are Northwestern and we are Michigan State. Evan Eschmeyer isn't walking through that door anytime soon.

Projected Record: 2-16

9. Iowa - 10-3
Todd Lickliter has his team off to a solid start so far this season. This will be his second tour through the Big Ten after a miserable year last year. The Hawkeyes have played a pretty balanced schedule with some quality opponents like West Virginia, Boston College, Kansas State and Drake. The problem is that they only won one of these games. Their schedule will only get tougher as conference play begins and I don't see this year being much better than last.

Why they could beat MSU:
1) Good three point shooting. So far they are shooting over 40% from three lead by freshmen Anthony Tucker and Matt Gatens.
2) Over Officiating. They are shooting over 74% as a team from the free throw line.

Why they won't beat MSU:
1) Inexperience. The top two scorers, Tucker and Gatens, are both freshman and Cyrus Tate is not having the senior year that many expected. He is only averaging 7 points and 7 boards a game.

Predicted Record: 4- 14

8. Penn State 11-2
It doesn't feel right to move Penn State all the way up to 8, but I have one reason: Talor Battle. He has reached double figures in every game this year and is averaging 19 ppg. He also has 5.5 apg along with 5.6 rpg. That is amazing even despite their lack of quality opponents. Maybe Talor Battle can lead the Nittany Lions to the promise land. I doubt it.

Why they could beat MSU:
1) A strong individual performance from Talor Battle
2) They could catch us playing to the level of the competition
3) Because they somehow did it last year

Why they won't beat MSU:
1) Lack of athletes
2) Lack of experience

Projected Record: 6-10

Other Notes:
1) Anthony Crater is transferring out of Ohio State. Apparently he wasn't happy with his role as a back up point gaurd for the Buckeyes. "Noopy" is from Flint and attended Flint SouthWestern through his junior year, but then transferred to a high school in New Hampshire during his senior year. Many Spartan fans wanted him to wear the green and white, but somehow Ohio State landed him. Unfortunately for him, there's no room on this squad for a back up PG. Kalin Lucas is the now and Korie Lucious is the future. Maybe Crater will go to Mott Community College. They win national championships there.

2) Eric Devendorf has been reinstated. Apparently, if you spend 40 hours picking up trash, you get a free pass to punch a woman of your choice in the face. We are so glad that this guy stiffarmed MSU during his junior year by decommitting and eventually going to Syracuse. I could not have dealt with another high profile recruit that didn't live up to expectations. Especially some guy from Bay City.

3)Maurice Joseph is not tearing it up at Vermont. Although he just had his best game as a Catamount with 18 pts, he is averaging just 8.7 ppg. He has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1:2.8. Yeah, that isn't written backwards. 1:2.8!!!! Interestingly enough, he isn't getting much more playing time than he did at MSU (23 min/game vs. 16). In the end, I think both he and MSU are better off apart. I can't deal with Raymar's turnovers as it is, let alone MoJo's. I do miss the Rec Specs though.

Tomorrow: Big Ten Preview Part 2.

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Oakland Postgame

2008-12-28T05:22:00.000-08:00

Well, it wasn't as close as I thought it was going to be. At least if you look at the final score anyway. But, the Spartans didn't handle Oakland as easily as I think most people thought they would have. They are a pretty decent team and gave Michigan State some trouble during this game.

Player of the Game: Goron Suton 16 pts, 9 rebounds.

Why MSU won:
1) They dominated the boards on both ends of the court, but especially offensively. They had 34 rebounds, with 12 of them being offensive. Compare that to 19 and 4 for Oakland and they don't have a chance.

2) Superior senior leadership from Goran Suton. 16 points on 7 for 9 shooting and 9 rebounds. He was also 2 for 2 from behind the arc.

3) Excellent 3-point shooting lead by Kalin Lucas who was 3-4. Who knows what would have happened if the Spartans didn't go 11-20 from 3.

4) Good Tempo - They pushed the ball relatively well and didn't allow Oakland to slow it down. Give Lucas credit for playing a great game with 6 assists and only one turnover.

What didn't go so well:
1) Oakland's 15 unanswered points early in the first half. It was so nice to see the Spartans cleaning up on the offensive glass early in the game and go out to a 9-0 lead. But then, to have that followed up with 15 straight from Oakland was disgusting. Michigan State cannot afford runs like these in the future. They shouldn't happen against anyone, but especially against a school like Oakland. Did you notice the Morgan turnover during this run while he was in transition? That guy cannot finish a break to save his life!

2) Despite scoring his 1000th point, Raymar Morgan didn't seem to have a very good night. He was 4-11 with 4 turnovers. He finished with 8 points. Normally with a stat line like that, the Spartans lose but not tonight. Not with our hot three point shooting.

3) Chris Allen still struggled with a 1 for 6 shooting night despite 21 minutes.

Disclaimer:
I must say that I wasn't able to watch this game as I was travelling for the holidays, but I heard most of it on the Spartan Radio Network. Did anyone catch that? I was about to wring Gus Ganakas' neck during the pregame as he kept mentioning how MSU has undefeated Minnesota waiting for them on New Years Eve. I was worried that he set the tone for the Spartans to overlook the Golden Grizzlies. Then, they had this NBA-like introduction of the starting lineups. I couldn't tell you who the PA announcer was, but I felt like he was auditioning to be the next Mason for the Detroit Pistons. I'm not sure if it was televised or not, but I am picturing a dark smoke fillied Palace with laser lights everywhere and Sirius playing loudly in the background and then, out of no where, a Greg Kampe halogram appears at center court.

If anyone was there, I would love to know exactly what was going on while the PA announcer was yelling into the mic. This was a rare exception where I missed a game.

Post Game Quotes:
"Some guys that were okay shooters got comfortable, they made some shots, and then they went on an 18-4 run to end the half, and that was the game." -Greg Kampe

-I completely agree. I don't like seeing Suton and Summers shooting threes, but they have been going in so how can you argue against it. As the season progresses, the same Spartan fans than applaud these threes will be screaming at both of these guys to go inside more often.

"Record-wise, we're where we want to be, but basketball-wise, we are not even close." -Tom Izzo

-I couldn't have said it any better.

Tomorrow: Part one of my Big Ten preview. I will run half of the teams in the conference.