Reality Check

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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Spartans Get Past the Buckeyes 67-58

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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