Michigan State Too Much for Kansas 75-62

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

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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