A Sobering Week

Greetings Spartan fans. I've been MIA, but I'm sure now that March is approaching I'll have quite a few things to talk about.

First off, the Men's basketball team has been knocked down a tier. I don't have to write about the preseason goals and expectations -- they are well-documented. What can be said is this: currently, the Spartans are not playing at a level worth of the Big Ten Title. As the season progressed, a lot of people took the attitude that "this always happens, it will get better" or blaming Lucas' injury, or what have you. After reading some of the Tom Izzo Presser transcripts, it's very clear that everything going wrong with the team lies in its chemistry.

I'm not going to speculate for the reasons behind why _______ feels like _______. However, there are a few big issues that can be seen from the stands:

1. Kalin Lucas
Don't get me wrong, he's the go-to guy on this team. That never changed. However, it is well-known that he is not a vocal leader; its just not his personality. The incident with the "benching" earlier in this season was attributed to problems from "outside sources," namely, NBA agents blowing up his phone. Depending on Lucas' play this March, he is capable of being drafted this year, should he choose to leave. That's a lot of pressure for a 20-year old person.

2. Defense
Tom Izzo teams have made a living off defense. However, you can no longer count on one hand the times the team has dug themselves into a first-half hole. No matter who you play, its hard to spend 20 or 30 minutes playing catch up. This team is undersized, no doubt about it. Not sure if that has anything to do with the defensive idea of this team. One thing that any fan should note is that Delvon Roe, Raymar Morgan, and Chris Allen have stepped it up defensively from last year. Roe and Morgan, you might say, have been invisible recently. To that, I say, check out Morgan's 14 rebounds against OSU. Roe (6'8", natural power forward) has been asked to play Center all year, guarding guys that are normally taller, more experienced, and heavier than he is. The best big men in the Big Ten (Nankivil, Sampson, Tisdale, etc) have put up at or below average numbers whenever the Spartans have played them. That says something.

Three games remain: @ Purdue on Saturday, vs. PSU the next wednesday, and vs. Michigan on Senior Day, March 7. Before the season, @Purdue was penciled in, along with the @ Wisconsin game, as the hardest of the season. This team can go 3-0 down the stretch to tie for the Big Ten Title, but there will have to be major improvements starting Saturday. Enjoy the ride, people!