Switching to the Hardwood - MSU @ Illinois tonight!

Hello all, I'm back from the long Winter Break where I was without internet access.  I know you all were super pumped after that fantastic showing at the Capital One Bowl so I apologize for not talking about the highlights of that game ...... okay there were no good things about that game.  Guess it's good that I left that alone.  ON TO BASKETBALL!!!

MSU's Kalin Lucas missed last year's visit to Chambana with an ankle injury.  I'm sure he wants a crack at the Illini.

MSU @ Illinois - 7pm on ESPN

Gotta love Big Ten Basketball.  Illinois was a trendy pick to win the conference this year and they are still very much in the race, despite dropping their last two games to Wisconsin and Penn State.  Yes, that same PSU team that beat the Spartans 10 days ago.  The biggest key to this game? Individual matchups.  I'll break down each position.

PG - Demetri McCamey vs. Lucas/Lucious/Appling/Kebler
McCamey is a hell of a player.  He's averaging 16 points a game, can score from anywhere on the floor, and also takes care of the ball extremely well.  On top of that, he's a 4-year starter so he's seen it all.  Solution? Try everything.  Expect a lot of substitutions from Izzo to keep MSU's guards fresh on defense.  Freshman Keith Appling has been stepping up in a big way on the defensive end recently but this will undoubtedly be his biggest test so far.  Lucas and Lucious will both get a shot, however they both give up a couple inches and a lot of weight to McCamey.  McCamey is a solid defender, as well, so this will be the position to watch for the night.

SG - DJ Richardson vs. Lucas/Lucious/Summers
Richardson is a young talent but he's been less than impressive in Big Ten play.  He scored 17 against Iowa a few weeks ago...but c'mon, it's Iowa.  He's mainly a perimeter threat that doesn't drive very often.  It sounds odd, but guarding him will be a welcome break from McCamey for the guards

SF - Bill Cole vs. Summers/Green/Thornton
Cole is pretty big for the 3 spot (6'9") but he just hasn't been productive.  Cole is averaging 6 points and 2 rebounds per game.  The threat comes from his ability to shoot the 3 - he's shooting 43% from behind the arc, which is close to what Summers, Green, Lucas, and Appling shoot from 3.  Green (6'7") has had trouble scoring on the inside against taller players, but Cole is pretty light for his size and could probably be outmuscled by the more robust Draymond.

PF - Mike Davis vs. Roe/Green
Davis is another bright talent for the Illini.  Definitely not a 3-point threat, but he has developed a solid inside game with great footwork and fundamentals.  Delvon Roe matches up with him quite well and has been absolutely dominant on the defensive side of the ball the last few games.  Roe has been pretty quiet on the offensive side, however, but him wearing down Davis on the other end might make it easier for him.  Unless Roe is needed elsewhere...

C - Mike Tisdale vs. Roe/Nix/Sherman/Payne
Tisdale is a 7'1", 250 lb center that has also developed a good post game, similar to Davis.  His length has been a huge problem for the Spartans in the past and it doesn't get any easier this year.  Sherman and Payne have the length to guard him, but both are not nearly as strong or have the experience as the 4th year giant.  Nix could definitely throw his weight around just fine, but he has been in the doghouse with Izzo lately and doesn't have the footwork on the offensive end to be effective.  This situation will probably look more like damage control than an attempt to stop him, so don't tear your hair out if Tisdale scores 15 tonight.

SUMMARY
Illinois is big.  Bigger than the Spartans.  It's going to be tough for the frontcourt of MSU to score points against the Illinois big men so the best way to get out of Chambana with a W is to limit Illinois on the offensive end.  Expect a lot of switching up from Izzo to give different looks on D - if MSU can limit two of Illinois' three big threats (Tisdale, Davis, and McCamey) the game will go pretty smooth.  Go Green!

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!

First Blemish

Sorry for the long gap between posts. Work has been busy. Let's get to it.

Although its not football season, perhaps some of the biggest news of the football season came on Wednesday. For those that don't follow recruiting, Wednesday was national signing day, when high school seniors are allowed to sign a letter of intent to accept an athletic scholarship in football. Getting good recruiting classes has shown to be the key to success on the football field -- teams that normally recruit well generally have better records and are better teams. There are schools who don't recruit at the top of the pack who are still successful, such as Boise State, TCU, BYU, but its almost a given that Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Florida recruit well.

For MSU, all players that had verbally committed to Michigan State signed their letters. This includes star player William Gholston, who has generated a plethora of press over his abilities on defense. Dantonio has stated Gholston will play a combination of Outside Linebacker and Defensive End. Other highlights include QB Joe Boisture from Saline, RB Nick Hill from Chelsea, and CB Mylan Hicks from Detroit's Renaissance High School. The recruiting class has been rated around #30 in the country, which isn't great, but definitely a step up from past years' classes.

It's interesting to note that Boisture's and Hill's HS are right in Michigan territory -- both are within 30 minutes drive of Michigan Stadium. Additionally, Saline HS (where I went, woohoo!) now has a scholarship QB at both Michigan State (Boisture) and at Michigan (remember Nick Sheridan?)

BUT WAIT, WHAT ABOUT BASKETBALL?!?!?!

The Spartans traveled to rival Michigan last week, which pretty much was seen by every basketball fan in the state. To summarize, it was close all game, and Kalin Lucas drained yet another big-time shot with 3 seconds remaining in the game. On the other end of the court, with 1.5 seconds left, forward DeShawn Sims tried to tip in an inbounds pass for the win, but it rattled off the rim. There was debate about a foul that should have been called on Durrell Summers for grabbing Sims' jersey on the way up (that did happen) but Sims also pushed off barely before the shot. Additionally, Lucas was pushed, with two hands, by Manny Harris on the other end of the court before his game-winner. I'm not trying to justify anything, but it would be grasping at straws to expect the refs to call a foul on that final play.

MSU played Wisconsin on Tuesday at Madison. To summarize, it was miserable. Wisconsin under Bo Ryan has developed a reputation for playing a slow, time-control style of basketball. The players are coached not to try to make a play until there is 10 seconds left on the shot clock, unless the defense leaves a man open. They have also developed a reputation for "flopping" on defense -- meaning slightly overreacting to contact to make a shove or elbow look worse than it actually is. More times than not, the refs will give them that call. As much bad mouthing as I have now given them, their style of play is within the rulebook of basketball. Bo Ryan knows how to run this system as a science and is one of the most successful coaches within Big Ten play. However, that has come at the expense of the respect of most fans in this league outside of Wisconsin state borders.

Michigan State went down by double-digits early and couldn't find anyone on the offensive end to answer Wisconsin's great shooting. Wisconsin ran rampant on the Spartans, improving Bo Ryan's record against Tom Izzo to 12-5. Izzo has not won in Madison since Bo Ryan took over. Adding injury to insult, Kalin Lucas sprained an ankle early in the second half and didn't return. He was questionable for tonight's game against Illinois, but Tom Izzo has said Lucas will see minutes. How many he can take on that ankle is to be determined on the court.

My take on the team: The Spartan's were bound to lose one sooner or later, after seeing their play at Minnesota and Michigan. It seems almost every Tom Izzo team gets a butt-kicking once a season or so. Last year, it was North Carolina -- that loss had a lot of people saying we were not a top ten team last year, which was proven false during the tournament. It is clear MSU will not run away with the Big Ten as it did last year -- road games remain at Illinois, Penn State, Indiana, and Purdue, with home games against Purdue, Ohio State, and Michigan. The schedule is back heavy and I think we will see at least 2 more losses in Big Ten play. My guess would be tonight at Illinois due to Lucas' injury and at Purdue. Wisconsin, Purdue, Ohio State, and Illinois are all tied for 2nd with 3 losses. The race at the end will be interesting.

Again, the basketball team takes on Illinois in Chambana tonight at 9, ESPN national coverage. Next game is on Tuesday against no. 7 Purdue -- same time, same channel.

Growing up

In case you missed it, MSU won a thriller at Minnesota earlier today. The team never lead in the game until about a minute and a half left. Biggest deficit was 13, the largest lead a Big Ten opponent had over the Spartans all year. All though on paper it doesn't seem like a huge win. Sure, its on the road in a hard place to play and Minnesota isn't at the top of the Big Ten standings right now, but something very interesting happened.

After the game, as he was leaving the court, Izzo had a few tears in his eyes. I can only speculate why, but most people have a hunch that it was because he was extremely proud of his team. At the post game interviews, Kalin Lucas told reporters Izzo had told him during a late timeout that there are certain moments that players achieve greatness (Something to that effect). Lucas answered with authority, as he drained the winning three with 1:27 left in the game, to put MSU up 65-62. After starting the game with a dismal FG%, Lucas finished with 22 points. Not to be outdone, Raymar Morgan, the team's notorious disappearing act, finished with 17 points. Morgan was integral during the Spartan's run in the second half. It looks like he has turned a corner as well -- he was (badly) called for his fourth foul with about 10 minutes left. He came in for the last 5 minutes or so and played aggressive on both ends of the court without fouling. Those who have seen a majority of games the last 4 years will tell you that is the first time he has showed that kind of control and passion. Ever.

MSU ended up with below a 40% FG percentage, but players stepped up when they had to. If you recall, Lucas was effectively called out by Izzo for his lack of leadership on the team. Morgan hasn't lead by example yet this year. Although it doesn't show up on the stat sheet Chris Allen is also becoming a much better player. Allen hit 4 threes and played noticeably good defense on a couple of talented Minnesota guards. Izzo called out the team after the Iowa game, saying they had a lot of growing up to do still. This win affected him in a powerful way, so hopefully we will that spark come March.