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!

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.