SLOW START SPARTANS FINISH STRONG VS FALCONS

Michigan State struggled for the first twenty minutes of this game before putting a strong run together in the early stages of the second half, leading to a 74-60 victory.  The Spartans were hammered on the offensive glass by BGSU in the first half, which combined with some timely three point shooting to keep the Falcons within 2 at the break.  However, MSU straightened out their issues on the glass and used a distinct advantage in the post to carve out a victory...perhaps a less than inspiring one, but a win just the same.

SPARTANS TO HOST FALCONS

Michigan State gets back into action after a week off by hosting the Falcons of Bowling Green on Saturday night. BGSU was picked to struggle in the better of the two MAC divisions this winter, but their competitive start in non-conference play has them optimistic that their first season in the brand new Stroh Center might be a fun one. BGSU is only 5-4 thus far, but only a 19 point loss to George Washington would count as being “bad.” The other losses were by 3 to Valpo, 7 to Western Kentucky and 9 to Georgia. All of those came on the road. The Falcons have also beaten Detroit by 6 and Temple by 3.

BGSU is coached by former Syracuse great and Seton Hall coach Louis Orr. Orr has a roster made up entirely of kids from Ohio and Michigan, but for one Texan. Assistant coaches like ex Ohio State great Dennis Hopson and former River Rouge head coach Lamonta Stone have helped in recruiting a roster made up of regional kids who may be able to get this program back to annually competitive status.

SPARTANS SHOW GRIT IN SPOKANE

Michigan State registered its most impressive road victory since early 2010 by beating Gonzaga in Spokane by a 74-67 count. The Spartans got the win by playing tough, physical basketball, great halfcourt defense, and by riding a career night from senior forward Draymond Green. The Spartan captain hit the Zags for a career high 34 points, and he was also a key component of what was generally outstanding low post defense by MSU. The Green and White also received massive contributions from centers Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne, each of which stood tall against Gonzaga big man Robert Sacre.

 

The biggest thing to come out of this game for MSU is not anything to do with earning an NCAA bid (I believe they'll do that with ease, and would have even if they'd lost this game) or seeding (take care of business in Big Ten play and that takes care of itself, historically). Instead, the most significant thing for this team coming out of this win is that they now know they can beat a quality opponent on the road. That's a huge thing to have in your bank of experience. The majority of the current roster hasn't ever won a road game at MSU better than last season's win over Minnesota. This one is bigger, and when MSU is facing down Purdue at Mackey Arena or Illinois at Assembly Hall, they can draw upon this win and know that they're capable. That is a MUCH bigger deal than the impact on MSU's RPI or AP ranking, because it has an effect beyond just this season. For a young team trying to cycle back up into Final Four contention, THAT is the biggest deal.

SPARTANS TRAVEL TO THE LAND OF JUD

Michigan State  travels to Spokane, Washington on Saturday night for an appearance in the Jud Heathcote invitational against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.  The Jud part is in jest, of course, but the former MSU head coach is apparently expected to be in attendance to watch his former program and his adopted team clash in a renewal of a series which in recent years has produced some spectacular games. 

The two schools have met four times, with MSU holding a 3-1 advantage.  The most recent contest was two years ago at Breslin, where MSU had to play a strong second half to beat the Zags 75-71.  In 2005, few will ever forget the triple overtime shootout between Adam Morrison and Mo Ager in Maui, a game in which Gonzaga prevailed 109-106.  MSU also won the first game of the series in 1997 on a late Jason Klein dunk 70-68 and the Spartans also beat the Dan Dickau-led Zags in the NCAA Tournament in 2001 by a  77-62 count.  So, for a relatively young and recent series, this one has had a lot of drama and import associated with it.

This year's Gonzaga team is, per usual, a formidable group.  The Zags are 5-1, with only a loss to Illinois on the road as a  blemish on their record thus far.  They are a team with great size, good experience, and some outstanding perimeter shooting.  While Gonzaga isn't a particularly gifted team athletically, they do like to play a relatively fast paced game and MSU will be challenged to limit a very good offensive team in this contest.

IZZO DISAPPOINTED BY SLUGGISH SPARTANS

Michigan State overcame a sluggish and, to be frank, poorly played first half to beat Central Connecticut State by an 89-69 count.  MSU did it primarily by improved defense and rebounding (though neither were to MSU standards), some effective interior offense and a great shooting performance by freshman guard Travis Trice.  Still, for Michigan State, this game should serve as a warning that if the Spartans don't bring maximum effort, they become a very average team.

Central Connecticut got a lot done in the first half via dribble penetration.  It created either open 3 point looks or, on frequent occasion, offensive rebounding opportunities as Spartan interior defenders were forced to provide help and thus give away rebounding position around the rim.   CCSU has some good quickness at guard, but the primary culprits were poor execution by MSU's guards in terms of fighting over screens on the perimeter and lack of effective hedges by the Spartan big men.  MSU did manage to improve its effort and execution in both of those areas in the second half, and that made things much tougher on the Blue Devils on the offensive end.

ONE MORE WARM-UP BEFORE SPOKANE

Michigan State faces its second set of Blue Devils this season, but on this occasion, it won't be Duke but rather the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils of the NorthEast Conference. CCSU is 5-2 on the early season, but already has two conference victories in their back pocket, having beaten Sacred Heart and Bryant in league play. Their losses have come to Yale and Niagra.

CCSU is expected to contend for the NEC title, so it's not a surprise that they're off to a decent start. This team won 19 games (11-7 in the NEC) last season and returns several starters including returning NEC Player Of The Year Ken Horton. The Blue Devils are a high scoring team, play at a relatively fast tempo and have proven early on that they can shoot the ball from deep.

SPARTANS HIT SEASON-HIGHS AGAINST MAVERICKS

Michigan State  dominated this game from the opening tap, hammering the UNO Mavericks by a 110-68 count.  MSU was never threatened in this game and dominated the first year D1 UNO team in all phases.  The Spartans set season high water marks in  points, field goal percentage, team assists, and rebound margin.

Best of all, Tom Izzo was able  to get  11 players at least 9 minutes played, so deep reserves like Russell Byrd, Alex Gauna and Brandan Kearney had extended opportunities to play and perhaps start to earn more trust and a shot at more extended minutes when it counts.  The Spartans also put a season high five players in double digits, led by senior forward Draymond Green's 23.

 

SPARTANS OUT-SLUG SEMINOLES

Michigan State won a hard fought, physical outing against the Seminoles of Florida State on Wednesday night by  a 65-49 count. The final score was a little bit deceiving, as FSU led 40-39 with a a bit over 10 minutes to play. From there, MSU outscored the Noles 26-9, largely spurred on by  a rock solid defense that both limited good looks by FSU and forced numerous turnovers which led to easy Spartan baskets.

MSU  did most of the same things well in this game that they've done in all their games this season. They played good to outstanding defense for most of the game. They rebounded effectively (won the overall battle by 1 and had 2 more offensive rebounds than did the Noles). They played with heart and toughness. However, they also did three things they haven't done well this year, which helped them get a double digit win. They shot the jumper well. They converted free throw opportunities. They also limited turnovers. In short, it was the best total performance of the young season and it led to a win over an FSU team that should finish high in the ACC standings and earn an NCAA bid. The one negative for MSU is that it appears guard Austin Thornton may have broken his jaw. It's unclear as to how much time he might miss but if that is in fact the injury, it's hard to imagine his seeing the court for several weeks, so there will be increased pressure on a couple of MSU's young guards to step up and play solid minutes early in their careers.

Breslin hosts ACC Challenge for first time since 2007

Michigan State faces the Seminoles of Florida State at Breslin Center on Wednesday night as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.  The Seminoles come into this game with a 5-2 record, but with losses in their two most recent games to Harvard and Connecticut.  FSU has generally been seen as the only ACC team with a chance to break through the usual UNC/Duke stranglehold on the top two spots in that conference.

Thus far, the Noles have played more or less as advertised.  Typically, coach Leonard Hamilton's teams have been athletic and very strong defensively, but have lacked enough on the offensive end to prevent them from being an elite level team, and to date this season, that's been the case for this group as well.  FSU is playing outstanding team defense...they're holding opponents to just a 34% clip overall from the floor and an insanely good 23% from three.  Yet, they have just one player averaging in double digits and they're not a particularly strong rebounding team (both Harvard and U Conn outrebounded them in the FSU losses).

IZZO COMPARES APPLING TO CLEAVES IN WIN OVER EAGLES

MSU rolled into Ypsilanti on Sunday afternoon and turned a high caliber defensive effort and a solid second half of rebounding and offense into a 74-40 victory over the Eastern Michigan Eagles. The Spartans struggled against the Eagle zone in the first half, holding just a 25-13 edge at the break, but scored 49 points in the second twenty minutes to pull away from EMU and seal a comfortable victory.

Michigan State earned the victory largely as a result of consistent, sound halfcourt defense. The Spartans have largely been good defensively so far this season, but this might have been their best effort yet. Eastern is not an offensive powerhouse, but they had been shooting around 40% from the floor as a team coming into this game. MSU held them to 29% shooting overall and just 14% from outside the arc. The Spartans also had 11 steals out of 18 total turnovers for the Eagles, so the balance between sound positional defense and active hands causing mistakes continued for MSU.

Michigan State travels to Ypsilanti to face the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Sunday afternoon.  EMU  fired its head coach after last season and hired former Syracuse assistant and Detroit Crockett head coach (where he coached Spartan great Maurice Ager in high school) Rob Murphy to try and rejuvinate a MAC program that, in its 80s and 90s heyday was as good as any in that conference on an annual basis.  Under Ben Braun and Milton Barnes, Eastern produced NCAA Tournament quality teams and even a few NBA players (such as Grant Long and Earl Boykins).  Since their last NCAA bid in 1998, however, the Eagles have struggled to win or establish an identity.

Enter Murphy, who was regarded as a strong recruiter while at Syracuse.  Murphy has done a nice job in establishing a strong talent level in some of his earliest recruiting efforts, but unfortunately most of the strongest talent won't arrive until next season, when three transfers become eligible.  Until then, he's left trying to make lemonade out of a roster that doesn't leave a ton of room for optimism.  Not a single double digit scorer returned to the Eagle lineup.  Eastern has won four of its first five games this season but they haven't exactly beaten a murder's row of opponents.  Eastern's loss was to the same Texas Southern team that MSU blasted at the Breslin Center not long ago.

Michigan State managed to play well enough for long enough to register a 68-55 victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday night at the Breslin Center.  MSU didn't exactly paint a masterpiece, but the Spartans brought enough energy, grit and defensive execution in the second half to turn a 34-30 halftime edge into a relatively comfortable win.

MSU had trouble in the first half defending Milwaukee's high pick and roll game.  The Panther guards got into the lane with regularity and created good shots because of it.  In the second half, both the perimeter players and the big men for the Spartans did a much better job of defending that play, with the big men walking the line between aggressive hedges and staying in touch with their man enough to recover in order to prevent dunks at the rim on the roll portion of the play.  To me, that simple improvement was as responsible as anything else for MSU's second half advantage, as it became much tougher for the Panthers to score.

Closing Out The Spartan Invitational

Michigan State plays its third straight home game on Wednesday night, facing off against the Milwaukee Panthers of the Horizon League (formerly known as Wisconsin-Milwaukee) . The Panthers enter the game at 4-0, fresh off a 73-38 win over Texas Southern.

The impressive start for Milwaukee isn't entirely surprising, as the Panthers returned three starters from a team that managed to earn a share of the Horizon League title last season (tieing Butler in league play). The Panthers are predicted to be a contender again, but face stiff competition from Butler, Detroit and Cleveland State in what shapes up to be perhaps the best Horizon race in many years.

Michigan State didn't exactly paint a Picasso in their game against UALR, winning by a 69-47 score. While the margin of victory suggests an easy win (and in some ways it was exactly that), MSU struggled in both the offensive end of the game and on the glass. Only on defense did the Spartans really do much to distinguish themselves.

MSU had a ten point lead at the break due to defense that was often stifling. However, they had ZERO offensive rebounds in the first twenty minutes and failed to play with any kind of crispness in running their offense against either man or zone. In the initial stages of the second half, MSU played more aggressively and got into transition enough to spread the lead out and they coasted home from there.

MSU plays its second game in 48 hours with a Sunday evening tilt against the Arkansas Little Rock Trojans.  The Trojans, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, enter this game at 2-2, fresh off a Friday evening 11 point loss to Eastern Michigan (by point of comparison, Texas Southern beat Eastern by 17 a few days ago).  UALR won the Sun Belt Tournament last season and earned their league's NCAA bid.  Few are expecting a repeat of that run, however, as the Trojans are expected to finish well down in the Sun Belt's Western Division.