Jan16
THE REVIEW: MSU v NORTHWESTERN
SPARTANS FALL TO NORTHWESTERN
REVIEWING THE 5 KEYS:
1. Defensive patience – Always Job One against Northwestern is to play a full 35 seconds of defense and to be alert for back cuts. NU can lull you to sleep if you're not careful, and Izzo noted that the few defensive breakdowns MSU suffered in the Iowa game were on back cuts. Generally speaking, MSU has done a great job in locking down NU's offense but every year is a new opportunity with new players.
RESULT – Complete failure by MSU and this was absolutely the story of the game. Carmody stated in the post-game that they thought MSU was overplaying more on defense this year and looked to take advantage of that, but Izzo seemed to disagree. Frankly, I do too...this team doesn't take more risks than previous years, at least not materially so. Give credit to NU for running their stuff about as well as I've ever seen them do and MSU deserves a lot of criticism for the way they failed to stay solid with cutters throughout the game. Almost no one in White save perhaps Keith Appling deserves a passing mark defensively. MSU gave up 50% shooting from the floor overall to NU and 47% from deep. Simply unacceptable.
2. Pound the offensive glass – NU gave up 17 offensive rebounds to a Michigan team that doesn't really emphasize that part of the game. What might they surrender against a Spartan club which bases large parts of its identity on board work?
RESULT – MSU was OK here. The number of offensive boards (15) was decent but MSU only scored 16 second chance points, so actually turning those chances into baskets was tough. Especially given that NU was playing zone almost the entire game, that outcome was a shade disappointing.
3. Attack – If Carmody does stick to the mostly-man defensive approach he's shown this year to date, MSU has to take advantage by being aggressive in getting to the rim. I don't believe that NU's guards can contain Appling, Trice, etc. if their mindset is assertive from the opening tap.
RESULT – The zone made it tough to consistently get to the basket but Appling did a great job in the second half of looking to push and get into transition. Too little, too late, though.
4. Post – Going along with 3, MSU should also continue to emphasize getting the ball to the rim by way of post up opportunities. NU is often small and rarely effective in guarding the low post Plus, as we've seen more and more of late, MSU's post touches often lead to great perimeter looks when the ball comes back out.
RESULT – Again, MSU was merely adequate in attacking the 1-3-1 and one of the ways in which I didn't think they were good enough is that they didn't look to get the ball to the rim often enough. The 1-3-1 allows you opportunities for easy baskets if you're patient enough to get the ball into the gaps and force the zone to collapse, leaving the one man at the back of the zone on a post player. Given that the back end of a 1-3-1 is often manned by a smaller, more athletic player, that usually means your big men have an easy opportunity to score if you can get them the ball. MSU didn't do that well enough today. Only 10 points scored out of their two centers tells at least part of the tale.
5. Focus – NU is off to a rough start, MSU has Michigan coming up on Tuesday, and the Spartans have a good history under Izzo of winning games in Evanston rather easily. All of those things could produce something less than maximum focus in a young team if they're not careful. MSU isn't good enough to be able to afford that, even against an NU team on the ropes...maybe ESPECIALLY in this circumstance.
RESULT – Poor. The offense wasn't great but it was good enough to win with, to be honest. The lack of defensive focus was shocking, though. MSU, for perhaps the first time this year, looked like a young, inexperienced team, but even some of the vets didn't appear to be very well locked in to defending this team. Izzo seemed to feel this was lacking and it sure looked that way in the end.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
THE GOOD:
1. Appling – Keith had a big second half, staying aggressive and at times being the one guy to keep MSU within striking distance. It wasn't a great game for him at all...he struggled with his jumper, made some untimely turnovers and wasn't at his A level defensively. Yet, he was the guy who kept pushing, kept coming and allowed MSU to at least have a shot at getting back into it late.
2. Three point shooting – Take away Keith's 0-5 and the rest of MSU's team was a sensational 9-13 from deep. Yes the 1-3-1 typically will present some open looks from outside but you still have to make them and MSU did that reasonably well.
THE BAD AND THE UGLY
1. Defense – Just horrendous. Back cut time and time again. Not locating shooters. Really, it was a complete flameout from a team that has been really, really good at that end all season long. NU presents unique challenges, so one has reason to believe that this won't be a long term issue, but they didn't meet the challenge in this game, no question about it.
2. Poise – 14 TO s and 63% from the line as a team won't get it done in a low possession sort of game. MSU just didn't play like a mature team, something they've managed to do for much of this season.
3. Effort – The bottom line is that Northwestern earned this victory because they outexecuted Michigan State, but also because they played harder and wanted it more. That's evidenced by countless moments in this game, and anyone who witnessed it has no doubt that the guys in Black were just a little quicker to the ball, a little tougher in a scrum, etc.
OVERALL – A disappointing loss to be sure, but hopefully this team responds to it the way great MSU teams of the past have, and learns from it rather than falling into a tailspin. I suspect tomorrow will not be pleasant, but MSU needs to refocus quickly. Michigan in Ann Arbor looms on Tuesday and the Wolvies will also be looking for redemption after a sound defeat they suffered in Iowa City today. Michigan isn't Northwestern but they present at least enough similar basic challenges that MSU should be able to use this poor outcome as both fuel and lesson for Tuesday's tilt.
1. Defensive patience – Always Job One against Northwestern is to play a full 35 seconds of defense and to be alert for back cuts. NU can lull you to sleep if you're not careful, and Izzo noted that the few defensive breakdowns MSU suffered in the Iowa game were on back cuts. Generally speaking, MSU has done a great job in locking down NU's offense but every year is a new opportunity with new players.
RESULT – Complete failure by MSU and this was absolutely the story of the game. Carmody stated in the post-game that they thought MSU was overplaying more on defense this year and looked to take advantage of that, but Izzo seemed to disagree. Frankly, I do too...this team doesn't take more risks than previous years, at least not materially so. Give credit to NU for running their stuff about as well as I've ever seen them do and MSU deserves a lot of criticism for the way they failed to stay solid with cutters throughout the game. Almost no one in White save perhaps Keith Appling deserves a passing mark defensively. MSU gave up 50% shooting from the floor overall to NU and 47% from deep. Simply unacceptable.
2. Pound the offensive glass – NU gave up 17 offensive rebounds to a Michigan team that doesn't really emphasize that part of the game. What might they surrender against a Spartan club which bases large parts of its identity on board work?
RESULT – MSU was OK here. The number of offensive boards (15) was decent but MSU only scored 16 second chance points, so actually turning those chances into baskets was tough. Especially given that NU was playing zone almost the entire game, that outcome was a shade disappointing.
3. Attack – If Carmody does stick to the mostly-man defensive approach he's shown this year to date, MSU has to take advantage by being aggressive in getting to the rim. I don't believe that NU's guards can contain Appling, Trice, etc. if their mindset is assertive from the opening tap.
RESULT – The zone made it tough to consistently get to the basket but Appling did a great job in the second half of looking to push and get into transition. Too little, too late, though.
4. Post – Going along with 3, MSU should also continue to emphasize getting the ball to the rim by way of post up opportunities. NU is often small and rarely effective in guarding the low post Plus, as we've seen more and more of late, MSU's post touches often lead to great perimeter looks when the ball comes back out.
RESULT – Again, MSU was merely adequate in attacking the 1-3-1 and one of the ways in which I didn't think they were good enough is that they didn't look to get the ball to the rim often enough. The 1-3-1 allows you opportunities for easy baskets if you're patient enough to get the ball into the gaps and force the zone to collapse, leaving the one man at the back of the zone on a post player. Given that the back end of a 1-3-1 is often manned by a smaller, more athletic player, that usually means your big men have an easy opportunity to score if you can get them the ball. MSU didn't do that well enough today. Only 10 points scored out of their two centers tells at least part of the tale.
5. Focus – NU is off to a rough start, MSU has Michigan coming up on Tuesday, and the Spartans have a good history under Izzo of winning games in Evanston rather easily. All of those things could produce something less than maximum focus in a young team if they're not careful. MSU isn't good enough to be able to afford that, even against an NU team on the ropes...maybe ESPECIALLY in this circumstance.
RESULT – Poor. The offense wasn't great but it was good enough to win with, to be honest. The lack of defensive focus was shocking, though. MSU, for perhaps the first time this year, looked like a young, inexperienced team, but even some of the vets didn't appear to be very well locked in to defending this team. Izzo seemed to feel this was lacking and it sure looked that way in the end.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
THE GOOD:
1. Appling – Keith had a big second half, staying aggressive and at times being the one guy to keep MSU within striking distance. It wasn't a great game for him at all...he struggled with his jumper, made some untimely turnovers and wasn't at his A level defensively. Yet, he was the guy who kept pushing, kept coming and allowed MSU to at least have a shot at getting back into it late.
2. Three point shooting – Take away Keith's 0-5 and the rest of MSU's team was a sensational 9-13 from deep. Yes the 1-3-1 typically will present some open looks from outside but you still have to make them and MSU did that reasonably well.
THE BAD AND THE UGLY
1. Defense – Just horrendous. Back cut time and time again. Not locating shooters. Really, it was a complete flameout from a team that has been really, really good at that end all season long. NU presents unique challenges, so one has reason to believe that this won't be a long term issue, but they didn't meet the challenge in this game, no question about it.
2. Poise – 14 TO s and 63% from the line as a team won't get it done in a low possession sort of game. MSU just didn't play like a mature team, something they've managed to do for much of this season.
3. Effort – The bottom line is that Northwestern earned this victory because they outexecuted Michigan State, but also because they played harder and wanted it more. That's evidenced by countless moments in this game, and anyone who witnessed it has no doubt that the guys in Black were just a little quicker to the ball, a little tougher in a scrum, etc.
OVERALL – A disappointing loss to be sure, but hopefully this team responds to it the way great MSU teams of the past have, and learns from it rather than falling into a tailspin. I suspect tomorrow will not be pleasant, but MSU needs to refocus quickly. Michigan in Ann Arbor looms on Tuesday and the Wolvies will also be looking for redemption after a sound defeat they suffered in Iowa City today. Michigan isn't Northwestern but they present at least enough similar basic challenges that MSU should be able to use this poor outcome as both fuel and lesson for Tuesday's tilt.
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