THE REVIEW: MSU vs ILLINOIS

Michigan State and Illinois combined for one of the uglier Big Ten games you'll ever see, with the Spartans coming out on the short end of  a 42-41 decision.  MSU not only lost the game, they also had to play the last 4 minutes without senior leader Draymond Green, who left with some sort of lower leg injury that has yet to be fully diagnosed yet (though during and immediately after the game, MSU trainers were quoted as saying that it was some sort of strain and “not as bad as they'd originally feared.”).  His status going forward is unclear as of this writing.  What was clear is that MSU played a horrific game on offense, shooting a season worst 24%, and committed 16 turnovers and yet still had a chance to win on the last possession, when Keith Appling missed a shot from about 5 feet out.

THE 5 KEYS:


1.     Glass –  This is especially true if the Illini go small.  MSU needs to get on the glass and convert misses into second chance baskets at a high rate, and that's even a stronger requirement if Illinois plays 4 guards and essentially dares MSU to make them pay on the glass.

RESULT – This is the one thing MSU did unquestionably well.  In fact, if they hadn't managed   23 offensive rebounds, they would have lost by 20 points, even on a night when Illinois didn't  play particularly well.  Branden Dawson had 7 offensive boards and Adreian Payne added 4 to  lead the way.

2.     Focus – Assembly Hall is traditionally an extremely difficult venue for any school to play in, and MSU has been no exception.  Usually, the crowd is primed for this game and the Spartans have struggled, going 7-13 in their last 20 visits to Assembly Hall going back to 1990, a period where MSU has been in the post-season every season and in the NCAA Tournament all but three years.  However, it has seemed to me that enthusiasm in that building might not be what it usually has been...does that mean it'll be “easier” than in prior years?  Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, MSU needs to expect that environment to be wild and to make sure that they play with poise and don't kick the ball around.

RESULT – I didn't think the atmosphere was as charged as many prior games in Assembly Hall,  but MSU played with an extreme lack of poise in this game.  They had 16 giveaways and many  of them were of the unforced variety.  The Spartans also failed to move the ball efficiently, thus  leading to a terrible shooting night.

3.     Attack the post – Leonard is a fine shotblocker but he does have an occasional tendency to commit the odd unnecessary foul.  MSU has enough horsepower in the paint to be able to go right at him and force him to take some chances defensively.  If they can get him in foul trouble, that could be a big advantage, as the Illini post game largely rides entirely on his shoulders. Besides, MSU has other reasons to want to get the ball inside, namely that their offense functions best when they make it a priority to play inside/out basketball.

RESULT – MSU needed to do more of this.  They had some success in getting good looks but  really struggled to convert layups and then they seemed to shy away from getting back to the  blocks consistently in the second half.  That said, when your two centers shoot a combined 4- 16, it's hard to say this was an area that was under-exploited.

4.     Jump Shooting – MSU had been shooting the ball very well in Big Ten games prior to Minnesota.  In that game, they had some great looks but really struggled to hit any of them.  On the road, it's a huge plus if you can conjure up a good shooting night. Illinois is a good defensive team but they're not at the level some of Weber's best groups have been, so I suspect opportunities will be there for Appling, Wood, Thornton, Kearney and (hopefully) Trice...they need to convert a good percentage of them.

RESULT – Horrendous.  Not even worth talking about in detail. MSU was 3-14 from three but  that's just the tip of the iceberg, as they were just as bad on jumpers taken inside the arc.

5.     Best Are The Best – Typically, to beat a good opponent in their building, you need your stars to be your best players.  For MSU, that means Draymond Green and Keith Appling likely each need to be positive factors in this game.  Green is coming off one of the best games of his career, while Appling has been mired in a shooting slump.  It would be nice to see them both clicking in this one...it would make MSU's job much easier.

RESULT – Not even close.  Green gets a mulligan as he was reportedly extremely ill, but the  results on the court were awful from him, as he wasn't able to make plays for teammates nor  finish man for himself.  Especially in that kind of situation, Keith Appling needs to step up and  he simply didn't.  Keith's shooting continues to be MIA and his decision making was the worst  I've seen all year.  He wasn't even all that great defensively, which is normally an automatic  from him.  Rough, rough night for #11, no doubt.


THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY


THE GOOD:


1.     Dawson –  Again, Dawson played a strong overall floor game, making it three straight appearances in which he's been a major factor.  MSU would have had no chance tonight without him.  He led MSU in scoring and rebounding with 12 points and 13 boards, with 7 of his rebounds coming on the offensive end. He was a workhorse on the glass and he dusted off two plays I haven't seen him make at MSU before...the first was a coast-to-coast rebound to layup and the second was a tremendous spin move for a bucket in the second half.  In both plays, he showed at least the start of developing the skill set he'll need to take his game up another level.  For now, though, the effort stuff is clearly on display and MSU needs that much from him on a consistent basis.

2.     Offensive Rebounding – Pretty  much the only thing MSU did well as a team.  The Spartans grabbed 23 offensive boards and won the overall rebounding battle by 17.  I don't fault effort tonight...this was about poise and execution.  The clearest indicator that the effort was close to where it needed to be was the way the Spartans rebounded.


THE BAD AND THE UGLY


1.     Everything else – Seriously, you name it, MSU did it badly...shooting in general, shot selection, ball movement, turnovers...all awful.


OVERALL – Burn the tape...isn't that what they say?  If Green is able to go on Sunday, this ends up being an unfortunate but hardly season breaking loss.  MSU clearly needs to get back on the beam with it's shooting, however.  This is now a two game run of terrible jump shooting from the Spartans and while the post offense has generally been very good this season, they'll need more than that to continue to pile up wins in this conference.