THE REVIEW: MSU vs WISCONSIN

SPARTANS EARN ANOTHER ROAD WIN AT

WISCONSIN

You'll rarely find a more thrilling or controversial end to a basketball game than the one Michigan State and Wisconsin participated in on Tuesday night.  In the end, the Spartans moved to 3-0 in the league and won their 14th straight game overall with a 63-60 overtime decision that withstood a clock decision for the ages.  The main scoreboard indicated that Ryan Evans' desperation three pointer off an offensive rebound and dribble back to the line was launched with 0.2 seconds to play, but the scoreboard above the rim controls, and that one read 0.0.  Hard to believe that the clocks would be out of sync, but that's exactly what happened and the final result was a Spartan win.

REVISITING THE 5 KEYS:


1.     Poise –  MSU has taken major steps in terms of the way they've avoided giveaways in recent weeks.  Wisconsin isn't a team that looks to pressure you into mistakes, but MSU has proven to be very turnover-prone in that building over the years, in part due to frustration in finding it difficult to run their offense the way they'd like.  It's the same old story against these guys...they will likely find a way to control the tempo and in a low possession game, you can't afford to give away opportunities to score.


RESULT – Outstanding.  MSU only committed 9 turnovers over the 45 minutes of play and  actually outscored Wisconsin 10-6 in terms of points off opposition mistakes.    You have to  play smart basketball against this team and not help them beat you in any way.  MSU did that in  this game, no question.


2.     Second Chances – Again, in a low possession game and in particular in that sort of game, facing a team that limits opponents to 35% from the floor, it is important to find as many ways to score as possible.  An obvious answer for MSU is always second chance baskets via offensive rebounds.  This is a decent rebounding team MSU is facing, but the Spartans should be able to get on the offensive glass and if they can find some success in turning those boards into easy baskets, so much the better.


RESULT – MSU didn't do much here.  They had 12 offensive boards but only 6 second chance  points for the game.  The Spartans missed a ton of layups...sometimes that was the result of a  questionable no-call through Wisconsin physicality and sometimes it was just a bad miss.   Either way, MSU needed to finish better inside than they did.


3.     Patience –  Here, I'm primarily talking about defensive patience.  Again, MSU fans know the drill by now...the Badgers will run the swing offense looking and probing for a favorable matchup, and often times that'll mean a shot doesn't come until 25-30 seconds of the shot clock has evaporated.  MSU has to be focused and solid for 35 full seconds each possession.  The Badgers haven't been great offensively this year, but they can punish you for inattention to detail like few other teams.  One thing's for sure...they're not going to be likely to kick the ball around and beat themselves.  MSU is going to have to close out possessions.


RESULT – Outstanding, IMO.  Wisconsin was held to 33% overall from the floor and just 23% from three, and that latter stat is inclusive of their late flurry that made the numbers look slightly better than they had been for much of the game.  Even when the Badgers scored, rarely was it the result of a breakdown by Michigan State and they kept the mismatches UW got via the Swing to a minimum as well.  All in all, this was a high end defensive effort.

4.     Paint – I like MSU's post group against the Badgers.  Wisconsin is smaller most of the time than they've been in recent years, and that could give MSU an opportunity to continue to do damage down low.


RESULT – This was maybe the single biggest difference in the game.  MSU doubled up the  Badgers in terms of points in the paint (36-18) and I felt the Spartan post players were effective  most of the night and could have been even better had they managed to finish a lot of point  blank chances (even through questionable no-calls).  Day Day struggled early but was very  effective in the overtime on the blocks.  Nix was once again effective inside on some post  moves and garbage points, and Appling and Dawson managed to drive to the rim and finish on  several occasions.


5.     Free throws –  In a tight game, and especially one on the road, you need to hit the opportunities you're given from the line.  MSU did a fantastic job in this area at Nebraska, but doing it in Madison is an entirely different deal.  UW isn't likely to put MSU on the stripe very often, so when they do get there, they need to cash in.


RESULT – Really good until Green's late miss of two straight that gave Wiscy the chance for  their miracle.  Overall, 13-20 isn't great as a team but they got just enough to pull out the win.


THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY


THE GOOD:

1.     Defense – Just a great, great performance.  Wisconsin isn't a gifted offensive team but they force you into mistakes by virtue of their patience and physicality.  MSU wasn't having any of it.  The focus and intensity was present for 45 minutes.   This team established awhile ago that they belong in the same conversation with the better defensive groups of the Izzo era, and this was just one more example of why that's the case.  I'm convinced this is the best defensive team for MSU since the 2001 season and maybe since the year before that.

2.     Appling – Keith continues to make strides and is becoming the dominant player I've believed he would be since I first saw him as a Pershing High sophomore.  He took the game over down the stretch in regulation for MSU, carrying the offense when Green was on the bench with 4 fouls. He ended with 16 points, 4 boards and 2 assists, but probably should have had an opportunity to score 25 if a lot of the Wisconsin contact that wasn't called had been officiated properly. Regardless, just a great game from him.  Taylor ended up with bigger numbers because he hit some late heaves and got the benefit of a friendly whistle more often, but in my mind there was no doubt who the better guard was on Tuesday night...it was the guy in Green.

3.     Intensity – MSU played hard.  REALLY hard.  That's what it takes to win a game in a venue like that and under conditions like the ones the Spartans played under.  You can't beat Wisconsin unless you at least start by matching their physicality and toughness and effort.  MSU outdid them in all those categories as I see it.


THE BAD AND THE UGLY


Nothing.  Not after the first win in this venue since 2001.  Yeah, MSU missed some late free throws and gave up an offensive rebound on the last possession of OT that gave Wiscy the chance for their miracle try, but honestly...it feels like nitpicking at this point.  MSU slew the dragon and got it done.

OVERALL –  I'll admit it...I didn't think this MSU team would be this good, this fast.  To me, this was a team that sat somewhere between 2006-07 (the Neitzel junior year team) and the following season (Lucas, Summers and Allen joining the squad as freshmen, when they made the Sweet Sixteen).  I have to revise that thinking at this point.  This is a team that has no reason to think it is foreclosed from anything right now.  They are 2-0 on the road in a year where victories in hostile environments would seem to be HUGELY important, given the depth of the league.


MSU has a good chance at being 8-0 heading into Champaign on January 31.  Yes, road tests in Evanston and Ann Arbor won't be cakewalks, but neither of those venues are anywhere near as tough as what the Spartans just went through.  No guarantees, but if MSU can get to that point unscathed, who knows what can happen?  I felt the ceiling for this team was second in the league if everything broke really, really well for them.  That might still be the case, but MSU is much, much closer to being a title contender level team than I'd ever thought possible in October. The thing that ought to positively terrify Big Ten opponents is that the Spartans are nowhere near their potential.  Dawson, Payne, Trice...all can give much more than they're delivering for MSU on a consistent basis.  If that happens, and Appling continues his recent level of All American level play...be afraid, Big Ten...be VERY afraid.