Tonight's MSU win over Iowa fit the description of "barn burner." Somehow, some way, the Spartans had enough to beat an inspired Hawkeye team that seemed to lose their legs a bit in the last few minutes of the game. Now, it's another date with Ohio State.
These are the glory years of Michigan State basketball, and we as fans need to appreciate them while they last. I remember a time when just making the NCAA tournament was a cause for celebration. God bless Jud Heathcote, but he had his share of mediocre-to-godawful teams that in some years were just lucky to make the NIT. Tom Izzo has elevated the program to heights we've never seen before, and who knows if we'll see them again when he retires or moves on.
I certainly don't mean to disrespect Jud Heathcote. He was a truly great coach who may have been a little hamstrung by having to recruit kids to play in Jenison Field House, and his own (quite admirable) refusal to kiss the asses of high school basketball players. This trait may have cost Jud a few top drawer recruits over his years at MSU. As it turns out, besides the 1979 national championship team, a guy named Tom Izzo is probably Jud Heathcote's greatest gift to Michigan State University.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Second place isn't all that bad, and schadenfreude tastes especially sweet today
I'm watching the Big Ten Network's replay of the Michigan State/Northwestern basketball game.
Remember early in the conference season when I said Michigan was the team to beat in the Big Ten? Well, I was wrong. I am happy now to be able to admit it.
Congratulations to the Indiana Hoosiers, who earned the outright Big Ten title with a come-from-behind victory over Michigan.
Even though a Michigan win would have given MSU an opportunity to earn a share of the Big Ten title, I couldn't bring myself to wish anything but ill will for the Wolverines. It was an interesting experiment to watch that UofM/IU game and see what my reaction would be. Could I pull of Michigan? The answer was a resounding NO. I am physically and emotionally revolted by the sight of the block "M", the sound of that irritating "Hail to the Victors", and those hideous yellow highlighter-hued uniforms. I don't want Michigan's help, and I don't want them to have any momentum or good feeling heading into the Big Ten tournament or NCAA tournament, and I sure as heck don't want to share a conference title with Michigan. In short, screw the Blue.
Rarely has schadenfreude tasted as sweet than the way Michigan seized defeat from the jaws of victory against Indiana. The best part of Michigan's loss was that, coupled with MSU's win over Northwestern, the Spartans finish above Michigan in the final conference standings and have a better Big Ten tournament seeding that they would have had if Michigan had beaten IU.
I thought that the race for Big Ten Player of the Year might come down to the UofM/IU game. In the battle between Burke and Oladipo, I suppose Oladipo was slightly better than Burke, based mainly on the fact that Indiana won the game, but really it was a draw. The real star in this game was Cody Zeller, who scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. (Oladipo had 14 points and 13 boards).
***
A few posts ago, I dissed Northwestern and all but guaranteed a 15-20 point win for MSU. I should have known better, given the way the last few meetings between MSU and Northwestern have gone. With Indiana already beating Michigan, and the MSU players surely knowing about the result, there was no longer a share of the conference title to play for. The game was a slog, with Northwestern playing like it was the NCAA championship game and the Spartans looking fairly uninspired and sloppy. As often happens at Breslin, though, MSU finally surged ahead in the last 4 minutes or so to pull out a win.
It's getting late, I'm tired, and I really need to go to bed. But I will be back to write about Big Ten basketball later.
Remember early in the conference season when I said Michigan was the team to beat in the Big Ten? Well, I was wrong. I am happy now to be able to admit it.
Congratulations to the Indiana Hoosiers, who earned the outright Big Ten title with a come-from-behind victory over Michigan.
Even though a Michigan win would have given MSU an opportunity to earn a share of the Big Ten title, I couldn't bring myself to wish anything but ill will for the Wolverines. It was an interesting experiment to watch that UofM/IU game and see what my reaction would be. Could I pull of Michigan? The answer was a resounding NO. I am physically and emotionally revolted by the sight of the block "M", the sound of that irritating "Hail to the Victors", and those hideous yellow highlighter-hued uniforms. I don't want Michigan's help, and I don't want them to have any momentum or good feeling heading into the Big Ten tournament or NCAA tournament, and I sure as heck don't want to share a conference title with Michigan. In short, screw the Blue.
Rarely has schadenfreude tasted as sweet than the way Michigan seized defeat from the jaws of victory against Indiana. The best part of Michigan's loss was that, coupled with MSU's win over Northwestern, the Spartans finish above Michigan in the final conference standings and have a better Big Ten tournament seeding that they would have had if Michigan had beaten IU.
I thought that the race for Big Ten Player of the Year might come down to the UofM/IU game. In the battle between Burke and Oladipo, I suppose Oladipo was slightly better than Burke, based mainly on the fact that Indiana won the game, but really it was a draw. The real star in this game was Cody Zeller, who scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. (Oladipo had 14 points and 13 boards).
***
A few posts ago, I dissed Northwestern and all but guaranteed a 15-20 point win for MSU. I should have known better, given the way the last few meetings between MSU and Northwestern have gone. With Indiana already beating Michigan, and the MSU players surely knowing about the result, there was no longer a share of the conference title to play for. The game was a slog, with Northwestern playing like it was the NCAA championship game and the Spartans looking fairly uninspired and sloppy. As often happens at Breslin, though, MSU finally surged ahead in the last 4 minutes or so to pull out a win.
It's getting late, I'm tired, and I really need to go to bed. But I will be back to write about Big Ten basketball later.
Michigan State versus Wisconsin, and to root for UM or not to root for UM, that is the question
I went to the MSU/Wisconsin basketball game on Thursday night and, though watching the Badgers' "style" of basketball--and I use the term basketball loosely when describing the way Wisconsin drags the game back to the peach basket era--I enjoyed myself. There is nothing like experiencing college basketball in a live setting, particularly at Breslin. Though the students are currently on spring break, the "alumni Izzone" brought the noise and it was a great atmosphere (even if nothing compared to the frenzy of the Michigan game--nothing could top that).
I was pleased with Spartans' performance on Thursday night. Keith Appling, as I expected, broke out of his funk and the whole team really put it together. Adreian Payne had one of his best games of the year. Travis Trice was outstanding, Denzel Valentine made some outstanding passes, and the Spartans got it done. Conversely, the Badgers looked horrible. I don't know how much of that was due to MSU's defense, or the aftershock of Purdue pummeling the Badgers at Kohl Center last week. Wisconsin couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and seemed to pass the ball the guys in green-and-white more often than the players in red. Oh, and a note to Bo Ryan: you may want to recruit better athletes. As well as Wisconsin players adapt to Bo's system and execute it well, at some point the team's lack of athleticism is exposed by better opponents.
After struggling against Bo Ryan when Bo first entered the conference, Tom Izzo's teams have now won five straight over Wisconsin. Maybe that is due to MSU simply having better teams than Bo, but at least some of it might be a case of Tom figuring out how to play against Bo's ugly style of hoops. The keys seem to be a) patience on the defensive end, knowing that Wisconsin likes to use the entire shot clock and b) disrupting passing lanes and being active with your hands to force turnovers thereby helping to create fast break opportunities. The one thing Wisconsin doesn't like to do is run. (One of the most interesting stats from the game was 15 fast break points for Michigan State and--unsurprisingly-zero for Wisconsin).
It occurs to me that I never intended this blog to be a platform for me to wow anyone with my x's and o's expertise, since I don't have an illusions of being a sports expert. So if anyone out there with any real basketball knowledge is reading this and things I'm full of crap, please don't hesitate to let me know.
***
On the Lansing-area sports talk shows this past week, one of the major topics of discussion was whether or not MSU fans should root for Michigan to beat Indiana on Sunday. A Wolverine win over the Hoosiers would guarantee the Spartans a share of the Big Ten title, though that means Michigan would ALSO be a co-champion. The way I see it, I root for Michigan State first and foremost and try not to concern myself with what Michigan does. How can any self-respecting MSU fan NOT want the Spartans to win another banner to hang from the rafters at Breslin? It's not a matter of "rooting for Michigan" but "rooting against Indiana."
(I'm being summoned for domestic duty, so I shall try and finish this later).
I was pleased with Spartans' performance on Thursday night. Keith Appling, as I expected, broke out of his funk and the whole team really put it together. Adreian Payne had one of his best games of the year. Travis Trice was outstanding, Denzel Valentine made some outstanding passes, and the Spartans got it done. Conversely, the Badgers looked horrible. I don't know how much of that was due to MSU's defense, or the aftershock of Purdue pummeling the Badgers at Kohl Center last week. Wisconsin couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and seemed to pass the ball the guys in green-and-white more often than the players in red. Oh, and a note to Bo Ryan: you may want to recruit better athletes. As well as Wisconsin players adapt to Bo's system and execute it well, at some point the team's lack of athleticism is exposed by better opponents.
After struggling against Bo Ryan when Bo first entered the conference, Tom Izzo's teams have now won five straight over Wisconsin. Maybe that is due to MSU simply having better teams than Bo, but at least some of it might be a case of Tom figuring out how to play against Bo's ugly style of hoops. The keys seem to be a) patience on the defensive end, knowing that Wisconsin likes to use the entire shot clock and b) disrupting passing lanes and being active with your hands to force turnovers thereby helping to create fast break opportunities. The one thing Wisconsin doesn't like to do is run. (One of the most interesting stats from the game was 15 fast break points for Michigan State and--unsurprisingly-zero for Wisconsin).
It occurs to me that I never intended this blog to be a platform for me to wow anyone with my x's and o's expertise, since I don't have an illusions of being a sports expert. So if anyone out there with any real basketball knowledge is reading this and things I'm full of crap, please don't hesitate to let me know.
***
On the Lansing-area sports talk shows this past week, one of the major topics of discussion was whether or not MSU fans should root for Michigan to beat Indiana on Sunday. A Wolverine win over the Hoosiers would guarantee the Spartans a share of the Big Ten title, though that means Michigan would ALSO be a co-champion. The way I see it, I root for Michigan State first and foremost and try not to concern myself with what Michigan does. How can any self-respecting MSU fan NOT want the Spartans to win another banner to hang from the rafters at Breslin? It's not a matter of "rooting for Michigan" but "rooting against Indiana."
(I'm being summoned for domestic duty, so I shall try and finish this later).
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