Certainly Payne-less, and a little painful (at least until overtime)

I can hear my (imaginary?) readers groaning after I use yet another Payneful pun. I promise that'll be the last time I torture you with one of those.

 

For most of today's MSU basketball game against Minnesota, it looked like it would follow the familiar Breslin Center script we've come to expect against ANY opponent: the Gophers play lights-out in the first half and take a lead into halftime. Then in the second half, Michigan State makes adjustments, the Gophers run out of steam and the Spartans pull out a win.

 

For most of the game, it appeared there'd be no deviation from the usual scenario, despite the fact that Richard Pitino's pressing, zone-playing team was causing problems for the Spartans. Still, by the waning moments of the second half, MSU seemed in control of the game. However, a funny thing happened on the way to the "inevitable win": Gary Harris missed two free throws, and the Gophers raced down court for the game-tying lay up. Ugh, another overtime game. As a fan, I felt emotionally and physically drained after the first 40 minutes of play, how could I bounce back for "bonus basketball." (Just imagine how the players felt?).

 

In overtime, though, it was ALL MSU. Instead of getting down on themselves for not finishing the job in regulation, the Spartans dominated the Gophers. I give this team this much: they are one resilient and unflappable bunch.

 

Denzel Valentine bounced back from his brutal performance against OSU and made some crucial plays down the stretch. Kenny Kaminski was also outstanding, and reminds me of Kirk Manns the way he strokes that outside shot. Keith Appling and Gary Harris were their usual smooth selves.

 

But how much longer can the Spartans get by without Adreian Payne? They should be able to survive a truly dreadful Northwestern team*, but after that, life without Payne could get tricky. Here's hoping he is healthy enough to play by the time the Spartans take on Illinois on January 18.

*The day after I posted this, Northwestern stunned Illinois, 49-43 for the Wildcats's first conference win of the season. Perhaps I spoke to soon when I dismissed them as "truly dreadful." Still, this is a game that MSU should win.

A little football and a little basketball

Michigan State football finished #3 in the final polls, and I'm okay with that. Sure, a #2 ranking would have been great, but considering how--once again--the Big Ten floundered in its bowl games, it's not surprising that Auburn, from the SEC, finished ahead of the Spartans. In the BCS national championship game, Auburn acquitted itself well, holding the lead for much of the game and only losing in the last minute. The Tigers are deserving of a #2 finish in the polls. Realistically, MSU's only shot at finishing #2 was if Auburn had been blown out by Florida State, and if Ohio State had been able to defeat Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

As far as the Big Ten's showing in the bowl games goes, I was disappointed. I thought that this bowl season was the conference's best shot in several years to finish over .500. Minnesota should have beaten a mediocre Syracuse team in the Texas Bowl, but instead looked like the proverbial "deer in headlights." Seems like the Gophers still have some bowl game growing pains, similar to the ones MSU experienced in the first four years of Mark Dantonio's tenure. Michigan looked completely uninspired against Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, and lost in a blowout. Iowa surprisingly hung with LSU in the Outback Bowl, but lacked the firepower to win the game. Wisconsin lost quarterback Joel Stave in the third quarter of the Capital One Bowl and and fell to South Carolina. At least Nebraska beat Georgia in the Gator Bowl, but I still have a difficult time thinking of the Cornhuskers as a full-fledged Big Ten team, and it's difficult to root for Bo Pelini.

So there you have it, yet another disappointing bowl season for the Big Ten Conference.

***

I watched the replay of the MSU/Ohio State basketball game, and without having to worry about the possibility of cardiac arrest, I was able to study it analytically. Through the last ten minutes of the first half, and the first twelve minutes of the second half, the Spartans were killing the Buckeyes in transition and running the fast break to perfection. The Spartans had a 55-38 lead with eight minutes remaining in the game.

I have to give the Buckeyes credit, though. They ratcheted up the defensive intensity and became much more aggressive, gradually chipping away at the lead. With five minutes left in the game, OSU was down by twelve points. The Buckeyes cut the lead by two points per minute through the three-minute mark of the second half. The the real flurry began...

Aaron Craft drove the lane with two minutes left, laid the ball up and in, and drew a foul from Denzel Valentine, who then fouled out. This cut the lead to the fore mentioned 57-54 score. Meanwhile, I'm sure Keith Appling and Adreian Payne's health issues were draining them of energy.

Though Keith Appling and Gary Harris did a great job containing and frustrating Aaron Craft through most of the game, Craft showed why he his such a highly lauded player and a perpetual thorn in the side of any opponent he faces. He made some huge plays in the last few minutes of regulation, particularly his three-point play, and his heads-up "use Adreian Payne's butt as an assist" in bounds pass. It was at this point that I, as a fan, reached full freak out mode.

It was the two walking wounded, Keith Appling and Adreian Payne, who had the game-saving play when Shannon Scott stole the ball and streaked down the court for what looked like the inevitable winning points. If those guys hadn't hustled to block Scott's lay up, we could be looking at one of the worst meltdown losses in the Tom Izzo era. Instead, the game went to overtime, where the Spartans regrouped and, aided by a Keith Appling three-point dagger, were able to walk away with a victory.

So, health continues to be an issue with this team, and who knows what it means going forward. On the bright side, the Spartans have what should be winnable games coming up at home against Minnesota and on the road versus Northwestern. Maybe that can buy them some time in order to get Payne, Appling, and Trice back to their normal selves.

Anybody have an inexpensive defibrillator for sale?

If there are many more games like last night's overtime win over Ohio State, I may need to install a defibrillator in my house.

You'd think by now, I'd be used to heart attack specials like last night's MSU game against the Buckeyes, but the answer is a definite "no."

Though the final few minutes of regulation almost killed me, I have to give the Spartans credit for regrouping in overtime and coming away with a win. Once again, the team is a veritable "walking wounded" with Adreian Payne still dealing with plantar fasciitis, Keith Appling suffering with leg cramps, and Travis Trice just plain sick. I don't know whether this is just a case of bad luck visiting the Spartan basketball team year after year, but this seems to be a perpetual problem with them. For whatever reason, it seems like MSU is never able to have a healthy basketball team...ever.

Still, the gritty Spartans won the game, and the two unhealthiest guys on the floor--Payne and Appling--played wonderfully. Except for an occasional grimace by Appling when he'd run down the floor, I'd never guess either player was hurting.

These 9:00 games are killing me. It's a good thing that the kids have another snow day today and, since I'm staying home with them, I didn't need to get up for work. Otherwise, I'd be a zombie. By the time last night's game was finally over (approximately 11:25 PM) I was so hopped up with adrenaline, I couldn't sleep until well past midnight. Hey, at least I wasn't one of the poor people who had to brave the arctic weather to watch the game in person at Breslin.

Later today, I plan on watching the replay of the game on Big Ten Network, where I can watch the game comfortably and not have to worry about going into cardiac arrest.