Michigan State/Purdue pre-game dispatch

I watched the Big Ten Network's replay of the Michigan State/Maryland game and I have just a few observations of the game:

*I swear that every time Jim Nantz would say, "It's been [such and such] minutes since Maryland has scored," the Terps were guaranteed of draining a 35-foot 3-pointer. I counted, and this occurred at least three times during the game.

*I try not to get down on the play-by-play/color guys too much. (If I can get away with it, I'll simply watch games with the sound turned down). However, I have to say that Grant Hill seemed to have a hard time hiding his Maryland pom-poms. Perhaps he forgot the Terrapins are no longer in the ACC.

I followed up watching the MSU/Maryland replay by watching a little of the Purdue/Michigan game. The Spartans will have their hands full with Purdue's big men: Hammons, Haas, and the "almost Spartan" Swanigan. I know this is probably stating the obvious. If the Spartans can just hold their own in the paint and knock down the outside shots they didn't make yesterday against Maryland, they should be okay. I hope they didn't expend too much energy in dispatching the Terrapins. This game might go right down to the wire.

See you on the flipside.

MSU/Purdue game

Watching the Purdue game and the Spartans are getting absolutely wrecked so far. They can't buy a basket, are struggling with both Purdue's defensive intensity and their big men, and have been slow on defensive switches allowing the Boilermakers' guards to bury a barrage of 3-pointers. The only bright side so far is that Hammons and Swanigan are on the bench with two fouls.

McQuaid misses two shots from 3-point range. MSU is ice cold so far tonight. If matters don't improve soon, MSU will get run out of the building.

46-30 halftime deficit. A terrible first half for MSU, as they are getting owned by Purdue's bigs and the Boilermakers are shooting a scalding 63% from the field. This has Iowa (games one and two) written all over it unless the Spartans can somehow turn it around in the second half.

The Spartans fight and claw back in the second half, and actually take a four point lead late in the game, but can't hang on and lose 82-81 in overtime. It's a heartbreaker, but a team just can't dig as big a hole as MSU did in the first half and expect to win.

Any shot at winning or tying for the conference title is over. Now, just hope to regroup at home on Sunday and beat a very good Indiana team.

Another nailbiter (Michigan State 24, Purdue 21)

Knee jerk reactions to today's 24-21st nailbiter of a win over Purdue:

This team absolutely can't afford any more injuries. From my perspective as an observer, the team's depth is getting spread thin and these guys are getting gassed in the second half.

At least the schedule appears favorable for the next week. Rutgers is one of the worst teams in the conference and the Spartans should be able to survive that game. With any luck, MSU will get Conklin and Keiler back for Michigan and they'll also need a healthy Josiah Price and R.J. Williamson.

In short, after a healthy 2013 and 2014, the law of averages has kicked in and the injury bug is biting MSU on the butt.

As I sit here and watch Ohio State struggle with Indiana, it becomes abundantly clear that life at the top is tough every single week.

I have a feeling that nobody is reading this blog besides me, but I messed up last night and in an irrational fever I temporarily changed the name of the blog, then changed it BACK again but have a feeling I screwed something up because now the blog comes up as "unavailable" or some such thing when it is Googled. Lord knows what the hell I did.


October 5, 2015 update: R.J. Williamson is out for the season, joining Vayante Copeland--so the back side of the Spartan defense is in even more trouble. I am trying to remain positive about the rest of the season, but unless the next men in line are able to step up and learn quickly, this doesn't bode well.

"Sunshine blower"?--that's me!

There is a term used by the fanatical MSU fans who post on the Red Cedar Message Board. It in an unflattering term used to describe folks who are relentlessly chipper and optimistic about Spartan sports teams, despite indications that such enthusiasm is unwarranted. The term is sunshine blower.

The term perfectly describes my current state of mind.

Oh sure, I was feeling some aggravation and stress during the CMU game, but I've gotten over it since. It seemed to me that the Spartans sufficiently imposed their will in the fourth quarter that maybe--just maybe--there isn't as much to fear as many of us might think.

The first test of this theory comes tomorrow against what looks to be a weak Purdue team. Now, it's true that the Boilermakers have played MSU close the last five years or so, however the Spartans haven't lost to Purdue in the Dantonio era. I don't see this changing tomorrow.

I tend to side with those who think that the Spartans are sick of hearing about their perceived weaknesses and will take it out on Purdue tomorrow. Despite MSU's injury situation, I see the Spartans winning this one by something in the neighborhood of 38-17.

I considered going over the other Big Ten games, but as it's a little late right now and my brain doesn't feel like it's fully functional, I'll pass on that now and try to do it tomorrow morning.

"There will be blood"...

...would be the name of last night's Michigan State/Purdue basketball game, if one had to give it a movie title. Both teams played hard and dished out plenty of pokes, prods, elbows, (unintentional) feet to the head, and (unintentional) hands to the face. In one of the game's scarier moments, Purdue's Dakota Mathias had his face accidentally stepped on by Branden Dawson, after Mathias fell over after draining a three-pointer hotly contested by Dawson. Dawson stumbled over Mathias and unintentionally planted his foot on Mathias' noggin. Later in the half, Dawson took a blow to the head and left for the remainder of the game. Other injuries were sustained by Denzel Valentine (tripping over one of his teammates battling for a rebound) and Lourawls Nairn hobbled by what appeared to be cramps. Travis Trice took a nasty spill after a hard (but completely legal) Purdue foul. Blood was visible through one of Trice's white compression socks/leggings.

Blood was shed and pain inflicted on both sides. In other words, a typical late season Big Ten game between two teams with plenty to play for.

It's been pretty well established this season that this MSU basketball team has its faults. But one thing that can never be questioned is its heart. This was a game that the Spartans had to have, and despite losing Branden Dawson, and physical punishment delivered to Valentine and Trice; despite falling behind by nine points late in the first half; and despite more free-throw shooting woes (though not down the stretch when it mattered the most), the Spartans came through against a determined Purdue team that had been on a roll heading into East Lansing. In the process, the Spartans may have finally stamped their tickets to an 18th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

There is also plenty of pride in this program. It's obvious that this year's edition of Michigan State basketball does not want to be the first since 1997 to miss the NCAA tournament. They know the stakes involved in being a part of a program such as MSU's, and those who stick around are the ones who embrace those stakes.

Fans can be disappointed and frustrated by the struggles that this team has had this season, but it really shouldn't have been too much of a surprise when one considers how much was lost after last season in terms of personnel.  But after the grit that MSU displayed in last night's Purdue game, nobody should ever question the level to which these players want to win.

My "live blog" from the Purdue game

Tony Lippett catches a long pass from Cook for the TD. Good way to start the game. Perhaps deflate Purdue slightly and dampen the crowd's enthusiasm.

 

Lippett has far exceded what I ever expected as a receiver.

 

Purdue has apparently changed its colors to black and highlighter yellow.

This is NOT the same Purdue team that I saw get dismantled by CMU last month. Austin Appleby is impressive at quarterback and a big step-up from Danny Etling

 

The announcing crew is terrible, so I'm watching most of this game with the sound down.

 

Purdue has no answer for Lippett. 4 catches for 95 yards in the first quarter.

Defense getting shredded, which is shocking. Getting killed by those bubble screens.  Not a good second quarter. All of Purdue's misdirection plays also seem to have the Spartans off balance, and this quarterback has been ridiculously accurate.

 

MSU needs to put the clamps down in the second half and Narduzzi needs to make adjustments. It'd be big to get Purdue's offense off the field on its first possession.

 

Defense did play better in second half. More pressure on Appleby.

 

Game went topsy turvy after the Cook interception. If MSU scores at least a fg, game over. Or probably over.

 

I still do not understand the fake punt call. Why when you are deep in your own side of the field with 14 point lead?

Glancing back at Nebraska, and looking ahead to Purdue

Today the Spartans are in West Lafayette to take on Purdue. I'm happy that today's game starts at a more reasonable time of 3:30.
 

I watched a replay of the Nebraska game, and it's stunning to see how the game unraveled in the 4th quarter, but it had as much--if not more--to do with bad luck as uninspired or mistake-prone play. Kurtis Drummond had a near pick six that would have put MSU by at least a 33-9 score, but instead he whiffed and the ball ended up in the hands of the Huskers' Jordan Westerkamp, and he ran the ball deep into MSU territory. This resulted in a Cornhusker TD to make the score 27-16. Then came Mike Sadler's line drive punt that was run back for a touchdown and closed the gap to 27-22. Sadler should have put more air under the ball or kicked out of bounds. Maybe this is easier said than done in some circumstances. And then, of course, came Jeremy Langford running out of bounds when Nebraska had no timeouts left. Another mental miscue.
 

At least when MSU needed them most, the Spartans were able to make the most important plays to preserve the win: blowing up the Huskers' two-point conversion try (to keep the margin at 5 instead of 3) and, of course, Trae Waynes' game-ending interception.
 

Despite the bizarre fourth quarter, Michigan State dominated Nebraska. If the team that pushed Nebraska around for 3 1/2 quarters shows up at Purdue today, this game could be a 35-40 point blowout. But what concerns me is THAT team has yet to play for a full 60 minutes. Maybe they can get away with that against a weak opponent like Purdue, but I hope the Nebraska game was a wake up call.
 

Purdue has played better of late, but I don't see them hanging with MSU. Call this a workmanlike 38-10 win for the Green and White.

Looking back at Purdue and looking ahead to Illinois (and Michigan)

 I didn't see any of the MSU/Purdue game, as I was out of town and had no access to a television. It doesn't sound like I missed much.

The game was apparently so much of a snooze fest that Big Ten Network seems to have deemed it unworthy of repeated viewings, so it's nowhere to be found in the "Big Ten Football in 60" capsule games that BTN shows the following week. Instead, we get about a dozen replays of the Indiana/Michigan shootout, in which the defenses only made sporadic appearances.

The oddest part of the MSU/Purdue game is looking at the box score. MSU had no turnovers, rushed for over 180 yards, and though Connor Cook's numbers were nowhere close to Aaron Rodgers-like, they weren't necessarily awful. Having seen only the meager highlights of a game that featured few true "highlights," it just looks like MSU must have had several drives that just staggered and sputtered.

It's disappointing from the standpoint that it looked like, after the Iowa and Indiana games, the offense had made strides, but it looks like there is still work to be done. The offense, though definitely improved from the non-conference slate, is a work in progress.

Next up is a road game against Illinois, and though the Illini were beaten fairly soundly by Wisconsin, they are still able to put points on the board (the Illini scored 32 against the Badgers), and they could give MSU a tough time on Saturday--particularly if MSU's offense continues to sputter. In addition, the Spartans have a rivalry game the following week and if MSU is caught looking ahead to Michigan, it could be an upset down at Champaign-Urbana (or Urbana-Champaign--I have no idea what that place is calling itself these days).

As far as Michigan goes--and I suppose as a fan, I am allowed to look ahead--they haven't looked good all year despite having lost only one game, but no game against them is ever a given. The Wolverines have an explosive offense that, like Illinois, is capable of lighting up the scoreboard. Devin Funchess may be one of the top tight ends in the country, and he scares me. Sure, Michigan's defense has largely been a no-show this season, and Devin Gardner erratic at best at quarterback, but that doesn't mean this will be the case on November 2. Michigan will also have two weeks to prepare.

In short, I never see the Michigan game as a guaranteed win, no matter how good (or not good) the Wolverines happen to be. But having said all that, I fully expect MSU to be jacked to the moon for this game, and Pat Narduzzi's defense will play its most intense game of the season. I just hope that it's a controlled intensity and the the Spartans don't face the same problems they did against Notre Dame, with yellow flags flying all over the field. The MSU D should make Devin Gardner's life hellish on the field and there is no reason to give Michigan a break with any stupid penalties.

But here I am getting ahead of myself. MSU needs to take care of Illinois first.

Survive and advance: Michigan State 65, Saint Louis 61

I'm watching the end of the Purdue/Kansas game and rooting on the Boilers.  They've outplayed the Jayhawks and deserve to win this one.  I hope they can hang on. (After leading the entire game, the Boilermakers couldn't hang on and lost to Kansas, 63-60. Coach Painter and the Boilers appeared to lose their heads a bit in the last minute and fell apart. Robbie Hummel, a kid for whom I have tremendous respect, played his heart out. Purdue's loss was a major bummer--but still great that 25% of the Sweet Sixteen is from the Big Ten.).

What an ugly game played today between MSU and Saint Louis.  The Billikens make Wisconsin look like the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers.  Saint Louis was methodical, plodding, and defensive-minded, with a style of play that could charitably be called "extremely physical".  In short, it was not a fun game to watch.  The last 40 seconds of the game were particularly excruciating, but thankfully the Spartans managed to hang on for the victory.

It's a testament to how great Tom Izzo is as a coach that MSU, in the space of two days, was able to go from the "track meet" style of LIU hoops to the slog-it-out sludge of Saint Louis.  It's that type of flexibility that has allowed MSU basketball to be so successful throughout Izzo's tenure.

And even though Saint Louis' style was hard on the eyes, credit is due to Rick Majerus.  That guy is able to wring every last drop out of whatever minimal amout of talent he has.  The Billikens may not have the best players, but they certainly play hard.

My drink of choice for this particular MSU game, as I know you're all dying to know, was one bottle of Blue Moon consumed during the second half.  A few f-bombs were hurled as well.  Certainly the expletives shouted by yours truly in this game far exceeded those in Friday's LIU game.  Now, I need to get the blood pressure down for a few days in preparation for MSU's Sweet Sixteen game against Louisville on Thursday night.

It's nice to see that with these two tournament victories, MSU has evened its all-time record against both LIU and Saint Louis.  The Spartans are now 2-2 against LIU and 1-1 against Saint Louis.

So the Louisville Cardinals are MSU's next opponent. Louisville was a middle of the pack Big East team, but have been playing extremely well as of late.  They've won six straight with two impressive victories over ranked teams: 84-71 over Marquette and a 64-50 decision against Notre Dame.  Unlike some of the run-and-gun Louisville teams of the past, this one wins with defense and a full-court press (which has been Pitino's signature throughout his coaching career) that wears out many opponents. The Cardinals are led by speedy point guard Peyton Siva, and also have a somewhat flaky guard from New York named Russ Smith who has, shall we say, a complicated relationship with coach Rick Pitino.  Here's an interesting article about Louisville that appeared in today's New York Times.

I don't know if I'll be posting anything on this blog until Thursday, but we'll see.  In any case, lets all get some rest for a few days and I'll see you again on Thursday, March 22.  I'm now gonna unwind with the last three minutes of a hotly contested game between Cincinnati and Florida State.

Catching up, and looking forward to Nebraska

It's been more than a week since I've posted in here, and since then the Spartans have defeated Purdue, in an impressive performance in West Lafayette, and struggled to put away Minnesota in Minneapolis. Although the win over the Gophers was far from impressive, those are the type of slog-it-out games a team has to endure to win a championship.

Tonight, the Spartans go up against bottom-feeder Nebraska in an 8 PM game at Breslin.  Like the Minnesota game, this could be viewed as another quintessential "trap" game: go out there without enough energy and the Huskers could sneak out with a win.  Now, I don't think MSU will come out with the same determination they'd have against, say, Michigan or Ohio State (or even Purdue), but I just don't see them losing this game.  If nothing else, Draymond Green won't allow it.  I could see Nebraska hanging with State for a half, but not much more than that.  The Spartans are peaking now, have a Big Ten title in their sights, and should win this one by at least 15 points.

There's been some discussion around here ("around here" being the Lansing area) regarding this season and how it ranks among Tom Izzo's best ever coaching jobs.  I want to see how the rest of the season plays out before I make a final assessment.  If the Spartans go on to win the Big Ten championship, then it has to rank in my top three.  Without doing any research on the matter, and just going with the top of my head, I'd put the 2004-05 season as number one, and the 1999-2000 National Championship season as number two.

I will try and get back to this blog later tonight after the Nebraska game and rehash today's basketball action, something I neglected to do after both the Purdue and Minnesota games.  Between the Michigan/Purdue game at 6:00 and the MSU/Nebraska match up, it should be fun.

Coming up, a big game at Purdue

How good is this Michigan State basketball team?  It's a question I've been asking since the season started on an aircraft carrier in San Diego, California.  This season has been an interesting ride thus far, and my view of the team has run the gamut from "They have potential" to "They're going through growing pains" and now to, "They seem to be peaking at just the right time."  The key word in that last statement being seem.  As much as I love the way the Spartans have been playing since the Illinois debacle, I'm not completely sold on them as a conference champion and/or Final Four challenger just yet.

In about a half-hour, the Spartans face a tough road battle against a beleaguered Purdue team.  The Boilermakers took a hit with Kelsey Barlow's dismissal from the team and D.J. Byrd's suspension.  How will the Boilermakers react?  Will they play with renewed passion and vigor?...or will they play like a three-legged dog?  I believe they will play hard, and how the Spartans respond will go a long way to determining whether they will win and ultimately go on to winning the Big Ten title.

As Tom Izzo said in his pregame show, championships are won on the road.  Starting today, the Spartans have three tough road games left against Purdue, Indiana, and Minnesota.  If MSU can find a way to take care of business on the road by winning at least two of the remaining three, and sweeping their final two home games, they will win at least a share of the title.

So what will happen today?  I believe that the Spartans will find a way to win, but it probably won't be easy.

Happy Senior Day! (Michigan State 21, Purdue 7)

The Spartans knocked off Purdue today in what was not a pretty game, but as the expression goes: I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty.

Here are some random thoughts about today's game and MSU football in general:

Is Michigan State a great team? No. Are they a good team? Most definitely. Are they a very good team? If the definition of a "very good" team is one that never gives up, always plays hard, makes the big play, and gets the most out of its talent, then the answer is certainly "yes." Depending on how the Penn State game goes, and how the Spartans play in their bowl game, it's still possible that they could be remembered as a great team, but I'm not too concerned about that. I want to just appreciate what this team has already accomplished this year.



Let's put this season into perspective. Two years ago, in John L. Smith's last (brutal) season as coach, the team completely imploded after the awful loss to Notre Dame. With the possible exception of Bobby Williams' awful 2002 season, the 2006 season was about as dark and dismal as it's been for Spartan football, and we're talking about a program that has had LOTS of peaks and valleys. In only two years, Mark Dantonio has taken this program and completely changed the attitude and culture from top to bottom. One can argue all they want that the Big Ten is down, and perhaps they're right, but that still doesn't change the fact that Michigan State has played with a desire, toughness, attitude, mental discipline, and flat-out consistency that we as Spartan fans have not seen since at least Nick Saban's 1999 squad. I'm as encouraged by this development as I have ever been in my 31 years of following this program. I'm amazed that in Dantonio's second year as head coach, we are uttering the words "Spartan football" and "Big Ten title contenders" in the same breath.

I continue to be flabbergasted by the Detroit media's hostility towards MSU's football season. Not every Detroit sports journalist has been nasty, but some (like the Free Press' perpetually negative Drew Sharp) continue to pooh-pooh MSU football every single week. I know that I shouldn't care what these people write, but it's still extremely annoying. I don't expect the media to be cheerleaders for any program, but a little positive spin once in a while wouldn't be asking too much.

Having just ripped on the Detroit media, I'd like to thank the Free Press' Michael Rosenberg for his classy article about the Spartans. For anyone interested, here's the link:



http://www.freep.com/article/20081108/COL22/81108058/1048/SPORTS

Back to the game: Purdue's offense looked AWFUL! Maybe that was just as a result of Pat Narduzzi having a great game plan against the spread (and MSU's defense playing really well--too bad they couldn't hang on to the shutout) but I couldn't believe this was the same Boilermaker team that tagged Michigan for 48 points and over 500 yards total offense. It further proves how wacky college football, and the Big Ten in particular, can be and how each game needs to be judged independently.

Johnny Adams' interception for a touchdown late in the second half was a HUGE play. One of the defining characteristics of this team is their uncanny ability to make big plays when they need them the most.

The bye week is coming at a great time for Michigan State. They sorely need it (pun intended). They're banged up and need rest before the Penn State game. Win or lose in Happy Valley, it's been a great season for Spartan football. Let's not forget how much they've exceeded our expectations.

College football is still the greatest sport in the world. Today saw Iowa upset Penn State on a last second field goal, and Alabama beat LSU in overtime in a thriller in Baton Rouge. I had the good fortune of listening to the LSU radio broadcast on my car radio as the Tigers blocked 'Bama's game-winning field goal try in regulation. Those guys were going completely bonkers--unfortunate for them that LSU couldn't win it in OT.

I'm keeping tabs on the Cal/USC game. I'd love it if Cal beat the Trojans (however as I write this, USC has a 10-3 lead deep into the second quarter).
 

That's all for now, I'm going to go back to watching "iCarly Goes to Japan" with my son!

Postscript: Texas Tech looks like the best team in college football. That offense is absolutely amazing and if I could vote for the Heisman, I'd go with their quarterback Graham Harrell. (Having just written that, watch them lose next week! That's what happens when I make statements like that).