Michigan State 62, Nebraska 34

Leisurely watched the game whilst nursing a glass of shiraz.

Ugly, typical Big Ten defensive slugfest in the first half.  I think Nebraska figured their only chance was to "uglify" the game as much as possible, and despite not being able to hit the broad side of a barn, the Huskers were only down by eight at intermission.

I didn't expect the game to turn into such a blowout in the second half, but I also didn't expect Nebraska's best player, Bo Spencer, to go out at halftime with an injury. That's not to say that Nebraska would have had a chance even with Spencer in there, but what would have probably been a 15-20 point loss turned into a 28 point loss.

It was great to see Draymond Green get his 1000th career rebound late in the second half, and touching to see Austin Thornton immediately acknowledge it.

The most entertaining moment of the night had to be Derrick Nix getting a steal and thundering in for a monster jam.  I thought the big fella was going to bring down the entire goalpost with him.

So, a potential trap game was decidedly NOT a trap.  The guys may have not played at the peak of their abilities, but they went out there with enough energy to put Nebraska away almost immediately.  Now it's time for a tussle with Indiana down in Bloomington.

Having the Spartans kick the Cornhuskers' butts twice in hoops almost makes up for that disappointing football loss our guys suffered in Lincoln.

And, to close, I'd like to thank the Michigan Wolverines for losing to Purdue.  I appreciate the gesture a great deal.  As a Michigan State fan, I sure as hell don't want the Spartans having to share a title with Michigan, and I definitely do NOT want Michigan having any chance of finishing above the Spartans in the final standings.  Michigan has gone 25 years without a conference basketball title, and I'd be more than happy to see it extended to 26 years.

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.

Spartans batter the Badgers

Ho-hum, just another huge win for Spartan basketball last night in a thoroughly dominating performance against Wisconsin.  I feel as if I'm getting spoiled.

I just finished re-watching the game on ESPN3, affording me the opportunity to focus on the details of the game.  Here are some observations:

After a slow start, the Spartans went on a 14-0 run between the 9:23 mark of the first half to 4:27, when Jared Berggren of Wisconsin finally converted on a jumper to end the drought.  This is the best defense MSU basketball has had since at least the '08-'09 team, which I suppose isn't going back that far and just goes to show how consistently good Tom Izzo-coached teams have been defensively.

Branden Dawson is blossoming as a player before our eyes.  I noticed one Wisconsin possession in particular in which Dawson smothered Rob Wilson like a blanket.  Dawson also had a spectacular coast-to-coast bucket in the first half in which he cut through defenders like a Lamborghini weaving through freeway traffic.

Ever since he had a 90-minute heart-to-heart meeting in Tom Izzo's office, Brandon Wood has looked like a new player.  He's been doing the little things that help win games, like terrific passes to open shooters and hustle plays on defense.  Wood had a beautiful dish to Derrick Nix late in the first half which Nix converted into an easy bucket.

It was nice to see Brandan Kearney and Russell Byrd getting some minutes.  Kearney played especially well in his brief time on the floor.  This should bode well for future. (And as an aside, has MSU reached its quota of players named "Brandon"--or variations thereof?).

Although Adreian Payne didn't have an especially great game (perhaps coming down a bit after his great performance against OSU), Derrick Nix did, and displayed some great moves in the paint.  I love MSU's big men this season.

Keith Appling was brilliant and had one of his best games in at least a couple of weeks, and if Draymond Green isn't college basketball's best player, I'd like to know who is.

Colossal win for Spartan hoops!

I am watching the third period of Michigan State's hockey game against Michigan and basking in the glow of the Spartan cagers win over Ohio State, and I must also say I am feeling the warmth of a celebratory glass of pinot noir.

As I stated in a previous post (thank you!), Tom Izzo thrives on games like the one we had tonight: a big game against a formidable foe with a lot at stake.  This had the feel of an NCAA tournament game, and everyone knows how well the Izzo-led Spartans have done in March Madness.

It was a tremendous defensive effort by the Spartans.  Sullinger was frustrated the entire game, and Buford was neutralized.  Certainly not the prettiest game one will ever see, but whatever--I'll take the win.

Quite improbably and amazingly, the Spartans are in the driver's seat for the Big Ten title, and if MSU wins it, it just might be the best coaching job of Tom Izzo's career--and this is a man who has had his share of incredible coaching jobs.

Halftime: Michigan State 35, Ohio State 25

Good first half for MSU.  The defensive effort is solid, the MSU players are focused and intense, and Sullinger looks a little bit frustrated.  Here's hoping the Spartans can keep it up in the second half.  I fully expect the Buckeyes to come out strong in the second half and we'll have to see if the Spartans can match them.

I had no idea that Dan Dakich was the Jared Sullinger Fan Club president.  I'm not noticing these phantom fouls against Sullinger that aren't getting called, but I could be watching the game through green-tinted shades.

Twenty more minutes to play and it should be intense.  I maintain that it will be difficult for the Spartans to beat OSU at Value City Arena, but I love the effort they've displayed thus far.

Almost time for Ohio State

Five minutes until the Spartans take on Ohio State in hoops.  I slightly favor the Buckeyes at home, but this is just the sort of game that Tom Izzo thrives on.

I'll be interested to see what kind of shape Sullinger is in, as he got hurt in OSU's game against Purdue.  I suspect he'll be fine. For all the talk about Sullinger though, I think William Buford is the best player on their team.

Well, the game is just about to start.  I'll tune in here later.