BasicsWho: Michigan (14-15, 7-10) at Michigan State (23-7, 13-4) |
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Michigan heads to East Lansing with dreams of playing spoiler. The Spartans are 23-7 and playing for a share of the Big Ten Championship. Michigan is on the other side of the spectrum: fighting to reach .500 and a long shot to make the NIT.
It’s Senior Night in East Lansing and Michigan State is 61-5 at home over the last four years. Michigan’s last win at the Breslin came in 1997 and this doesn’t appear to be the best chance to break the streak.
Michigan State has had a bit of a mysterious season. They are poised to take a share of the conference crown but really don’t have much to write home about in the way of quality wins. They are just 3-4 versus the RPI top 50 with those wins coming over Gonzaga, Wisconsin, and at Purdue (without Hummel). To Michigan State’s credit they have avoided any bad losses even if they have eeked out a couple of those wins. This year’s team is a far cry from last year’s MSU team that had 11 top 5 wins at this point last year.
Michigan State has a distinct style of play. They turn a basketball game into a battle. Terms like “defensive pressure”, “boxing out”, and “foul” are redefined in East Lansing. This game will have a different level of physicality and it’s important for Michigan to be ready to play this way.
On the offensive side of the ball, Michigan State can beat you in one of three ways. First, they will try to beat you down the floor in transition. If that’s not there then they will delve into one of Tom Izzo’s numerous half court sets and probably end up with a nice look at the basket. Finally, they will crash the glass harder than any other team that Michigan will face this year.
Michigan State has rebounded 38.7% of their missed shots in conference play, this is the best percentage in the conference by a significant margin. Michigan’s defensive rebounding percentage of 71.2% in conference play is right in the middle of the pack but we have seen Michigan get dominated on the glass often enough to know that this is a serious concern.
There is also good news for Michigan, the Achilles Heel of this year’s Spartan offense has been turnovers. Michigan State turns the ball over on 20.9% of their possessions in conference play. That number is worse than every school besides Indiana and Iowa. Michigan has forced the most turnovers in conference play, forcing opponents to cough up the ball on 21.6% of their possessions. For Michigan to have a chance in this game, Michigan State has to turn the ball over like they did in the first match-up when they coughed it up on 30% of their possessions.
Turnovers and offense be damned, defense is where Tom Izzo makes his living. Izzo is a tremendous defensive game planner and he always brings his A-game versus Michigan. In John Beilein’s three games versus the Spartans, Michigan has not topped an effective field goal percentage of 41.5%. Harris and Sims have always had to work hard for their baskets and Michigan has just not ended up with very many great looks at the basket.
Michigan State doesn’t force a lot of turnovers so it will be critical for Michigan to hold onto the ball. Winning the turnover battle is the one thing that allows Michigan to make up for getting outrebounded. Turnovers and rebounds are just one more way to “extra possessions”.
Personnel and Match-Ups:
- Kalin Lucas vs. Darius Morris: In the first game, Michigan received a stern reminder of how clutch Lucas can be. Morris has developed since the first match-up and will almost certainly be tasked to defend Lucas. He’s shown flashes as a great on-ball defender (Battle) but this will be a huge test for the freshman.
- Raymar Morgan vs. Zack Novak: Morgan was deadly in the first match-up scoring 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting. Michigan needs to figure out a way to slow Morgan, who has a large height advantage over Novak.
- DeShawn Sims vs. MSU Bigs: Michigan needs a big performance from Sims. He was just 4 of 13 on 2 point field goals in the last game and he needs to get it going inside.
- Durrell Summers/Chris Allen: Allen is Michigan State’s best three point shooter but he will undoubtedly spend much of his time and energy guarding Manny Harris. Allen was held scoreless in the last match-up but the streaky Durrell Summers always seems to hit a few big shots.
- Draymond Green: Green is the x-factor. He does a little bit of everything and seems to come up with the most important loose balls and offensive rebounds. He’s not physically imposing but he’s incredibly smart and also very strong underneath.
- Manny Harris vs. Chris Allen: I expect Allen to guard Harris for most of the night. Manny has yet to have a big game versus Michigan State and typically becomes frustrated trying to drive the lane.
When Michigan State has lost games this year it’s been because they were shot out of the gym. MSU opponents are 7-1 when scoring 1.06 points per possession or more and 5 of Michigan State’s 7 losses have come when their opposition shoots an effective field goal percentage higher than 55%. That doesn’t necessarily bode well for Michigan, as they’ve only been able shoot that well in a handful of games (Minnesota twice, at Iowa, at Penn State, Ohio State).
More specifically it comes down to three pointers. MSU tends to give up a few extra open looks from three point range because they hedge the wings to stop penetration. The teams that hit threes have fared exceptionally well. Teams shooting over 34% from three point range are 6-8 versus the Spartans while the teams under that mark are a meager 1-15.
The importance of Novak, Douglass, and even Lucas-Perry hitting some threes is monumental. These guys are going to take some shots and they will definitely get at least a few open looks. They just need to make them.
Michigan has a few magic numbers of their own. Michigan’s wins and losses tend to be related to their offense. They are 0-13 when they score under .99 points per possession compared to 14-2 when they top that mark. Similarly, Michigan is 12-0 when they score over 66 points and just 0-10 when they fail to reach 60.
I don’t usually buy into the “pressure” arguments but there is no doubt that all of the pressure is on Michigan State. They are playing for a championship and Michigan is playing for pride. Michigan has to come out and just play ball like they can. There’s literally nothing to lose but a win would be a nice way to close an otherwise disappointing season.
Pomeroy likes Michigan State 67 to 59 and gives Michigan only a 19% chance at the victory. I just can’t see Michigan State losing this one, I’ll take Michigan State 70, Michigan 58. Let’s hear your thoughts and predictions in the comments.
Other Notes: Practice? Michigan is unable to practice at Crisler this weekend because of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships so they practiced at the Breslin today. They’ll practice at Concordia tomorrow and then head back up to East Lansing on Sunday and just play.
Sam Hosey caught up with Trey Zeigler for an interview and feature. Trey plans to visit Arizona State and Duke before trimming his list then decide on signing day. Hosey also posted video from Mt. Pleasant’s loss to Saginaw Heritage.
That practice facility can’t come soon enough. DeShawn Sims rejected his invitation to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational. Coaches address official workload in the New York Times.
Not that its a major factor, but I think having to practice away from Crisler is a good thing for this game. Takes them out of their comfort zone and routine, which is probably better prep for Breslin.
1st prediction: this game goes like the game at OSU: hanging around until the crowd really gets into, then the mental toughness disappears and the team starts clanking.
2nd prediction: The Detroit Free Press’ crack squad of investigative journalists uncover another practice scandal at UofM, this time by the BBall team for using another school’s arena.
I actually think michigans got a chance to beat msu. They havent looked good since kalin first hurt his leg(poor thing). They looked bad even against Penn State. UM 69 MSU 63
Dylan I think there may be some sort of error on the teams shooting above/below 34% and their record against State when doing so. If my mind is working correctly, which I certainly can’t guarantee, it appears that those numbers equate to nine total MSU losses. Which I assume is wrong since they only have seven.
If this game was played anywhere but at Breslin and not on Senior night, I would really like UM’s chances. But alas, it is at the Bres and it is Senior night.
MSU has not impressed me at all this year and thats really the only reason I think UM will be in this game. Morgan and Green are definitely the keys. If UM can keep the ball out of their hands near the basket and keep them off the boards, it could get interesting.
Offensively, MSU packed it in on us last game and they will probably do it again. That means Harris and Sims will struggle. Douglass, Novak, LLP need to make shots and Morris needs to be real aggressive.
I really want to pick UM, but just cant bring myself to believe in back to back good offensive performances. MSU 57, UM 49 is what my head is telling me.
UM 72 MSU 67 is what my heart says.
Any chance of a final game of the reg season LIVE CHAT???
Sorry. Flipped the numbers… Should be 6-8, 1-10.
I can’t run a live chat because I’ll be going to the game.
im excited to see the matchup between Morris and lucas. I feel like Darius has the intangibles to keep up with Lucas on defense which he prove when he played great defense on taylor battle. It will be interesting to see how he can play in a stadium like the Breslin Which should be very loud on senior day and with them fighting for a Big Ten Championship
Great analysis per usual, I agree that Sims and the 3-point shooters need to step up if we want a chance to win…in the first game against State, Michigan shot 7-29 from 3 point range and lost by a basket. Imagine if we can shoot the ball well.
I really don’t understand why Deshawn Sims wouldn’t enter the Portsmouth invitational. He must be really convinced that he won’t be drafted, or maybe he already knows where he’s going to play in Europe.
MSU is going to pack the lane and make everyone not named Manny and DeShawn beat them. Stu and Zack need to make some shots, and hit the rim on their misses. MSU wins 61-51.
1. State has been sloppy enough at times that it’s hard to consider them unbeatable.
2. Coach Beileim’s teams have a knack for surprising teams.
3. Senior night and Big Ten Championship on the line could be a double edged sword, with State a. thinking it’s motivating enough that the don’t have worry, b. putting pressure on making them play tight.
4. Realistically Dylan has summed up the situation about right.
Tweeter… come on! You’re disappointing me again with another win prediction. Don’t be foolish, State won’t look nearly as bad as they did Tuesday. That said, I really hope someone’s ‘accidental’ elbow catches raymar in the face when he’s sticking his lip up after making a lay up. Though I think we’re going to get killed, I’ll drink to a miracle tonight. Cheers
Look, the point is that last night PSU almost won because they hit their jumpshots. We need to do that and force turnovers. Its just that simple.
Wow, Harvard is 21-6, second in the Ivy League. Wonder if that gets them to the NCAA, or does only the winner go?
maybe we can hit 20 three pointers against MSU and every team we play in the BTT like Cornell did tonight against Brown. 20 of 30! Thats insane. I would not want to play them as a high seed in the NCAA tourney. Thats a solid team.
Izzo always has MSU amped for U-M. Interested to see how Morris plays in the rematch ? Who’s going to step up for Blue ? LLP ? Stu ? Novak ?
A secondary player has to step-up for Michigan if “We” are going to win and I’m just not sure who that could be ? W/O that we get by double digits. Go Blue !!!
LLP is not the answer. Every time he touches the floor he looks scared. His defense is sub-par and the only reason he would play is to make perimeter shots and he’s barely even drawing iron, let alone making shots. Gotta love novaks heart, hustle but he just gives up too much height to Morgan. Will mich play more zone tomorrow because of the various match up problems?
Now I heard that you necessarily don’t have to finish at .500 to make the NIT. But I do figure the closer we are to that mark the better for us. I just have a hard time believing that the NIT commitee will turn down schools like UNC and us if we fall a game short of .500
If we make our shots we can beat anyone and that includes MSU at Breslin. I’d like to see anyone else try and beat us the way we played against Minnesota. So yeah we gotta make shots. We also can’t let Raymar abuse us again and I hope that Gibson continues to see increased minutes. How about that line up we ran in the last game: Sims, Gibson, Novak, Manny, Stu? This team would be so much better if we had a true four man all season so Novak could have been playing mostly 2.
Playing for pride can inspire great things and hopefully inspiration can generate a leader for this squad, somebody who will carry the Blue torch next year as well. You know Coach will have a great game plan – he always does. LLP needs to stop thinking and start draining them. Start the game with Novak and Douglass making them from the outside and it will open the inside for Sims and the lane Harris off the myriad of picks.
Unlike most of the season, I will not be miserably depressed if they lose tomorrow (he sez now). If Michigan wins, however, I will be really, really geeked.
On a different note–must be fairly lonely for players like Deshawn to move from university life to Europe or wherever. Guess they usually bring a friend or family member w. them?
As the Michigan Agricultural College football coach said… Pride before the fall… or was it don’t wear your letterman’s jacket to a frat brawl. Whatever. Thanks for stopping by sparty fan. Now go finish milking the cows.
Looking forward to a UM victory tomorrow.
At first I was surprised that a Spartan was able to find the caps lock key, then I realized he probably just held down the shift key to write all that.
Thank you to all fans who refuse to be drawn into a demeaning insulting, run-down-your-opponent small minded spat.
Mattski, Harvard isnt close to the tournament. They have virtually no quality wins; I think their best is over the number 59 team in the rpi. They are 0-3 against the two other best teams in the Ivy (Cornell and Princeton) and perhaps will finish 0-4 against those two. Their own rpi is near 100 and their SOS is above 250.
Has there been any word on who Beilein went to see other than Evan Smotrycz on his East Coast trip?
Unfortunately, Evan’s team got knocked out of the playoffs. New Hampton lost 74-66 to Winchendon School, who plays in the NEPSAC Championship game tomorrow.
Thanks, Tweeter. I harbor no ill will twd Tommy–in fact, I would like to see him succeed. Just not until our ship is righted, thanks very much.
Rivals mentioned two East Coast Big men Beilein was scouting for 2010, one was 7-1 Prep school kid not sure who the second one was– does anyone know ?
Plus Dylan, European tweeted a few names being recruited by US teams
many of which have been mentioned here before but a new name is Daniel Theis, who will be playing in the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in April. Theis is a big man, who plays down low but I’m not quite sure how tall 2m05 is ?
It’s around 6’9″ Blue. From what I can tell he’s much more of an active guy who is a good shot blocker. Not sure where he’s at offensively yet.
Bluebufoon, thanks. Connecting the dots, the 7-1 player would have to be Mat Piotrowski, who is 7-1 and plays at Lawrenceville Prep in New Jersey. It sounds like he went to prep school because he didn’t get the scholarship offer he wanted (most likely Stanford). Grades weren’t a problem. There’s an article about him at http://www.nj.com/ from December 25th.
The second was smotrycz he just wanted to see his final game
This underachieving might hurt us in landing Trey. I will be devistated if he chooses MSU. This is going to be huge for Beilein.
IU gave up an 8-0 run with less than 3 mins left to NW at home to tie the game with 20 seconds left. A NW loss and a Michigan win vs. MSU sets up the best possible Big Ten Tournament run because it would clinch the 7 seed for Michigan.
iu up by 5
Up 7 shooting double bonus with 1:10 left. The door is open to that #7 seed and a first round game vs. Indiana and a second round game vs. Purdue without Hummel.
Alright I’ve a done a little deductive reasoning on Trey Zeigker and his recruitment– so let me know what you think ? but no laughing
If you look at Zeigler’s friends on his twitter page,
he links with Dylan of U-Mhoops.com, Jalen Rose, Manny Harris and Evan Smotrycz. I see no Spartan’s on that page nor any
Spartan websites. Any significance ?
If I am correct Trey’s girlfriend has the last name Dumars.
Can we say spam?
I don’t think who Trey follows on Twitter is going to have anything to do with his recruitment.
Are 2010 recruits reranked at the end of the high school season? Just wondering if Hardaway could end up a 4*.
i’m really curios to see if we pull out the 1-3-1 a little bit for this one. mostly, we’ve done away with the zone because it hasn’t been very good–and our man has gotten better.
but, we didn’t shoot that well in chrisler against sparty. we kept the game close forcing turnovers. some in man, but a lot in zone. in fact, i think that was the last game we played in which the 1-3-1 played a prominent part.
so after shelving the defense for over a month, do we pull it back out for the team against which it was most effective? or has it been too long? i definitely like we’ve had a long break to work on the game plan.
i feel about this game like i felt about the osu game in football this year. terribly disappointing season, but just pull this one out and it’ll go a long way towards cheering me up about this rough, rough year.
Take it to them Blue.
gpsimms-good point MSU is always troubled by a zone. Unfortunately we have shown little ability to play it properly this year. The game is simple in one way-we need to shoot well. Mich St. is not playing lights out D this year and there is room on the perimeter but you got to make the shots.
Kuric is putting on a show today for Louisville. Swopshire looks good too. Two more guys I think we were after.
We were definitely after Kuric… Swopshire I don’t think we had much chance at.
Kuric’s numbers on the season aren’t great though:
11 of 38 from three. 3 points per game. Not really a part of waht Louisville has been doing.. until today. Wow.
I like the way we play against purdue i think we have a chance. I think we cant be osu with 2 weeks off they might be rusty
It is very sad to see Notre Dame in the dance with a win at Marquette today
Notre Dame reminds me of us last year they have turned it on towards the end
Rodney Stuckey has been released from the hospital in Cleveland. The tests he took there were normal, and he’s going to have more tests done when he gets back to Detroit. Hope it was a fluke thing, and there’s nothing wrong. Was nice to see him and Jonas at Crisler for the UM-MSU game.
Baylor’s court is sweet
I agree. I think that Marquette has by far the coolest jerseys in the league
Just a note on Baylor–I live in Waco and the bears are a very talented team. They are the second tallest team in D1 and play a very active zone with their length. Look for them to be Sweet 16 bound. It’s very frustrating to watch them drain every open 3 they take and then michigan misses every open three.
Read on Terry Fosters twitters that John Beilein was at the Central / Eastern game and he was rooting for Central. Zeiglers dad is the coach right? Hmm. And I believe Terry Foster is a Central Mich. grad..
Terry Foster is an EMU Grad
Terry went to CMU
I’ve heard the knock on Baylor is that LaceDarius Dunn hurts his team as much as he helps his team because of his ball hogging. And then there’s that loss @ Colorado that needs to be accounted for.
Hopefully they will come out inspired. There going to need another game,like the Minnesota game
Mich. v. MSU video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXBuHvg9BVU
Its funny watching both plumlee brothers play. I hope that their lil brother comes here and can be that good.
looks like trey will be at the game tomorrow according to his facebook
not positive though it says “practice at midland dow in the a.m then michigan michigan st game”
Lacedarius is a unbelievable shooter. If he gets an any space he’s deadly. While Douglass and LLp may not take the bad shots dunn does, if mich had dunn rathan than stu and LLp they’d be much better off
Didn’t Baylor lose to Penn State in the NIT last season?
Yeah because they has 5 seniors who all wanted to get their own and didn’t give a hoot about defense. Also their guards were plagued by foul trouble.
AG2 Yes, You are right. It was nice to see Udoh play on national TV. I have not been up to date with his time at Baylor. He looked good. Wish he could have stayed with us and not listen to his mentor (AAU Coach) about Coach Beilien.
By what everything has been said fro all of us, we have mixed thoughts about winning and losing tomorrow. I think everyone is right about everything. It’s going to be physical and they are going to double team Deshawn in the low post. They are going to make Manny be a jumpshooter. They are going to pressure our shooters. Darius is going to be key to winning this ball game. His new improvement of taking control, drive and kick-outs to Stu, Zach, LLP, and maybe Matt. I think coach is going to take Deshawn off of the low post and let him step out for 12-15 foot jumpers and baseline drives. One of the keys is to get State out of the paint and make Draymond and Raymar defend away from the post and paint area. That’s what NW did with them. Also NW made their outside jumpers. We need to play like we did against Minnesota. We do that we win! First one to 60points wins.
Wow, lots of random stuff on here throughout the night. Terry Foster definitely went to CMU not EMU. I believe Dennis Fithian who is also on 971 went to EMU. Pretty much everyone else on that station went to State.
Glad Zeigler will be there tomorrow, as I am expecting a good showing on the road from our men. I dont read anything into that Twitter post except that he will be in attendance. Same thing with Beilein being at the EMU-CMU game.
Kain, I agree that Darius is going to be key tomorrow. Not only because we need him to be uber-aggressive on offense but also he needs to slow down Lucas. I am not that optimistic on him tomorrow just cause he seems to be going thru an up one game and then down the next type of pattern. Hopefully thats not the case.
State makes it tough on driving by using their hands a lot on D and they do a good job rotating over to take away lanes. UM needs the refs to call it close. But either way our shooters will get looks. As usual the key is just making them. State’s length created a lot of problems for our shooters last game, as it was apparent guys were hesitant to shoot with defenders closing out on them. Douglass, Novak and LLP all need to be willing to pump fake and either take mid range shots or get to the basket and try to draw fouls.
One option I would not mind seeing them attempt to use, is to invert the offense more and try to get DMo some post ups on Lucas. I dont think Darius is ready for that type of thing, but he might be able to draw some fouls or at least cause some more help to come.
Question: if Michigan loses tomorrow, are they out of the NIT even?
This’ll be like the 3rd game of ours Zeigler’s been to in the last month…i wonder how close he really is to making a decision (i know he says april, but i wonder if he has any favorites). I hope the team plays well and don’t embarass themselves..
Keys to the game:
1) FEED DESHAWN SIMS THE BALL
2) At least 33% 3 point shooting, hopefully higher.
3) Darius Morris’ defense on Kalin Lucas.
4) Force MSU turnovers, and we need to be careful with the ball.
hoops4eva, used to be that the NIT required a .500 record or better. I think that’s still the rule so yes must win today, and at least one BTT game.
I think it’s going to be a typical spartan mugging (without the ski hoods the FB players use).
well i should add: we could lose today, then enter the BTT 14-16, but then must win 3 BTT games, but that’s very unlikely.
Don’t think the .500 thing is still a rule but they criteria is tougher and I don’t think Michigan would make the NIT at 500 or even one game over.
I don’t see an NIT bid coming, especially because 2 regular season conference champs lost in their tournaments already (Atlantic Sun and Big South). Which means Lipscomb and Coastal Carolina are guaranteed NIT bids. There could be more coming.
Good read on Peedi
http://www.annarbor.com/sports.....is-family/
It looks like according to rivals that one of michigan’s freshman got seriously injured during practice – possibly requiring surgery. Does anyone know who it is?
Mitchigan, you got a link to that or just trying to cause panic?
nvm, I see it. Just says young player, could be anyone excluding Manny, Sims, Wright and gibson.
sounds like it is Jordan Morgan. So no worries for today or the rest of this year, but not good for future. Hopefully, its something that heals easily and quickly.
Wow. If it’s Jordan Morgan, that’s sad. The poor kid has had some back luck with injuries. I’m sure we’ll see a 2010 big man get offered since it could turn into something like Ben Cronin’s situation.
Thanks Tweeter. I thought it could be Morgan as the most likely choice (alhtough that would not be good), potentially Vogrich, Mclimans or Bartelstein (i think he was in a walking boot a couple of weeks ago). I guess we’ll see.
I swear, the Big Ten won’t be considered a “good” conference until Wisconsin has a losing season. Conferences tend to be characterized by their best teams, and no team has been consistently up in the Big Ten than MSU and Wisconsin. Every other team has experienced some sort of down year or coaching change in the past 10 years than they have.
that mccamey intentional reminded me that draymond green should have been called for one at the end of the game in chrysler, if anyone is watching ill/wisc right now
damnit, are we gonna miss the start of the game b/c of the mvc championship?
gpsimms I saw it I think you might be right.
Hah, Steve Lavin just said “Bo Ryan’s boys aren’t robots.” Yeah, right.
they should hopefully delay the start
alright alright, LETS GO BLUE!
Ed Hightower. A bad omen.
eh, everyone hates ed hightower.
Sims gets pushed around on one end and then settles for a turn around eighteen footer on the other. Not a good start.
what upppppp fellas, figured it would be good time (or bad) to talk with yall for the last game of the regular season. Lets close out this season on a positive note.
typical UM-MSU game. Ugly.
Is it true that Isiah Dahlman was a 5 star recruit?
Get that sh*t out Raymar… couldn’t have asked for a better person to have that happen too. Where’s the lip turn up now??
Sims has to finish these looks from close. Thats twice he has bricked a layup.
Nice to see they’re calling fouls today.
Gibson was Michigan player of the year? Any clue who else was attending high school that year? O BOY
CALL BASKET INTERFERENCE MUCH?!
Too bad we can’t capitalize more fully. DMo’s inability to shoot hurting in the early going.
SIMS. MAKE A DAMN LAYUP.
Is sims stoned today? Jesus christ, get it together. Stu… so weak with the ball
Were not matching the energy and intensity right now. Playing soft.
free throws? so sick of players wasting opportunities.
Its pretty obvious at this point Michigan needs a real 4. I’m sick of watching guys like Raymar Morgan, Delvon Roe, and even Aaron Fuller put up PlayStation stats.
MSU is wailing us with their bench on defense. Absolutely swarming.
WAtched that travel on Gibson four times, worst call ever.
painful to watch right now. Sims cant let Morgan push him around.
ok thats it. TAKE SIMS OUT. Dude just is not playing today.
could this be any more embarrassing? Thanks Beilein.
Ok fellas its been real, but this is brutal. Think imma switch back over to the youth flag football championships
Austin Thorton tells you everything you need to know about Michigan basketball: for the longest time guys would rather be a walkon at MSU than a starter at Michigan. I’m just speculating but I could see Thorton starting over Douglass.
pgrom, this aint on Beilein. UM players are playing like fifth graders. Sims has had three layups which he has bricked, he is 1/4 from the free throw line, he has been pushed around by guys smaller then him on D. Douglass has two terrible turnovers and two wide open misses from three. Morris and Novak both look tentative.
Harris is actually playing ok, just not doing a whole lot.
At some point these guys just need to play. They look scared.
coach,,, please get us some size inside. If the other team takes away our 3′s or we are not making them, we have no chance. Usually we get some open shots,, but not too many today.
If Beilein can’t get his guys to play with confidence at this stage, yeah that is on him. Sorry.
yes, Im sure Beilein told them all week in practice, please play soft guys. Please. Please play soft. Dude coaches can try and motivate all they want, but sometimes kids just dont show up. Thats the case so far today.
yeah and if kids don’t show up as often as ours haven’t this year, it falls on the coach. Motivating and getting kids to execute your plan is coaching.
This is just an incomplete team. They don’t have the horses yet. I think they can get them so I’m still optimistic for Beilein.
Im really sick of hearing that guys not showing up is always on coaching. Blame the coach for bringing in talent, blame the coach for running a bad play, blame the coach for making a bad substitution, blame the coach for not calling a timeout, but dont blame a coach cause the players arent playing well.
Basketball is a game that is all about the players. Coaching helps, but almost all of the time the team with the best players on that day wins.
Thank u for the refs!! Because if it wasnt for them, blue might be down by about 30
Doesn’t help that Sims is hungover.
Sims is beyond hungover, he isnt even a shell of himself.
Ugly
classy spartans. talking trash to a guy who just got hurt.
Booing a hurt guy. Stay classy Spartans.
great Morris Lazy pass and then a touch foul on a guy going in for a layup.
Ugly ass Raymar Morgan, congrats you are the biggest waste of talent I’ve ever seen.
wha? HOw is that not a shot clock violation? WTF are these refs watching.
The names of all the PFs who dominated Michigan are going through my mind:
Delvon Roe, Raymar Morgan, Aaron Fuller, BJ Mullins, Luka Mirkovic, Jon Leuer, Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis, even Lazar Heyward.
Doesn’t look good for reaching that 60 point mark…
Idk if 1500 pts and 700 rebounds is a waste of talent.
If I am Beilein I dont even go into the lockerroom at halftime. I just stay out on the court and let the players sort out their own heads. This is retarded.
I’m so sick of ignorant state fans.
at least the Karate Kid is on, so I have something worthwhile to watch at halftime.
Manny has to drop 35 if we are going to be competitive. Peedi has to play better inside also can’t let Nix outplay him
this looks like a jv vs. varsity game. if we don’t consistently bring in much better talent…
Whatever makes you happy Tommy, the guy was better as a freshman and sophomore. If that isn’t a waste of talent then I don’t know what is.
Wish we could trade two guards for two..heck even one of their 6’7 and above
These refs are clowns; that was clearly a 24 second violation. The announcers keep stressing MSU’s ‘good’ defense, but their defense really just consists of constantly fouling us.
If they want to play the second half they will if they don’t they won’t. This game doesn’t matter much but I do want them to at least keep it close.
They just have to forget this first half and play their game in the second.
Well they’re swarming so hard Michigan can’t get a shot anywhere. Its like there are 8 MSU guys out there most of the time.
dude grandchamp are you serious he had walking phenomena his junior year. He was on pace for an all big ten year before he was sick for so long and lost all that weight. For a career plagued with injuries, I think he did alright.
To say MSU wanted this more is a misnomer because it implies Michigan actually wanted it to begin with. I don’t see that at all.
No, Beilein can’t make the shots. I’m not sure Peedi can either if he’s all we’ve got down low, they can sag off everyone else but Manny. The talent differential is mind-boggling, the confidence differential astronautical.
I’m still wondering if a huge extension for Beilein was the right move at the right time. I don’t think he’s the kind of guy you can light a fire under by keeping him on a short leash, but can M get back there, consistently?
Maybe something has just slipped a little for the school and we have to get used to mediocrity.
Mattski, I agree that I dont know if the extension was the right move at the right time. I would have waited to extend him, but I have no idea what was going on behind close doors (was Beilein getting restless?). I still think it will do a good job at UM, just needs better players. If he doesnt get talent, he wont win and he wont last at UM. IF he gets players, he will win. Its that simple.
Tommy do you mean pneumonia?
well halftime didnt help. Sims isnt even looking to get the ball on offense. REally Sims Derrick Nix is better than you???????????
IF SIms had any hope at the NBA, he pretty much threw it all away today. If I was an NBA GM I would not go near that guy after todays game.
Don’t remember the last time I turned off a Mich bball or football game, but I’ve seen enough.
Its 2000 all over again.
Derrick Nix outplaying Sims is one of the most shocking parts of this game.
Glad we have Beilein locked up long term…
This is horribly humiliating….absolutely humiliating. I’m sure this makes Trey Zeigler want to come…
Drew2,
I agree. This is exposure at it’s finest. I hate life.
Put in Vogrich, let’s see what he can do.
SIms and HArris stand around while Summers rebounds his own miss and puts it in. NICE.
phew, got to thirty. I was worried for awhile
oh, thanks for that CBS. If my day wasnt bad enough . . .
Sims getting outplayer by a walkon now. Sweet.
uh oh, fat girls behind the announcers. Dont let STate fans know, they think all their girls are hot.
This game came down to two things: Michigan’s inability to guard a 4 and MSU using its bench to swarm Michigan on defense. After a while, Michigan just quit.
after awhile AG2? I disagree, these guys quit from the moment the ball was tipped. The effort has been a little better of late, but still not great.
Turned it on at the half and I’m about to turn it back off. This is crazy.
This is an utter embarrassment. They have shown nothing today. Everyone is at fault from the players to the coaches. This reminds me of 10 years ago when we got blown out of the Breslin Center by 50 points under Ellerbe. Its not quite as bad but just as frustrating.
GIBSON! That is how you finish Mr. Sims.
That reminds me, what lunatic made Ellerbe our coach, anyway? He was barely an assistant for like 4 months right after getting fired as coach of Loyola Maryland. He shouldn’t have even been considered for interim coach much less promoted. Arizona had enough sense not to even interview Kevin O’Neil for the permanent position even though he got Arizona to the Sweet 16.
In my judgment, this game is a disaster. Some of this is an excellent Mich State team. Some of this is our coaching and some of this we are being out hustled on the court. But by far the biggest thing is they have more talent and more size. I have confidence that Bielein can coach. I have less confidence in him that he can recruit. I think Michigan has enough going for it as a unversity that we should be able to get more basketball talent. I certainly hope so, because these games ae painful to watch!
Tom Izzo had a sleepover with his team? That means MSU went over the 20 hours of bball activities allowed per week. CALL THE FREE PRESS!!!
Anyone know if Trey zeiglers wearing a um shirt?
when was the last time LLP made a shot?
Dahlman’s such a punk. Only reason he didn’t transfer is because he wanted to be on a winning team. The only reason he played so much today was because Michigan didn’t prove they could beat MSU with him in.
I hear Izzo wants to move one of these guys who has an extra year left out so he can bring in Zeigler.
Thanks to Vogrich and Morris this won’t be our worst loss of the season.
If Vogrich can improve his defense, he needs to be seeing the court over LLP next year.
Big Ten Tournament time. Can we beat Iowa, much less OSU?
Jordan Morgan’s got his arm in a sling… Didn’t LLP make a shot on the road against Iowa. It’s been few and far between otherwise for him. It’s like playing 4 on 5 when we’re on offense and he’s on the floor.
Need Trey and a big guy (Horford or Piotrowski) to go with Evan and Hardaway… Manny should come back. He’s not ready for the NBA.
We do excel at cleaning up the final score. That was reminiscent of the finish at Purdue.
Yep, AG2, Dahlman sure is a punk. After all, he choose to stay at MSU instead of going somewhere for playing time because of his commitment to and belief in the program. Wanting to be part of a winner? Yep, he’s a punk, alright. Your logic on this one baffles me, though I recognize its self-serving character.
What a terrible loss; I was not expecting to win but we didn’t even have a chance. Harris and Sims were invisible and no one else could step up. We turned the ball over and couldn’t buy a 3. Man, we need Trey Zeigler for next year and a Manny Harris return, or this is a preview of what every game will be like…
Sportsline sez: we matched a B10 low with just 14 in the first half.
Wonder if that is all-time, or just for this season? Pick your ignominiousness.
I went to watch the FSU women lay a bazillion points on WVU a few weeks ago. I’m not ragging on these guys in a sexist way–I know it’s a different game, etc. But dang, Michigan makes it look so hard to put the ball in the bucket. Epically hard.
And then you have all those wonderful stats ESPN showed where Michigan is almost tops in the country at fewest turnovers and stuff. WTF? Beilein won’t have a hair left on that head.
Wow, Manny 1-10, 4pts, and the one fg was a bank from the ft line…seems to be a trend for him against State. If coach is a shooters coach, It would be scary if he wasn’t! I’d think Manny should be back, everyone else SHOULD improve. Another repeat of this year and I’ll start to worry about Coach…at this point I still have faith.
Manny no longer has a shot to get drafted in the 1st round this year. He needs to return for his sr season. LLP needs to be @ the end of the bench this coming season
Yea I think its almost safe to say at this point, that we will be better next year for no reason other than we can’t possible shoot this bad again. It’s not like this team is bad at shooting threes alone, they are bad at free throws, layups, midrange jumpers, you name it.
You gotta think that they bought too much into the preseason hype and once they lost a few to not great competition (Alabama, Utah, BC), the confidence just ran away at Usain Bolt speed. Even still I really hope that Smotrycz and Hardaway along with whoever else joins this class, bring some toughness.
I know we are undersized and I understand when we get out rebounded or a guy makes a post move over us, but a lot of what happened today was just State playing tougher than us. It wasnt because they were better or bigger, they just wanted it more and the UM players did not respond at all when they got hit in the mouth.
Paul, I dont think Manny has a shot to be drafted at all. Im not even sure he would be in the top 100 of NBA prospects at this point.
This Is not Beleins fault. I agree with Tweeter in that the players have to make the shots at the end of the day. The offense is very effective at getting good looks, but good looks are just that if they don’t go in. Is there any chance we get Zeigler after today?
Thats it! Now, I can’t show up for work tomorrow.
Out muscled. This game showed that without an inside game you can’t make the outside game work, just like vise versa.
I agree – that we were out-toughed and out-hearted! I don’t think those are Beilein-teaching strengths, but they sure are Izzo-teaching strengths unfortunately
IT – MSU players aren’t exactly lighting the NBA world on fire
IT – Great questions! Maybe he’s a serious student athlete who values his education and aspires to write paragraphs composed of complete sentences. Also, I’m sure Trey took note of the professional superstars surrounding him at today’s game: mateen cleaves, charley bell and goran suton (none of whom would be recognized outside of the Breslin). I heard marcus taylor was there too.
All time, I think both teams have put about as many players in the NBA–I remember googling this not long ago. Even now, I’m not sure who MSU has in the league–Mo Pete, Jason Richardson. . . UM has Jamal and Juwan. . . anyone else?
Izzo has a nice thing going and I like him, but I hate the way MSU plays. I live in Tallahassee and am grateful I get to watch the ACC in action; much as I love my Michigan the B10 is brutal. This year’s MSU team turns the ball over a lot and don’t shoot well–I will be surprised if they get more than a couple of rounds this year.
Having said that, I wish them the best, and hope we can be truly competitive w. them very soon.
Let’s quit the name calling and mindless arguing please…
Thomas, what exactly makes you say that? Has Huggins recruited better? Has he gotten them farther in the tournament? Has he won a Big East title? No.
And Mattski, have you SEEN florida state play this season? They’re all athleticism and no skill. Other than Dulkys and Kitchen there isn’t a single guy on that team that doesn’t struggle to put the ball in the basket. I wasn’t surprised at all when Wisconsin beat them in the first round last year.
You couldn’t pay me to watch FSU play Mississippi State.
And as for IT, I’m pretty sure Manny chose Michigan because he wanted to stay close to home for his family.
I’m as fed up as the rest of you… The personal stuff is just too much and just pollutes the whole site.
I just want to clarify that “intrpdtrvlr” and “IT” are not the same dude. I really try to avoid being overly argumentative or taking petty shots on this blog.
And for Mattski, throw the names Zach Randolph and Shannon Brown out there. Can’t forget those guys.
I saw Courtney Sims playing a few minutes recently for the Hawks.
This is almost as bad as Mlive forums too bad Dylan used to be a great place to talk UM basketball.
Bill: It’s frustrating but it’ll cool down.
Its funny, I didnt look at this site for the last three hours or so, and reading the posts it makes no sense. I assume a ton of posts got removed.
Dylan, got to give you a lot of credit. You do a fantastic job with content and moderating the comments. I am almost drunk enough at this point that I dont remember too much from the game. Thank gosh.
I really hope fans dont get too discouraged from this year, because next year this team should be better.
Hold up, if I remember properly…Chris Hunter started a few games for the Warriors!
I’m telling you, IT, the Big Ten won’t be considered a good conference until Wisconsin has a losing season. Conferences are defined by their good teams, and right now that means MSU and Slow Wisconsin. OSU has demonstrated a reputation for a talented team with a coach who holds them back.
Wisconsin is going to beat some people in the tournament. Those guys can play. They epitomize the conference, and you can say it’s a bad thing, but they surprise people EVERY year and just win.
As Duke, Marquette, or Florida State what they think of Wisconsin’s play. If Wisconsin can knock off Illinois and Ohio State in Indianapolis I think they couple be a three seed who could make some noise. Jon Leuer is back and that team is good.