Moving on to MSU on Tuesday

Submitted by Ball Hawk on
I would like to try to forget about yesterday's loss by talking about MSU game. We already know the big ten refs are gonna try to give Izzo his calls so we're gonna have to play through that if we want to win. In order to win, one of the things that has to happen is that Robinson is gonna have to show up and play. I have come to the conclusion that the road game environment totally shuts him down. Scoring 2 points against Indiana and 2 points against Wisky. At home he always scores double digits and we win. The chemistry isn't the same when Robinson is absent. The team looks like they dont know what to do. Another thing that needs to happen is that Burke is gonna have to distribute the ball more by creating ball movement. He's gonna have to drive to the hoop to be able to dish the ball off to get Robinson and the others going. Once those things happen, the threes will be open more and the chemistry will build again. Teams have done a decent job stopping our transition game. MSU runs a very good transition game also so we're gonna have to hustle to stop them from running on us. Make the easy layups and hang on to the ball when we rebound it. Our team is great at not fouling and we dont turn the ball over much. Ball movement is the key to win. Expect the refs to call everything MSU's way, its gonna happen. We need to win a critical road game and this is it. So nurse your hangover today and get ready for Tuesday. Go Blue!

Willy Wonka

February 10th, 2013 at 1:54 PM ^

Would anyone else like to see us throw in some more zone defense? I feel like we used to use it before to mask our athletic deficiencies in years past, now it seems like we use it to change up looks when we get down big. I think this team has the athleticism to wreak havoc and cause some frustration/turnover transition opportunities. Also, we suck at blocking out in man to man situations, so the rebounding dropoff wouldn't be too drastic.

Cold War

February 10th, 2013 at 4:07 PM ^

Sorry, it's really hard to imagine a win in East Lansing the way this team has played against tough competition on the road. It will  be the craziest atmosphere they  have seen, as well as the most agressive and physical (dirty) play. My guess is an OSU/IU type  start but our mild comeback won't make it as competitive as those two were.

jmarsh22

February 10th, 2013 at 8:11 PM ^

Yep, you are the voice of reason. Based on what we've seen so far this season, there is really  no reason to believe we'll beat MSU on the road. The game will probably unfold exactly as Cold War says: fall way behind early, comeback, then lose. I think we'll lose by 8-12 points.

Soulfire21

February 10th, 2013 at 4:32 PM ^

I can't help but feel a bit panicky, I know we're 21-3 which, who would've thought I'd be complaining about that record, but we're also losers of two of our last 3.

  • Where the hell is GRIII?  We'll be playing in a hostile environment (calls, crowd, etc.) so he's going to need to step up.  It's no coincidence he's disappeared the past few games and the team hasnt' been performing as well

I don't see us winning Tuesday though.  Is it possible?  Absolutely, of course, but based on how the team has performed the past 4-5 games I just don't see it happening.  That loss to Wisconsin also likely cost us the conference (basing that statement off of Indiana's evisceration of OSU yesterday) but alas, we must move on.

To me, this game has make-or-break season implications to me.  I'll expect we have a great chance of beating both MSU and Indiana at home, if we pick up this road win my outlook won't be nearly as bleak as it currently is because IU and MSU have harder schedules than we do.

Overall, I think we lose by 11-16 points.  MSU is playing their best bball right now, and they're a tough, tough team.  We are not a tough team, we have fallen behind by 15 and 22 in two of our road games against the best in the Big Ten and dropped a game we should have won in Madison.  We need to realize what we are:  a good team that's fun to watch but reliant on freshman.