Michigan v. Michigan State

We're going to play spirited ball--I think it's going to be one of the best M/MSU games in recent history. SO pumped!

http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2010/01/your-college-basketball-ann… Dave O'Brien, Steve Lavin, Erin Andrews

Im going to go with a Michigan win here just because I need something to numb the pain. Football/Hockey/Basketball--the ball has to bounce our way eventually.

Should be an interesting game. State has been its usual solid self this year, but haven't really been outstanding at any point. I think the matchups favor MSU, but we'll see. PG - Lucas vs. Douglass/Morris - This is obviously bad. We saw what Trevon Hughes could do to our defense when he decided to take it to the rim, and Kalin Lucus is probably superior in most aspects of the game. Maybe Morris can slow him down a little and maybe Stu can catch fire and hit some threes, but I see UM losing this battle by 12-15 points. SG - Allen/Summers/Lucious vs. LLP/Douglass - Another one I don't like. I don't get why Allen starts, but it seems like Summers is the real deal and clearly the best player among these five. LLP and Stu are underrated defensively, but again they don't provide anything on offense generally, so you have to see this as a net 5-8 point plus for MSU. SF - Morgan vs. Harris - Finally a matchup I like. I think Manny has turned into the better overall player after Morgan has kind of fizzled throughout the last two years. BUT, State's defensive intensity will probably limit Manny. I'd say this is a +5 for Michigan. PF - Green/Roe vs. Novak/Wright - I think not landing Green is one of the biggest killers in Beilein's tenure here. If they had gotten him, this is a whole different ball game. But they didn't and I think this one gets about as ugly as the PG matchup. Novak has some grit, and maybe he gets hot to hit somet threes, but State's talent smokes our grit. MSU +10 C - Sherman/Nix vs. Sims/Gibson - DeShawn has been a beast this year and he seems to play these games with a chip on his shoulder, so I think this one goes our way, pretty big time. I'd expect 23-25 from Sims, 4-6 from Gibson, and maybe 10 total from Sherman/Nix, giving UM a +20 or so. So add up all of these "in depth" predictions, and you get about a 5 point MSU win.

while i will likely be negbombed for my opinion, i think it will be a lot to a little - MSU wins. i haven't seen anything over the past several games to suggest that UM can beat a highly talented MSU team. (cue: UM beat UCONN - see explanation below) i simply do not share the same optimism that pro-beilein fans do. the "live by the 3" philosophy gets destroyed by izzo-coached teams b/c MSU plays solid transition offense and pounds the boards. UM won't have second-chance opportunities, an unfortunate outcome of teams that rely on the three (read: low-probability shots). MSU is faster, more talented, has a better front-line, gets the ball down low, and gets to the free throw line. they go 8-deep and play a tempo defense that suffocates poor guard play, which UM regularly suffers from. unfortunately, until we get a coach that believes in physical play and high probability shots, i just don't think we will beat MSU. Explanation: yes, UM beat a horribly overrated UCONN team that played out of their minds against a far superior Texas team on their home court. in an instance of irony, the UCONN win over Texas, and the UM win over UCONN are nearly mirror images of each other - both needed that win to salvage was has been to-date a pretty disappointing year.