Spartans Weblog

In an effort to manufacture some optimism for the rest of this season–and maintain my own mental sanity–here are the Spartans Weblog Top Ten Reasons to Feel Good About Michigan State Basketball:

10. Spring training has started.

OK. That’s not basketball-related. Let’s start over.

10. Drew Neitzel is on pace to finish 2nd on the all-time MSU free throw % list, 3rd on the all-time 3-pointers made list, 4th on the all-time assist list, and 14th on the all-time scoring list.

9. Kalin Lucas ranks 3rd in the Big Ten with 19.8 points scored per 40 minutes during conference play. He has a few years of eligibility left, right?

8. Drew Naymick ranks 2nd in the Big Ten with 2.3 blocks/game and 1st in the Big Ten with a block % of 12.7% during conference play. Not bad for a guy doing graduate work in finance.

7. Ten, soon to be 11, consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

6. Fourteen, soon to be 15, consecutive seasons with at least a .500 record in regular season Big Ten play.

5. MSU is 14-0 at home this season.

4. MSU is 3-1 on neutral courts this season.

3. That’s 17-1 in places where the crowd isn’t screaming at you because they want you to screw up–which generally describes the crowds at NCAA tournament games.

2. We have one of the greatest coaches in all the land–a man who knows how to put as much of the pressure on himself, rather than the players, when things aren’t going well:

“It’s inexcusable,” Izzo said moments later. “If I was an MSU fan, I’d be very disappointed in the coach, because I keep saying the same things and they don’t change.”

1. There are only a handful of college basketball fan bases in the land that can feel despondent about a team with a record of 20-5 . . . and we’re one of them.

This is not to say we shouldn’t feel despondent. It’s only to say we should actually feel good about the fact we’re despondent.

Does that help?