North Carolina obliterates Michigan State 89-72 in a 76-possession game. StatSheet box score.
This four-factor graph does not tell the story:
The turnover differential obviously shows up loud and clear, but the other bars understate the degree to which the Tar Heels outplayed us. Statistically speaking, this game was played in two distinct phases:
- The first 10 minutes, in which North Carolina effectively ran us off the court. By my count, MSU turned the ball over 8 times in their first 22 possessions, to fall behind 34-11 at the 9:44 mark in the first half.
- The remaining 30 minutes, in which we toyed with mounting a comeback several times but could never really create any sense the outcome of the game was in doubt. On paper, MSU played UNC even, actually outscoring them 61-55 over the remainder of the game, but the miscues cropped back up whenever the lead got down around 15.
Given the way this game played out, I’m going to forego a full statistical review. I fear it would be a poorly-informed review, anyway–since there’s no way I can stomach watching the game on DVR to ensure I know what I’m talking about.
Instead, allow me to rant about three specific complaints I have about the way things unfolded last night:
- The multiple bad in-bounds passes early in the game were very disappointing. How can you not know that Ty Lawson is going to be lurking and take care to only throw the ball in if the intended recipient is clearly open? This is where the “we’re going to beat them at their own game” mentality came back to haunt us, as the team clearly wanted to push the ball up the court quickly, even off made baskets. As much as I love Goran Suton (19 17 points and 11 rebounds in his Spartan finale) and Draymond Green, they were the culprits in this department.
- Tom Izzo, whom I (along with nearly every basketball commentator in the country) have praised effusively for the last two weeks, should have called a time-out in the first few minutes of the game. I understand that he doesn’t normally call timeouts when opponents are making runs because he wants his team to be able to play through them. But: (1) This is the last game of the season; there’s no point trying to improve the team’s mental toughness at this point. And (2) we were playing North Freaking Carolina; you can’t pretend this is just another team that we’re eventually bound to find our bearings against.
- Chris Allen should not have played nearly as much as he did in the second half. I laud Allen for the way he’s evolved this season, becoming a useful player even when his jumpshot isn’t falling. But we needed to make up points quickly in this game, and after Allen had missed his first 3 or 4 shots, every regular MSU observer in the arena knew he wasn’t going to make a long jumpshot for the remainder of the game, no matter how many he took. Just about any other player on the roster would have given us a better shot to knock down a couple 3-pointers and move the lead toward single digits.
OK, I feel a little better, having gotten that off my chest. We weren’t going to beat this team the way they were playing last night. But it sure would have been nice to go down in something resembling a legitimate basketball contest.
On a positive note, the crowd was fantastic last night, greatly exceeding my expectations. During pregame warm-ups, you could barely hear the announcement of the UNC starting lineup over the PA system. Obviously, the crowd didn’t have much opportunity to get going once the game started. But the MSU faithful did everything they could to try to get behind the team down the stretch. The fans in my section were up on their feet at least a half dozen times in the second half, despite the lead never getting below 13.
I know the future is bright, but I can’t help but feel a little melancholy when I stop to realize this particular team’s run is over. Travis Walton and Goran Suton are done, and their unique skill sets and mentalities were part of what made this team so special. Next year’s team will have just as much talent, and will hopefully be able to craft its own persona, but–at least at this point–I can’t believe it will be quite the same.
Prior to this year, I’d been to only one MSU NCAA Tournament game–the loss to Arizona at the 2001 Final Four in Minneapolis. This year, I had the privilege to witness first-hand three exhilarating Spartan victories en route to the national championship game. I’m grateful for that experience, knowing that this kind of run doesn’t come around very often.
On that note, it’s worth pointing out that this season clearly ranks as the third greatest in the history of the MSU basketball program:
- 31 wins
- An outright Big Ten title
- The Big Ten Player of the Year award and half of the Coach of the Year award
- Two wins over #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament
- The program’s third-ever national championship game appearance
All that from a team that had dropped to a ranking of just #22 in the coaches’ poll released five weeks into the season. It was one heckuva ride all the way up to #2 in the final poll.
This year, more than ever, it’s good to be a Spartan.
P.S. When I first announced I’d be closing down this blog after the season ended, I had no idea there were still eight games of basketball yet to be played. In the next week or so, I will be moving over to a blog on the SBNation platform with a team of MSU fans/writers. The technical kinks are still being worked out, so we’ll hang out here a few days longer.
P.P.S. Six Spartan appearances in this year’s One Shining Moment video–not counting the championship game. Not bad, not bad at all.
“Chris Allen should not have played nearly as much as he did in the second half.” — I said the same thing (perhaps in slightly more emphatic terms) to nearly everyone in the bar who would listen, and many who wouldn’t. While Allen has made strides in his overall game, his primary utility is as a shooter; when his shots aren’t falling, there are other players who are better options. One was Lucious, obviously, at least until he injured himself; so was Summers, IMO, even taking into account his own poor shooting night.
IMO, working on Allen’s shot should be the highest off-season priority for the coaching staff. The talent certainly is there for an enormous improvement to take place.
Thanks for the hard work all season, kj. I enjoyed reading your stuff and look forward to what you have in store. Helluva a season, some great memories, and a program that’s very well positioned to give us more memorable moments over the next few seasons. Proud to be a Spartan.
I’m proud of the team and the glorious run this march. I agree with you on the lack of a timeout. I have never understood Izzo’s penchant for holding on to timeouts. What good is having four timeouts at the end of the game if you are down by 20? They needed to be utilized to plug the dike.
I too was telling my game-watching friends who don’t follow the Spartans that Allen had to sit. I didn’t understand why Summers wasn’t taking some his his minutes – a much more verstile player who, while not on fire, could provide a lift in other ways aside from the 3.
A great run for the guys. I’m happy for the seniors, especially Walton that they got to dance. We made some converts along the way.
KJ, I’ve been reading your blog for I think over a year now (and have never commented on it), and I have to say, this is my “go-to” blog/website (yes, I refer to this website over so-called “legit” websites such as random Detroit publications like freep.com and detnews.com). Your statisical breakdown of each game is absolutely INCREDIBLE (never seen anything like it). It’s going to be really tough not being able to log onto this website prior to game-time to get a feel as to how well we truly match up with our next opponent. I’m really going to miss this blog. Yeah, I know you’ll be on this other website you’re referring to, but it’s not going to be the same. I’ll still check up on it, but man, I wish you could keep up the good work here. I realize maintaining a job and family takes up a lot of time, but you really have something special going on here. Well, from one Spartan to another, good luck, and I look forward to reading your blog on the new website. SPARTY ON!!!
Can’t really argue too much with any of your three rants (I’m not convinced running was in itself a bad idea, but you can’t get sloppy with the basketball). Allen can’t shoot his way out of a slump at this point, and we needed shooters once we got that far behind. I’ve got one of my own to add: what were they thinking with that alley-oop attempt again? They try it at least once a game, it seems, and it hasn’t worked more than once since ’06 against a halfway decent team.
Thanks for a great read all season KJ. This blog must be a lot of work and I frankly don’t know how you found the time with a full time job and family. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and I look forward to the new forthcoming team blog.
I agree that losing Suton and Walton is huge, and it was disappointing that we didn’t go down fighting. Izzo is a great coach, but your three rants are spot on, and he takes the blame for the last two. The first one (making good decisions with the ball) he spoke to the team about when CBS flashed to the lockerroom before the game, but apparently it didn’t sink in.
Those long outlet passes have been a problem all year long. I know we want to run after made baskets, but you have to pick those spots carefully as far as half court passes go. With a rocket like Lucas on the court I’d much prefer a shorter pass and letting him put pressure on the D by streaking up court with the ball. Allen is either hot or cold – he was obviously cold last night so some of his minutes should have gone to Lucious or Summers.
It was obvious in the first five minutes that we were rushing too much on both sides of the court. On D we got out of position by helping a little too much instead of having everyone focus on their own responsibilities. On O, we just were forcing things. A timeout to settle everyone down would have been a good idea. I didn’t know Izzo preferred to let the team get themselves out of runs without timeouts, but don’t think it’s a good strategy against a team like UNC. They are just too explosive.
Hats off to UNC though – they played their best game of the season. They took their foot off the gas in the second half, which showed a lot of class. I’m convinced Hansbrough clanked two free throws there at the end on purpose so as not to run up the score too much. If I’ve ever said anything bad about the guy I take it back – he’s a winner and he does it the right way. I’m getting tired of losing to UNC but they really could have run the score up as high as they wanted but showed restraint. There was no way we were going to beat them the way they were shooting – in the first 10 minutes they could not miss from anywhere. It would have been nice to go down playing our best, but we were going down regardless the way they played.
They looked like the team who had the brass ring in their grasp and would not let go come hell or high water. Their season would not have been complete without this game – they’ve been pointing toward it all season. We, on the other hand, were, I think, a little bit surprised to be there. I’m not sure Izzo or anyone on the team really thought a national championship was a realistic goal at the beginning of the season, or even at the beginning of the tournament. The end stunk but only one team gets to go home having won their last game – 62 other teams went through what we went through at some point in the tournament. Being the last team to lose is nothing to hang our heads about.
I too worry about losing Walton and Suton, as I wouldn’t want to see a return to the Ager-Brown-Davis year’s squad: lots of firepower, but struggling to get key stops when it mattered. My hope is that Roe continues to develop into an excellent interior defender, and that either Summers or Allen becomes the kind of perimeter defender we can reliably put on the other team’s best wing. But that glorious run was certainly fueled by the job Suton and Walton did on Gibson, Samuels, Thabeet, Collins, Williams, Price, etc., especially in the second halves of those games.
As many before me have noted, this website has been a beacon of common sense and shrewd analysis in a sea of bluster. I’m pretty sure I checked in here 3-4 times a day during the season, and compulsively during the tourney: that the basketball season is over is bad enough…to have it compounded by the passing of Spartan Weblog is bordering on cruelty. But all good things must come to an end, and I look forward to seeing the new site. Outstanding job, KJ! The time, effort and thoughtfulness you put into the site were greatly appreciated.
On rant number two, I don’t know if the timeout would have changed the outcome, but you’re right that it needed to be taken. I love Izzo’s attitude about timeouts in general though, as I think letting your team be forced into taking one generally doesn’t stop momentum so much as admit that the opponent has it. The things is, against UNfC there’s no reason not to let them realize they had the mo, they were up 21-7. Take the time out, get the team settled.
I suppose when it comes to crunch time, keeping the family and the job take precedence over the blog, but it will be missed. I have appreciated the detailed, reasoned analysis and the thoughtful posts from the weblog family. Good luck in your future endeavors.
This is from Steve Grinczel at Mlive.com -
http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2009/04/spartans_can_find_motivation_i.html
——Will getting drubbed by North Carolina 89-72 in front of 72,922 mostly adoring fans at Ford Field galvanize MSU (31-7) the way getting crushed by eventual 2008 national champ Kansas girded the Tar Heels?
That’s what Green pointed out to the underclassmen after getting permission to address the team in the locker room after the final loss.
“It was pretty frustrating, but I think it will give us the edge to work that much harder,” Green said.——-
I’m thinking we might have found our next Smith/Cleaves/Walton type guy. Man does he excite me for next year!
Great job KJ! I too have made regular visits all year, for your keen insights and the intelligent posts of the little community you attracted. Just make sure your successors are worthy of what you started, and keep posting.
A couple comments on what has been said:
I was not so much annoyed that Allen kept shooting (and Morgan and Lucas, for that matter), as that Suton did not shoot more, since his stroke seemed great all game long. Why didn’t Izzo have a couple plays for him?
I agree Green seems like a real gamer — as does the entire freshman class this year. Roe I think could lead the big ten in rebounding next year. but also, it is hard to see how Izzo will keep both Green and Lucious off the floor next year. Two very good classes in a row. I hope the incoming freshmen can contribute, which they will need to do for the spartans to repeat as Big Ten champs, and or have a long run in March. Otherwise, big teams will just overpower the Spartans, between the absence of a real 5, two relatively small 4s, and two really short 1s.
Ultimately, I think Suton will prove harder to replace than Walton. Not only his rebounding and defense, but all the little things he did to make the offense run better. I just don’t see Herzog ever being more than a marginal player, so Nix or Sherman will basically have to deliver pretty quickly. At this time last year, everyone seemed to say Green would redshirt, so I don’t think anyone has a clue about the incoming freshmen right now.
Right now, finally, I am really curious about who improves the most. Will Dahlman finally realize the potential many of us saw in him? Does Herzog finally put on some weight? Does Allen regain his stroke and confidence? How much does Roe improve (I read somewhere, it can take two full years to recover from his surgery)? Does Summers become a star, the kind of player every night he was two, three times this year (as in the second Minnesota game). How good an outside shooter can Lucas become? And so on. Man, I can’t wait for november!
Almost forgot, but final standings in the bracket picks contest:
1. Seer 151
2. DP99 137
3. Alex 122
4. Mark in Chicago 113
5. Chris 112 (tiebreaker: 74 possessions)
6. rook34 112 (68)
7. SpartanDan 110
8. gbbound 107
9. Jackson22 106
10. TMadison25 104
11. dougieb 103
12. spartanproducer 102
13. Tommy 99 (70)
14. Ground Zero East Lansing 99 (68)
15. kj 92
16. EB 91
17. wife of a spartan 89
18. Mark in DC 88
19. Sparty in Badgerland 87
20. Kurt 86
21. Otto 82
22. msufan23 78
Best possible score: MSU (14), Siena (9), USC (10), Dayton (11), Arizona (24), Cleveland St. (13), Missouri (9), Purdue (10), Texas A&M (9), Maryland (10), Villanova (13), Wisconsin (12), UNC (15), Michigan (10), WKU (12) plus any one of Xavier, Oklahoma State, Gonzaga, or LSU (8 each) for a total of 189.
Man… Korie Lucious _and_ Chris Allen both broke their right foot during the UNC game. Both undergoing surgury friday and will be out for 8 weeks.
http://noise.typepad.com/hey_joe/2009/04/lucious-allen-break-bones.html
Wonder if that has anything to do with Chris Allen’s poor shooting night? Maybe he’s just a tough kid who didn’t know when to sit out…
Well Moo, I had no idea about Allen, but considering I was almost certain Lucious snapped an ACL during the game (one doesn’t drop to the floor in pain like that for a lot of things), that’s good news to me about Korie.
Not sure a broken foot is better news than an ACL injury. They’re pretty good at repairing ACLs these days, and feet can be tricky. Not that I’m a medical expert or anything, but I have been dealing with foot issues for the better part of a year with only marginal improvement.
Two broken feet in one game is pretty bad luck, and a broken foot could certainly throw your shot off. I didn’t see Allen helped off the court so its hard to tell when the injury occurred. I’m still a little steamed that the refs called a foul on Lucious on the play he broke his foot on – if anything it was a combination of the pick plus Lawson running him over (which should have been a foul on Lawson) that lead to the injury. I’m not blaming Lawson for the injury by any means, but if anyone was guilty of a foul it was him. I would have been happy with a no call. The foul call literally added insult to injury.
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