My Take

[sutomcat]

I thought Michigan State was unimpressive. They had a bunch of fat, physical big guys and some unremarkable guards. No play makers. Not much athletic ability or speed.

Their white guard who couldn't get open, couldn't shoot with a hand in his face and couldn't play defense. He just flopped whenever anyone came near him. Their white transfer was just a body out there. No talent.

I thought Bridges was a player of the year candidate. Seriously? He looked slow, indecisive and he couldn't shoot or drive.

They had no idea how to attack the zone and it really looked like they thought they could just throw bricks up all game long and win by getting offensive rebounds and followup scores from there. They didn't score much but a lot of their scores where 3 pointers off the backboard or shots just gotten off before a shot clock violation. I don't think they would finish in the top half of the ACC.

Props to Sidibe, who played a lot of minutes with Chukwu out and didn't kill us doing it. He got destroyed on the boards but he didn't give up a lot of points inside and gave us a chance to win.

Same to Bayer, whose block and tie up were huge plays. Impressed with his defense under tough circumstances.

Battle had a bad first half and never got in a groove shooting but he got a lot of points in the second half (16?) and carried us down the stretch when Frank fouled out. Izzo should have put heavy pressure on the ball then. Bad coaching on his part.

It was Brissett who responded when MSU had their spurt at the start of the 2nd half that threatened to blow the game open. He is getting a lot of big baskets for a true frosh, especially down the stretch of the season. He got manhandled underneath, like everyone else (for a long time it seemed like only Chukwu could get a rebound). but the kid has a lot of heart.

Frank got some really big baskets and played well defensively again.

All the timeouts and ref reviews helped the SU team get rest and hang on. Still can't believe the deflection under the basket that went off the MSU player's leg was called MSU ball. The replay clearly showed it deflect off the kid's leg. Ian Eagle needs to get his glasses checked (though I think he backed down when they showed the blown up frame with the ball on the kid's leg). Maybe we need a central office to review replays if the refs can't see things from the monitors available on the court.

 

[longislandcuse]

I feel like that OOB call at the end of the game is like that "which color is this dress" that went viral last year.

I thought it was absolutely out on us but whichever side you're on, you're vehemently believing you're correct.

Michigan State looks like their strength and conditioning is to eat steak and donuts. Compare their NBA guys to Brissett and Battle who are ripped. Different body types for sure but I wasn't at all impressed with that team both physically and talent wise. Guess you can get away with that in the B1G.

 

[JoeSU]

Thankfully the call on the deflection didn't come back to burn us. Contrary to what the TV announcer said, I thought the replay clearly showed the ball changing direction off to the left after it deflected off the MSU player.
The 2 TOs in the last 90- secs almost cost us the game. We really missed Frank's ballhandling there. Chuckwu's foul shooting has been huge in this tourney run.

 

[TinyManInside]

Bridges was completely unimpressive as a pro prospect.

All the MSU shooters need to be WIIIIIIIIDDDDE open to make a shot. They didn't have anyone with a quick shot set-up and release. Slow methodical shooters always suck against our zone unless the their team is passing so well as to completely disassemble it.

 

[kcsu]

I thought Michigan State was unimpressive. They had a bunch of fat, physical big guys and some unremarkable guards. No play makers. Not much athletic ability or speed.

Their white guard who couldn't get open, couldn't shoot with a hand in his face and couldn't play defense. He just flopped whenever anyone came near him. Their white transfer was just a body out there. No talent.

I thought Bridges was a player of the year candidate. Seriously? He looked slow, indecisive and he couldn't shoot or drive.

They had no idea how to attack the zone and it really looked like they thought they could just throw bricks up all game long and win by getting offensive rebounds and followup scores from there. They didn't score much but a lot of their scores where 3 pointers off the backboard or shots just gotten off before a shot clock violation. I don't think they would finish in the top half of the ACC.

Props to Sidibe, who played a lot of minutes with Chukwu out and didn't kill us doing it. He got destroyed on the boards but he didn't give up a lot of points inside and gave us a chance to win.

Same to Bayer, whose block and tie up were huge plays. Impressed with his defense under tough circumstances.

Battle had a bad first half and never got in a groove shooting but he got a lot of points in the second half (16?) and carried us down the stretch when Frank fouled out. Izzo should have put heavy pressure on the ball then. Bad coaching on his part.

It was Brissett who responded when MSU had their spurt at the start of the 2nd half that threatened to blow the game open. He is getting a lot of big baskets for a true frosh, especially down the stretch of the season. He got manhandled underneath, like everyone else (for a long time it seemed like only Chukwu could get a rebound). but the kid has a lot of heart.

Frank got some really big baskets and played well defensively again.

All the timeouts and ref reviews helped the SU team get rest and hang on. Still can't believe the deflection under the basket that went off the MSU player's leg was called MSU ball. The replay clearly showed it deflect off the kid's leg. Ian Eagle needs to get his glasses checked (though I think he backed down when they showed the blown up frame with the ball on the kid's leg). Maybe we need a central office to review replays if the refs can't see things from the monitors available on the court.

Geez. Props to Gmac for a great scouting report. JB coached and the kids played an exceptional game but lets be honest. If we play the 10 times they win 7. Great win!

 

[Orangefan1]

Regardless of how fat and slow they are we totally took them out of their game plan with our defense. Let’s not gloss over that fact as to a big reason why they were off their game and unprepared

I thought Michigan State was unimpressive. They had a bunch of fat, physical big guys and some unremarkable guards. No play makers. Not much athletic ability or speed.

Their white guard who couldn't get open, couldn't shoot with a hand in his face and couldn't play defense. He just flopped whenever anyone came near him. Their white transfer was just a body out there. No talent.

I thought Bridges was a player of the year candidate. Seriously? He looked slow, indecisive and he couldn't shoot or drive.

They had no idea how to attack the zone and it really looked like they thought they could just throw bricks up all game long and win by getting offensive rebounds and followup scores from there. They didn't score much but a lot of their scores where 3 pointers off the backboard or shots just gotten off before a shot clock violation. I don't think they would finish in the top half of the ACC.

Props to Sidibe, who played a lot of minutes with Chukwu out and didn't kill us doing it. He got destroyed on the boards but he didn't give up a lot of points inside and gave us a chance to win.

Same to Bayer, whose block and tie up were huge plays. Impressed with his defense under tough circumstances.

Battle had a bad first half and never got in a groove shooting but he got a lot of points in the second half (16?) and carried us down the stretch when Frank fouled out. Izzo should have put heavy pressure on the ball then. Bad coaching on his part.

It was Brissett who responded when MSU had their spurt at the start of the 2nd half that threatened to blow the game open. He is getting a lot of big baskets for a true frosh, especially down the stretch of the season. He got manhandled underneath, like everyone else (for a long time it seemed like only Chukwu could get a rebound). but the kid has a lot of heart.

Frank got some really big baskets and played well defensively again.

All the timeouts and ref reviews helped the SU team get rest and hang on. Still can't believe the deflection under the basket that went off the MSU player's leg was called MSU ball. The replay clearly showed it deflect off the kid's leg. Ian Eagle needs to get his glasses checked (though I think he backed down when they showed the blown up frame with the ball on the kid's leg). Maybe we need a central office to review replays if the refs can't see things from the monitors available on the court.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Thankfully the call on the deflection didn't come back to burn us. Contrary to what the TV announcer said, I thought the replay clearly showed the ball changing direction off to the left after it deflected off the MSU player.

I didn't think it touched him. I don't know how it didn't, but I don't think it did. I felt that the worse play was the Battle being fouled on a reach-in and they instead gave the ball to MSU on the out of bounds.

That and when did loose balls on the ground become an excuse for everyone to block, hit, and basically foul people without a whistle being blown? If it was a rebound in the air, refs wouldn't let that ish slide, so why is it OK when the ball is on the floor?

 

[Toga]

Thankfully the call on the deflection didn't come back to burn us. Contrary to what the TV announcer said, I thought the replay clearly showed the ball changing direction off to the left after it deflected off the MSU player.
The 2 TOs in the last 90- secs almost cost us the game. We really missed Frank's ballhandling there. Chuckwu's foul shooting has been huge in this tourney run.

 

[kuethstheman]

I didn't think it touched him. I don't know how it didn't, but I don't think it did. I felt that the worse play was the Battle being fouled on a reach-in and they instead gave the ball to MSU on the out of bounds.

That and when did loose balls on the ground become an excuse for everyone to block, hit, and basically foul people without a whistle being blown? If it was a rebound in the air, refs wouldn't let that ish slide, so why is it OK when the ball is on the floor?

I hate the way they rule on loose balls. I'm surprised there aren't more injuries. I think you'd have to throw a punch for them to call a foul on a loose ball.

 

[shu 49]

I completley agree with Sutomcat that the ball was clearly of msu guy. Couldnt have been clearer actually. I lost my mind. I also disagree if we would lose 7 out of ten. I felt best two players on the court were Brissett and Battle and i wouldnt say it was close. I also dont feel they would do anything in acc.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I didn't think it touched him. I don't know how it didn't, but I don't think it did. I felt that the worse play was the Battle being fouled on a reach-in and they instead gave the ball to MSU on the out of bounds.

That and when did loose balls on the ground become an excuse for everyone to block, hit, and basically foul people without a whistle being blown? If it was a rebound in the air, refs wouldn't let that ish slide, so why is it OK when the ball is on the floor?

Agree, agree and agree! Oshae got pile jumped on one of them. Pretty sure someone pounded his head off the floor.

And that one with Battle was so ridiculous. That was a foul. He went through Battle's left wrist to get to that ball.

 

[scottynguyen]

Bridges looks like a football player playing basketball.

 

[jsshap]

Thankfully the call on the deflection didn't come back to burn us. Contrary to what the TV announcer said, I thought the replay clearly showed the ball changing direction off to the left after it deflected off the MSU player.
The 2 TOs in the last 90- secs almost cost us the game. We really missed Frank's ballhandling there. Chuckwu's foul shooting has been huge in this tourney run.

I completely agree and would bet my mortage it was out mich state. Aside from the video the ball clearly changed its course.

 

[SU2NASA]

I also dont feel they would do anything in acc.

If you look at their numbers, they were a paper tiger to begin with. They had a win over UNC at the very beginning of year and then beat up on the island of misfit toys. The best team thay played over the last 3 months was Michigan and they lost by double digits both times, at home and on a neutral floor. I believe they went 2-4 against Q1.

 

[721Comstock]

If you look at their numbers, they were a paper tiger to begin with. They had a win over UNC at the very beginning of year and then beat up on the island of misfit toys. The best team thay played over the last 3 months was Michigan and they lost by double digits both times, at home and on a neutral floor. I believe they went 2-4 against Q1.

WE had more wins vs Tourney teams in the last 5 days, than MSU had ALL SEASON.

 

[Lucid]

Maybe we need a central office to review replays if the refs can't see things from the monitors available on the court.

Great suggestion. I need an extra 45 minutes at the end of every game to get up and bake a pie or something.

 

[FrancoPizza]

We really missed Frank's ballhandling there.

Not sure if serious. As a team we don't have anyone who we can trust to handle the ball in those situations.

 

[reedny]

The word I would use is "Tentative". They seemed to have no idea what to do against the zone. The guards were able to get it to the foul line but had no one to pass it to, and they couldn't drive past Frank/Tyus. We pinched the middle extremely well, taking away inside driving lanes and forcing them outside. At the same time, we stuck to their shooters. That is why they struggled to make shots.

Block/charge calls seemed pretty even. But the refs let them get away with murder on rebounding. That's one of the reasons for the -21 on the glass. A negative RB margin was expected, as they were bigger and stronger overall. Still... it's unfair for one team to be allowed to scrap but not the other.

It amazes me that with a RBM of -21, and ONE made 3 point shot, we still won the game. That's how effective our defense was. Michigan State's season is now over. And that's fitting ... it needs to put sports aside for a few months and concentrate on developing some institutional values.

 

[TheCusian]

Not sure if serious. As a team we don't have anyone who we can trust to handle the ball in those situations.

I don't know about trust, but I'd rather have a guy who's played a bazillion minutes as a lead guard in there than anyone else on the team outside of Battle

 

[SWC75]

If you look at their numbers, they were a paper tiger to begin with. They had a win over UNC at the very beginning of year and then beat up on the island of misfit toys. The best team thay played over the last 3 months was Michigan and they lost by double digits both times, at home and on a neutral floor. I believe they went 2-4 against Q1.

Let's not denigrate our opponents after a big win. It makes our accomplishment look smaller. You are what you eat and you are who you play.

 

[SWC75]

Agree, agree and agree! Oshae got pile jumped on one of them. Pretty sure someone pounded his head off the floor.

And that one with Battle was so ridiculous. That was a foul. He went through Battle's left wrist to get to that ball.

I remember one- I think it was when Bayer got the loose ball- where he had the ball in his arms and was calling for a time out. There were Spartans by his legs but not near where he was holding the ball. the refs signaled 'jump ball' with Michigan State holding the arrow.

 

[SWC75]

I feel like that OOB call at the end of the game is like that "which color is this dress" that went viral last year.

I thought it was absolutely out on us but whichever side you're on, you're vehemently believing you're correct.

Michigan State looks like their strength and conditioning is to eat steak and donuts. Compare their NBA guys to Brissett and Battle who are ripped. Different body types for sure but I wasn't at all impressed with that team both physically and talent wise. Guess you can get away with that in the B1G.

The dress - Wikipedia

I see white and gold. That doesn't make me a bad person.

 

[br801]

If you look at their numbers, they were a paper tiger to begin with. They had a win over UNC at the very beginning of year and then beat up on the island of misfit toys. The best team thay played over the last 3 months was Michigan and they lost by double digits both times, at home and on a neutral floor. I believe they went 2-4 against Q1.

They were a really good team statistically this season, but were vulnerable for the exact reasons you've cited, particularly running up against a team with a contrarian style. Those Sparty tears sure taste great.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I remember one- I think it was when Bayer got the loose ball- where he had the ball in his arms and was calling for a time out. There were Spartans by his legs but not near where he was holding the ball. the refs signaled 'jump ball' with Michigan State holding the arrow.

He also rolled over to call the TO which probably could have been called a travel. Just glad we won...

 

[dasher]

Geez. Props to Gmac for a great scouting report. JB coached and the kids played an exceptional game but lets be honest. If we play the 10 times they win 7. Great win!

Do all of them have to be in Detroit? Because if they are, I'm not so sure about the 7 out of 10 number. MSU had every advantage in this game. The site of the game. Syracuse having to play an extra game. And Syracuse won. Even things out on that 10 game schedule.