March 11th, 2021 at 11:46 AM ^
State's off to a quick start... this could get ugly...
Ended up being okay
No doubt! I'm more than a little happy that we won't see them in the tourney... I think M still would have won, but the recent loss may have lingered in their heads.
Between fouling and turnovers, Sparty basketball always looks ugly. Today was no exception.
March 11th, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
Michigan State is such a sloppy, ugly, untalented team with an extremely outdated philosophy. I feel like I'm watching basketball from 1985.
Yep. I hate Sparty's garbage brand of basketball. I blame the Big Ten for allowing it.
Update: LOL at Sparty ducking Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
Sparty has 0 quality wins away from Breslin this year where Sparty gets a favorable whistle.
And it's funny that Rocket Watts turned back into a pumpkin.
Yeah I think it's telling how they retained a significant home court advantage... without fans.
March 11th, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
What do Maryland and my wife have in common?
They both overpack for every fucking trip we take.
March 11th, 2021 at 11:51 AM ^
Without Brooks, I’m not sure we can beat this MSU squad the way they’re performing now
March 11th, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
I am not particularly looking forward to another slugfest game against MSU. They seem to thrive in those, and their ability to throw junk up there and make it scares me. Now they are confident, too.
We just gotta hit our dang shots and shake off this funk it feels like we're in. If M can get going early I'd feel pretty good about things. Maybe going into the game knowing Eli's status will be less of a shock to the system than losing him 5 minutes in.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Rocket Watts looks to be back to his actual shooting percentage, so I’m not too worried about it. Either we win and get a 1 seed or we lose and get a 1 seed, but if they win and we play them, it won’t look like the last game against them
March 11th, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
Nonsense, UM lost a close game on the road in a game that they missed several open looks+freethrows and MSU made several contested looks. Heck one open Livers look goes down and it is a 1 point game with 30 seconds to play.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:43 PM ^
Or we have the lead when Langford hits that 3 and that shot is a lot different if we're up 1 at that time.
We probably wouldn't be playing a zone (and giving up a wide-open look) then anyway.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
Michigan missed, what, 10-12 free throws, along with about 15 layups at the rim. I doubt that will happen again...
This comment didn’t age well
LOL. State loses by double digits.
Good news, you don't have to worry about it. Maryland 68, Sparty 57.
March 11th, 2021 at 11:53 AM ^
Who I'm rooting for:
State vs. Maryland- Maryland
Osu vs. Minnesota- Minnesota
IU vs. Rutgers- Rutgers
Penn St. vs. Wisconsin- Wisconsin
March 11th, 2021 at 11:57 AM ^
lol, one of these things is not like the other
March 11th, 2021 at 12:05 PM ^
I'll second those picks. Mostly the first two picks.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:55 PM ^
My rule is I root for both OSU and MSU against both Rutgers and Maryland because Rutgers and Maryland are fake B1G teams. But I'll root for Rutgers and Maryland if it helps Michigan. (A clause I apply generously.) And breaking MSU's tourney streak would take away a recruiting point from MSU, which would help Michigan.
Maryland makes me barf, but I hope they win today.
Well unfortunately MSU's tourney streak is probably not in danger even with a loss today. The win against UM clinched that for them.
You're probably right, but I will use as flimsy of an excuse as I like to root against Sparty :)
Rutgers and Maryland are fake B1G teams
I think it's time to let this one go. It's water under the bridge at this point. Besides, who could blame them for accepting a bid to the most lucrative conference in the country?
That would be letting the terrorists win. I'm just gonna Grandpa Abe this one for a little while longer, and not recognize Missouri, so to speak.
It's hardest to swallow in football. In other sports, especially men's basketball, it's mostly fine. Maryland was actually a decent addition for basketball because they have a pretty good program. Of all current B1G teams, they have the most recent National Championship (2002).
March 11th, 2021 at 12:04 PM ^
MSU has really found their mojo heading into March (unfortunately). They look really similar to the Michigan team that in 2017 that figured things out at the end of the season and made a run to the BTT title (as an 8 seed) and Sweet 16 (as a 7 seed). Almost the exact same seeds that MSU is/projects to.
I just saw Gabe Brown pump fake, take a hesitation dribble, and dunk. The game has slowed down for Brown, Watts, and Bingham. Look out for this team in the tourney.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:08 PM ^
I actually see a team that is still sloppy and mediocre on defense; them having guys in foul trouble points to a team that is really physical and relies on the refs not calling it.
This isn't a particularly talented team, and I'm not particularly optimistic about their long-term chances to keep it going. That 2017 team was a top-30 KenPom team at the end of the year; MSU is barely in the top 60.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
MSU has really found their mojo heading into March (unfortunately). They look really similar to the Michigan team that in 2017
Whoa there. Sparty's last four games:
-Lost at Maryland by 18
-Won at home vs Indiana by 6
-Lost at Michigan by 19
-Won at home vs Michigan by 6
And as I type this, they've just blown a double-digit lead today and are down at halftime.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:43 PM ^
Just no, the way that UM 2017 team was playing at the end of the season they would have beat this MSU team by 10+ most nights on a neutral court.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:55 PM ^
How the 2017 team finished the regular season:
2/7 W vs. MSU, 84-55
2/12 W at IU, 75-63
2/16 W vs. Wisconsin, 64-58
2/19 L at Minnesota, 83-78 (OT)
2/22 W at Rutgers, 68-64
2/25 W vs Purdue, 82-70
3/1 L at Northwestern, 67-65
3/5 W at Nebraska, 93-57
Even before the BTT this was one of the hottest teams in the country. They very nearly ran the table over that last month, with their two losses coming in OT and on a buzzer-beater.
Not to mention their loss in the tourney was a close game against a very good Oregon team in the sweet 16.
Bad take from the undercover MSU fan.
Do you have any stock picks we should know about
March 11th, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Izzo looks like he’s constantly crying.
He is, he's just learned to do it without tears after 20+ years of practice......
????
March 11th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
I’ve sat and watched 3 straight fouls by MSU players and they all have looked over at Izzo and held their hands up in disbelief. They can’t play without hacking and can’t seem to get used to it being called away from EL.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:24 PM ^
Yep. If they shoot 70% on 2-pointers (like they were early on in this game) they can hang with you. But they are below-average on defense, even with first-team defender Aaron Henry (which...yeah, that's definitely one of the top 4 defenders in this conference), and they don't have much diversity on offense. So if they aren't hitting their shots they can't get to the rim or generate organic long-distance shots. And as we've seen, if you call fouls on them they are screwed.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:23 PM ^
Can someone explain to me why Ill is the 2 seed?
I have it from someone VERY high up in The UI AD that they were the champions
March 11th, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
I half expect them to show up and try to take the court at 11:30 am tomorrow
March 11th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
Those poor guys. They participated. Don't they deserve a trophy?
March 11th, 2021 at 12:39 PM ^
I swear the hyperbole in this thread and others is unreal. MSU goes 2-2 in their last 4 including getting blown out twice and now they are primed to go deep in the tourney, and Michigan is apparently helpless without Eli based on a two game sample size.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
Extend it out to their last six games and they have wins over Illinois and OSU as well. Put those games on the road or on a neutral court and I doubt they come within 10 points of either team, but point is they won the games.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:48 PM ^
The operative term being at home. MSU has shown nothing to warrant respect when they aren't playing at home this year.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
They've played well at Breslin lately, there's no doubt about that. But they have sucked, hard, away from it.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:54 PM ^
Seriously. Between this thread and several posters claiming that Whitman has a legitimate argument, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:56 PM ^
Wow Maryland is beating potential National Champ MSU by 10, I look for Maryland to handle Michigan easily without Brooks and go deep in the tourney.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:44 PM ^
How are bad talking points about refereeing still spit out by fans and analysts and Tom Izzos alike? People always try to use the FTA differential as proof of bias, because of course FTAs should be equal opportunity events when State fouls the most in the conference.
That being said, I think it was obvious the game is being called tight and State probably got worse end of 1 or 2 fouls on Ayala. But talk about those, not the -12 FTA gap which was largely justified.