MBB Las Vegas Invitational

[johnny2x2x]

Impressive as hell. Team beat the doors off an extremely talented UCLA team and then had a great comeback vs a Texas team that had just beat North Carolina.

Team is really tough, defends really well, rebounds, and can shoot. Really impressive pair of wins. We were down 19 to Texas and won by 10. I was thinking this was a 5 seed, might be better than that.

 

[MSUMatt28]

I'm really liking this team so far too. Sometimes you can't put a price on experience. They fell behind big early today against a team that was very disruptive defensively. But they didn't panic, and then Langford and Winston put them on their backs and everyone tightened up defensively. Langford developing that go-to mentality is not something I was sure he had in him.

Along with that, the defense so far is what I'm most encouraged by. That second half was as good as I've seen in awhile on that end of the court as far as team defense goes. Last year's team had gaudy numbers but was overly reliant on the JJJ bailout block and had plenty of breakdowns in between.

 

[gotime909]

24 turnovers today and still won by 10. Damn impressive

 

[MSUMatt28]

I will add though that the frontcourt is a concern. Ward will destroy weaker opponents, but just cannot handle length of any kind, and that isn't likely to change. Tillman hasn't made the strides that were expected and Goins is what he is. They will be too reliant on the 3's falling against elite opponents.

Which is to say it's a far from perfect team that maybe has a limited ceiling, but might end up being a better team than last year. That team had a higher ceiling, but didn't reach it.

 

[gotime909]

I will add though that the frontcourt is a concern. Ward will destroy weaker opponents, but just cannot handle length of any kind, and that isn't likely to change. Tillman hasn't made the strides that were expected and Goins is what he is. They will be too reliant on the 3's falling against elite opponents.

Which is to say it's a far from perfect team that maybe has a limited ceiling, but might end up being a better team than last year. That team had a higher ceiling, but didn't reach it.

Ward played amazing against 7?1? Moses Brown yesterday. Kept him well below his averages. Izzo even praised his defense after the game which has to be a first time ever.

 

[Spartanmack]

i missed the 1st half so only caught the last 4 points of the comeback. i agree with all the comments about the defense but i was most pleased by the offense. they werent burning the shot clock with the weave and jacking up wild 3s. seemed to me they were moving th ball all over the floor, even some inside-out working to get and take open shots when they had them. even in the last 4 minutes when they were supposed to be burning clock, they seemed to he aware that they needed a good look at some point. that was refreshing to see.

 

[MSUMatt28]

Ward played amazing against 7?1? Moses Brown yesterday. Kept him well below his averages. Izzo even praised his defense after the game which has to be a first time ever.

I should clarify. Yes Ward's defense has been good (he had a couple of big blocks during the second half surge yesterday too), as has nearly everyone's. Hence, the so far improved overall team defense. I was talking more on offense. Ward is really the only post option and he can't score against any kind of length, nor can he bring them away from the basket. So they are going to be very dependent on the 3 (also since they don't have a lot of guys who can attack off the dribble).

It looks like a team that is definitely a year older and wiser than last year and seems likely to maximize it's potential (and what that potential is is difficult to determine still). It will be vulnerable to certain types of matchups, though the same can be said of most teams out there.

 

[LuciousGameWinner]

Bingham came in against UCLA and had an incredible half. 0 playing time in the second half until garbage time. For years I’ve complained about Izzos rotation...I just don’t get it sometimes. Goins looked lost at times yesterday. Pretty sure he had 4-5 turnovers. I actually think starting Bingham at the 4 by year end makes sense. Keep Ward in the post and have a guy at the 4 who stretches the court. He really can shoot!!

Also, Langford has really taken that next step. He looks really good! Rip Hamilton like with the mid range

 

[gotime909]

Izzo will find reasons to sit Bingham. Yet Goins is rarely yanked for dumb plays. That fast break lob attempt to Ward was one of the dumbest decisions I’ve seen Goins make. It’s frustrating, but it is what it is and obviously isn’t going to change no later how many games it costs.

 

[MSUMatt28]

Goins is sometimes shaky with the ball when the other team speeds us up, which certainly Texas tries to do. But for the most part you know what you're going to get with him. He's going to rebound (though I saw him totally miss a block out on one play yesterday), be in the right spots defensively and hit an occasional shot.

I'm not sure the answer there. It will probably be situational all year long. Bingham will get opportunities, and he's got a sweet looking stroke, but there are going to be times when he seems overmatched, and yesterday looked to be one of those times. Not so against UCLA who is soft defensively and lacking in strength/aggression (but not length) up front. Other options are playing Tillman and Ward together. But that will totally depend on the matchup. Or Henry at the 4, but that's a really small lineup. Or Kithier which is basically like playing Bingham but without the same upside.

 

[Sbee]

Looking good now, just like we did in non conference last year. We seem to be able to run more vs non big ten teams, in conference they practice against our break and seem to take it away. Ward or Tillman run straight to the rim off misses and draw the defense in, that leaves open 3's for trailers.

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[MSUMatt28]

Looking good now, just like we did in non conference last year. We seem to be able to run more vs non big ten teams, in conference they practice against our break and seem to take it away. Ward or Tillman run straight to the rim off misses and draw the defense in, that leaves open 3's for trailers.

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Last year they played at a level vs UNC that they would not again reach all season and ran away from an ND team that was a little overrated (even with a healthy Colson) at home. Then they feasted on a bunch of cupcakes. Then OSU punched them in the mouth and they were never the same (and probably the other stuff going on took it's toll as time went on).

Time will tell how good UCLA and Texas end up being, but the way they won vs Texas felt different. This team is going to have some matchups that aren't in their favor, but seems to have a lot more in the way of intangibles going for it. I think they will be more battle hardened this year too as the Big Ten is looking like it's going to have a lot more depth than expected. The coming stretch will tell alot. I am curious to see how they do vs Louisville. A beatable opponent, but a true road game. They will be similar to a lot of what they are faced with in the Big Ten in true road games, good but not great opponents.

 

[Sbee]

Last year they played at a level vs UNC that they would not again reach all season and ran away from an ND team that was a little overrated (even with a healthy Colson) at home. Then they feasted on a bunch of cupcakes. Then OSU punched them in the mouth and they were never the same (and probably the other stuff going on took it's toll as time went on).

Time will tell how good UCLA and Texas end up being, but the way they won vs Texas felt different. This team is going to have some matchups that aren't in their favor, but seems to have a lot more in the way of intangibles going for it. I think they will be more battle hardened this year too as the Big Ten is looking like it's going to have a lot more depth than expected. The coming stretch will tell alot. I am curious to see how they do vs Louisville. A beatable opponent, but a true road game. They will be similar to a lot of what they are faced with in the Big Ten in true road games, good but not great opponents.

Yes we weren't the same since that OSU game, but we did go on to go 16-2 in the big ten. I know we weren't overwhelming at time, but we did lead the nation or were close to the top in a lot of offensive and defensive categories.

What seemed to happen last year is that we weren't able to run, other teams in the conference scout us well and practice constantly to take away our fast break, the specific way we do it with the big man rim running, etc. We were a great half court team when Nick Ward was seeing single coverage, he was doubled a lot in the big ten and he never really beat the double team. he'd throw up a bad shot, turn it over, or best case scenario he'd dribble out and pass so we'd have to re-set the offense, but he was largely limited when he was doubled. This year he seems to be finding open men a little more, making better decisions, etc. If that can continue, we'll be a much better half court team. He's a key to the shooters getting good shots. I think we should contend for the big ten and be somewhere between #5 and #12 most of the year, 3 or 4 seed territory.