MBB MSU #2 in AP Poll

[johnny2x2x]

http://collegebasketball.ap.org/poll

#2 in AP, #3 in Coach's, but behind Nova by only 1 point.

And we've already beaten #1 head to head on a neutral floor. Wins against 4 of the top 14.

 

[Sbee]

The poll is nice but what matters is that we're playing as well as anyone in the country. since denzel has been back at 100% we're pretty much had a TKO in every game, we've beaten teams down outside of Purdue. Lost of minutes for Matt Van Dyk means that the end of games have been organized scrimmages.

Hopefully we keep it up and don't run into the wrong team on the wrong night.

 

[johnny2x2x]

The poll is nice but what matters is that we're playing as well as anyone in the country. since denzel has been back at 100% we're pretty much had a TKO in every game, we've beaten teams down outside of Purdue. Lost of minutes for Matt Van Dyk means that the end of games have been organized scrimmages.

Hopefully we keep it up and don't run into the wrong team on the wrong night.

Outside of the 1st half vs Purdue we have been blowing the doors off from every team. And the one thing I have seen that I really like is that the team doesn't have to be playing all that well to get a big lead. We weren't executing our O all that well @ OSU, but we shot lights out to blow them out, we weren't shooting all that well vs PSU, but we executed extremely well and rebounding well to blow them out. This team is mature enough to overcome these things. And we're getting out and running more and more and there's nothing our opponents can do about it. The speed at which we can get out and get a shot on the other end is devastating to most college teams, and it's also a joy to watch.

 

[Sbee]

Kansas looking strong, up 24 at the breath @ Texas

 

[LuciousGameWinner]

Bracketology guy from ESPN just said that MSU is next in line for a first place if Virginia/UNC slip up. It's kind of weird that we're ranked 2nd in the AP and still a two seed.

 

[Spartanmack]

Outside of the 1st half vs Purdue we have been blowing the doors off from every team. And the one thing I have seen that I really like is that the team doesn't have to be playing all that well to get a big lead. We weren't executing our O all that well @ OSU, but we shot lights out to blow them out, we weren't shooting all that well vs PSU, but we executed extremely well and rebounding well to blow them out. This team is mature enough to overcome these things. And we're getting out and running more and more and there's nothing our opponents can do about it. The speed at which we can get out and get a shot on the other end is devastating to most college teams, and it's also a joy to watch.

Agreed but it's one thing to do that against PSU and OSU. It will be interesting to see how they handle it if they're not firing on all cylinders against other top teams. I don't think there is anybody in the field we won't be at least even money against on a neutral court - as long as our bigs and shooters don't falter on the same night, they can compete with anyone.

 

[johnny2x2x]

Agreed but it's one thing to do that against PSU and OSU. It will be interesting to see how they handle it if they're not firing on all cylinders against other top teams. I don't think there is anybody in the field we won't be at least even money against on a neutral court - as long as our bigs and shooters don't falter on the same night, they can compete with anyone.

Statistically this is Izzo's best team, and we're statistically the best team in the country. 1st in opponent's FG% 37.5, 1st in rebound margin, 1st in assists, 1st in assist %, 1st in 3 point shooting, and it's Izzo's highest scoring team.

Really, you have to search for question marks. It's deep, has all the pieces, and plays hard. I guess our low post game isn't as good as it could be, I would have liked to see us grow Davis in the post throughout the season. And I guess I wonder about the Big Ten being good. Are we just dominating mediocre teams? But that is nitpicking, the Natty is the goal and we have as good of a shot as anyone. It's time to get Izzo #2.

 

[Sbee]

Statistically this is Izzo's best team, and we're statistically the best team in the country. 1st in opponent's FG% 37.5, 1st in rebound margin, 1st in assists, 1st in assist %, 1st in 3 point shooting, and it's Izzo's highest scoring team.

Really, you have to search for question marks. It's deep, has all the pieces, and plays hard. I guess our low post game isn't as good as it could be, I would have liked to see us grow Davis in the post throughout the season. And I guess I wonder about the Big Ten being good. Are we just dominating mediocre teams? But that is nitpicking, the Natty is the goal and we have as good of a shot as anyone. It's time to get Izzo #2.

We have to get more inside out going, we're getting there. The outside isn't always going to work so we'll need more post offense. Final game of btt could be a challenge with tired legs though we can play 12 or 13 guys. Fatigue may not me much of a factor

 

[tomdalton22]

If ever there was a year for Izzo to get another title this is it. MSU is really good and there isn't a dominate team in the country. There are probably 10-15 teams that could win it this year because of the lack of great teams.

 

[MSUMatt28]

I think a lot of years there are about 10-15 that can win it. Heck 2 years ago the final was a 7 seed vs an 8. Last year was a little unusual (at least since early draft entry became all the rage) in that there were 4 really, really good teams out there in UK, Duke, Wisconsin, and Arizona (it was ridiculous that they had to play each other in a regional final while Villanova got a higher rank than both). Virginia also was a pretty dominant team before Justin Anderson got hurt and came back as a shell of himself, which made them ripe for the picking vs MSU.

 

[Spartanmack]

Statistically this is Izzo's best team, and we're statistically the best team in the country. 1st in opponent's FG% 37.5, 1st in rebound margin, 1st in assists, 1st in assist %, 1st in 3 point shooting, and it's Izzo's highest scoring team.

Really, you have to search for question marks. It's deep, has all the pieces, and plays hard. I guess our low post game isn't as good as it could be, I would have liked to see us grow Davis in the post throughout the season. And I guess I wonder about the Big Ten being good. Are we just dominating mediocre teams? But that is nitpicking, the Natty is the goal and we have as good of a shot as anyone. It's time to get Izzo #2.

We have to get more inside out going, we're getting there. The outside isn't always going to work so we'll need more post offense. Final game of btt could be a challenge with tired legs though we can play 12 or 13 guys. Fatigue may not me much of a factor

The team is playing great and they can definitely beat any team in the country - i think at our best, there isn't a team we can't beat at their best. I don't think there is a team that our odds would be less than coin toss against on a neutral court. You may have to look hard to find a true weakness (i'd have to say it's fouls - we tend to put teams in the bonus really early) but you don't have to look that hard to see what happens if/when certain strengths aren't strengths. As Forbes goes, so goes MSU - if he doesn't have a bad night finding and making shots and Wollenman isn't on the floor until mop up time, I like our chances against anyone.

 

[Spartanmack]

The team is playing great and they can definitely beat any team in the country - i think at our best, there isn't a team we can't beat at their best. I don't think there is a team that our odds would be less than coin toss against on a neutral court. You may have to look hard to find a true weakness (i'd have to say it's fouls - we tend to put teams in the bonus really early) but you don't have to look that hard to see what happens if/when certain strengths aren't strengths. As Forbes goes, so goes MSU - if he doesn't have a bad night finding and making shots and Wollenman isn't on the floor until mop up time, I like our chances against anyone.

Watching the RU game I have to revise this and say the team's biggest weakness is defensive lapses. I have to question that opponent shooting % stat because it seems like a handful of teams have had their best shooting nights against us - especially bad teams - at least for a half. I wonder if that number looks much diff vs top/bottom half or nonconference.

 

[SpartyNash]

I bet we win by 25 still

 

[Spartanmack]

I bet we win by 25 still

Agreed, I don't think RU is a real threat but a half like this at this could be a real problem against a real team

 

[SpartyNash]

Agreed, I don't think RU is a real threat but a half like this at this could be a real problem against a real team

No doubt about it, that's definitely our weakness

 

[Spartan23MSU]

Mack what was the 2nd half line on this. Im guessing 11?

 

[johnny2x2x]

Josh Jackson taking his official visit to MSU this weekend.

 

[Spartanmack]

Mack what was the 2nd half line on this. Im guessing 11?

13.5 - same as 1h line. Bailed me out. Would have been 11 if we were up 10-15 points or so at halftime.

 

[MSUMatt28]

Watching the RU game I have to revise this and say the team's biggest weakness is defensive lapses. I have to question that opponent shooting % stat because it seems like a handful of teams have had their best shooting nights against us - especially bad teams - at least for a half. I wonder if that number looks much diff vs top/bottom half or nonconference.

I would agree with this. I think the team, even though if you look at the past 10 games would seem to be playing great, is playing a bit of a dangerous game. If you look at the 3-pt percent over that time (since after the Maryland game basically) it is flat-out ridiculous. I would say it's close to 50% actually. Yes they are a very good shooting team, but I would think that kind of number would be difficult to maintain, and they could be vulnerable to an off-shooting night suddenly sending them home if they don't clean up a few things defensively.

Edit: I actually went back and looked it up. This is the 3 point totals over the past 9 games.

16-26
17-32
14-22
11-28
10-23
8-17
14-22
10-22
16-31

That's 13 3's made per game at a 52% clip. That is insane, but it also makes you wonder how much longer it will continue and how they will respond in a game where they aren't falling like that.

 

[Spartanmack]

I would agree with this. I think the team, even though if you look at the past 10 games would seem to be playing great, is playing a bit of a dangerous game. If you look at the 3-pt percent over that time (since after the Maryland game basically) it is flat-out ridiculous. I would say it's close to 50% actually. Yes they are a very good shooting team, but I would think that kind of number would be difficult to maintain, and they could be vulnerable to an off-shooting night suddenly sending them home if they don't clean up a few things defensively.

Edit: I actually went back and looked it up. This is the 3 point totals over the past 9 games.

16-26
17-32
14-22
11-28
10-23
8-17
14-22
10-22
16-31

That's 13 3's made per game at a 52% clip. That is insane, but it also makes you wonder how much longer it will continue and how they will respond in a game where they aren't falling like that.

Hard to say - I think teams that rely heavily on the 3 are vulnerable but Forbes has been getting his shot off so fast and Valentine has such a complete game - can drive, pass and uses screens and step backs so well to get his own shot that they could be tough for anyone to defend on the perimeter. Also, if they experience a drop, or go cold I guess it all depends on what a "cold" night is. If it's in the neighborhood of 40% or better, it's something they can overcome against most teams. If we're talking below 30% and they're also leaving cutting lanes open to double and triple team guys that don't need to be double or triple teamed, like the first half last night at Rutgers, it could be a real problem.

Finally, I haven't looked that closely at the numbers but as hot as we've been from 3, I don't think we're as one-dimensional as other jump shooting teams. Teams have to guard Harris too and while neither Costello or Davis can carry the team night in and night out, they're both pretty capable big men.

It's been awhile since there hasn't been one or two heavy favorites in the field. This will be an interesting post season.