Because I miss Shannon Brown...
After the close wins over Minnesota and Purdue, I was really nervous about their first road game. Izzo warned everyone that this team was overrated; that they weren't really the 6th best team in the country and that they still had a lot of glaring weaknesses they needed to improve upon. Since nobody gets the Big 10 Network, I only have the box score to interpret. The most glaring weakness, besides the fact that they scored 36 points, is the free throw differential. Don't misinterpret me, because this loss is inexcusable and MSU lost the game themselves. But it is inconceivable to me that a game could be called fairly when one team could get 4 free throws while the other gets 29. The other thing that sticks out to me is that 5 players (Naymick, Walton, Lucas, Dahlman, and Gray) combined for 83 minutes of playing time - a complete game for two players - and managed to score 0 points. Lucas was the worst of the bunch, going 0-8. They had more turnovers (18) than field goals (16). This is not Izzo's fault. Neitzel must step up and lead this team, the freshman need to start maturing, and they all need to play with more pride. Playing Ohio State at home gives them a great bounce back game, so I am really looking forward to Tuesday.
1 comment:
Shannon had a dunk earlier this year (one of those in your face facial types) that was spectacular. Do you remember it?
I didn't check the State score until this morning, and it just depressed the hell out of me. I agree completely that they are overrated, and while I could have accepted (eventually) the loss on the road to Iowa, the fashion in which they did so I cannot.
I understand there will be games when shots won't fall, and that the freshmen will struggle, but when that happens the juniors and seniors need to step up and get the job done. We held Iowa to 43 points- a job well done- but still lost by 7? You are right- get to the free throw line. Neitzel, that meens you. Put this team on your back and get the job done.
It's efforts like last night's that I was afraid of. I want them to turn that corner and be an elite team.
But, in their defense, if you remember back to the Anderson-Torbert-Hill team, they struggled throughout the regular season and got murdered by Iowa in the Big 10 Tourny. The Iowa game happened to be the turning point in their season (Izzo smashing the tape with the sledgehammer), albeit very very very late in the season, and led to a final four run. I guess what I'm trying to say is there's still time, and who knows how this loss will affect their season, good or bad.
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