Gophers Head to Michigan State Looking For 4th Straight Win - OPEN THREAD
by GopherNation on Jan 25, 2012 3:00 PM CST
in Gopher Basketball
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PrintMinnesota Golden Gophers at Michigan St. Spartans, Jan 25, 2012 7:30 PM CST
The Gophers are looking for their first win in East Lansing since 1997. Can they break the losing-streak tonight? Can they get back to .500 in the Big Ten?
Game Time: 7:30
TV: BTN
| Pos | Minnesota (15-5) |
Pnt/Gm | Pnt/Gm | Michigan State (16-4) |
Pos | |
| PG | Julian Welch | 10.6 | 12.6 | Keith Appling |
G | |
| G | Joe Coleman | 6.0 | 9.7 | Brandon Wood | G | |
| F | Austin Hollins | 8.9 | 8.2 | Branden Dawson |
F | |
| F | Rodney Williams | 10.7 | 15.0 | Draymond Green | F | |
| C | Ralph Sampson III | 8.3 | 6.8 | Adreian Payne | F | |
| Bench | Andre Hollins | 5.4 | 8.2 | Derrick Nix | Bench | |
| Bench |
Chip Armelin | 6.0 | 5.6 | Travis Trice |
Bench | |
| Bench |
Eliott Eliason |
2.4 | 4.8 | Austin Thornton |
Bench |
This is a good Michigan State lineup that executes very well on both ends of the floor. Overall it isn't as intimidating of a lineup as we have seen in the past but Draymond Green is a great power forward and one of the most fun kids in the Big Ten to watch. He is a double-double machine, much like our own Trevor Mbakwe. But he has a motor, he plays with passion and he has fun out on the court; easily one of my favorite Big Ten players. But putting my Draymond love aside, he is a beast and how we will defend him concerns me.
Rodney Williams is a great match-up for us when he is guarding slighter power forwards, but he does not seem to fare well in the paint against big and strong forwards. Can he create a mismatch by pulling Green out to the perimeter? Yes, on offense. But defending the larger yet nimble Green is going to be a mismatch in favor of the Spartans.
After that match-up the one I'm most intrigued with is what will Tom Izzo do with Joe Coleman? He has been hot over the last few games and you know that Izzo will find a way to keep Coleman out of the paint and away from the free throw line. It might be up to others tonight to draw some attention before Joe can get into an offensive rhythm.
| KenPom Efficiency Stats | Minnesota (45) |
Michigan State (4) |
| Record | 15-5 | 16-4 |
| Pnt / Poss | 1.090 | 1.167 (8) |
| Def Pnt / Poss | 0.936 | 0.869 (8) |
| Off eFG% | 52.6% (49) |
53.4% (35) |
| Def eFG% | 47.2% | 43.4% (14) |
| Off Reb % | 36.2% | 38.9% (18) |
| Def Reb % | 67.5% | 72.8% (18) |
| TO % | 21.4% | 20.0% |
Statistically this is an awful matchup for us. Sometimes systems and coaches do not match-up very well. I believe there is a reason why Izzo is 9-1 against Tubby and it is more than just a talent differential. On the other side of the coin I think we have a favorable system match-up with Wisconsin (3-3 record in Tubby era). But Michigan State is a team that is too patient as they execute their offense, they rebound better than anyone in the conference and they play sound defense not giving up very many easy baskets. If there is one area where Izzo teams tend to struggle it can be with turnovers. Over the last few years the Gophers have not done a great job of forcing Spartan turnovers but it can be an issue that bites them.
I do not think this game is unwinable, but we will have to control the boards and force some turnovers that lead to baskets. Michigan State has lost two of their last three but those were road losses and they have been playing very well at home.
I wouldn't say that I'm confident we will win this game but with the way we have been playing for two weeks I do expect that this will be a very good game. Can we pull out another road upset over a ranked team?
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I'm irrationally optimistic
And excited for this game.
But Green is real trouble, and exactly the kind of guy that kills us. He’s a poor match up for both Rodney and Ralph, and Eliasson probably won’t do much better. Help defense on the block is going to be key, but we’ve never been every good rotating to cover for it.
I don’t know much about their guards, but maybe Tubby will press a little to try to force some more turnovers and get some easy buckets?
I think Eliason could do alright
he is a big body who doesn’t shy from contact. His feet aren’t nearly as quick as Draymond’s but I think he’ll get more minutes than usual tonight.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Jan 25, 2012 3:17 PM CST up reply actions
oh and
Didn’t Green and Mbakwe play together at the World University games this summer? Maybe Trevor’s got a secret or two he can share.
and I am NOT optimistic about this game
I think the two least winable games on our schedule are this one and Ohio State at home.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
I expect a 15+ point loss tonight. I see matchup problems, potential foul trouble early, on the road at MSU, and the potential to fall behind fast and get down.
The good news is…I expected this at Michigan and Illinois, and we were in position to win those games. MSU is in my opinion better than those teams, but they are capable of a bad game and we are capable of making good teams play poorly with pestering defense and hustle.
I see Izzo taking Coleman out of the game, so somebody needs to hit shots. 3’s will help, but offensive 2nd chance points will be critical. Hustle. If we hustle like Iowa did to us, we can really win this game.
I'm excited...
Why? I’m not sure. I mean we all know Izzo will get every borderline call in his own house.
But, to be honest…I think Michigan State is real solid team (especially at home). But, they don’t scare me this year due to their guard play. If I was Tubby, I would show their guards various defensive looks throughout the night and see if we can get them to cough it up or at least not let them get comfortable in offensive sets.
And of course we have to make shots…
by Shawn Bradley Guy on Jan 25, 2012 4:08 PM CST reply actions
This is how i feel as well...
I really don’t expect a win, I don’t really have a good feeling that this is a potential upset in the making, but i’m excited to watch. I think what interests me the most is to see how the Gophers handle a good team that is ready for what they have to offer. I think we caught Indiana off guard with the flex and used that to our advantage. I think we have more talent than PSU and NW so we were able to beat them in a more traditional sense. Izzo will have his team prepped for how to defend the flex, so i am interested and excited to see what Tubby and the Gophs have to offer.
He did get every call. I’m not one to harp on officials but we got the shaft frequently last night. Hate myself for saying it…but it was poor.
by jimipig on Jan 26, 2012 7:16 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
Sampson enrages me
Why Ralph why can’t you own the paint and please for the love of Pete stop with the lazy passes.
I am blinded, but not by science...
by BlindedByIdiocy on Jan 25, 2012 8:15 PM CST via mobile reply actions
oh yeah
now i remember why i was hoping mo walker wouldn’t red shirt
Welch Showing Life
At least he stepped up at the end of the half. We need others (RS3) to follow suit.
MSU really does play big boy ball. They remind me of Clem’s old teams full of big guys who were happy to get 4+ fouls per game.
by Tubtastic on Jan 25, 2012 8:36 PM CST via iPhone app reply actions
On delay
Not that it’s a surprise, but Greene getting bailed out by the refs if frustrating.
Please!
Agree. Get him out.
I am blinded, but not by science...
by BlindedByIdiocy on Jan 25, 2012 8:48 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
No flow to the offense at all
Where’s Joe Coleman? Sparty D is good.
I am blinded, but not by science...
by BlindedByIdiocy on Jan 25, 2012 8:47 PM CST via mobile reply actions
You have to be kidding
With the carge on Elliott
Holy crap
The foul on welch guarding Green in the post is even worse. That match up and he needs help from the ref? Inexcusable
Appling is an Italian soccer player
Apparently.
And Dre can’t get a call for a forearm shiver.
Why no foul
When green knocks Hollins back a yard on the three?
Holy cap
Rodney thrown to the ground by green. No call.
In own it’s the road, but come on.
Overall
Good game on defense. No surprise that defense is hard in east Lansing.
Really, decent showing.
This makes Maturi look like an even bigger...
…cocksucker.
Mental illness is not a subject star athletes talk about. But Royce White got help and wants to address it head on. And he wants others to as well.
and to be clear...
…I don’t care if he played here and helped us win. My point is, Maturi wrote this kid off as being a trouble-maker and threw him off the team. Never took the time to invest in a troubled kid to really try to understand the issues. Just tossed him aside.
I applaud Royce for having the balls to take this public, admit mortality, and then try to help others. I wish him the best.
thanks for the link
Great article. And I agree with you and dislike Maturi even more now.
by amiller92 on Jan 26, 2012 1:29 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
Things start making sense...
…I imagine he felt scared to death when he attacked that mall cop or security guard. Not to justify anything, but I think you at least have a sit down with a student athlete and have him talk to a psychologist as standard practice to see if you can help him through problems, or to see if there is anything deeper. Like this should be standard due diligence prior to booting the kid from the program and writing a kid off.
Easy for me to say now with my perfect 20/20 vision…but at the very least I hope this educates schools to invest a bit more into kids who may just appear troubled, but who may need some basic therapy to talk about potential illness or other social issues. I’ve had minor therapy (I recommend it to everybody) for little anxiety issues…and just opening up makes you a different person. If I had 1/2 the baggage Royce White did from his life…I can only imagine how free he must feel now.
Myron's go-to guy
- It was a good piece, but I can’t help but roll my eyes seeing that Myron wrote it…and of course he had to quote Uncle Frank. His notorious source from his Strib days whenever Royce was MIA.
by Shawn Bradley Guy on Jan 26, 2012 3:49 PM CST reply actions
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