That’s what the schedule says. I’m debating taking my son to his first game and it might be on Thursday but I’d consider Monday if it’s home. That’s mistake, right?

I saw the game and at least 90% of it was played in uninspired fashion, and was uninspiring to watch. Wofford actually has some decent things going on and is no typical cupcake (as was pointed out by one of the BTN’s really talented game-callers).

I’ve been impressed this year with Raymar Morgan and that continued last night. It could have been a function of the Terriers’ smaller line-ups, but I like him taking the ball inside much more than popping from 15+ feet. He also seems to have matured over the past couples of years. Add that to his good health, and he’s been putting it together quite nicely so far this year. Green continues to be as solid as possible. Not a superstar, but very consistent and very much the glue on the floor.

I was glad to see Allen knock down a few threes, but he still passed up some I thought he should have taken and seemed a bit hesitant at times. I was also glad to see Lucas take a couple for a change, and he didn’t seem to force things inside.

I think Sherman should be playing more. Yes, he’s a freshman and needs some additional bulk, but there were a few times last night where he scrapped and made some moves that looked very basketball-intelligent (in general, not just for a freshman), and I found myself thinking “here’s our next Suton, in the rough.” Nix should be shooting at least 500 FTs in practice each day – good grief.

Also, Tim Doyle is a major dork.

I have been trying to understand for several years, why the Spartans struggle so often in the first four minutes of games. I would think that there would be a game plan that they could execute effectively with their starters. Home or away, it doesn’t seem to matter. I tracked this last year and in about half the games or more, the team scored 6 or fewer points in the first four minutes. This year is no better -FGSU (4 pts.),Gonzaga (3 pts.), Toledo (9 pts.), Valpo (11 pts.), Florida (2 pts.), UMass (8 pts.), NC (6 pts.), Wofford (4 pts.). There must be a plausible explanation – I just don’t have it. If they can improve in this area, I think it sets the table for a huge psychological/confidence boost at the start of the game.

Last night after the game, Doyle was talking to Morgan about the slow start, and Raymar said they’re coming out with low energy and they just need to pick it up. This drives me nuts. There’s no “just” about it. If that’s just all they needed to do, they’d do it. But it’s a more deeply-seated issue that’s persisted for some time, spanning several seasons. The team generally comes out flat, figures out that they need to dial it up a bit, and most times overcomes the uphill battle. This, too, is a stark difference between the truly elite teams and MSU.

Izzo’s talked about wanting to put opponents away and while I think that’s something this team also needs to be able to do, not digging a whole from which you have to climb is just as important. So, since this has been ongoing for quite some time, is it on Izzo?

I brought up the slow starts because it seems to be an endemic problem. I believe there are things Izzo can do to ameliorate the problem. I have to believe that the team comes into each game with some idea of how they intend to attack offensively. I would think that Izzo, like his buddy Mariucci, would script some plays for the beginning of the game to exploit defensive weaknesses. Additionally, Izzo could certainly call a quick timeout if he sees his players coming out with low energy. It would be much more valuable than saving it for the last 30 seconds at the end of the half, as he so often does. Digging our from a hole takes a lot of energy. You can’t do that too often against the good teams and expect to prevail.