Michigan State 69, Wisconsin 55 -- Onward and Upward
by Pete Rossman on Feb 16, 2012 10:01 PM CST
in Michigan State Spartans Basketball
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PrintSo how ugly did this game look at the start? Michigan State got out to a quick lead. Then the game, like so many MSU-Wisconsin games before, stalled indeterminately. Both teams took turns missing three-pointers and turning the ball over. When the game was tied 12-12 sometime in the first half (my apologies for the vagueness, I'm writing this before a play-by-play transcript is out), the Spartans did the unthinkable -- they managed to score fast break points against Wisconsin, the most impressive of which was a turnover caused by Derrick Nix poking the ball away from a driver, which then went to Branden Dawson who got the and-one.
Speaking of and-ones, WEREN'T THERE A LOT OF THEM WHOO-HEE-BOB. The plot was this a good portion of the time: MSU drives to the basket, Wisconsin fouls, ball goes in. All told the Spartans had eight and-ones this game; their previous high for the season was three. Take that plus Austin Thornton's accuracy on long two-pointers plus Appling's drives plus Wood's defense plus another typical great Draymond game, and you have a decisive MSU win.
Player bullets after the jump.
Player bullets y'all.
- Draymond Green: 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers. This could've been the turning point for Green's campaign for Big Ten Player of the Year -- as MSU fans, we expect him to have a double-double each game, no matter what the opponent. After going scoreless in the first ten minutes, he got his 20 in the next half-hour, going 3-5 from 2, 2-4 from three, and 8-11 from the foul line. He's got my vote.
- Keith Appling: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers. To me it didn't seem like Keith had 20 points in this game, but that's what going 6-8 inside the arc and 0-4 outside the arc will do to an opinion -- it'll skew it. I'd take this game as a positive for Keith despite the inaccuracy from long-range; his three-point shot won't stay lost forever.
- Austin Thornton: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist. The box score is still preliminary, but if it holds Thornton would have the second most rebounds for MSU against Wisconsin. That's telling of his game as a whole, because he seemed to do all the little things: he got 6 of MSU's first 12 points on long jumpers, came down with three offensive boards, drew two big offensive fouls on the Badgers in the second half, etc. It's one of the best games I've seen from him.
- Brandon Wood: 2 points, 2 assists, 2 steals. The stat line is not indicative of how Wood performed in his 16 minutes in this game; he played through this game with a shoulder injury, yet he always seemed to be in the right place on defense. I can't describe it too well through words, so I'll just have to use this one: "BRAVO".
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Impressive Victory
Yeah, there was a bit of a breakdown during Wisconsin’s second half run, but this team has demonstrated that it can weather some runs and close games out. I don’t believe I’ve ever as many transition baskets against the Badgers as we had tonight.
I’d love for Appling to find his range for behind the arc, but his defense has been formidable. Containing opponent’s big scorers is worth quite a few points a game and has an impact on the rhythm and psyche of the other team.
I’m always delighted when Bo Ryan leaves the court an unhappy fella.
Appling's Ability to Score
I too would love to see him warm up from beyond the arc, but I’m really impressed with his ability to drive the lane, take contact from the big’s and still get the ball in the basket. He’s got a touch that’s just impressive. He had 1 or 2 more where they called off the shot because he was fouled on the floor, but they still went in off-balance.
I know there are 20 key’s to success, but I love balanced scoring and a we haven’t had a guy like this in a while, maybe not since Mateen. This sets up the drive and dish, or just the rebound that slides off the rim into the hands of Nix, Payne, Green…whose defender just collapsed on Appling.
If our 2’s and 3’s can take the kick-out and hit the 3, watch-out.
Apparently everyone has forgotten about Kalin Lucas already.
Heres a sophomore year comparison:
Appling: 12.2 PPG, 3.8 APG, 1.1 Steals, .257 3P%, .430 FG%
Lucas: 14.7 PPG, 4.6 APG, 1.0 Steals, .390 3P%, .395 FG%
I think Appling physically has the ability to surpass Lucas. It’s pretty commendable to have the season he is, especially assists wise with Green also on the floor. But even so Lucas has better stats in all but one category, and it’s pretty clear that he was far and away a better three point shooter.
Appling also is a better defender. So I’m not trying to say that Lucas is the tops and Appling sucks, I’m just saying we HAVE had a guy like this in a while, in fact we had him the previous four years.
by Loneytunes on Feb 18, 2012 11:48 AM CST up reply actions 3 recs
if we get 1 seed and they get 4 or 5
They may be an opponent in the B1G tournament in our 2nd game.
by James Rinkevich on Feb 16, 2012 11:03 PM CST via iPhone app reply actions
I love beating Wisconsin
I hope MSU beats them two more times this season.
MOVING ON
another workman like game—-Thornton is playing totally within himself—has eliminated the stupid fouls and turnovers. just need to get Keith’s outside shot going—-he is not comfortable right now—he turned down 3 or 4 shots in the first half—-needs to catch and shoot and not measure his shot—-great D though.
payne seemed out of it mentaly and physically last night——to go far he can’t take a night off.
on to west Lafayette—-this game will say alot about who we are and intestinal fortitude of this team. the crowd will be hostile——Dawson will hear boos everytime he touches the ball.
the best defense is a good offense—-go up early and take the crowd out of the game
go green
Payne & Dawson
Payne needs to get more aggressive around the basket when he plays against lesser big men. He went right at Sullinger aggressively and played great. Wisconsin had some 6"10" ogre guarding him with a 4 inch vertical and Payne was shooting fade away hooks.
PAYNE post, back down, spin and dunk it on that fool you have more athleticism in your pinky then the entire Wisconsin front court (exaggerating a little bit), but he definitely should be out jumping any big man from Wisconsin.
Can he palm the basketball? He looks like he has big enough hands but I’ve never watched that close. If he can he should be dunking way more when he doesn’t get doubled down low. At worst he will get fouled
Dawson seems like the type of player that will embrace the boos and bust PU’s balls on Sunday.
How about Matt Painter throwing some love to AT?!?!
Said something like, “Teams that win championships need guys like Austin Thornton.” That’s pretty great praise, and warranted, AT has completely changed his game, and is playing at a very high level.
I used to be very rough on the guy, but he deserved it, and he deserves all the props he’s getting now. He, Green, Appling, Dawson, Wood, BK & TT, Paynix at times, they all seem to play so well together. Izzo definitely seems to be maximizing the results from everybody on this team that sees the floor.
Enjoyable Game against Wisky?
As a basketball fan, watching any Wisconsin game is painful…If they are are on, not playing MSU, I quickly turn the channel…This was the first time in a long time I actually enjoyed watching a game involving Wisky. This team is fun to watch, and I think they can play even better than what they have been playing…What if Appling starts hitting some threes!
The defense impresses me the most
We’ve held OSU and UW to less than 40% eFG percentage the past two games. That is unbelievable. Over the last 7 games, no one has had an eFG percentage above 50 against us – U of M was the best at 46.9 percent. Granted, there seem to have been some extenuating circumstances at Illinois but still, this is a pretty impressive team defensively.
Green definitely was the standout player of the game. Appling outscored Taylor by 7 – Wisconsin had to definitively win that matchup to have a chance, because we have big advantages elsewhere. They did not, and that was pretty much the ballgame.
The one weird stat is that we got pounded on the offensive glass. Wisconsin’s MO in past seasons has been to concede offensive rebounding to make sure they get back to guard against the break. They seem to have changed their strategy for this one – maybe they don’t feel they have the shooters to concede second chance points this year. We took advantage with some fast break points. We also had a large free throw edge, but that’s often the case for the home team in the Big Ten.
I love Thornton giving them a taste of their own flopping medicine – that was the icing on the cake.
Some Good Points
Going by the ESPN box score Wisconsin had 12 ORB, they missed 35 fg, and actually missed 0 free throws. So their ORB % was about 34 percent. Too high for MSU to give up to be sure, but not atrocious.
I thought your point was important. A large part of our dominance on the defensive glass can be attributed to teams fearing our transition game. A huge weapon, and one that helped us to open up the game last night.
I’d have to watch the game again to see if Wisconsin was making an obvious effort to send more guys to the glass, I wasn’t looking for it waching live. But it makes sense given their ORB success and our fast break points.
If that is the case I say BRING IT ON to teams trying to attack the offensive glass against us. This team, like almost all of Izzo’s teams, goes from a pretty solid offensive team in the half court to being a juggernaut if you let them run. Appling is still improving in the half court but is great in transition (aside from occasionally getting out of control and getting an offensive foul, though that happens to him more in half court too). Trice, is a natural in transition. Wood runs the wing very well and is more athletic than I initially thought. Green can both pass and finish on the break, and we know what Dawson can do on the wing. So yea, if we meet Wisconsin again I would love to see them do the same thing.
by trivialstuff16 on Feb 17, 2012 10:33 AM CST up reply actions
And the Good News Keeps Coming for the Green and White...
Unless Travis of Hammer and Rails is playing an elaborate hoax, DJ Byrd, probably Purdue’s best player since the Big Ten season started, was arrested last night and probably will not play Sunday.
by Danwesley Meyer on Feb 17, 2012 9:03 AM CST reply actions
Will be very interesting to see what happens
We know that if he was at MSU, there would be an immediate, indefinite suspension, before any “investigation,” would happen – see CLR in football, or Luscious in hoops, for example.
Apparently Painter has a strong track record with this (well, the Purdue sites mention one time, Kelsey Barlow, last season) so I’m going to assume he does the right thing here. Really it seems like most coaches in this conference do the right thing when it comes to discipline for off the field transgressions, tOSU notwithstanding.
It sucks for Purdue, and is fortunate for MSU, so we need to hope our guys maintain focus and take advantage of this to come away with a W on Sunday. Stuf happens – I’m just glad its not been happening on our campus as of late.
by MSUDersh on Feb 17, 2012 9:21 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
and Barlow is off the team entirely now.
just bad news over there, unfortunately
Public Intoxication
According to West Lafayette police records, David Jonathan Byrd was arrested Thursday night. Byrd is a starting junior guard on the men’s team.
Byrd was arrested on public intoxication charges.
Byrd has had a breakout 2011-2012 season averaging 8.0 points per game. In Big Ten play, Byrd has scored double digits in his last five games and shot over 50 percent from behind the arc.
That's B1G
Byrd had become a Person of Interest on the scouting report lately.
I think he’s been the key to their offense improving.
I wonder if he’ll be held out or receive the ole stern benching until the 1st TV timeout.
Play 40!
Unless you're Derrick Payne, then play 20/20.
Over at Hammer and Rails
They are pretty convinced that there is no way he plays vs. us. They are wondering whether or not he will get suspended for more than 3 games.
They’re saying Byrd out for sure and Barlow booted from the team for multiple strikes as well. Maybe he’ll end up with Lucious over at the island of misfits.
PU will be dangerous
Next year, by playing as a complete team, something they haven’t done in the last few years if Painter handles this the right way.
by James Rinkevich on Feb 18, 2012 9:10 AM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
A ho-hum win over Bucky that was awesome
I don’t know where this season will end or how many more wins we’ll see.
I just want to go on the record and say:
This season has been Frickin Sweet!!
As for Bucky, too many times over the years I’ve had to wonder which side had the better team. Was rat-infested Kohl so difficult to win in or was Wisconsin actually just better?
No such wondering this season.
Now the B1G schedule makers need to do the right thing and make them a 1 play next season so they have to come back to Breslin with no return trip to Kohl.
You know, just to drive the stake in a little bit deeper.
Play 40!
Unless you're Derrick Payne, then play 20/20.
Ya know -- the surprising thing about that DJ Byrd arrest...
is that the nut-job Purdue fans aren’t somehow blaming Izzo for it and claiming it’s somehow more of his dirty, underhanded tactics.
Come on now, thats painting with broad strokes
Are they bitter about us getting Dawson? Yes. Some irrationally so? Yes. But Purdue fans are usually among the classiest in the B1G.
Fair enough...
Probably the extremely small minority that have no lives so sit and post hundreds of messages about how Izzo is dirty, how he cheats.. how they all have ‘reliable sources’ that confirm that MSU boosters got Dawson to MSU, etc.
Dawson Recruitment
Or Dawson saw Hummel, Moore, and Johnson were going to be gone and the rest of the scrubs they had wouldn’t compete for a B1G title in his four years there as they haven’t recruited well of late.
getting worse for PUR
unless it’s all a ruse, H&R reports that Kelsey Barlow was dismissed from the team.
why yes, I'm slightly drunk at the moment
by Mark in Chicago on Feb 17, 2012 3:07 PM CST reply actions
Looks like a true story
Jeff Goodman from CBS reported the same story: http://eye-on-college-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/34875377
I’m just worried about MSU getting complacent and thinking they’ll get an automatic victory with two of Purdue’s best players gone.
I can't see a Tom Izzo team getting complacent
Even with this news breaking out. It just means that those players are out of the scouting report now but Izzo will expect the team to execute at the highest level come Sunday.
agree, Izzo won't let them ease up
he’s probably telling them to weather the first 5 minutes of emotion from PUR, then go about our business of imposing our will and wearing them down.
why yes, I'm slightly drunk at the moment
by Mark in Chicago on Feb 17, 2012 3:38 PM CST up reply actions
I hope they view this as an opportunity
To just step on their throat right away, and keep sending messages to the rest of the B1G.
We just beat the #3 team on the road by double digits, then beat #16 team at home by 15 (and it wasn’t even that close) – after abusing a bottom feeding Penn State and beating down top 20 rival M. Besides that overinflated ball DERP at Illinois at the end of January, this team is rolling and should put Purdue away almost immediately.
The worst part though:
Is that now Purdue has another “excuse”.
Well if it wasn’t for Robbie’s Knee and Byrd and Barlow’s stupidity we surely would win the game against MSU. I mean just look at the Paint Crew…they’re so crazy!
Well, the obvious answer to that is
“get players who aren’t stupid enough to do something to get kicked off the team or suspended before a big game”.
I've got this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left-hand side.
Bradley-Terry rankings for college football and basketball: because there aren't enough computer rankings already.
I'm not throwing stones:
See Winston, Robinson, Lucious…I’m hoping that we’ve ceased to recruit guys whose talent outweighs their character.
Reality Check
These are still college kids. College kids do stupid things, even ones with “good character”. Among other things I missed a Spanish exam because I got so drunk on my 21st that I couldn’t get out of bed for two days – and frankly I had far fewer temptations to resist than (relatively) high profile athletes.
It may be a circular argument...
but a “high profile” athlete probably is a “high profile” athlete because he wouldn’t put himself into a situation where he got so drunk that he missed a Spanish test (or practice or game) and couldn’t get out of bed for two days.
Some of the facts:
Purdue is on the bubble and some of their players (including it seems two seniors and captain) thought it would be a good idea to go out and get hammered (for whatever reason) three days before a game that could make or break their season (a win over MSU practically guarantees a NCAA berth).
Do you see this happening to Draymond Green? I don’t.
It may be a circular argument...
but a “high profile” athlete probably is a “high profile” athlete because he wouldn’t put himself into a situation where he got so drunk that he missed a Spanish test (or practice or game) and couldn’t get out of bed for two days.
Some of the facts:
Purdue is on the bubble and some of their players (including it seems, two seniors and captain) thought it would be a good idea to go out and get hammered (for whatever reason) three days before a game that could make or break their season (a win over MSU practically guarantees a NCAA berth).
Do you see this happening to Draymond Green? I don’t.
Don't disagree entirely
But “good” people can make bad decisions. I don’ have a problem with adult college students: in this case players going out for a drink 3 days before a game, that wasn’t a “bad decision” in my book, though obviously it led to those that were.
Casting aspersions on the type of players Purdue recruits because of this incident is as ridiculous as calling MSU a dirty program because a few of our players have also made bad decisions.
Sorry if it came off that way.
I’m not in anyway casting aspersions on Purdue players or its program.
I’m just saying going out “big” during the regular season points to a lack of focus. They are in college. Hopefully, they learn from this mistake.
I'm aware we've had it happen too.
But I’d say the same to anyone using it as an excuse for our losses. Injury is one thing, knuckleheads being knuckleheads is another.
I've got this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left-hand side.
Bradley-Terry rankings for college football and basketball: because there aren't enough computer rankings already.
per Joe Rexrode
(and many others) http://noise.typepad.com/hey_joe/2012/02/painter-suspends-byrd-dismisses-barlow.html
GD Barlow is off the team, and Byrd has been suspended for 1 game.
from the IndyStar
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120217/SPORTS0602/120217016/Painter-kicks-Barlow-off-team-suspends-Byrd?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com
Byrd supposedly hit the bouncer at the bar.
An unreliable comment from CBS stated:
My sources on the Purdue campus say that this was just a situation where a group of guys having a couple of harmless beers turned horribly wrong. According to published reports, these fellas were viewing the Wisconsin/ Michigan State game and things went downhill from there. Every Badger missed shot required this Byrd dude to down a brew and by the 10 minute mark in the 2nd half, Wisconsin had clanked 26 jumpers. Needless to say, Byrdy was flying high by then which resulted in his arrest later on.
I had never realized this,
but I think I just figured out why some Boilermaker fans hate MSU so much:
There is one common denominator over the past three years: Michigan State.
2010: They were our next opponent after the Hummel injury.
2011: They were our first opponent in the BTT after the Barlow suspension.
2012: This crap.
To a man, most of the Boilers at Hammer and Rails will say they don't "hate" MSU.
Grabbing Dawson and Harris probably doesn’t help but it always seems like there is some “excuse” when we play and beat them.
When they beat us, we take our medicine and roll on. To a Final Four or six of them or a B1G title or 6 of them.
Just looked at the stats
to see what Purdue is losing against us, wow, more than I thought:
Besides Barlow being apparently their best defender and athlete, he & Byrd combine for 20.6 ppg in conference play – which is 30% of their scoring. Plus, Byrd is shooting 50% from the 3 in B1G games, and only one other player who takes at least 1 three/game is shooting over 35%.
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