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The Endgame - Black Shoe Diaries
Odds of Penn State or Iowa getting the final BCS at-large spot looking pretty good at this point. -
NCAA College Football BCS Bowl Projections Week 13 - ESPN
. . . making a trip to San Antonio for MSU an even more likely scenario. ESPN predicts Texas Tech (8-4) will be the Big 12 representative. -
2009 Bowl Projections - Post Week 13 - The Rivalry, Esq.
TRE still likes Oklahoma, who stands at 7-5 after their upset win over Oklahoma State. Missouri (8-4) would appear to be the final potential Big 12 foe.
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Staudt on Sunday: Immaturity leads to bad choices for ex-MSU players | lansingstatejournal.com | Lansing State Journal
Pat Narduzzi and/or Don Treadwell candidates for the Youngstown State head coaching job? -
Top MSU recruit William Gholston likely will visit other schools | detnews.com | The Detroit News
I don't think we hit this last week. Concerned? -
Attorney: Many MSU football players in altercation | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
I guess we're obligated to follow all the sordid details on this. -
Nevada Wolf Pack vs North Carolina Tar Heels - November 29, 2009 - College Basketball - StatSheet.com
UNC beats Nevada by 7 today; 23 and 8 for Thompson, 16 and 15 for Davis; both teams will be playing on one full day's rest Tuesday night. -
Michigan State players make sure coach Tom Izzo's milestone doesn't go unrecognized | MSU Spartans - - MLive.com
That's a decent-sized footprint you're leaving, sir.
Bonus, non-laconical MSU sports coverage after the jump.
On the bowl game thing: I say bring on one one of those high-powered Big 12 passing attacks. A win vs. Oklahoma--and, to a lesser extent, Texas Tech--would help salvage this otherwise multitude-of-opportunities-foregone season. And if the MSU defense gets shredded for a ton of yards through the air--even with 3+ weeks preparation time--at least it would make it absolutely crystal clear that something has to change in the Dantonio/Narduzzi defensive approach for next season.
Catching up on the UMass game: I just watched the game on DVR. Tough to beat a game with a four-factors graph like this one:
The one big negative was the number of times they let UMass get to the free throw line. Too many reach-ins on drives toward the lane as part of UMass's dribble drive offense, a continuation of a problem in the Florida loss. Gotta play defense with your feet, not your hands, boys.
Offensively, things went pretty well, of course. I was a little disappointed that the team came out and struggled to score against the 2-3 zone in the first 3 minutes (falling behind 8-2). With the number of shooters and passers this MSU team has, I just think beating the 2-3 should come more easily. Eventually they found the rhythm, though, knocking down 14 of 22 three-pointers and posting 27 assists on 41 made field goals.
Speaking of assists, Draymond Green had 6 last night and is off to a great start passing the ball this season, with 19 assists in 6 games (just 3 behind Kalin Lucas). But eventually he's going to have to start knocking down the 15-foot jumper from the free throw line area, as teams adjust to the fact he's looking to dump the ball down to a post player near the basket when he gets the ball in that position.
That about all I have to say about this one (beyond what LVS already said). Perhaps the biggest positive from the box score is that no one played more than 24 minutes. Unlike last year, the team should be relatively fresh for the Tuesday night grudge match with the Tarheels (9:00, ESPN). Preview tomorrow night.
Last but not least, another super important Twitter update: We previously announced the new TOC Twitter feed (@theonlycolors). I think I'm actually getting the hang of this tweeting thing now, beyond just the automatically-generated tweets for new blog posts. So, if you've ever said to yourself, "Man, that KJ has some fascinating opinions about sports. I wish I had access to more of his thoughts regarding assorted athletic events.", then you should definitely follow the TOC feed.