Linking Laconically would like to remind national pundits that Michigan State can run too

Judging by the comments the last few days on this site, I'm sure everyone who follows MSU basketball is getting pretty fed up with the notion that Michigan State isn't equipped to run with the fast-paced teams in the West Region.

Keith Appling chimed in on that topic to Graham Couch of MLive:

"I don't think they realize (how much we like to run)," said Appling, who guides an offense that averages a statistically modest 72.1 points per game. "Guys tend to see us as a half-court team that's going to come down and run a set every play. Little do they know, we like to get up and down."

Honestly, I'm OK with teams/media thinking that MSU is best served playing slow. It doesn't make it less annoying, but hopefully it catches an opponent or two off guard. More links after the jump.

LIU Brooklyn has its version of Michigan State's Draymond Green | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Uh ... yeah, they wish: "Here is Green's description of (Julian) Boyd after watching tape of LIU the past two days: "Very athletic, runs the floor very well, can put the ball on the floor, can shoot, gets nice position down low, a very good all-around player." The description sounds a lot like what other coaches often say about Green. What LIU lacks in size along the frontline -- Boyd and Jamal Olaswere, who also is 6-7 and averages 16.8 points -- the team makes up for with versatility. Boyd had 14 double-doubles this season. "He's got some definite qualities like Draymond," MSU coach Tom Izzo."

Baseball's Owners Impressed With Five Bids For Dodgers As Magic Johnson Leads Way With $1.6 Billion Offer - Forbes
Magic Johnson looks like a favorite to buy the Dodgers: "The highest bid was $1.6 billion, from former Los Angeles Lakers great Johnson and former baseball executive Kasten, whose purchase would be partially financed by private equity. But the owners were extremely impressed with the make up of Cohen’s bid, according to my source, which was $1.4 billion but included an astounding $900 million of equity. "There were five strong bids," said the source, who did not have permission to speak of the negotiations publicly. The lowest bid from the five groups was $1.3 billion."

Tom Izzo the master at one-day turnarounds in NCAA tournament | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Izzo gives quotes like this every year, and I love them every time: "At MSU, Izzo has a saying when March rolls around: "I tell them, 'You win the first game, I'll get you through the second.' And it's happened a lot." Izzo said success with the second-day preparation dates to when Tom Crean and Stan Heath were his assistants, and they got together and figured out how to beat Princeton, 63-56, on the one-day turnaround. What made Princeton so tricky was an offense that relied on backdoor cuts, a system no one used in the Big Ten."

Wilson! - LSJ Blogs: Hey, Joe
MSU is excited for new balls: "Michigan State practiced Tuesday with the Wilson basketballs that are used in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans apparently are excited about the switch from the Spaldings utilized at the Big Ten Tournament -- even though they hit 52 percent of their shots, 48 percent of their 3s in Indy. "I think as a whole, as a team, we feel much more comfortable with these," Austin Thornton said. "They're similar to the Nike ones we use.""

Titus's 12 NCAA Tournament Predictions - Grantland
Grantland breaks down the West and likes MSU's chances: "High seed most likely to get upset in the first weekend — Marquette Yes, Memphis will be dangerous in the second round,3 and yes, Branden Dawson's ACL tear is a huge loss for Michigan State. But I learned three very important lessons before my seventh birthday: Steve from Blue's Clues can't actually hear me when I yell out where Blue's paw prints are; the other possibilities in the Choose Your Own Adventure books are always better than the one I choose; and Tom Izzo's teams should never be counted out of the NCAA tournament. For any reason. Ever."

Michigan State’s Derrick Nix punches hole in the basket support | The Dagger: College Basketball Blog - Yahoo! Sports
Derrick Nix got punchy: "ESPN showed a replay of the Nix punch and a shot of the busted stanchion, prompting analyst Dan Dakich to quip, "Memo to those of you on Michigan State's campus who want to mess with Derrick Nix. Keep that in mind.""

Basketball Prospectus | Tournament Preview: Michigan State in the West
BP breaks down the opening matchup: "(16) Long Island-Brooklyn vs. (1) Michigan State (Columbus: Friday, 9:20 on TBS) Ah, the sweet paradox of the Friday nightcap: rested players, exhausted viewers. My friend Ken thinks this will be the year we see a 16 beat a 1, an astonishing-sounding prediction that he bases on the fact that in 2012 we have on our hands no fewer than three of the six strongest 16-seeds of the seeded-tournament era. (Ponder that for a moment. That's pretty amazing right there.) The bad news for fans of the Blackbirds is that LIU-Brooklyn is not among that trio of historically feisty 16s."

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo on Sirius XM: Spartans will have to keep pace with LIU | MLive.com
Izzo says his frontcourt guys will be challenged on D: "They sure got some offensive weapons and some mismatches for us," Izzo told Tom Brennan and Jeff Goodman on Sirius XM on Tuesday. "Now I think we got some for them too, but Nix and (Adreian) Payne are going to have to get out on the floor a little bit and cover some people which will be something a little new for them."

Michigan State players impressed by LIU Brooklyn's SportsCenter-worthy alley-oop | MLive.com
Here is the play: ""It was nice," said Michigan State point guard Keith Appling, whose team plays No. 16-seeded LIU Brooklyn in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on Friday. "They have some very athletic players. We just got to come to play because they're not going to lay down and give us the game. It's going to be a pretty hard-fought game.""