Online Now 2350

MSU Red Cedar Message Board

The largest and most active MSU Spartans board on the web

On this Board 1846
Record: 12118 (3/18/2012)

Online now 2532
Record: 10351 (3/11/2012)

Boards ▾

MSU Red Cedar Message Board

The largest and most active MSU Spartans board on the web

The Press Box

The place to ask questions to SpartanTailgate's recruiting experts

Duffy Daugherty Forum

"The Duff" is dedicated to Michigan State football recruiting discussion

Jack Breslin Forum

"The Bres" is dedicated to Michigan State basketball recruiting discussion

Wells Hall Off Topic Board

This is your pulpit to preach to the masses about everything from politics to religion

Marketplace & Ticket Exchange

The place to buy, trade or sell Michigan State tickets

Fantasy Sports Forum

For fantasy football and other fantasy sports discussion

Test/Feedback Forum

Reply

What to watch for, from a Louisville fan

  • As I said, the press and pressure defense will be a second half thing. Keep your eye on that. UofL is an excellent second half club. Pitino will experiment and try to locate a hot hand in the first half. It's one of the things I like about the guy. We have the 6'5" Blackshear who is finally healthy and bringing some game to the fray now - a 6' 7" rail thin shooter in Nunez - and of course Russ Smith, who is in secret Nurse Ratchet, according to Rick, lol.

    I believe our bigs stay with you guys. For us it's probably going to come down to making shots. It will be a tough as nails game with huge great plays from surprising guys and some fabulous stuff from the stars.

    Like someone said, it;s back to the heavyweights now and most UofL fans believe we;ve arrived there after a very strange journey.

    signature image

    "There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm." Edgar Allen Poe

    senore

  • senore said...

    As I said, the press and pressure defense will be a second half thing. Keep your eye on that. UofL is an excellent second half club. Pitino will experiment and try to locate a hot hand in the first half. It's one of the things I like about the guy. We have the 6'5" Blackshear who is finally healthy and bringing some game to the fray now - a 6' 7" rail thin shooter in Nunez - and of course Russ Smith, who is in secret Nurse Ratchet, according to Rick, lol.

    I believe our bigs stay with you guys. For us it's probably going to come down to making shots. It will be a tough as nails game with huge great plays from surprising guys and some fabulous stuff from the stars.

    Like someone said, it;s back to the heavyweights now and most UofL fans believe we;ve arrived there after a very strange journey.

    In the 2009 game, you guys dropped out of the zone pretty early. MSU had some success against it, but I was suprised Rick didn't go back. How much more do you guys press this year than in '09? Is it your primary defense, something you'll stick with throughout the whole game, even if it leads to scores for MSU early?

    Just curious. I know MSU will look to attack it, not just break it. The first 5 minutes of Thursday's game could be very interesting, and then the attacks and counter-attacks could be even better the rest of the way. Pitino might have some odd behavior off the court, but he can coach. Between Majerus and and now Pitino, Izzo is earning his paycheck this tournament.

    This post was edited by Denim Chicken on 3/20/2012 at 12:09 PM

    Denim Chicken

  • Press MSU and we have enough ballhandlers to break your press, which can lead to easy baskets.
    Sag off Appling and he's liable to score 20 points and hit a game-winner.
    Guard Draymond with a smaller guy and he'll take him in the block and eat his lunch.
    Guard Draymond with a bigger guy and he'll run circles around him.
    Double Green or Nix and they'll find the open man for an easy bucket.
    Give Payne a little space and he'll dunk you into oblivion.

    Settle for a lot of 3-balls and MSU will get every rebound.
    Send all your guys to the glass and MSU will still get the rebound, plus a buttload of fastbreak points.
    Slow the game down, MSU will beat you the way we beat Wisconsin and SLU.
    Try to run and MSU will happily run too, with plenty of fresh legs off the bench.

    When you play the Spartans, you have to pick your poison. Doesn't matter. It's all poison ... and it'll kill you.

    Go Green!

    signature image signature image signature image

    Here will be an old abusing of God's patience and the king's English

    Rule Spartannia

  • senore said...

    As I said, the press and pressure defense will be a second half thing. Keep your eye on that. UofL is an excellent second half club. Pitino will experiment and try to locate a hot hand in the first half. It's one of the things I like about the guy. We have the 6'5" Blackshear who is finally healthy and bringing some game to the fray now - a 6' 7" rail thin shooter in Nunez - and of course Russ Smith, who is in secret Nurse Ratchet, according to Rick, lol.

    I believe our bigs stay with you guys. For us it's probably going to come down to making shots. It will be a tough as nails game with huge great plays from surprising guys and some fabulous stuff from the stars.

    Like someone said, it;s back to the heavyweights now and most UofL fans believe we;ve arrived there after a very strange journey.

    If UL can mix up the press and get an edge there that could be big if MSU turns the ball over a lot. Turnovers have not been a problem as of late for us, but that could be a path to victory for you guys if you can get us to cough up the ball....it has been a problem for us in the past so we will see.

    MSU is a very good 2nd half team and frankly (esp. with Melo out) has the best set of Bigs in America. No one can match up well with Payne, Nix, and Day Day in the post...maybe UK but I think that teric Jones is a huge headcase that could get owned by Green.

    SD Spartan ●

  • In case it hasn't already been posted, here is a nice, concise CBS preview. Heavily favors MSU.

    Louisville Cardinals at Michigan State Spartans - Preview, Picks, Stats - CBSSports.com Pregame

    Louisville Cardinals at Michigan State Spartans CBSSports.com's Pregame provides an in-depth preview and breakdown of all NCAA Tournament games. Breaking news, preview video, expert picks and analysis, quick facts and up-to-date stats.

    www.cbssports.com

    Final Countdown ●

  • SpartanRocky said...

    Dawson had MSU trade a stronger rebounding presence for more outside shooting. The one benefit is that 31 games worth of film is pretty much useless to opposing coaches lol.

    Kuric is a pretty good athlete from what I understand. Not Buford, but pretty good none the less. He's a legit 3-pt threat.

    I'm starting to get excited for this game.

    lol about the tape, you are right. also, I think Kuric has a huge vertical but I'm not sure that translates in to 'blow by' athletic ability. he is definitely a very good shooter, but it appears he gets most of drives using the shot fake, not so much blow by ability. if we can avoid sagging off him and stay down on shot fakes we can guard him. When Siva drives we have to know which guys to leave and which guys we should never leave.

    SD Spartan ●

  • SD Spartan said...

    ... When Siva drives we have to know which guys to leave and which guys we should never leave.

    And you can bet your ass we will.

    Denim Chicken

  • Denim Chicken said...

    And you can bet your ass we will.

    i was going to give you a thumbs up, but that emoticon sucks bad.

    agree with you, win or lose, it sure is nice to know that we will ALWAYS be 100% prepared in the tourney. It's a thing of beauty to watch Izzo and Co. this time of year.

    SD Spartan ●

  • Denim Chicken said...

    In the 2009 game, you guys dropped out of the zone pretty early. MSU had some success against it, but I was suprised Rick didn't go back. How much more do you guys press this year than in '09? Is it your primary defense, something you'll stick with throughout the whole game, even if it leads to scores for MSU early?

    Just curious. I know MSU will look to attack it, not just break it. The first 5 minutes of Thursday's game could be very interesting, and then the attacks and counter-attacks could be even better the rest of the way. Pitino might have some odd behavior off the court, but he can coach. Between Majerus and and now Pitino, Izzo is earning his paycheck this tournament.

    In 2009, Suton was the key to your win - or at least certainly Rick opting out of the zone. It got pretty boring watching him make 3 after 3, lol. blackeye

    I think that instigated the big change. And if Appling or Day Day gets hot from 3 the dsame thing could happen. You guys might be that good. Based on our own history, it's not likely. We are - to answer your question - a far better defensive team this season than in 09. Dieng is probably the difference-maker because he can correct some flaws just with his length.Louisville has redirected an enormous amount of challenged shots underneath this season, with Behanen being so quick off the floor and being lengthy himself. Defensively, Kuric has a surprising number of blocks - it's the one area where his hops come in handy. He gets a lot of those from behind as help defense.

    We play a number of different presses, depending on what we're trying to accomplish. But the possession presses where we're fighting for steals probably won't show up until the second half - and then probably right out the gate. We press less this year than ever before but we are strangely more effective at it.

    signature image

    "There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm." Edgar Allen Poe

    senore

  • senore said...

    In 2009, Suton was the key to your win - or at least certainly Rick opting out of the zone. It got pretty boring watching him make 3 after 3, lol. blackeye

    I think that instigated the big change. And if Appling or Day Day gets hot from 3 the dsame thing could happen. You guys might be that good. Based on our own history, it's not likely. We are - to answer your question - a far better defensive team this season than in 09. Dieng is probably the difference-maker because he can correct some flaws just with his length.Louisville has redirected an enormous amount of challenged shots underneath this season, with Behanen being so quick off the floor and being lengthy himself. Defensively, Kuric has a surprising number of blocks - it's the one area where his hops come in handy. He gets a lot of those from behind as help defense.

    We play a number of different presses, depending on what we're trying to accomplish. But the possession presses where we're fighting for steals probably won't show up until the second half - and then probably right out the gate. We press less this year than ever before but we are strangely more effective at it.

    are you guys used to slowing it down? I can see you guys trying to slow it down like St. Louis did. We are a running team and the only way we can beat is if the opponents try to slow us down.

    Pitino is smart...like in 2009, I see him trying to slow this game down and making it a half court game.

    tVargMan Prime ●

  • VargMan said...

    are you guys used to slowing it down? I can see you guys trying to slow it down like St. Louis did. We are a running team and the only way we can beat is if the opponents try to slow us down.

    Pitino is smart...like in 2009, I see him trying to slow this game down and making it a half court game.

    But Louisville's strength is not its halfcourt offense. I can see them not sending a lot of guys to the offensive glass to keep MSU from running, but I can't see them going 30 seconds into the shot clock very often. Of course, a Louisville fan could probably answer that question more accurately.

    Denim Chicken

  • senore said...

    In 2009, Suton was the key to your win - or at least certainly Rick opting out of the zone. It got pretty boring watching him make 3 after 3, lol. blackeye

    I think that instigated the big change. And if Appling or Day Day gets hot from 3 the dsame thing could happen. You guys might be that good. Based on our own history, it's not likely. We are - to answer your question - a far better defensive team this season than in 09. Dieng is probably the difference-maker because he can correct some flaws just with his length.Louisville has redirected an enormous amount of challenged shots underneath this season, with Behanen being so quick off the floor and being lengthy himself. Defensively, Kuric has a surprising number of blocks - it's the one area where his hops come in handy. He gets a lot of those from behind as help defense.

    We play a number of different presses, depending on what we're trying to accomplish. But the possession presses where we're fighting for steals probably won't show up until the second half - and then probably right out the gate. We press less this year than ever before but we are strangely more effective at it.

    Having a shot blocker can make your defense a lot more effective. That's why I'm excited Payne is finally realizing he should be an all-world shot blocker with his length and athleticism.

    Denim Chicken

  • Denim Chicken said...

    But Louisville's strength is not its halfcourt offense. I can see them not sending a lot of guys to the offensive glass to keep MSU from running, but I can't see them going 30 seconds into the shot clock very often. Of course, a Louisville fan could probably answer that question more accurately.

    Yea, that's a quandry for Louisville. They're such a poor jump shooting team that they need those transition buckets. The problem is that MSU would love to get those transition shots as well. . .

    This is going to be a good game.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky

  • Final Countdown said...

    In case it hasn't already been posted, here is a nice, concise CBS preview. Heavily favors MSU.

    Thanks. One thing that is surprising is the number of TOs that Louisville has. 14.4 TOs is a lot. Hopefully we can get some easy points off them.

    BH Spartan ●

  • Denim Chicken said...

    But Louisville's strength is not its halfcourt offense. I can see them not sending a lot of guys to the offensive glass to keep MSU from running, but I can't see them going 30 seconds into the shot clock very often. Of course, a Louisville fan could probably answer that question more accurately.

    The stats are deceiving because it's a situation of extremes. Our guys run down the court after a rebound to try and make a quick transition basket -- 3's just as often as twos.

    But if they don't see an opening for it they back it out, and once in the half-court they will often use almost the entire shot clock. Siva will use multiple screens per possession not just to find the best opening, but to further wear down defenders who are having to try and get around all those screens.

    Also, responding to another post, I don't think trailing 3's from Green are going to work. Pitino is too smart for that. Davidson loved to do that with their center, and they used that trick half a dozen times to beat Kansas because Kansas never figured out to guard the trailing man. Against us? Zero trailing threes.

    Cardsfan

  • BH Spartan said...

    Thanks. One thing that is surprising is the number of TOs that Louisville has. 14.4 TOs is a lot. Hopefully we can get some easy points off them.

    That jumped out at me too. They can be frustrated into poor decisions and Siva can play out of control at times. I can't recall the last team to turn the ball over 14 times against MSU was when State played @ Minny. MSU won despite shooting just 41.5%.

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky

  • Cardsfan said...

    The stats are deceiving because it's a situation of extremes. Our guys run down the court after a rebound to try and make a quick transition basket -- 3's just as often as twos.

    But if they don't see an opening for it they back it out, and once in the half-court they will often use almost the entire shot clock. Siva will use multiple screens per possession not just to find the best opening, but to further wear down defenders who are having to try and get around all those screens.

    Also, responding to another post, I don't think trailing 3's from Green are going to work. Pitino is too smart for that. Davidson loved to do that with their center, and they used that trick half a dozen times to beat Kansas because Kansas never figured out to guard the trailing man. Against us? Zero trailing threes.

    MSU does the exact same thing off of rebounds. MSU runs the floor after missed FTs lol

    Michigan State does not and will not run the 3-4 defense.

    SpartanRocky

  • Cardsfan said...

    But if they don't see an opening for it they back it out, and once in the half-court they will often use almost the entire shot clock. Siva will use multiple screens per possession not just to find the best opening, but to further wear down defenders who are having to try and get around all those screens.

    Louisville may pay in the half court sometimes, but I still see that being an advantage to MSU. You guys have players who can score, but you don't have quite the sets MSU does or a player like Green who can score however he wants. Also, I know your center is good, but Nix and Payne have worked over a few good centers this season.

    Defensively, both team's numbers are very good, but I think MSU shuts Louisville down in the half court easier than the other way around. Not that I think either team is going to be able to shut down the other, necessarily.

    Denim Chicken

Michigan State
247Sports
Features
Resources
Connect

247Sports In partnership with CBS Sports