Tom Izzo built his reputation on teams that defend hard and rebound like crazy. This year's team seems to defend pretty well, but the rebounding part is not what you think of when you think of Michigan State basketball.
Offensively they play exceptionally slow, one of the slowest paces in the country. (Part of that overall pace is due to their defense too.) They are a decent shooting team from three but very, very average from two. But even as well as they shoot it from three, they don't attempt very many and thus rank near the bottom of the sport in three pointers attempted and threes made per game. They've also not been shooting the three well over the last month. They don't get to the line much and aren't particularly good shooters once they get there. They pick and choose their times to run. Even though the pace is slow, they are a top 25 team in fastbreak points. In short, it's a typical grind it out Izzo offense with guys trying to drive and score in the paint.
These two teams are opposite in some ways. They are average shooters from two while we are top 50ish; they are good from three while we are not very good. Neither shoots it well from the line although they are a little better which isn't hard to do. One advantage for them is not turning it over. The slow pace helps limit turnovers, but even accounting for that they just don't turn it over a lot. They are top 40 in both turnovers/game and turnover margin. We are ummmm errrrr....not that good at taking care of the ball. In a slower paced game with fewer possessions, every turnover is crucial. If we turn it over 14-15-16 times or more then we are probably going to be in trouble.
It's possible to make up some possessions on the glass. It's crazy to say thing, but Michigan State is not a good defensive rebounding team. We need to take advantage of this and pound the offensive glass. They are a middle of the road offensive rebounding team, so don't let them have a good day there. Tolu, Bell, DJ, and Cam need to come up huge in this part of the game.
Tyson Walker is the engine that makes them go. Fifth year senior, good shooter, just a solid, solid college point guard. Malik Hall, Adam Hoggard and Jaden Akins are all older guys who have played a lot of games at Michigan State. Hoggard has some talent but he's driven Izzo crazy over his four years, never really having taken the next step to what was expected of him. Their post players don't bring a lot to the table. They are basically just big bodies who defend and rebound. They are physical though, and Tolu doesn't always love that.
If either team gets to 70 I will be surprised. High 60s is probably where the winner ends up. Hope it's us.
Offensively they play exceptionally slow, one of the slowest paces in the country. (Part of that overall pace is due to their defense too.) They are a decent shooting team from three but very, very average from two. But even as well as they shoot it from three, they don't attempt very many and thus rank near the bottom of the sport in three pointers attempted and threes made per game. They've also not been shooting the three well over the last month. They don't get to the line much and aren't particularly good shooters once they get there. They pick and choose their times to run. Even though the pace is slow, they are a top 25 team in fastbreak points. In short, it's a typical grind it out Izzo offense with guys trying to drive and score in the paint.
These two teams are opposite in some ways. They are average shooters from two while we are top 50ish; they are good from three while we are not very good. Neither shoots it well from the line although they are a little better which isn't hard to do. One advantage for them is not turning it over. The slow pace helps limit turnovers, but even accounting for that they just don't turn it over a lot. They are top 40 in both turnovers/game and turnover margin. We are ummmm errrrr....not that good at taking care of the ball. In a slower paced game with fewer possessions, every turnover is crucial. If we turn it over 14-15-16 times or more then we are probably going to be in trouble.
It's possible to make up some possessions on the glass. It's crazy to say thing, but Michigan State is not a good defensive rebounding team. We need to take advantage of this and pound the offensive glass. They are a middle of the road offensive rebounding team, so don't let them have a good day there. Tolu, Bell, DJ, and Cam need to come up huge in this part of the game.
Tyson Walker is the engine that makes them go. Fifth year senior, good shooter, just a solid, solid college point guard. Malik Hall, Adam Hoggard and Jaden Akins are all older guys who have played a lot of games at Michigan State. Hoggard has some talent but he's driven Izzo crazy over his four years, never really having taken the next step to what was expected of him. Their post players don't bring a lot to the table. They are basically just big bodies who defend and rebound. They are physical though, and Tolu doesn't always love that.
If either team gets to 70 I will be surprised. High 60s is probably where the winner ends up. Hope it's us.
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