V-Cast: Michigan State is trending in the right direction for a possible post-season run
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State celebrated senior day with a 84-78 win over Ohio State to finish the regular season 19-11 overall and 11-8 against conference opponents. Now, Michigan State waits to find out where it will be seeded when the Big Ten Tournament starts in Chicago next week. There is still a chance that the Spartans could receive a double-bye for the Big Ten Tournament. That all depends on what happens in the six Big Ten games scheduled on Sunday.
After Michigan State’s senior day victory, SpartanMag.com staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk recorded their final V-Cast of the Big Ten season on the court at Breslin Center.
V-Cast topics include the following:
Offense: Michigan State remained red-hot shooting the basketball. The Spartans have scored at least 80 points in five straight games to close out the regular season. In this game, the scoring was balanced with five different Spartans in double figures led by AJ Hoggard with 23 points. The Spartan offense featured a mix of solid half-court execution with more transition scoring mixed in than we’ve been accustomed to seeing during Big Ten play.
Defense and Rebounding: The biggest negative in Michigan State’s performance today was on the defensive end of the court. The Spartans had no difficulty scoring points in this game, but getting stops was a different matter. The Buckeyes had way too much success with their dribble penetration, leading to double-figure scoring performances for the trio of Bruce Thornton, Justice Sueing, and Brice Sensabaugh. Some of Michigan State’s issues on defense were created by the inability to clear defensive rebounds. The Buckeyes had too many second-chance points in this game, and poor rebounding by Michigan State was at least partially to blame.
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AJ Hoggard: Michigan State’s junior point guard played one of his better games of the season against the Buckeyes. Hoggard led Michigan State in both scoring (23) and assists (seven). Hoggard struck a nice balance between filling his role as facilitator while also scoring for his team when he was the best option to do so.
Seniors: It was senior day, and almost all of these seniors could come back if they chose to do so. It is unclear whether and of the group of Tyson Walker, Malik Hall, and Joey Hauser will consider returning to Michigan State next season. All three players have indicated that they will make their respective decisions after the season.
