Thoughts on MSU basketball's 2011-12 season and looking ahead

It started with President Obama on the sideline and ended with Muhammed Ali watching from the stands.

In between, the MSU men's basketball team turned in one of the most improbable seasons in a long time. It ended with a thud, but it was full of surprises and memories.

We tend to look at any MSU season that didn't finish in the Final Four and consider it a failure (That's what Drew Sharp did before later changing his column). Sure, when a No. 1 seed doesn't reach the Final Four, it should be labeled a disappointment. But this was an MSU team that overachieved all season, and when Branden Dawson went down, the margin for error was extremely thin. It got them against Louisville.

But who saw it getting that far? Two championships and a Sweet 16, not bad for a team that began the season unranked.



It actually started in the offseason. Garrick Sherman transferred shortly after the 2010-11 season ended, joining Korie Lucious, who had been kicked off earlier that year. Then Delvon Roe announced his retirement in the summer. The Spartans were going to be shorthanded. Freshmen were going to be relied upon. The goal wasn't a Final Four. It wasn't even a Big Ten championship. It was play as well as you can and get better as the season goes on. No one knew what to expect.

Thoughts on MSU's 57-44 loss to Louisville, Draymond Green's career

(Box score here)

Kalin Lucas' eyes were starting to water.

The guard's career had just ended after he committed a traveling violation at the end of MSU's first game of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. It was MSU's worst season in more than a decade and the Spartans were bounced in the round of 64 because he had a terrible night. From the playing at the highest level, to coming back from a ruptured Achilles, Lucas had been through a lot. But his brilliant career had ended in a wreck.

The first question in the postgame press conference was asked to Lucas, and he couldn't hold the tears back any longer. He put his head down, so no one could see him. Tom Izzo was tearing up as well. After a few seconds of silence and sniffles, Draymond Green spoke up. 

"I know it had to be rough for him. I mean, I'm just going to answer from my perspective. I feel like he had a great career, and he hasn't had many games where he just couldn't get anything to fall. You know, they did a great job defensively on him. They pretty much keyed on him the whole entire defense, and he did a great job of still getting everybody else involved. He still had five assists and he did some great things for us and got me some open shots. It hurts me. You know, I'm a big fan of my guys reaching milestones, and the loss hurts me, but I think I'm kind of hurting because he came up four points short of 2,000. And for everything he did for this program, you know, I get to come back for another year so I can be sad about the loss later. I think I'm hurting more about him not getting them four points."

When reporters ran out of questions, Green let everyone know how Lucas had told him to keep his head up during his freshman year and helped Green throughout his career.

It was never about him. Over four years, Green always stuck up for his teammates, kept them involved. It was his emphasis on keeping this year's team together that helped them overachieve to heights no one expected. While Green's career also ended in a heartbreaking way, it still wasn't about him. He was the last MSU player to leave the court, congratulating all the Louisville players and high-fiving kids on the way out.

Louisville Slugfest - Previewing the Sweet 16 matchup

As someone with Italian heritage, I've always enjoyed listening to Tom Izzo or Rick Pitino talk. So often, they sound so much like my grandfather, especially the way Izzo uses his hands.

Leading up to the Elite Eight game between MSU and Louisville in 2009, I vividly remember Dick Vitale referring to the coaches as "paisanos." Even though that's not an actual word (it's slang), it got the point across that both coaches were Italian. I am surprised that I haven't heard Vitale use it this time around.

These are two of the best coaches in college basketball history, but someone's streak is going to come to an end tonight (7:47 p.m., TBS). Izzo is 5-0 against the Big East in the NCAA Tournament, while Pitino is 9-0 all-time in the Sweet 16.

(CBSSports.com highlights)


Just like the Saint Louis game, this is going to be a low-scoring game, but for different reasons.

Actual thoughts on MSU's 68-64 win over Ohio State

(Box score here)

OK, I cheated you out of my thoughts on the game yesterday. From all the hoopla following the game, to the NCAA seeding, to actually working to driving home to Michigan in the middle of the night, I didn't really have a chance to reflect on the Big Ten Tournament championship.

Here is my game recap and here is my story on MSU earning its first No. 1 seed since 2001 for The Oakland Press.

So back to Sunday, what a game that was.

Previewing Ohio State in the Big Ten championship

INDIANAPOLIS — We were in this position eight days ago.

MSU vs. Ohio State for the Big Ten championship (preview story here). On March 4, MSU jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half, but the Buckeyes hung around, chipped at the lead, eventually got even and William Buford hit the winning jumper with one second left, stunning the Breslin Center fans and players.

The game changed when Branden Dawson tore his ACL midway through the first half. At that point Buford had scored just four points, all on free throws. He scored 21 points the rest of the way.

And that will be the biggest key in this game. Who can stop William Buford? I'd expect Austin Thornton to start out on him, but Brandan Kearney might see some time on him too. On the other side of that matchup, MSU will need Thornton and Brandon Wood to hit shots, like they've done in the first two games here. Buford also has been known to shut himself down, but he's been on a tear recently.

Dawson undergoes successful surgery

Tom Izzo told reporters today that Branden Dawson underwent successful surgery on his torn left ACL on Tuesday night, confirming some players' tweets. 

Last night, Brandon Wood tweeted: "Lil bro @219MadeMe (Dawson) surgery went real well Everybody pray for him to come back stroger than before!"

This morning, Dawson tweeted: "Surgery went well. Thanks for all the support from family, friends, & my #SpartanNation family. My recovery is so far so good."

Because there wasn't much swelling on the knee, Dawson was able to get surgery sooner than many others. The LSJ reported that the ACL was completely torn, but there was no cartilage damage.

Check out my earlier post on what this injury means for Dawson and MSU.

What Branden Dawson's injury means

When MSU lost back-to-back games at Northwestern and Michigan in January, who thought the loss of Branden Dawson would look crippling to MSU fans? And who thought the biggest reason could be because of his defense?

But with Dawson tearing his ACL in Sunday's loss to Ohio State, MSU's expectations have changed in the eyes of many. Dawson had become an elite rebounder and solid defender. He was playing good defense on Ohio State's William Buford, who scored 21 of his 25 points after Dawson left the game. It was going to be fun to see what Dawson could do in the open NCAA tournament, but we're going to have to wait another season for that.

Before we look ahead to what this means for Dawson's career, let's look at the effects on MSU's 2012 season.

In losing Dawson, MSU loses the tall, athletic wing player the Spartans were missing last season. Raymar Morgan was always underrated throughout his career for his matchup ability. In Dawson, MSU had its new Morgan, but with more athleticism. Statistically, MSU must replace its No. 2 rebounder and No. 3 scorer, as Dawson averaged 8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Most notable of those stats is Dawson's offensive rebounding. An incredible 48 percent of Dawson's rebounds came on the offensive end. He had the same number of offensive rebounds as Draymond Green, while playing nearly 400 less minutes on the floor. MSU had just six offensive rebounds Sunday, while Ohio State had 11. Derrick Nix and Adriean Payne must step up in that aspect of their play.



What I expect to happen is that Austin Thornton will move over to the three spot, and Brandon Wood will move back into the starting lineup as the shooting guard. Thornton has seen a good amount of time at small forward when Dawson has been on the bench. Wood has scored at least seven points in three of the last four games and had 15 points Sunday — a season-high for him in Big Ten play. He came to MSU to play in a postseason, and that time has arrived.

Thoughts on MSU's 72-70 loss to Ohio State

(Box score here)

What a difference expectations make.

Before the season, if you told MSU fans they'd win a Big Ten championship they'd be ecstatic. If you said Ohio State would have to win its final game to get a share of a Big Ten title, they'd be shocked. Yet when MSU lost Sunday, there was disappointment.

We entered the day with both teams in surprising positions. After Michigan took care of Penn State, there was a shot at a three-way tie if MSU couldn't win the title outright. The Spartans jumped out to a big lead early behind a rocking Breslin Center, but Branden Dawson went down with a left knee injury midway through the first half. When Dawson went down, the player he was guarding, William Burford, went off, eventually hitting a game-winning jumper with one second left as the Buckeyes defeated MSU. The end result was a three-way tie, with only two of those teams being happy.

(UPDATE: Dawson tore his ACL, ending his season.)

Not sure why there is no "s." The other banners
have them. (via @diamond83)

It was MSU's first loss on Senior Night since 2006, an especially tough one for Draymond Green, who moved into third place in rebounding in MSU history, but battled foul trouble late and missed two shots in the final minute.

Thoughts on MSU's 70-55 loss at Indiana

(Box score here)

When Indiana beat Kentucky earlier this season, we knew the Hoosiers were for real.

Not necessarily "contend for Big Ten title" real, but "they're going to be a lot of good teams at home" real. Since that Kentucky win, I've said the game in Bloomington would be the toughest of the season for MSU. With a chance to win an outright championship, MSU's frequent comeback attempts fell short in a 70-55 loss.

MSU (24-6 overall, 13-4 Big Ten) likely will need to beat Ohio State on Sunday to win the Big Ten championship outright.

In a game where only Draymond Green could do anything on offense, the Spartans actually found themselves trailing just 55-49 with seven minutes to play after being down double-digits for most of the game. But the lack of offensive weapons and tired legs led to a 15-6 run for the rest of the game. MSU had one field goal in the final 7:21, and that came with 18 seconds left.

(ESPN.com highlights)


MSU grabbed an early 4-1 lead to start the game, but Victor Oladipo answered for Indiana (22-7, 10-7). Oladipo consistently drove past MSU to the hoop in the first half, sometimes making a shot, but usually getting fouled and hitting his free throws. He scored 11 points in the first half, despite shooting just 2-for-4. But he went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. The Spartans couldn't defend without fouling, and Green was the only person who could score for MSU. He scored MSU's last 14 points of the first half, and MSU went into the locker room down 41-27. The Hoosiers went 16-for-18 from the free-throw line in the half.

How deep are these Spartans?

Yesterday, I was watching the 2009 Final Four game against UConn on The Vault, when something caught my eye.

There was a point in the middle of the game where MSU didn't have a single starter on the floor. Again, this is the Final Four, and Tom Izzo trusts so many guys on his team that he'll put five non-starters out there. The 2009 team may have been Izzo's deepest. Ten players averaged at least 9.5 minutes per game (plus Idong Ibok, who averaged 5.9 minutes but played a lot against UConn) and they all contributed in some way.

That got me thinking about this year's team. MSU has gotten a lot out of its bench, probably a lot more than expected. Looking at the numbers, MSU has nine players who average at least 8.6 minutes per game.

That 2009 team had four seniors (Walton, Suton, Ibok, Gray). This year's team has three (Green, Thornton, Wood). Both had one junior who contributed (Morgan in '09, Nix in '12).

So I decided to go back and compare this year's team's depth compared to past seasons.

Thoughts on MSU's 66-61 win at Minnesota

(Box score here, best of #LawofGus tonight here)

We've spent all season saying how this team was different that last year's team. Well, Thursday night was almost an exact copy of last season.

One year ago, a dismal shooting performance in Minneapolis led to MSU trailing the Gophers 47-39 with 3:41 to go. But MSU rallied, Keith Appling hit some late free throws to give MSU the lead, and the Spartans won 53-48.

Thursday night, the Gophers led 58-52 with 3:25 to play, but the Spartans rallied down the stretch, Appling hit free throws to give MSU the lead, and MSU came away with a 66-61 victory.

Oh, and both games came on Feb. 22.



With the win, MSU (23-5 overall, 12-3 Big Ten) still controls its destiny in terms of an outright Big Ten title. Winning two of the final three games would guarantee at least a share of the title.

Thoughts on MSU's 64-54 win over Michigan

(Box score here)

Draymond Green was the story before the game for multiple reasons, including his poor performances against Michigan and his injured left knee.

As it turned out, Green was the story of the game for different reasons, tying the U-M team in rebounds and leading the Spartans to a 64-54 win over the Wolverines.

"Draymond didn't want to go out losing four in a row to them," Tom Izzo said. Hopefully we switched the trend and it will start going the other way again."

The day belonged to the senior, as Green backed up his guarantee with 14 points, 16 rebounds and four assists to move to 4-3 against U-M (17-7 overall, 7-4 Big Ten) in his career. Before the game, he said he hated the Wolverines, and only death would keep him out of Sunday's game. The grim reaper was nowhere in sight.




While the Izzone chanted "little sister" as the final seconds counted down, don't expect "order to be restored," as it were. As I said before the game, this U-M program is still on the upswing, as is MSU (18-5, 7-3). The rivalry won't be like the old days, but this was an old-time performance by MSU.

Thoughts on MSU's win vs. Minnesota, Izzo's 400th win

(Box score here)

You're not going to see Tom Izzo fight back tears too often.

As the final seconds ticked away Wednesday, Izzo was visibly teary-eyed on the bench. With Wednesday's 68-52 win over Minnesota, Izzo picked up his 400th win, becoming to fourth coach in Big Ten history to win 400 games with one school (Bob Knight, Gene Keady, Lou Henson). He said before the game that the number didn't mean much to him, but by the end, it clearly did.

"It's just a number, but I guess it's a milestone so I'll take it," Izzo said to Big Ten Network after the game.

(ESPN.com highlights)


Considering the Gophers are a tall team, getting one field goal out of your starting backcourt would appear to mean bad news. But MSU dominated the Gophers down low with a strength advantage. Draymond Green scored a game-high 22 points with 14 rebounds and six assists and the combination of Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Nix even had a breakaway dunk. It was glorious.

Thoughts on MSU's 60-59 loss to U-M

(ESPN highlights here and box score here)

What a game.

It was the most-hyped game in this rivalry in a long time — the first time since 1998 that both were ranked — and boy, did it live up to the billing.

A rough first half for MSU was followed by a back-and-forth second half. MSU grabbed a three-point lead late, but couldn't hold on. Stu Douglass gave Michigan a 60-59 lead with about 30 seconds left, then Draymond Green missed a short jumper and tip-in, as the Wolverines came away with their third straight win against MSU and their first against a top-10 MSU team since 1979.

MSU falls to 15-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, leaving Illinois as the only one-loss team in the conference.



The star of the night was U-M freshman guard Trey Burke, who had 20 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks — leading the Wolverines in all of those categories. He was simply incredible. MSU fans can't wait for him to leave for NBA.

Indiana natives Wood, Dawson should play big role in Michigan rivalry game

Tim Hardaway Jr. is the go-to guy for Michigan.

Tom Izzo said Monday that Branden Dawson and Brandon Wood will be matched up with Hardaway for most of the game. While basketball is a team sport, this matchup could be a big key to victory.

Here is my MLive post on the importance of Wood and Dawson tonight. 

The biggest meeting in a long, long time

Despite two discouraging losses on Saturday, MSU and Michigan come into Tuesday's men's basketball game with a lot of hype.

Before Saturday, it appeared possible that both squads could come into the rivalry game ranked in the top-10 for the first time in history. Still, both will be ranked in a meeting for just the seventh time in the rivalry's history, and the first time since 1998. The game will tip from Ann Arbor at 7 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN3.com

MSU has been one of the biggest surprises in the country this season, using strong defense, rebounding and timely shooting to get to a No. 9 national ranking. U-M is about where people expected and ranked No. 20 by AP. Before Saturday, neither team had a bad loss, and both had a few good wins. These are two of the top teams in the Big Ten, and the winner of Tuesday's game will have a much-needed rebound from a bad loss.

Spartans take care of UMKC, 89-54

Yes it was against Missouri-Kansas City, but the MSU hoops team put in its most complete performance of the year with a 89-54 win over the Kangaroos, extending the winning streak to 10 games. And yes, they're really called the Kangaroos. Awesome. (Highlights from BTN.com)

This one was never really in doubt, as MSU jumped out to a 16-2 lead and never looked back. MSU shot a season-high 61.4 percent from the field, including 48 points in the paint. Eleven different Spartans scored.

The star of the night was Branden Dawson, who scored on an alley-oop off the tip-off and had a career-high 16 points. He also grabbed four rebounds and had some powerful dunks (see below). After seeming being mentally out of the past few games, Dawson was all over the place on both sides of the floor. Maybe he's getting out of his funk.

Second-half surge pushes Spartans past Bowling Green

It seems it's becoming a regular occurrence when the MSU hoops team faces a lesser opponent at Breslin: an ugly first half followed by a fairly-dominating second half.

Bowling Green was the victim this time, as MSU won its ninth straight, this one by a 74-60 score.

Without the Izzone in the crowd, the Spartans were as sluggish as the fans in the first half. MSU didn't turn the ball over much, but the Falcons were all over the boards early. A pair of free throws from Nix with a second left gave MSU a 35-33 at half.