GAME 19 MICHIGAN STATE: Spanked

[BigEastPhil]

I thought a huge turning point in game was when Hyatt missed a bunny lay up ( again) down 2 points at 45-43 and then on next possession , Paul uncharacteristically turned the ball over. From that point on, it was all Sparty.
Not going to win every game and now focus has to be on Penn state. Have to maintain home court and win the games we re supposed to win.

 

[RUtrumpet92]

When Hoggard, who hasn't made more than one trey in a game since November and is a lifetime 22-27% shooter from deep, goes 3-5 on some tough looks, that's not us playing bad defense. That's a guy having a hot night.

Can't complain that we need to play the bench more, then say Simpson shouldn't be in at the 8-5 minute mark. We were looking to get Paul back in there, but there were no whistles for a long stretch. Should we have burned a timeout there? I don't think so.

We played hard (so many offensive boards!) but we were careless with sloppy passes at times, shot poorly (Cam had a LOT of good looks not go down), and they shot well. Turn the page.

 

[BillyC80]

Four different MSU players made 3 treys each, for 12 total makes. Can’t remember ever seeing that. Usually one guy gets hot, or maybe two, per game. Once they started dropping, their confidence from beyond the arc was contagious.

 

[rufeelinit]

I felt like we had a good shot going into the game and still believe we match up pretty well with MSU, who I view as a grind it out type of team. I still felt good at half time and assumed we would shoot it better in the second half. I was OK with our D most of the night but after awhile it just stopped mattering given our futility down the other end.

After looking at the box score, I am not sure what the takeaways are other than the obvious shooting discrepancy from 3.

We got a ton of offensive rebounds but did little with them. We also got whistled for relatively few fouls. The offensive rebounds would suggest we were playing aggressively while the low number of fouls against might suggest otherwise.

We had six shots blocked and I think they mostly occurred on drives or short pull ups to the basket. Not sure if that represented some bad decision making on when to drive and shoot versus making another pass.

In my view the game was winnable and perhaps represents an opportunity lost. Yet I did not see a lot to be critical of the coaching. Scoring and the quality of our depth is going to remain an issue. We should not be thinking about playing our starters more, but need to be careful with substitution patterns.

Our guys are for the most part are competent and coachable college athletes, who just struggle to be consistent offensive players from game to game. We are also just average athletically. Pike has been good in managing the overall team so that the sum is greater than the parts. When certain guys try to do too much it usually is a negative for the team. I don't think we will have a talent edge in many conference games so it is imperative that we be fundamentally sound in all respects. If we are 12-8 at the end of the season I would be very pleased.

 

[rudad02]

Ugly with a capital U. The team's performance isnt even worthy of a recap behind a paragraph or so. Thats how abysmal it was across the board.

RU got out to a 14-5 lead and then was outscored 65-43 the rest of the way. Do not really get fooled, RU was done just 6 with about 8 to go and then the floodgates opened. 6 points felt like 20 and RU never showed they were serious enough to do anything to change the trajectory of the game. Examples were senseless turnovers by Paul and Caleb. Caleb trying to actually run the length of the court trying to play hero after he made a mistake on the other end. Missed assignment after missed assignment on the perimeter leading to wide open 3s by the Spartains. Odd lineup around the 7 minute mark for a two minute stretch when the game was only 6-8 points. Of course Cam couldnt hit the broad side of a barn tonight and Sparty was hitting at a better clip than normal, it wasnt just they made shots and RU didnt. When RU had the chances to do things to seriously get back in the game they did not. Blame all around, even Cliff would had nice numbers 12 and 12 was outplayed by the big white guy. Paul had some nice moves that got RU close then disappeared. Mag was not a factor on either end. Hyatt was brutal. Did not seem like Pike made any adjustments for those open looks by Sparty. The needle was lost long before the final minutes.

Credit Michigan State...tough loss to Purdue, not many days rest and without one of their top starters. They didnt make excuses. They responded. Izzo had them engaged, keyed on Cam early and got him frustrated. Spartans stuck to their task even while they were letting a small window open for Rutgers and then just blew the doors down late over the fading Knights. Michigan State is top 5 in this league if not top 3. Not flashy but when they are on like they were tonight its going to take an effort that just was not there to beat them at the Breslin Center. Really hate the idea of playing them at MSG rather than the RAC but it is what it is.

Not the end of the world but somewhat of a reminder of how limited we are offensively and if we do not play very good defense these games are not going to go our way. Someone said after Temple well we arent going to shoot this poorly again...um yes it can happen and it can happen again. It was not just Cam..it was Hyatt, Mag, Cliff, Caleb. The boxscore is brutal. No sense revisiting. There is a blueprint to win and we didnt follow it. Not going to win them all so big picture not a big deal....as long as we beat Penn State. Not sure anything can be learned from the game tape. By winning at Northwestern and Ohio State, it took pressure off this game being a must win. You move on by beating Penn State at home. Very solid program that has given RU trouble but quite frankly its at home, RU needs to win this game and get back to its bread and butter. Losing happens, its making sure you dont string losses together. A trip to Iowa looms after that so I would say IMO you have to beat Penn State to keep this thing moving and take pressure off of winning on the road in this league

Worst game they've played this season plus MS shot the shit out of the ball.

 

[Scangg]

I thought a huge turning point in game was when Hyatt missed a bunny lay up ( again) down 2 points at 45-43 and then on next possession , Paul uncharacteristically turned the ball over. From that point on, it was all Sparty.
Not going to win every game and now focus has to be on Penn state. Have to maintain home court and win the games we re supposed to win.

Yea that was the turning point. If Hyatt makes that layup maybe we get a stop and a score and the momentum clearly changes and confidence gets up and shots start falling

Instead they get a run and we can't win losing the 3 point battle by 30 freaking points

 

[billgumpper]

fair point....i think it was a big mistake. Give Cliff a breather but why take Mag out. Hyatt has had two dreadful games in a row. I know it changed momentum quick but not sure eventually the same game would have unfolded eventually.

Hyatt might be the worst finisher at the rim I've ever seen.

 

[LeapinLou]

Because when MSUs starting Center is getting eaten alive on the offensive glass for the 1st 4 minutes of the game, they have the ability to just go to the bench and try another Top 100 prospect.

Excellent point. @Greene Rice FIG continues to express concern about exhausting the starters and the lack of bench minutes. But let's be honest. It's a HUGE dropoff when we go to the bench. He's not wrong that we will be gassed come NCAA Tournament time. But I think that's who we are this year.
I actually thought this was a house money game so I for once I didn't lose sleep over a loss. But @bac2therac is correct that the PSU game is critical. We have to figure out how to defend the arc better for that one.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Excellent point. @Greene Rice FIG continues to express concern about exhausting the starters and the lack of bench minutes. But let's be honest. It's a HUGE dropoff when we go to the bench. He's not wrong that we will be gassed come NCAA Tournament time. But I think that's who we are this year.
I actually thought this was a house money game so I for once I didn't lose sleep over a loss. But @bac2therac is correct that the PSU game is critical. We have to figure out how to defend the arc better for that one.

I think we are equating 3 point shooting teams as a threat and I don't view those schools or rosters as the same.

A) PSU has little to no chance to slow down Cliff inside and Woolfolk or Reiber can play and matchup well.

B) PSU doesn't have the footspeed on offense to make a bunch of plays off the dribble to find shooters. PSU is extremely reliant on Pickett to play isolation in the midrange, which runs into the teeth of what RU does well.....which is Caleb McConnell and Mawot Mag. If Pickett carves up McConnell and Mag and goes for 18 to 20 points and 7 to 8 assists, then we might see PSUs best shooting night.

C) PSU actually has to guard Mulcahy with someone that is going to give up size in terms of height and that's going to open up everything on offense.

D) Funk is a very good scorer and Spencer is also dynamic as well. As much as Spencer struggled last night, someone from PSU has to dedicate their time to chasing Cam around.

E) PSU is only going to get transition baskets if RU is sloppy and turns the ball over. RU should be able to draw contact and get to the FT line. If RU gets to the line and makes their 1 and 1 FTs and sets the defense, advantage RU.

I don't see a path for PSU getting into the 70s vs RU and PSU has to play Nebraska on Saturday before heading to the RAC on Tuesday. I think PSU will look at the next 72 hours starting on Saturday and know they have to handle Nebraska 1st, before looking ahead to RU. Another positive for RU.

 

[motorb54]

bac2therac is correct that the PSU game is critical. We have to figure out how to defend the arc better for that one.

And after PSU we travel to Iowa.

 

[RU-ROCS]

Ugly with a capital U. The team's performance isnt even worthy of a recap behind a paragraph or so. Thats how abysmal it was across the board.

RU got out to a 14-5 lead and then was outscored 65-43 the rest of the way. Do not really get fooled, RU was done just 6 with about 8 to go and then the floodgates opened. 6 points felt like 20 and RU never showed they were serious enough to do anything to change the trajectory of the game. Examples were senseless turnovers by Paul and Caleb. Caleb trying to actually run the length of the court trying to play hero after he made a mistake on the other end. Missed assignment after missed assignment on the perimeter leading to wide open 3s by the Spartains. Odd lineup around the 7 minute mark for a two minute stretch when the game was only 6-8 points. Of course Cam couldnt hit the broad side of a barn tonight and Sparty was hitting at a better clip than normal, it wasnt just they made shots and RU didnt. When RU had the chances to do things to seriously get back in the game they did not. Blame all around, even Cliff would had nice numbers 12 and 12 was outplayed by the big white guy. Paul had some nice moves that got RU close then disappeared. Mag was not a factor on either end. Hyatt was brutal. Did not seem like Pike made any adjustments for those open looks by Sparty. The needle was lost long before the final minutes.

Credit Michigan State...tough loss to Purdue, not many days rest and without one of their top starters. They didnt make excuses. They responded. Izzo had them engaged, keyed on Cam early and got him frustrated. Spartans stuck to their task even while they were letting a small window open for Rutgers and then just blew the doors down late over the fading Knights. Michigan State is top 5 in this league if not top 3. Not flashy but when they are on like they were tonight its going to take an effort that just was not there to beat them at the Breslin Center. Really hate the idea of playing them at MSG rather than the RAC but it is what it is.

Not the end of the world but somewhat of a reminder of how limited we are offensively and if we do not play very good defense these games are not going to go our way. Someone said after Temple well we arent going to shoot this poorly again...um yes it can happen and it can happen again. It was not just Cam..it was Hyatt, Mag, Cliff, Caleb. The boxscore is brutal. No sense revisiting. There is a blueprint to win and we didnt follow it. Not going to win them all so big picture not a big deal....as long as we beat Penn State. Not sure anything can be learned from the game tape. By winning at Northwestern and Ohio State, it took pressure off this game being a must win. You move on by beating Penn State at home. Very solid program that has given RU trouble but quite frankly its at home, RU needs to win this game and get back to its bread and butter. Losing happens, its making sure you dont string losses together. A trip to Iowa looms after that so I would say IMO you have to beat Penn State to keep this thing moving and take pressure off of winning on the road in this league

Great recap, but you forgot to mention that getting ranked is Pike and RU’s Kryptonite!

 

[LeapinLou]

I think we are equating 3 point shooting teams as a threat and I don't view those schools or rosters as the same.

I don't see a path for PSU getting into the 70s vs RU and PSU has to play Nebraska on Saturday before heading to the RAC on Tuesday. I think PSU will look at the next 72 hours starting on Saturday and know they have to handle Nebraska 1st, before looking ahead to RU. Another positive for RU.

Greg - I feel better about tomorrow after watching the PSU-Nebraska game. Anything can happen in the Big 10, but if RU comes out with intensity and plays at or better than their average, they should have a good outcome. Hopefully Cliff is feeling good because this could be a big game for him.