Michigan State Recap

This game was a repeat of the entire season, need I say more? Good energy in the first half, tied at halftime, scoring deteriorates in the second half and we lose the game in the last 5 minutes. Free throw shooting was awful at 47%. And we may have set a new season low with three point shooting accuracy at 13%. Box Score

I do think many fans have a point when they expect the Illini to be better next year, only because they can't get much worse. Nearly all polled on my site think the Illini will be better next season. And if we get Keller to commit this evening, maybe that helps us this fall.

I still don't understand the extreme optimism about next year by Illini fans. The team won't be much different than the team we have watched since Randle was injured, plus Jamar Smith. I don't expect us to make the NCAA's next season for the second year in a row. It will be interesting to see how Coach Weber can ride out the situation. And to be honest, Weber does need to be held accountable for his poor recruiting and underperformance on the court this season. You can't just blame the players for a season like this one.

Who would have guessed a couple years ago that we would lose to Michigan State in 2008 due to the play of Goran Suton and Drew Naymick? Seems impossible, but it just happened to the Illini tonight.

Michigan State Game

Tomorrow is the Illini matching up with Michigan State at the Breslin Center, another tough venue in the Big 10 Conference. Michigan State is a solid team this year, likely the best team in the conference, although Wisconsin and Indiana may be close. I have not had a chance to see MSU play this year, but they have many of the same players as last year, with one year more experience. Coach Izzo always has his guys ready, with the exception of the game against Iowa earlier this year. We can only hope for something similar, but it's not likely to happen at their home court.

Andy Katz did a nice summary of the Spartans on ESPN, focusing on the declining point production from senior guard Drew Neitzel. Katz points out the reason for lower scoring by Neitzel. Michigan State enters this weekend with a 17-2 record (5-1 Big Ten) and has plenty of balance; Morgan (16.8 ppg), Neitzel (13.8), Lucas (9.5) and Goran Suton (8.8) are all having productive seasons. The Illini will have their hands full slowing down the Spartans at home.

I enjoyed reading KJ's comments over at Spartans Weblog, who is a follower of the tempo-free stats that I used to enjoy using last year courtesy of Big Ten Wonk. KJ is apparently calculating these stats for MSU basketball this year, and from reading his preview of the Illinois-MSU game, he has this year's Illini squad completely figured out (very few shooters).