UW-Green Bay Game Post (12/29/07)
Posted by kj on Friday, December 28th, 2007
4:00 Saturday. Breslin Center. The Phoenix of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Big Ten Network.
This game interrupts a 13-day period between the Texas game last Saturday and the first conference game vs. Minnesota a week from tomorrow. Eight of the 11 Big Ten teams start conference play next Wednesday/Thursday.
UW-Green Bay comes in at 7-4, including a 1-1 mark in the Horizon League. This will be UWGB’s third game on the road against a Big Ten team. They lost to Ohio State 91-68 and to Wisconsin 70-52. MSU beat UWGB 76-64 last season.
UWGB’s tempo-free stat sheet says they’re pretty good on offense and not so good on defense, so this could be a fairly high-scoring affair–for MSU at least. The Phoenix’s opponents have not turned the ball over much (TO%=19.5%) and have shot the ball quite well (eFG%=51.9%). The only area UWGB is at least average in defensively is rebounding the ball (DReb%=67.3%).
On offense, the Phoenix excel at (1) not turning the ball over (TO%=18.5%) and (2) scoring from the the free throw line. They shoot 78.5% from the line, fifth best in the nation. And they get to the line quite frequently. Their free throw rate is 29.4%–50th in the nation. Free throw rate is the one major offensive statistical component I’ve underemphasized to date. It measures free throw attempts as a percentage of field goal attempts. Getting to the line frequently (and making the free throws) can compensate for poor shooting from the field.
Junior Forward Mike Schnchtner leads UWGB in scoring, averaging 18.9 points per game. And his scoring prowess seems to be legit. He’s shooting .565 on 2-pointers, .400 on 3-pointers, and .880 from the line. He shot just 2-13 against Wisconsin, though.
The Sagarin Ratings like MSU by 19 and a half in this one.
In other conference action, Wisconsin travels to Texas to play at noon on ESPN2 tomorrow. This should provide some sense of whether Wisconsin’s defense is the real deal.
As noted in the prior post, the game recap is left in the hands of the comment-section faithful.
Whew. Three posts in one night. You can see why I need a long vacation.
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No Responses to “UW-Green Bay Game Post (12/29/07)”
Spartalyticalon 29 Dec 2007 at 6:30 pm 1Out of the country? Nice! Where to?
What a game — you pegged the relative barn-burner. Defensively we were asleep (especially inside — resulting in relatively no foul trouble), but offensively things were clicking better than they have so far this season, possibly. Assists to FGMs was crazy, and Kalin Lucas had another huge game with four threes in the first half (none in the second, unfortunately). I was disappointed they didn’t crack 100, but I’ll gladly take a 12-1 record which, two weeks ago, I didn’t think was overly likely. After the game Izzo said they would have lost this game against a Big Ten opponent. Not sure about that, but the defense needs to step it up a bit when conference play starts in a week.
I can’t figure out what I think of Texas falling to Wisconsin. Surprised, yes, but what would have been better for our SOS?
td lawloron 30 Dec 2007 at 5:34 pm 2The Spartans were clicking on all cylinders on offense. As the previous post suggests and as Izzo noted, they wandered mentally on defense. But hey, standing at 12-1, there’s not too much to complain about. This looks like a team that gets better each time out and if that happens, they’ll be peaking in March. There’s obviously alot of pride on the team and I doubt they’ll accept any nights off in the Big Ten. The February 16 game in Bloomington is looking huge. As for Wisconsin beating Texas, I think it’s great for the Big Ten I’d think that helps Michigan State. With a load of young teams in various states of transition, the Big Ten needs as many non-conference wins as possible in order to establish some respect come Tourney time. Whether it’s Ohio State beating a young Florida team or the Badgers beating Texas on the road, it’s good for the Conference and if the Spartans beat up the Conference, it’s good for the Spartans. Provided the Big Ten champ doesn’t fall to league parity and they run the table or close to it, a Number 1 seed awaits. That’s why the Feb IU game will be a great one. Just a thought.
Balaon 31 Dec 2007 at 12:30 pm 3I was surprised at the way the defense gave up so much points. It looks like a good attack for MSU with Raymar, Kalin, Drew and Goran. We also have Durrell and Allen coming off the bench to provide quick offense. Overall, I like this team and it has the potential to win the Big 10 which we have not won since 2001.
Happy New Year to all of you and time to start BIG 10 basketball!
spartanbloggeron 31 Dec 2007 at 8:01 pm 4Out of the country = somewhere in the Caribbean. And I just realized the blog will be out of commission for the first THREE conference games (traveling Saturday to Saturday). Not the best way to get a sports blog rolling, eh?
Wisconsin beating Texas is probably a wash in terms of the SOS numbers since we play both of them one time. In terms of building a resume’ for at #1 seed, though, it would be nice for Texas to finish the regular season as a top 10 ranked team. So the loss hurts from the perspective. Good for the conference, though, as TD pointed out.
I see in the recap that Trevor Hughes didn’t play–so that’s a huge win for Wisconsin on the road. I’d say the Big Two in the conference (MSU/IU) can now safely be expanded to the Big Three.
Caught some of the UWGB game on the radio. Sounds like they were clicking on all gears on offense. Stat of the game: Walton and Lucas’ combined 20-0 assist-to-turnover ratio.