" title="Spartans Weblog">Spartans Weblog

MSU beats Texas 78-72 in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate.  I just wrapped up watching the game on DVR (it’s midnight) so I’m going to go rapid-fire bullet-style on the recap.  Box score here.

I was surprised when I pulled up the box score and calculated this was only [...]

ESPN.com’s Andy Glockner points out Texas’ newfound offensive balance and maintained proficiency with Kevin Durant out of the equation, using tempo-free stats to make his case. Sound familiar?
I’m told Burnt Orange Nation will have a game preview up later and it may include a reference to my game preview. So check that out [...]

6:30 Saturday. The Palace of Auburn Hills. ESPN2.
The Longhorns are undefeated at 10-0. They are ranked #4 in the AP poll and #5 in the coaches’ poll. Arguably, they should be ranked even higher, given that that they have two of the most impressive victories in all of college basketball this [...]

Chris Allen is out for the Texas game: As Joe Rexrode notes, it would have been nice to have him back as Texas apparently plays a lot of zone.  On the other hand, he’d probably be pretty rusty.
Mr. Rexrode also has some scheduling morsels: MSU will play Texas the next three seasons.  Kansas will play [...]

The Spartans defeat the mini-Spartans in a rout: 85-45.  I had the chance to watch this one in person–and it was the kind of game you want to see your team play against a patsy.  MSU built a 15-point half time lead and didn’t let up–outscoring San Jose State by 25 in the second half.  [...]

It’s the Spartans versus the Spartans (sort of like Ditka vs. Mini-Ditka?). MSU hosts San Jose State Wednesday night at 8:00. The game is on the Big Ten Network. The LSJ says Chris Allen will miss the game due to the bone bruise in his foot and is “questionable” for Saturday’s game vs. Texas.
San Jose [...]

With conference play approaching, let’s take a quick look at who’s scoring the ball efficiently across the Big Ten. We’ll use points per weighted shot (PPWS), which measures how many points a player is scoring compared to the number of shots he’s taking–both from the field and from the line.
PPWS = PTS / (FGA [...]