http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/.....id=3316300

I know he hasn’t been playing too much in this tournament (6 combined minutes in two games), but I think we need him healthy this game. Hopefully he can still contribute in a small amount of playing time and this isn’t anything serious.

Hopefully, they will be surprised by our defense as a team! Huge key is CDR, other than Morgan (whose defensive efforts have been hugely affected by his foul troubles), i’m not sure who matches up well with him.
If Walton plays some tough minutes on CDR with the 6 eyes help, that will be impressive given the height difference.
Grey has the size and ability but probably not the feet even if his knee wasn’t hurt. Even with a brace, his lateral movement has to be affected. Might be a huge break-out defensively for Summers, if so would make a big difference in 40 minutes of good, strong defense.

Offensively we need to be
solid and patient yet still run IF the opportunity is there.
Their backcourt is taller so we need clean looks and not shoot through the defender type shots.

Ohio State did us a
big favor with their press. Former Izzo teams made teams pay dearly for pressing us (none better than in the National title game against FL), hope this team can do well and avoid turnovers. They did much better the 2nd game against the press.

Memphis has a lot of experience with the two recent elite eights yet also the fear of here we go again if they are truly in danger of losing. They haven’t had to win many close games however we have lost leads late in the game so can’t really say we are better at winning close games this season. For some reason i think Memphis wins the intangibles except for the seeding-created expectations.
Watch they will shoot a season-high free throw percentage though hopefully not as good as ours. Hope the free throws are somewhat even and limited in terms of game flow.

Go State! We can win this game as a team and with defense.

The keys to the game as I see them:

1. Raymar Morgan needs to play 35 minutes, and needs to not be sitting due to foul trouble EVER. He also needs to be pulling down rebounds and has to make at least one 3 point shot (it seems as if he always plays well when he makes a 3.)

2. Guard play. If Neitzel and Lucas and Allen are all making their threes, good night Memphis. If not all three, I’ll take any two of the three, and they have to be responsible for at least forty points.

3. Turnovers. They’re bad to give to a fast-break team. Don’t do it. I.E. Limit the amount of time Walton has his hands on the ball.

4. GIVE NAYMICK OPEN LOOKS AT TWELVE TO FIFTEEN FEET. The guy would have the best FG% if he shot it enough. How many times have you seen him miss that 12 foot floater? Not very many.

5. On the same token, Neitzel needs to stop trying to make layups. Have you ever seen him make one? Me either.

6. Defense. I don’t know how, or what kind, but I know it’s important.

I’m not going to say too much about Memphis, because I think if they lose they’ll basically have to beat themselves, but I also think that we can be the better team and send them home. We’re in the final 12 at the moment, and by the time our game gets over we’ll either be in the Elite 8 or we’ll be the last team eliminated before that. So, no matter how it shakes out we’ll at least have been in the final nine.

My prediction (sorry, I’m not kenpom): If MSU loses, it’ll be by five points or less.

That’s all.

GO GREEN!

1) Wore green #11 shirt for win vs. Ohio State in Indy.
2) Switched to green “Victory for MSU” shirt for loss to Wisconsin.
3) Have worn #11 shirt for the two NCAA tournament games.

It’s the #11 shirt for the distance. I blame myself for that Wisconsin loss. Maybe Neitzel would have hit the shot at the buzzer if he’d seen me sporting his number in the upper deck . . .

Think I’ll stick with the ‘07 Frozen Four T-shirt. Worked just fine on Saturday.