" title="Spartans Weblog">Spartans Weblog

MSU defeats NMU in a landslide, 118-57.

I ended up attending the game in person, which was good since it sounds like the streaming video thing wasn’t a flaming success.

Michigan State came out flaunting their new high-tempo game plan.  They applied full-court pressure on every made basket or dead ball.  It’s not a full-court trap.  They play man to man, with the defender assigned to the opposing player who’s taking the ball out-of-bounds dropping back to help cover other players in the back court.  This allows them to easily drop back into man-to-man defense what’s the ball has been in-bounded.

This system is designed more to wear down the other team’s players using MSU’s depth than it is to create turnovers.  But against an opponent like Northern, it created plenty of turnovers.  It was at least the 4th NMU possession of the gape before the Wildcats got the ball into their own half of the court.

Here are a few player notes.  You’ll note that, here at the Spartans Weblog, we’re engaged an intensive preseason blogging drills, which include writing a game recap before a complete box score is available.

• Durrell Summers was the star, scoring 30 points in 16 minutes of play.  He knocked down several 3-pointers consecutively and scored in transition all night.
• I can’t wait to see what Delvon Roe looks like when he’s 100% healthy.  He’s already remarkably agile and skilled on both ends of the floor for someone who will play the 4 and 5 spots.
• Outside of missing some open looks from the outside, Austin Thornton was impressive tonight.  Izzo gave the walk-on minutes comparable to the other non-starter-level players.  As far as ball-handling and defense goes, he may be a superior option to Isaiah Dahlman.  (Positive for Dahlman: He’s shooting when he’s open, which is what he needs to do to have any shot at playing substantial minutes.)
• If Kalin Lucas shoots the ball from the outside the way he did tonight, he’s going to be scary good.  His quickness going to the basket and mid-range game will be even more deadly if he’s knocking down 3-pointers consistently.  Dee Brown 2.0.
• I’m a little worried about Raymar Morgan.  Several times tonight when he got the ball in the lane, he struggled to score over Northern’s big men, who are obviously not as big as the players that will occupy the lane for our opponents the rest of the season.
• Goran Suton was quiet.  Partly a function of an up-tempo game with no opportunities to establish the low-post.  Also probably a function of the knee problem that’s slowed him in practice.

Beyond that, the rest of the guys played pretty much as expected based on what we saw in the two scrimmages.

As far as Northern goes, you have to feel a little sorry for 10 guys riding a bus down from Marquette to get beaten up like they did.  (I assume they don’t have the money to fly.)  They certainly seemed to play with great effort throughout the game, and they did manage to frustrate Izzo by putting together a scoring spurt early in the second half to draw MSU’s lead back down to about 30.  But they were simply completely over-matched athletically–leading to a flurry of fouls that resulted in 57 free throw attempts for MSU.

Finally, Kurt had privately told me to keep an eye on the antics of the Wildcats’ coach, Dean Ellis, who apparently has a reputation for keeping things lively on the sidelines.  Tonight, he may have exceeded even Kurt’s expectations, though, as he managed to get ejected from an exhibition game.  I’m still not sure exactly what set him off, either.

A Northern player (I don’t know who) came down the court on the fast break.  Travis Walton stepped up and drew the charge.  Ellis immediately ran toward the players from the other end of the court–I think to protest something, not to check on the Northern player.  I’m not sure if he thought Walton somehow undercut the guy?  Before Ellis was even all the way down the court, though, Walton and the NMU player were shaking hands.  And one of the NMU players (not sure if it was the same one) seemed to be explaining the situation to Ellis he walked off the floor after the two technicals were called on him.  Bizarre.  Added some spice to a game in which the outcome wasn’t in question for even the first two minutes, though.

Up next is that other big U.P. rival: The Lake Superior State Lakers come to town next Monday.

Update: Box score is here.  88-possession game.

Tags: austin thornton, durrell summers, northern michigan