" title="Spartans Weblog">Spartans Weblog

Thursday/Friday/Sunday.  The Milk House, Orlando, Florida.  The ESPN family of networks.

Relevant links:

• Old Spice Classic bracket (PDF)
• Old Spice Classic TV schedule
• Bracketography.com OSC preview (written by Mlive’s Chris Mackinder)

Michigan State opens play at 7:00 on Thursday night vs. Maryland.  All four games on Thursday will be televised on ESPN2.

If MSU wins the first game, their remaining two games will be televised on ESPN (Friday) and ESPN2 (Sunday).  If they lose the opener, they’ll be relegated to ESPNU for the remainder of the weekend.

If the favorites all advance, MSU would play Gonzaga at 5:30 Friday night, and the winner of that game would play the Georgetown-Tennessee winner Sunday night at 7:30.

I’ve put together bullet-point capsules of the seven other teams in the tournament field, as a handy reference guide for your holiday weekend basketball viewing.  I expect to have game recaps up over the weekend, but I’m not guaranteeing how timely and/or comprehensive they will be.

Maryland

• 2007-08 record: 19-15 (8-8 in the ACC).
• 2007-08 tempo-free strength: Forcing tough shots; the Terrapins ranked 12th in the nation in defensive eFG% at 44.4%.
• 2007-08 tempo-free weakness: Turning the ball over; Maryland gave the ball up on 23.3% of their possessions, which ranked 291st in the country.
• 2007-08 tempo: 71.9 possessions/game.
• Returning players (based on minutes played): Seven of top nine players return; big men James Gist and Bambale Osby, who both averaged 2+ blocks per game, graduated.  (Other major losses were top recruits who never showed up, for one reason or another.)
• 2008-09 results to date: 3-0, with wins over Bucknell, Youngstown State, and Vermont (in OT).
• Key returning player: 6′5″ junior point guard Greivis Vasquez, who averaged 17.0 points and 6.8 assists per game last season (but shot just 30.9% from 3-point range).  Vasquez is averaging 22.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game through three games this season.
• Key newcomer: 6′8″ freshman forward Jin Soo Kim of South Korea, who is averaging 15.0 minutes per game this season and has made 3 of 5 three-point attempts.
• Opposition blog: Testudo Times.

Gonzaga

• 2007-08 record: 25-8 (13-1 in the West Coast Conference).
  
• 2007-08 tempo-free strength: Scoring inside the arc; Gonzaga ranked 12th in the nation in 2-point shooting percentage at 53.6%.
• 2007-08 tempo-free weakness: The Bulldogs were mediocre in the turnover department on both offense (20.6%) and defense (21.0%).
• 2007-08 tempo: 68.0 possessions/game.
• Returning players (based on minutes played): Seven of top ten players return; forward David Pendergraft, who the led the team in eFG% at 60.0%, graduated.
  
• 2008-09 results to date: 2-0, with wins against Montana State-Billings and Idaho (by 34, comparable to MSU’s margin of victory of 38 against Idaho).  Currently ranked #9/10 in the AP/coaches’ polls.
• Key returning player: 6′2″ senior point guard Jeremy Pargo, who averaged 12.1 points and 6.0 assists per game last season while shooting 58.5% on 2-point attempts.  (Also, keep an eye on 6′10″ sophomore forward Austin Daye, who averaged 10.5 points/game last season with a shooting line of .497/.413/.881.)
• Key newcomer: 5′11″ freshman guard Demetri Goodson, who’s averaged 2.5 assists in 17.5 minutes per game through two games.
• Opposition blog: The Kennel Report.

Oklahoma State

• 2007-08 record: 17-16 (7-9 in the Big 12).
• 2007-08 tempo-free strength: Creating turnovers; the Cowboys ranked 32nd in the nation in defensive TO% at 24.0%.
• 2007-08 tempo-free weakness: Giving up points at the line; Oklahoma State’s opponents put up a free throw rate of 44.1 (308th in the nation for OSU defensively).
• 2007-08 tempo: 66.9 possessions/game.
• Returning players (based on minutes played): Seven of top nine players return; leading rebounder Marcus Dove graduated.
• 2008-09 results to date: 4-0, with wins over University of Texas-San Antonio, North Texas, Tulsa, and Grambling State.
• Key returning player: 6′6″ sophomore guard James Anderson, who led the Cowboys in scoring last season at 13.3 points/game on 37.9% three-point shooting.
• Key newcomer: 5′10″ freshman guard Keaton Page, who has made 8 of 20 three-point attempts this season.

Tennessee

• 2007-08 record: 31-5 (14-2 in the SEC).
• 2007-08 tempo-free strength: Winning the turnover battle; the Volunteers gave the ball up on only 18.1% of possessions while forcing their opponents to do so on 24.5% of possessions.
• 2007-08 tempo-free weakness: Rebounding the ball defensively; Tennessee ranked 254th in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage at 65.2%.
• 2007-08 tempo: 72.6 possessions/game.
• Returning players (based on minutes played): Four of top nine players return; sharp shooter Chris Lofton graduated.
• 2008-09 results to date: 3-0, with wins over Chatanooga, Tennessee-Martin, and Middle Tennessee State.  Currently ranked #12/12 in the AP/coaches’ polls.
• Key returning player: 6′7″ junior forward Tyler Smith (formerly of Iowa), who averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season while shooting 55.5% on two-point attempts.
• Key newcomer: 6′2″ junior point guard Bobby Maze, who has put up 19 assists vs. just 3 turnovers in his first three games as a Volunteer.  (Maze has a winding career path.  He played briefly at Oklahoma before taking the junior college route. He was originally going to play for Maryland out of junior college, but his scholarship offer was rescinded, ostensibly for academic reasons.)
• Opposition blogs: Big Orange Basketball, The Bruce Ball Blog.

Siena

• 2007-08 record: 23-11 (13-5 in the Metro Atlantic Conference; advanced to second round of NCAA Tournament by beating Vanderbilt).
• 2007-08 tempo-free strength: Holding on to the ball; the Saints ranked 5th in the nation in offensive TO% at 15.7%.
• 2007-08 tempo-free weakness: Rebounding the ball defensively; Siena ranked 311th in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage at 63.0%.
• 2007-08 tempo: 69.9 possessions/game.
• Returning players (based on minutes played): Eight of top ten players return, including top five players by minutes played.
• 2008-09 results to date: 2-0, with wins over Boise State and Cornell.
• Key returning player: 6′3″ senior guard Kenny Hansbrouk, who averaged 16.1 points/game on 38.9% three-point shooting last season and is averaging 21.0 points/game through two games this season.
• Key newcomer: 6′2″ freshman guard Kyle Downey, who is averaging 10.5 points/game with a PPWS of 1.68 through two games.
• Opposition blog: Siena Saints Blog.

Georgetown

• 2007-08 record: 28-6 (15-3 in the Big East).
  
• 2007-08 tempo-free strength: Forcing tough shots; the Hoyas led the country in defensive effective FG% at 42.0%.
  
• 2007-08 tempo-free weakness: Creating turnovers; Georgetown’s opponents gave the ball up on just 18.9% of possessions (279th in the country).
  
• 2007-08 tempo: 62.1 possessions/game.
• Returning players (based on minutes played): Only four of top ten players return; center Roy Hibbert (13.4 points/game) graduated.
  
• 2008-09 results to date: 2-0, with wins against Jacksonville and Drexel.  Currently ranked #21/16 in the AP/coaches’ polls.
• Key returning player: 6′8″ junior forward DaJuan Summers, who averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season.
  
• Key newcomer: 6′11″ freshman center Greg Monroe, a McDonald’s All-American who has averaged 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks in his first two collegiate games.
• Opposition blog: The Van Buren Boys.

Wichita State

• 2007-08 record: 11-20 (4-14 in the Missouri Valley Conference).
• 2007-08 tempo-free strength: Rebounding the ball; the Shockers ranked in the top 25 nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage.
• 2007-08 tempo-free weakness: Making three-pointers; Wichita State shot just 30.8% from beyond the arc (321st in the nation).
• 2007-08 tempo: 61.4 possessions/game.
• Returning players (based on minutes played): Only four of top ten players return, including just one starter.
  
• 2008-09 results to date: 2-1, with a loss to the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
• Key returning player: 6′6″ senior forward Ramon Clemente, who led the team with 7.9 rebounds per game and ranked in the top 100 nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage last season.
• Key newcomer: 6′4″ freshman guard Toure’ Murray, who is averaging 12.0 points/game on 6-13 three-point shooting through three games.

This is a very solid preseason tournament field, with four teams that could conceivably be top ten teams by the time the college basketball season is over–and a Siena team that looks very solid.  MSU is a significant favorite against Maryland in the first round, although you can’t take anything for granted this early in the season.

At full strength, MSU would arguably be the favorite in the tournament, as their depth would provide a big advantage in playing three games in four days.  With Goran Suton’s knee injury limiting his minutes or removing him from the lineup altogehter, though, I’d say a 2-1 finish in the tournament (assuming an opening-round win) would be a solid outcome.

Generally, the field displays an up-tempo flavor, with five of MSU’s potential seven opponents averaging at least 67 possession/game last season.  Georgetown is probably the worst match-up for MSU, if we were to get to the final.  They play at a much slower pace than the other major contenders in the tournament, and Greg Monroe would be a very tough match-up in light of Suton’s and Delvon Roe’s injury situations.  Roe probably can’t be expected to play more than 10-15 minutes per game in a tournament like this one at this point.

Regardless of the match-up, Marquise Gray and Draymond Green will need to provide some quality minutes in the post throughout the weekend.  And Idong Ibok and/or Tom Herzog will probably be called on to play spot roles at some point in the tournament.  Those four guys, along with Raymar Morgan, will need to rebound the ball defensively, to allow MSU to push the ball on offense and take advantage of its speed and perimeter depth.

Load up on turkey and stuffing Thursday afternoon and settle in on your sofa for a long, and hopefully enjoyable, weekend of college hoops, my friends.

Tags: georgetown, gonzaga, maryland, oklahoma state, old spice classic, siena, tennessee, wichita state