" title="Spartans Weblog">Spartans Weblog

4:00 Sunday.  Assembly Hall, Champaign, Illinois.  CBS.
Let’s start with the numbers:

Category
MSU Off
Rk

ILL Def
Rk

PPP
1.08
1t

0.91
1

TO%
22.1
8

20.3
6

eFG%
48.9
6

43.7
1

FTR
38.4
1

25.8
2

OffReb%
43.7
1

32.5
8t

Category
ILL Off
Rk

MSU Def
Rk

PPP
0.98
9

0.94
2t

TO%
18.1
3

20.5
5

eFG%
48.8
7

47.9
4

FTR
20.4
11

34.0
7

OffReb%
28.6
6

25.1
1

This game will most likely be decided by how well MSU plays on offense.  Ot the other end of the court, it’s hard to see how Illinois’ offense is going to generate a lot of scoring against us.  Illinois just doesn’t [...]

The situation:

Thanks to some help from our friends in Ann Arbor, both our closest pursuers in the conference race both have 5 losses now.
We have 3 losses.
We have 3 games remaining.
If any Big Ten road game has ever been a near-certain win, the game in Bloomington next week is it.
Barring that upset happening, we are [...]

Game 29: Purdue at Michigan Preview
Tonight and tonight only: Go Blue!
The Race In The Homestretch
Big Ten Country breaks it down.
Chat Tomorrow, PLUS: Tempo-Free Twins!
Step right up and ask TAFKATBTW a question.
America’s Best College Basketball Coaches
Forbes says Izzo is #6, behind Williams/Self/Howland/Krzyzewski/Donovan.  (Hat tip: Bucky’s 5th Quarter.)

Following last night’s narrower-than-expected win, I’ve seen several observers (both here and elsewhere) say that MSU is “inconsistent.”  This is a particularly sensitive topic for us Spartan fans, since last year’s team (which scored 36 points in a loss against Iowa and 103 in a win over Indiana) had the very definition of an inconsistent [...]

Loyal reader (and German resident) Matt LeMeiux was kind enough to send along this update on the current exploits of Drew Netizel:
Greeting from Deutschland,
It has been an interesting month for Drew and his team. While Drew’s minutes have increased and he has finally broken into the starting five, the team has been struggling to say [...]

MSU scoots by Iowa 62-54 in a 59-possession game.  StatSheet box score.
The reflexive thing to say after you’ve beat a vastly inferior team by just 8 points at home is to say the team “lost focus” or “didn’t keep their foot on the pedal.”  I’m going to resist that temptation and say MSU did exactly [...]

Once again, fate has smiled upon me and I will be at the Breslin Center tonight (albeit sitting high above the court).
So you’ll have to chat amongst yourselves.  Here’s a topic: How the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire.
Also: How many points/minutes are you hoping to see out of Raymar tonight?