Comments on: Michigan Game Recap (2/10/09)

By: The Top Ten Performances of the 2008-09 Season | Spartans Weblog

The Top Ten Performances of the 2008-09 Season | Spartans Weblog — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:56:07 +0000

[...] Delvon Roe at Michigan 14 points on 5-7 FG shooting, 10 rebounds From the game recap: “Delvon Roe finally put together the kind of game we’ve been hoping for against a smaller [...]

By: kj

kj — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:10:28 +0000

Allen just hasn’t been able to find his 3-point stroke for more than a couple games in a row. Like most shooters, if he’s not making jumpshots he starts making bad decisions elsewhere on the court.

If he can ever put it all together, though, he will be a force to be reckoned with. He’s got a lot more athleticism than a typical 3-point specialist.

By: Dylan @ UMHoops

Dylan @ UMHoops — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:06:07 +0000

One other thing RE: Allen. He really struggled, he always seemed like a pretty damn talented player during his recruitment and I haven’t watched MSU that much this year but has he been that bad all the time?

By: Dylan @ UMHoops

Dylan @ UMHoops — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:05:10 +0000

KJ: You just about have it. The student section does their best but the rest of the crowd sits on their hands. I was still disappointed with the number of MSU fans in the stands but Michigan basketball fans have never really given me reason to expect anything else.

I’ve been to one MSU game at the Breslin, the U-M game two years ago. It was pretty much a blizzard and an crappy game but it was shocking that your non-student fans actually stood up and cheered etc.

By: spartanloaf

spartanloaf — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:52:50 +0000

Regarding Thornton, my memory is that he came in after Walton’s 3rd foul in the middle of the 2nd half. From my perspective, it was worth a try. By that time in the game, it was already clear that Allen was not a positive so Thornton was a reasonable option. Earlier in the season, I thought Thornton was a contributor but it is probably unrealistic to think he will be real productive when he hasn’t had significant minutes in months.

By: schilla1

schilla1 — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:37:58 +0000

DP99- I have to admit I only follow football, basketball, and to a lesser extent, women’s basketball. I am not a hockey or baseball guy.

Narrowing the scope a little bit, name me the last year MSU won in Ann Arbor in football and basketball? I know Jim Miller was the starting QB the last time they won in AA period, ignoring basketball, meaning it’s been at least 10 years on that side.

The Capital One Bowl shouldn’t be confused with the Rose Bowl either, but it still carries some prestige. Perhaps I’m still giddy about being able to hand it to UM in the 2 major sports, but I still maintain the success to date is worthy of some historical perspective.

// Upon further consideration, technically the most recent football win in AA was 2008, not 09, but hopefully you get my point.

By: DP99

DP99 — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:23:40 +0000

Ok. It’s funny, on TV some arenas can appear louder on TV than they are in person, others just the opposite. I always felt Breslin didn’t sound as loud on TV than what I’d experience in person. I could hear some “go green, go white” chants, so maybe that’s a bit on an indictment.

By: kj

kj — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:49:20 +0000

Regarding the crowd:

On the one hand, there weren’t nearly as many MSU fans as in past years–maybe half the number. Michigan fans are clearly more engaged in terms of buying tickets and filling the seats.

On the other hand, the crowd didn’t impress me in terms of picking the team up. They reacted to a couple Michigan mini-runs, but never initiated the kind of spontaneous support the Breslin crowd gives MSU at key moments. And their student section still isn’t big enough to be a factor on its own.

That’s the way it looked from the top row in the arena, at least.

By: DP99

DP99 — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:28:08 +0000

It seemed to me like a very ragged game and difficult to evaluate because both team haven’t been very consistent (Michigan being krrrr-zy inconsistent). I don’t know how to evaluate MSU offense against Michigan defense, since the overall stats for Michigan defense aren’t good, but they’ve now made all of Duke, UCLA, UConn, and MSU look some level of discombobulated with the 1-3-1. I don’t know how to evaluate MSU defense since Michigan offense can miss a cascade of 3 attempts all on it’s own. So there you go. I have no idea. Looked like a pretty tough crowd at Crisler, so in general I’m glad MSU was still able to manage that.

schilla1 – not to be picky, but ok, this is coming out well so far for football and basketball, but one of the best years ever for MSU athletics? Ten years ago football was 10-2 with a Citrus Bowl win, men’s basketball was in the championship runs, the hockey team was in the frozen four, wrestling was still decent, and women’s volleyball was in their final four. Football is making a comeback, basketball maintained it’s level, and the other things are about falling apart.

By: Mark in Chicago

Mark in Chicago — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:08:03 +0000

Thornton is allegedly a very good shooter, so maybe Izzo had him in there to try and hit a few 3’s, since Allen wasn’t giving him much. That’s the only reason I can think of.