" title="Spartans Weblog">Spartans Weblog

I’ve decided not to post any commentary of a forward-looking nature until we get over to the new site. For now, let’s revel in the season that has been.
One of the things that made this season so special was the number of guys who stepped up at various times during the season to get [...]

The Spartans battle past the Trojans 74-69 in a 69-possession game.  StatSheet box score.
It’s a cliche’ to say that a player “willed” his team to victory.  But, if ever that cliche’ was true, it was today.  Here’s a breakdown of the 74 points MSU scored today:

24 points on free throws.
18 points on 3-pointers.
16 points on [...]

Sunday is Senior Day.  Here’s your discussion question: What the first word that pops into your head when you hear the name of each of four seniors?
My (alliterative) answers are below.
Goran Suton
Improvement.
Suton’s key tempo-free numbers for the four years he was an active player:

Stat
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09

OffRtg
95.0
98.2
113.8
119.2

eFG%
47.0
50.9
55.4
56.6

TO%
25.2
26.1
20.4
19.6

OffReb%
10.0
11.6
13.6
13.8

DefReb%
13.4
19.7
22.3
21.0

While most four-year players show improved efficiency over their careers, you’re not [...]

Missouri’s J.T. Tiller captains the 10th-annual All-Glue team
Travis Walton becomes the first Spartan to make Seth Davis’ All-Glue Team.  (How did Alan Anderson never make it?)
Tom Izzo to shave his head after NCAA tournament
File under “good decision” (to wait).
Would Morgan have been capable of slam 4 months ago?
The State News speculates about Raymar’s weight.
Green Man [...]

The Spartans vanquish the Illini 74-66 in a 71-possession game.  StatSheet box score.
I don’t know what it is about this team, but I just can’t get as tense as I’m used to getting late in close games.  Even when Illinois pulled back even seven minutes to go, I had a strange sense of calm about [...]

The Spartans stick it to the Badgers 60-51 in a 59-possessions game.  StatSheet box score.
Let’s start with what still worries me after this game: Three-point shooting.  MSU made just 2 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc, with both makes coming in the final minutes of the game.  That’s our fourth straight game with 3 [...]

The Spartans battle past the Wolverines 54-42 in a 55-possession game.  StatSheet box score.
This is not the bar graph we were expecting:
Stats by StatSheet.com

They turned the ball over more than we did.  And we barely outrebounded them.
In the end, it came down to creating scoring opportunities.  We converted 2 more field goals and 9 more [...]