Spartans get bounced from the Big Ten Tournament
Michigan State’s run in the Big Ten Tournament is over. They fell 67-62 to Purdue in a game that ended up being much closer than it looked like it was going to be for a large stretch.
The good news is that we (probably) never have to play against Zach Edey again.
The bad news is that we are now at the mercy of the selection committee on Sunday evening. We should be in, but there is at least a drop of nervousness in my stomach.
Here’s the only summary you need for this game. Michigan State shot 4-18 from beyond the three-point arc. Today was not the day for that. Let’s get to the lists.
3 Things I Liked:
- Mady Sissoko. We knew all the Spartan big men were going to have their hands full with Zach Edey today. That is just the way it is. Mady Sissoko was arguably the most effective of MSU’s defenders in manning up the overgrown Boilermaker. While he did not contribute much on the offensive end, he did cause Edey to be off target on a few of his attempts and he also powered his way for seven rebounds, tied for the team lead. He also forced a couple of jump-ball whistles, with one going each way on the possession arrow. What I liked most about him today was Coach Izzo giving him longer stretches. I know some of this was necessity as everyone was getting into foul trouble, but it was nice to see Tom not yanking him immediately every time he was called for a foul. We have seen this sort of effort from him in the past. I’m glad to see it is still there despite the significant reduction in his minutes. It will be needed if we are in the dance.
- Blocked shots. The Spartans stopped eight of Purdue’s shots before they even got to the basket. Eight different players had one block. Interestingly enough, the only two guys who did not record a blocked shot were Mady Sissoko and Carson Cooper.
- Staying in the game. I have always hated the term, “moral victory”, but if there was ever a time to use it, this could be it. Purdue is on their way to getting a 1-seed in the tournament and we had this game as a one-possession game in the final minute of the game. If it were not for the aforementioned awful three-point shooting (and maybe some less generous foul calls that went in Purdue’s favor), MSU really could have won this game. Purdue would punch MSU with a small run and then MSU would punch back. The Spartans fell behind by as much as twelve points in the second half, but battled all the way back to tie the game briefly before Fletcher Loyer’s corner three put Purdue back up to stay. They could have easily caved at several points in this game, but they put their heads down, dug deep, and kept fighting. This mentality is the one that could get this team an upset or two in the tournament, especially if their shot is more dependable. If they can hang with Purdue, they can hang in there with anybody.
3 Dislikes:
- Zach Edey. Enough said, but I will elaborate anyway. I don’t really have a problem with the calls he drew today. Honestly, there were really only one or two that were on the gratuitous side. But what I can’t stand are the fouls he gets away with. Sure, it is not his fault that he is much taller than everyone else, but that should not exempt him from having control of his arms. The number of times he pushed an elbow into a Spartan’s face, neck, or upper torso were too many to count. Call some of those and some of Purdue’s points come off the board. That matters in a close game.
- Plays out of timeouts. It seems like MSU is having a growing issue with this lately. In today’s game, MSU called a timeout with 1:14 remaining in the game. The play they came out of the commercial with was a dribble penetration by Hoggard and a kick out to a stepped-out Xavier Booker for a triple. Yes, Booker can hit the three-ball from the top of the key. My issue is that he had only taken one shot in the game at that point and was in no way in any sort of offensive rhythm. Why not give it to the hot hand or at least someone who has taken a few shots on the day in that situation? Oh well, at least the call was not for a Tyson Walker isolation play. We have seen a bunch of those lately, and the results have not been good in the last few games, especially not in the biggest moments.
- The shooting. I’ll finish with the biggest thing. This is the single reason why MSU did not win today. MSU was 24-61 on FGs. If you take out the combined 5-8 from Cooper, Kohler, Booker, and Sissoko, shots that all were within a couple feet of the rim, then MSU went 19-53 on all their other shots. That is about a 36% conversion rate. I hope they got the bad shooting out of their systems and it is much better the rest of March.
That’s it. The Big Ten Semifinals will be tomorrow but MSU’s basketball team will not be in it. But MSU’s hockey team will be in their semifinal tomorrow! Article coming for that one.