Report from the Breslin Center
January 19, 2009 12:29 AM
After watching the game from a GREAT seat at the Breslin Center, I came away with more encouraging thoughts than depressing thoughts.
1. Chester Frazier plays his butt off. He works harder on the court than anyone I can remember.
2. Michigan State is a beast on the boards. We were able to contain their post-ups by pressuring the ball and making entry passes difficult, but they go to the boards with a vengeance. It's not hard to understand why they're one of the best rebounding teams in the country.
3. Alex Legion gets off shots so quickly it's amazing. It's almost impossible to block his shot because he gets it off so fast.
4. Trent Meacham really looks overmatched against big, quick guards. He was rushing his whole game and it showed on the stat sheet. We were much better when Legion, DMac, Chester, and Brock were on the floor.
5. We NEED a big banger inside. Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale are skilled finesse players, but they're never going to be the kind of enforcer we need to control the paint at both ends. Michigan State drove the ball hard in the second half and there was never a price for them to pay for taking it down the lane. Chris Allen's uncontested dunk was the most obvious example of that problem.
Filed under: Illini Basketball, Michigan State Spartans
1. Chester Frazier plays his butt off. He works harder on the court than anyone I can remember.
2. Michigan State is a beast on the boards. We were able to contain their post-ups by pressuring the ball and making entry passes difficult, but they go to the boards with a vengeance. It's not hard to understand why they're one of the best rebounding teams in the country.
3. Alex Legion gets off shots so quickly it's amazing. It's almost impossible to block his shot because he gets it off so fast.
4. Trent Meacham really looks overmatched against big, quick guards. He was rushing his whole game and it showed on the stat sheet. We were much better when Legion, DMac, Chester, and Brock were on the floor.
5. We NEED a big banger inside. Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale are skilled finesse players, but they're never going to be the kind of enforcer we need to control the paint at both ends. Michigan State drove the ball hard in the second half and there was never a price for them to pay for taking it down the lane. Chris Allen's uncontested dunk was the most obvious example of that problem.
