sacraig
- The desert
For now.
Pregame: Illinois at Michigan State, Sunday, January 19th, 11:00am CT, CBS
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Izzo is one of the better coaches in the big, but that doesn't mean he is not an !!! hat. He has proven over and over to be classless when it comes to the thuggery and shenanigans of his players he allows. Never reprimanding any of them beyond what is required by the officials or ncaa. Brad on the other hand often adds punishment beyond the minimal to make it clear that he does not allow that type of play to go on here. Leave that punk a## stuff to the Michigan's and the MSUs of the league.
I really want this one, and think we can get it if our threes are falling at a reasonable clip. Doesn't have to be 50% but 40% is reaaonable for this bunch, esp. since the passing of Kylan and KJ and Tomi creates the usual open looks. If you look at the upcoming schedule, a win here would be HUGE since we're following up with two winnable home games.
Will the Illini come to play or will they sleep walk thru another 11:00 start? If they do it won't be pretty. If they come and play with energy and are focused I think they win. It will be close. Illin 84-Sparty 81
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I do get this, but the incessant whining and complaining does get old. You don't have to be like Lon Kruger (who never got a technical foul at Illinois and who I can't really remember really having it out with an official), but Izzo's sideline behavior is grating. Great coach, but the questions about some of the misconduct issues around his team and his sideline behavior are warrented.
I'm keeping it simple, we win this if we hit more than 10 threes regardless of the percentage. They're a fast paced high scoring team but if they play that way with us, we have the advantage IMO.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
While this team is obviously young and even more so “new,” winning a conference championship and returning to the Second Weekend of the NCAAT are still realistic goals … and considering how important a team’s seed is to making a run, those two goals are a lot more related than they appear on the surface.
The way I see it, we used up two mulligans at once vs. USC, lol. A dominant Quad 1 win at Indiana helped take the alawful taste out of our collective mouth, but a Quad 1 win at first place MSU would probably more than make up for the USC loss overall. A loss still leaves us in a good spot, but a win Sunday is a VERY important measuring stick for what kind of ceiling we are looking at this regular season!
I have an optimistic feeling that we turn in another high-energy performance and are able to outlast a fired up MSU team in front of a hostile crowd.
Illini 84
Spartans 80
The way I see it, we used up two mulligans at once vs. USC, lol. A dominant Quad 1 win at Indiana helped take the alawful taste out of our collective mouth, but a Quad 1 win at first place MSU would probably more than make up for the USC loss overall. A loss still leaves us in a good spot, but a win Sunday is a VERY important measuring stick for what kind of ceiling we are looking at this regular season!
I have an optimistic feeling that we turn in another high-energy performance and are able to outlast a fired up MSU team in front of a hostile crowd.
Illini 84
Spartans 80
Minutes, seconds or total number of times.
MSU is surely due for a clunker, aren't they?
Their 6 conference wins are against teams in the bottom 7 in the conference standings. Time to make them feel some real high pressure in a game.
Fears/ KJ is going to be fun.
Lets show that we got the better guy.
Lets show that we got the better guy.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
It’s those two winnable home games that scare me.
Bigtex
- DFW
MSU has played great but so far they have the easiest BIG schedule. Should be a good matchup but the schedule for MSU gets tougher. H and A against both Ilinois and Michigan
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I would change that to match-ups are critical to making a run. That said, no one is going to want to play this team in March/April. My view is that realistically the best we'll do is a 2 seed. Could we get a 1? Maybe, but Duke, Auburn and Tennessee have a very strong inside track at this point, and we'll almost certainly have some more growing pains.
Big game. There are six teams currently with 2 or fewer conference losses. MSU has quite a few tough games yet to play.
0 MSU
1 Purdue, Mich
2 ILL, OR, Wiscy
Agreed on Duke & Auburn as I see them as basically 1A and 1B right now.
Tennessee just has not impressed me via eye test. I thought we played poorly against them, also choked away multiple possessions down the stretch, and still almost won that game. They just got beat 73-43 a week ago. They are a very good defensive team, but they struggle to score with their smaller guard trio and bigs that honestly just aren't that talented on the offensive side of the ball.
Wrong Fears. MSU Jeremy Fears is the older brother of OK Jeremiah Fears.
Different Fears
I'm confident we've got the stronger guy and the better defender.
We were in on both.
Not me. I think that USC upset at SFC flushed those out of our system.It’s those two winnable home games that scare me.
All 5 starters can hit the three pretty reliably. Throw in Will Dra and Jake and we got 8 guys who can score beyond the arc. I’m really hoping we see great ball movement and cash in on those “one more” passes for the open three.
Playing at Breslin is always tough, but I like our chances. MSU seems a bit inflated with the easy schedule. They lost to Kansas and Memphis. Their best wins are Nebby, an overrated UNC, @OSU, and @NW. The question is which team shows up Sunday? The USC/NW one or the OR/IN/PSU one?
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