MSU scored 0.88 p/p. That’s a lot worse than 1.02, which would’ve beat this version of Syracuse (0.92) as well. That was a nice game by McGary.
Growing up and starting his career in Upstate NY, Beilein is too familiar with that zone and had multiple chances to face it when at WVU. I think that 2013 final four is the first time Beilein beat Boeheim.
It is a bit unfair when Beilein clearly had less talent than Boeheim. Beilein finally had equal or even better talents in the final four game. But the last time Beilein beat Boeheim, our front court was Doyle, Donnal and Bielfeldt.
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It was still a bad offensive performance overall. Just because it was better than MSU’s abysmal performance doesn’t mean we need to portray it as a good game plan and performance.
This is not the first time that Izzo has faced Boheim.
And as for prep time, if Izzo was watching on selection Sunday, then he would have known that Syracuse was a potential opponent. That is plenty of time to prepare a plan of attack.
With 3:15 left in the game we had the ball, were stalling/ running time off the clock, up 8 points.
The last 3 minutes were not executed very well as we were trying to delay while Syracuse was pressuring for turnovers. We turned the ball over against their pressure and missed a lot of free throws that were a result of Syracuse’s aggressive play: Spike missed front end of 1 and 1; Mcgary missed 3 free throws in a row. Trey and Horford missed half of of their free throws in the closing minute or so…
We executed poorly at the end but our performance against a similarly ranked Syracuse half court defense was much much better than the garbage MSU showed On Sunday. Night and day, IMO. Plus 2013 Syracuse was actually very good on offense, whereas, 2018 Syracuse is absolute garbage on offense.
Izzo did not have his lottery picks prepared.
(Or, Izzo played the wrong guys.)
Either way, another Izzo fail.
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there is no question that Beilein is a much better offensive mind than Izzo. and Izzo has no excuse for his poor game plan on Sunday. but Boeheim should get the credit he deserves. that zone is NOT easy to crack even for John Beilein.
I’ve already said that MSU was abysmal. That’s irrelevant to how well we did against it. As well as how big our lead was. All that tells us is that Syracuse’s offense was worse than ours that night, not whether we had a good performance.
We were good enough that night and that’s all that really matters. But doing good enough and doing a good job are not mutually inclusive.
My point was, I don’t think 1.02 tells the whole story.
No doubt they play a difficult zone defense. However, they lost 13 games this year and, without looking, I assume most of those were to lesser regarded teams with non-HOF coaches.
With 3:15 left in the game we had the ball, were stalling/ running time off the clock, up 8 points. The last 3 minutes were not executed very well as we were trying to delay while Syracuse was pressuring for turnovers.
This is just about the only gripe I’ve had with Beilein - we find ourselves in that situation a lot, where we’re up 6-10 points with a few minutes left and then we go into clock-killing mode which just results in empty possessions, and our opponent comes back from the dead. We should just keep running our regular offense; it’s deliberate enough.
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Yes or no. They have an awful offensive team and nobody can win without putting the basketball into the basket. Second, teams in the same conference face the zone a couple of times a year and are more prepared.
I hate trying to run time off the clock. Keep attacking!
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Probably no way to direct-compare the efficacy, but I would be interested in attempts to try. I think what Dean Smith would tell us is that if you play the old Four Corners cleverly than you can end up with guys free and easy baskets.
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In games like syracuse…put your best talent on the floor and let them BALL! i said this before…Tom over coached this! Let the horses out of the barn and let them run. When you play syracuse this is more like a game in the park for next up. You can play them straight up if you have the talent or you better control the damn ball…like JB’s teams. Leaving JJ on the bench was a mistake…unleash the beast!
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Thank you, I’m still enjoying The Spartanfreude!
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Michigan versus Syracuse replay on BTN now.
“The way they are attacking the Syracuse zone is beautiful.”
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That’s a fantastic troll job, good lord.
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Interesting article. And I agree completely with the assertion that declaring, going through the combine process and returning back to school can really hurt these kids. Especially when your draft prospects are pretty known prior to going to the combine.
While getting information on what you need to improve on is a good thing for the development of the player, the fact is most of these guys should know what they need to improve. Going to the combine and “showcasing” those areas which are lacking can leave a lasting image with these scouts. I think a lot of these guys are much better off exploring things behind the scenes and staying away from the combine.
For example, kam chatman declared for the draft. I just don’t see what he has to gain by doing that when its pretty clear he won’t be drafted. If I was him I would stay as far away from draft competition as I could, continue to dominate in the horizon and maybe somebody takes a flyer on you.