Pretty sure that block was against Louisville.
NC stands for National Championship in this case.
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I live in North Carolina so I am brainwashed on NC representing this state. Mea culpa! No offense @chazer - I should have figured that out given the context. No Wolverine will ever forget that play.
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All good my bad, I got lazy!
I know I’m responding to an old comment, but the reason fans thought MSU was overrated last year wasn’t just because our sweep of them, but also because they were just 1-3 overall against the Big Ten’s other tournament-bound teams (UM, OSU, Purdue). Not only was the league down last year, but they had about the most favorable schedule possible, playing the other contenders once apiece - that was a prime argument for expanding the schedule to 20 games (and making the UM/MSU rivalry protected).
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So with Langford and Ward out, one would have to think that Cassius Winston would need a great individual offensive game to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor…right?
They may only need to score 65 points to win, but yeah he’ll have to play well at minimum and McQuaid and Goins need to hit open 3s.
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If Simpson can limit Winston and Matthews prevent McQuaid from going off, I don’t see how MSU has enough weapons to win the game.
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Xavier Tillman isn’t bad. He plays his ass off so I wouldn’t discard him personally. He’s going to rim run and he’s more nimble than Ward. I still think it’s going to be a battle. They won’t roll over just because they lost a few guys. All the more motivation to beat us.
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Definitely didn’t say they would roll over. But hell yeah I’d rather play Tillman and Kithier over Ward and Tillman. Even as a starter, Tillman won’t be nearly as good a scorer as Ward. He is a nice player, but he’s nicer as another body to throw at teams off the bench. I think Teske can prevent Tillman from being the 15-20 point post scorer that Ward is.
And other than Winston and McQuaid, they don’t have a lot of scoring firepower left. And it just so happens that they will be guarded by Michigan’s two best defenders. If Michigan loses at home to this depleted MSU team, it will be a bad look.
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The main benefit of Ward being out for Michigan is that Tillman is much less likely to put Teske into foul trouble, and will be a bit easier for Livers and Johns to guard down low when necessary.
I don’t get Izzo’s comments about not wanting to play small with Goins at C. Is Kithier any bigger than Goins?
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On their official roster they list Kithier at 6’8 225 and Goins at 6’7 230, so not much.
I agree but as we all know, being a rivalry game it throws all logic out the window sometimes.
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If Goins is at the 5, then Ahrens is at the 4 at 6’6 210 (or Brown at a similar size), so you’re smaller overall. Unless you play Bingham at the 4. Similarly, it’s not just replacing Ward with Tillman, it’s replacing Ward and Tillman with Tillman and Kithier.
Although it’s kinda funny to think of this MSU team as “rag-tag,” as Quinn called them:
Winston - 31 composite junior
McQuaid - 71 composite senior
Ahrens - 166 composite senior
Tillman - 112 composite sophomore
Goins - RS Sr who’s been a rotation player for 3 years now
+5 top 160 freshman to work with
A lot of teams would be okay with that kind of roster, which is part of the reason I’m not writing them off in the big ten or the tourney. If Tillman can play in the high 20 minute range, that would go a long way.
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Goins will continue to play the four because that’s the position that he plays. It isn’t that he’s smaller, it is that he’s a pick-and-pop four for them. That’s his role.
Kithier plays (from what I’ve seen) almost always at the five.
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I was simply responding to kturnup who asked if Kithier is any bigger than Goins. He is, but not much, about one inch. He’s also about five pounds lighter and a LOT less experienced.
I agree with Dylan, Goins will continue to play the four, Kithier will probably back up Tilman at the five. The other options at the five are just SO inexperienced. Kithier is, too, but Bingham and Burke have only played 88 minutes COMBINED for the entire year. By the way, Kithier has only played 94 minutes.
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Nick Ward’s injury could help Michigan State basketball. Here’s why
Watch Ahrens have a huge game. He impresses me when I see him play