Michigan State Discussion 2018-19

Purdue got 19 back in January, in a 40 minute loss. Sparty has a defensive rebounding problem. They’re now 12th in opposition OR% in conference play. Maybe too many guys thinking about running the break?

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I’m curious to see if Winston can handle a 40 minute workload every game all the way into March. I would not be surprised to see his efficiency drop as the year goes on

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Iowa also pulled down 21 ORBs at Breslin earlier this year. I wonder if the impressive 2pt fg% def with their personnel, combined with the effort to get out on the break, comes at the cost of rebounding and maybe getting TOs and giving up 3s.

MSU is 2nd to last in the Big Ten in defensive rebounding rate.

To me I think that stems from their shot blocking and 2-point defense (both first in the league). If Kenny Goins is your best defensive rebounder and he blocks 8 shots, he probably isn’t going to rebound those misses so that creates a bit of an issue.

Don’t have the numbers around this, but I would assume missed twos around the rim are also rebounded offensively (especially by the shooter) a lot more often.

The high 3PA/FGA and low turnover rate are definitely stylistic things as well from MSU played a packed in defense. They are never out in the gaps or passing lanes trying to force turnovers and deny passes.

Having Green and Davis back definitely helped out the Hoosiers.

23 points 11 rebounds 9 assists combined.

Is Indiana’s win the best win in the B1G presently?

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I’d say so. Can’t think of a bigger home favorite that lost.

Just sayin’: If MSU had Xavier Simpson instead of Cassius Winston they probably would have won last night :slight_smile:

Didn’t hear Brad Underwood talk about Winston being the MVP of the league either:sunglasses:

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I know Michigan has a hard schedule remaining but MSU’s is no slouch either. The way MSU is playing right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go 3-3 at best in these 6 games.

@ Wisconsin
@ Michigan
@ Indiana
vs. Michigan
vs. Minnesota
vs. Ohio State

MSU is asking a lot from Winston. Yes, he turned the ball over a lot, but he actually had only the 4th highest TO% on the team last night. MSU is very good team but their formula for winning requires Winston to make MSU’s EFG% really, really high.

In conference play, they are 12th in TOs and 13th in defensive TOs. They are 13th in defensive rebounding %. They are 10th in defensive 3pt rate (and are still 1st in defensive 3pt% at 29.6%, though that gap is closing). They are losing the possession battle but Winston is keeping their offense very efficient, which has helped them win a lot of games.

On the season, Winston’s TO% is pretty close to Simpson’s (18% to 17.2%). Simpson is great, but he did go 1-8 from 3 with 6 TOs in Michigan’s two losses. He’s not perfect either.

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Depends on if they play like the recent Spartans or like the January Spartans.

I long ago noticed that most college teams go through rough patches where they play well below their norm. It can be due to various reasons and last 1 or 2 weeks or longer. They could be going through that now or this could be closer to who they really are with Langford out.

Anyone have an opinion on how junior Cassius Winston compares to sophomore Trey Burke? What does Winston do better? What did Trey do better?
Dylan on podcast today talking about Winston as possible POY in conference and testing NBA waters.

I thought Trey Burke would struggle with athleticism of NBA pg’s. I think it would be worse for Winston, but maybe I’m wrong. It will be interesting to watch Winston square off with X Simpson twice this month.

Yeah I have a hard time seeing Winston make it in the NBA. He doesn’t have the athleticism to make up for his height/length. We’ve seen him struggle against more athletic guards in college. He’s obviously got a great feel for the game but he mostly relies on change of speed and deception to create separation and I don’t think that will get the job done against NBA defenders. Plus his defense would be a huge liability, teams would isolate him and attack all day.

My point wasn’t so much that Winston would be a surefire pro or really anything about his actual NBA prospects, was talking more about the idea of what is he going to come back and do that will boost his stock as a senior?

I don’t think he could really do anything to boost his stock. He pretty much is what he is at this point. He’s not going to suddenly get quicker, he’s already a very good shooter, and his defense is always going to be a liability.

I guess it boils down whether he wants to start getting paid (either in the G-League or Europe) or whether he wants to spend another year in college.

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If Winston were at Michigan, he’d definitely leave. Izzo will guilt trip him though.

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I think TB was and is more athletic than I imagined. That blocked shot in the NC game comes to mind! Left handed elevation for the block…not a foul! He can play in the NBA and I think will stick. WInston…not sure, I never thought Yogi would stick.

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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