Nebraska beat Purdue, today, in Lincoln
Meant Nebraska, thanks. A lot of people look at that game as one we take but not going to be that easy.
He guards well whenever i see him in there. Extremely quick, works hard, moves his feet and fights.
This is always so perplexing to me. We never seem to make in game adjustments or have an effective counter when the opposition is determined to take away the perimeter from us.
Beilein said Michigan State shut down a lot of what Michigan was trying to run, particularly the pick-and-pop with sophomore center Moritz Wagner. Yet Wagner and Wilson said the problem stemmed from Michigan not being physical enough on offense and failing to attack the basket.
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Itās not a good sign when coaches and players are seeing different things.
Interesting article here about the differences between how MSU and Michigan approach the rivalry:
MSU has always loved to talk about the rivalry more ā whether they are winning or losing. Did Michigan suddenly understand the rivalry from 2011 through 2014 and then forget how it worked? Nah, Michigan State played better yesterday and was at home.
MSU also needed that win after dropping 4 out of 5, just like Michigan will probably need the win in Ann Arbor next week.
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It is true in football as well. MSU puts more on the rivalry, especially under Izzo and Dantonio.
Isnāt it the same thing, though? The D took the perimeter space away, so what do you do? Drive past your own pressure or look for teammates cutting past their own pressure. But that involves going into the war zone inside and fighting through defenders taking liberties.
Itās a tough way to go, but has a better chance of success than passing up your own bad perimeter shot for a teammates bad perimeter shot.
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MSU has always had more local kids who grew up on the rivalry and Izzo appeals to them on that front. Hereās a list of local guys that have played against Michigan since Beilein has been there.
Gray
Neitzel
Summers
Lucas
Naymick
Suton
Green
Nix
Appling
Costello
Valentine
Forbes
Winston
Bridges
I understand Beilein tries to claim the big picture but itās not like Izzo isnāt about the big picture he prioritizes the rivalry more than Beilein but Izzoās program still has larger expectations. So if Michigan doesnāt win a week from now against MSU there wonāt be a single player on the Michigan roster that has experienced a win against MSU going into next year? Beilein has done a good job at Michigan but losing 5 in a row to MSU and only winning 35% of your games against your rival isnāt a good look.
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5 losses in a row is bad, 6 wins out of 8 was good. I do think it is important for Michigan to win next week. Sure for the rivalry, but also just because its a game that they need.
Either way, the big picture is that Michiganās last two years werenāt great and MSU was very good. I think Beilein would have rather had healthier, better seasons than beat MSU over the last two years though. This year both teams are very average.
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Langford was probably coming here if not for the Battle situation. Winston was probably coming here if not for X committing first.
For how everybody says MSU prioritizes the rivalry, and how bad 5 losses in a row are, it sure hasnāt/didnāt hurt head to head recruiting all that much.
I generally agree - the calls there are as bad as playing at Breslin. But if Blackmon is out, that does give me some hope. I mean, even if Bryant and Johnson went for 25 apiece, who else do they have?
Iād expect Blackmon back when Michigan plays at IU. Sounds like the injury is minor.
Do you really not see how there might be a benefit to Izzoās strategy, particularly when it comes to recruiting kids in state? I mean, sure if all other things were equal in recruiting and on court success then the outcome of the rivalry wouldnāt matter as much, but thatās not the case.
Heās pretty fast, and Iāve seen him reach in and grab the ball more than once when someone is going up for a shot. I think heās going to be a good defender and passer. The issue is whether he can be enough of a scoring threat so that heās not Travis Walton out there. Honestly, I have no idea.
I donāt think recruiting in-state vs. out of state has the level of effect on the rivalry that others do, no. Did Zack Novak, Nik Stauskas, Trey Burke and Caris LeVert somehow not get the rivalry? Or Travis Trice? Or Adreian Payne?
Is Michigan going to do better or worse in the rivalry when it has fewer in-state or out of state kids? Will Isaiah Livers outplay Jaren Jackson because heās from Michigan?
Generally speaking the better, healthier team has won the game and when both teams are close the home team usually wins.
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Yea, I am not saying IU is anything special this year, but then again neither are we, and even when we have had really good teams, that place has been a house of horrors for us.
Again my point is not about kids on the team getting the rivalry. It is about using the game as recruiting tool. Look at all of the recruits they had at the game. When we was the last time, Michigan had that many recruits at a game?
The reason this loss was frustrating from the point of view that the MSU freshman clearly outplayed the veterans on Michigan. Even Ward who didnāt hit the boards hard was perfect from the field 13 points in 16 minutes. Three of the top 4 players on the court yesterday were Spartans. This isnāt just an MSU game either this is how they look on the road in general, still winless this year on the road and havenāt won a conference road game in close to a year.
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