It’s late February in the Big Ten, a time of short days and long nights, frozen nasal secretions, fires in the Rathskeller, standing room in the Breslin Center and high aptitude, competitive basketball. On Tuesday night in East Lansing, after Drew Neitzel leads the Spartans out of the locker room, 14,759 Spartan fans will bestow their greetings upon the new Number 1 team in the nation, the Wisconsin Badgers. This is the allure of Big Ten Basketball.
A Master Coach
Led by two of best coaches in the college basketball and two of the best upperclassmen in the country, this game illustrates the merit of solid fundamentals and team basketball. The homecourt advantage of Breslin is well-known (139-13 in the last 10 years) and the home team has won the last four games in this series, but if any team can depreciate the edge, and play toe to toe with the Spartans, it’s Wisconsin with their experienced and extraordinarily well-coached team.
While the Badgers guided by the All-American Alando Tucker and Bo Ryan (Wilkes ‘69) have run roughshod over the Conference (12-1 and 26-2 overall), the Spartans stand at a modest 19-8, having been forced to persevere through four consecutive losses, losses that could have bedeviled their season. In a year of transition and growth, youth and injuries, one indisputable fact is forged in steel: Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan ‘77) is a great coach. While his career is checkered with great seasons (4 Final Fours and 1 National Championship) this year may be Izzo’s greatest accomplishment yet. For Hoopraker’s take on the import of coaching in the Big Ten this season, click here. More than ever before during his East Lansing tenure, the Spartans have relied on, and benefited from, the genius of their coach.
Notwithstanding the talent of Neitzel and Raymar Morgan, the Spartans are young and inexperienced, a function of losing three players to the NBA. On account of various injuries to key players, the Spartans have used nine different starting lineups; Wisconsin, by contrast, has used one. Casting aside the opportunity to make excuses, Izzo has successfully maintained his team’s focus and confidence. With the shellacking bestowed upon a decent Iowa team this past weekend coupled with the win against Michigan, it’s apparent Michigan State is developing into a complete and formidable team.
Defense First
The qualities of a Tom Izzo team are consistent, year in and year out: defense, rebounding, execution, and effort. This season no different and Michigan State’s success up to this point is directly related to their proficiency in Izzo fundamentals. Michigan State plays defense, leading the league in FG% defense (.379) and scoring defense (56.0 ppg), which is also fourth best in the nation. Michigan State rebounds, boasting a Big Ten-best +8.4 rebounding margin, fifth in the nation. The Spartans have out-rebounded 23 of their 27 opponents. Michigan State passes, leading the Big Ten in assists. For the Spartans, success always starts with defense and the dividends of such effort are now starting to evince themselves on the offensive end: the Spartans lead the Conference in FG% offense during Big Ten play. Scoring droughts and turnovers has plagued Michigan State this season but it appears with the return to Breslin, Izzo teaching has addressed and remedied these issues.
Meet Raymar Morgan
For most of the season, the Spartans desparately needed a second option on the offensive end. Well, the search for Drew Neitzel’s scoring partner has ended. In Raymar Morgan, we are witnessing the blossoming of the next great Spartan and a true superstar. Morgan, a Canton McKinley (OH) product (e.g. Phil Hubbard, Gary Grant, Eric Snow) is finally healthy and now he’s starting to score. In the respite afforded by the return to Breslin, he’s averaging 17 points, and for the season (even despite a stress fracture in his shin) he’s averaging 11 points and 5 rebounds. Just a freshman, Morgan is a unique combination of strength, quickness and patience. He’s eminently coachable, he doesn’t force shots and he plays defense. A perfect fit for Izzo. Morgan’s continued development into a scoring force will dictate how far the Spartan’s progress this season and if he soars, Izzo will guide this team much further than most prognosticators and experts predicted.
The third cog in the Spartan’s drive through February is Travis Walton (Lima, OH). Only a sophomore, Walton is a co-captain point guard (5.30 apg) who has emerged as the Spartan’s defensive stopper. Against Iowa, Walton completely shut down Big Ten’s leading scorer, holding Adam Haluska to 11 points on 3-14 shooting. Like Wisconsin’s Michael Flowers, Walton is the player every great team needs: a stable, competent guard who slaps his hands on the court and plays some defense. Against Wisconsin, Walton will likely matchup with Kammron Taylor, a key Badger who brings a scoring compliment to Alando Tucker.
10 Straight
To those that follow the Spartans, the progression of this team should come as no surprise. Izzo’s greatest gift as a coach is his ability to continually teach his charges throughout the course of a season. More often than not, the fruit of this gift is a team that plays its best basketball in March. As it has for the past nine seasons, it’s clear to the conference, as it soon will be to the rest of the Country, that Michigan State will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the tenth straight year.
