When Michigan State hits the hardwood tonight in Winston-Salem, North Carolina against Marquette, it will mark the Spartan’s 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. What many people believed at the inception of the year was simply one of Spartan rebuilding, Tom Izzo’s achievement is all the more impressive. Through wins and losses, injuries and inexperience, Izzo has cajoled and nurtured the Spartans into a cohesive team that executes, rebounds and defends with tenacity. Among the top defensive teams in the Country, Michigan State’s reliance on core basketball values give them a chance to win every night out, tonight is no exception.
Defense First
Built on the fundamentals of Big Ten hoops, exceptional coaching, defense and rebounding, Michigan State may be lightly regarded outside the Conference but followers of Big Ten basketball know these precepts equate success. When Izzo and Tom Crean of Marquette, two former assistants of Jud Heathcote, engage in a classic 8/9 first round game tonight, defense will determine the outcome. Marquette is a guard-oriented team having relied heavily all season on the scoring of Dominic James and Jerel McNeal.
It’s been reported by Marquette’s AD that McNeal (Hillcrest, Chicago), Marquette’s second leading scorer, will not play tonight on account of a severely sprained thumb. If McNeal indeed does not play, it places a substantial burden on the shoulders of the sophomore James who, like Tom Raper RV’s, hails from Richmond, Indiana. Michigan State’s Travis Walton (Lima, OH), as he has all season, will likely draw the assignment of defending Marquette’s star guard. A lock down in your grill defender, Walton takes pride in shutting down scorers leaving humble games by Alando Tucker, David Teague, Adam Haluska and DJ Augustin in his wake.
A Better Offense
Notwithstanding last weekend’s Big Ten Tournament game where they ran into a Badger team clicking on all cylinders, the Spartans are playing well. With four solid days of much deserved and needed rest for Drew Neitzel (who was noticeably limping in the second half of the Wisconsin game) the Spartans are finally healthy and consequently, they are displaying a more versatile offensive game. The scoring droughts that plagued Michigan State more the better part of the year have subsided as Raymar Morgan emerges into a genuine star. The third scoring option is Goran Suton, a passionate player who mixes a crafty post game with a decent mid range jump shot. The Spartans will definitely play defense on Thursday night. If the offense continues to find energy from players other than Neitzel, Michigan State will play this weekend.
Elsewhere in the NCAA Tourney, Ohio State looks to maintain their positive momentum from a powerful showing in the Big Ten Tournament where they displayed the effects of a balanced offense on the Badgers. With a team as young as Ohio State, any regression in their intensity or outside shooting is definitely a pothole to avoid. While much focus is given to Greg Oden and Mike Conley, what propelled Ohio State past Wisconsin in Chicago last weekend was the re-emergence of Ron Lewis. To succeed, Ohio State will need Lewis in the coming weeks.
Indiana takes on Gonzaga in Sacramento, where the Hooisers will need to rely on the bellicose Kelvin Sampson’s tenacious and physical perimeter defense. Ultimately, whether IU can pull off a win against the Zags will depend not on DJ White and his on again off again game, but on one of IU’s handful of indistinguishable guards (AJ Ratliff, Joey Shaw, Roderick Wilmont and Armon Bassett) to hit some three’s.
