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| Photo: Greg Shamus |
The Michigan State Spartans are looking at another great season and a chance at yet another Final Four under Tom Izzo. Coming off a win against Minnesota, which they made look easy, they will next have to go to Mackey Arena trying to win their third game in four years in Mackey.
The Spartans are a great team with good size that play a lot with three guards and two big men. Two of the guards have good size and the big men are going to make it difficult to guard in the post with Hammons only being able to take down one guy.
In their first meeting of the year against the Spartans, Purdue was beat 84 to 61 after keeping it close all but the last three minutes of the first half, a big let down for the Boilers. The Boilermakers are a young team and I would even argue a different team than when they faced the Spartans the first time.
Here are a few notes from that game:
- Purdue started Lawson, Hammons, Byrd, R. Johnson and T. Johnson
- Hammons was a man scoring 20 points and pulling down 8 rebounds
- Terone struggled, badly, at the time I thought it was a hangover from his great game against the Illini, but he seems to still be in the slump offensively
- Purdue shot 39 percent from the field, 18 percent from beyond the arc and 45 percent from the free throw line, all of which are below Purdue's season average
- Brandon Dawson sucker punched Travis Carroll
Here is what it's going to take for the Boilermakers to win this one on Saturday.
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| Pack this House! |
Let's start by something WE can all control. Get to Mackey on Saturday. Paint Crew ticket holders, don't let your seat go unfilled, if you are going to leave town for the weekend, give it to someone, if you are a John Purdue Club Member who sits on the floor level east? Don't sell your court side seats to MSU students. The game is at 7pm so get there early and get there ready to cheer. Be ready to unleash everything you have. Even if this team is struggling, there is no reason not to come out and watch them grow and possibly even pull an upset, every team has to start somewhere. Plus, who doesn't want to try and get that taste out of their mouth from last week?
Now to the team, Purdue needs to focus on playing smart basketball. That's one thing I've noticed with this squad, sometimes they don't play smart. Driving into the lane and shooting a floater over three defenders isn't a good decision, kick the ball out and play unselfish ball.
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| Photo: Greg Shamus |
Playing defense is the next point of concern. Over the course of this season it has been frustrating to watch this team not play tough defense. Losing to a team after you put it all on the line and have nothing left is one thing, but losing to a team after you trotted up the court to get back on defense is another. There needs to be some accountability out there if this team is to succeed. It's time to quit relying on the upperclassmen as the leaders of this squad, and time for the young guys to step up and take control of this team. Play with pride, play with intensity and play with a drive that is Purdue Basketball.
Keeping Hammons out of foul trouble and feeding him is going to be important. With two centers, Payne and Nix, Tom Izzo has depth to play with if one of those guys gets into trouble, if Hammons does, Purdue must put in Travis Carroll or Sandi Marcius, nothing against Carroll or Chooch, but that's a tough match-up on either of those guys for Purdue, not to mention it takes out almost all offensive out of the post. Hammons is averaging 21.3 points and 10 rebounds in his last three outings, he needs to get the ball.
Containing the perimeter is going to be key as well. Gary Harris in particular is a guy to watch as he is going to try and make another statement against a school that he considered his second choice. In his first match-up with the Boilermakers, Harris was wet, shooting 7-13 from the field and 6-8 from beyond the arc.
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| Photo: Greg Shamus |
Shooting better from beyond the arc is going to be key in this one. After getting blanked from the perimeter against Penn State, the Boilers need to step up. Shooting better, doesn't mean shooting often, but just taking good looks and not forcing three point shots would be an improvement here in my mind. It's going to be key for the guards to take good shots in this one as Izzo will probably double Hammons all day forcing Purdue's guards to score.
Keep the other freshmen rolling is also going to be key as well. Ronnie Johnson is coming off his best game as a Boilermaker as he shot 7-12 for 16 points, 3 assists and 5 rebounds while only giving the ball over once. You could say the same about Donnie Hale's performance the last game as well. Hale had a double double against Penn State, his last outing against MSU was bad playing 23 minutes with limited offensive productivity, but if he can build on the Penn State game then it will be good. Finally Raphael Davis is just consistant. He seems to always be playing hard out there and when things aren't going his way he steps back and continues to play good defense.
Free throws need to improve as well, although I've been impressed with Hammons at the line, everyone else needs to be out working on them.
Finally, I think it's time to change up the starting line-up. I have struggled with this for a while but Penn State made it more clear for me. I think it's time to transfer this team over and motivate the upperclassmen to contribute.
I don't think it will happen, but if I was Painter I would play the following line-up, just to try it out at the start of the game:
Ronnie Johnson PG vs Appling
Terone Johnson SG vs Harris
Raphael Davis SG vs Valentine
Donnie Hale PF vs Dawson
A.J. Hammons C vs Payne/Nix
DJ has shown that when he comes off the bench he can do great things and I think it's time to showcase that. He was a non-factor against Penn State and I believe it's time for Painter to send a message. Not to mention against an athletic team like Michigan State, Byrd causes a liability on the defense end of the floor. I'm not saying he is not going to need to contribute to win this game, but DJ will need to play a more concise impact role.
The Boilermakers are going to need the stars to align to pull off the upset on Saturday night, but with your help in the stands and a great showing of effort on the court, this team can get a win that might just jumpstart them the rest of the season and for next year.
Sparty Can't Touch our Magic Johnsons
I want someone to elbow Dawson in the face. He deserves it badly.
ReplyDeleteBtw, its also JJ's birthday
ReplyDeleteI want to believe this is possible... Robbie H. will be in the house. He always had great games vs. MSU, so hopefully he can channel his magic into Mackey for the game.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree about three-point shot selection. I think it's been a major problem this season, and in this game, Michigan State has a specific weakness that the Boilers can exploit if they avoid poor threes.
ReplyDeleteThe Spartans, in conference play, have had surprising trouble defending two-point shots, which is odd given that they have yet to play the conference leader (Michigan). They allow 43% shooting overall, but 48.9% shooting in conference play. Given Purdue's struggles from outside, and particularly given Sparty's odd lack of shot-blocking (7.8% in conference play, 11th), there are points to be had here. (Especially from, I don't know, A.J. HAMMONS. FEED THE MAN. FEED HIM.)
Michigan State has also struggled with turnovers in both conference and non-conference play. Unfortunately, Purdue has been awful at forcing turnovers (14.4%, dead last in conference play) ... that will need to change. Purdue can definitely use some easy buckets, particularly if it will help get the crowd into the game.
Finally, it might help to make sure that officials note any cheap shots handed out by Izzo's gang. If that sounds like I'm endorsing falling to the court like Cristiano Ronaldo, yes, yes I am. Obviously, in the past, simply taking the blow and waiting for the call hasn't worked. (I'm only sort of kidding. If Hammons hit the deck once and Dawson got ejected as a result, I'm OK with that. Karma.)
There are no easy games left on the schedule. Even the Northwestern game is in doubt after the beating the Wildcats laid out last Saturday. A minimum of 4 wins will be required to hit .500 (if they hit Indy at 15-16, they'll have to make it to Saturday). If MSU isn't one of those wins, even if we count Northwestern, you've got to take three of the remaining games. Purdue has yet to show they can do any of that (the Illinois and Iowa wins were close home wins; those frequently translate to close home losses, and after all, Indiana just lost at Illinois).
Go get 'em, guys. Might as well start with this one.
Also, I like the idea of Hale and Hammons attacking MSU's interior defense and the offensive glass. MSU rebounds poorly at the offensive end (also unusual), but well at the defensive end, and Hammons and Hale are the two best offensive rebounders on the team. Get inside, get easy second-chance shots, and maybe get Sparty in foul trouble.
ReplyDeleteNormally I find picking on an individual classless and IU fanboi-esque, but the Paint Crew needs to let Dawson have it. It's warranted, and given our NCAA Tourney chances, what's a technical foul going to do? I personally would like a "dress like Tupac Shakur" night for the Paint Crew, but the AD would have a shitfit.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the paint crew passes out big suckers for the game in honor of Dawson's sucker punch? Subtle enough... huh
ReplyDeleteeye for an eye. Elbow Dawson in the face!
ReplyDelete"Sparty Can't Touch our Magic Johnsons"
ReplyDeleteQuote of the year
The Michigan State Spartans are looking at another great season and a chance at yet another Final Four under Tom Izzo. heating engineer Birmingham
ReplyDelete