Quick Thoughts: Michigan State Handles Texas, 78-72
by Peter Bean on Dec 22, 2007 7:52 PM CST
in Basketball
11 comments
No time right now for a full breakdown of the game, but a few thoughts on tonight's loss:
- Credit has to go to Michigan State tonight, who just outplayed Texas. The Spartans were excellent on offense - even better than I anticipated - and very sound defensively. Izzo had a great game plan for our guards, and we didn't respond particularly well. Kudos to MSU for a deserving victory.
- No such thing as good losses and all that... but this was a good loss for the 'Horns in at least a couple senses. Most importantly, we got our butts kicked a little bit. This team is most vulnerable to teams with physical guards who can frustrate our offensive gameplan. (Remember the USC debacle?: We got some of that medicine again, tonight.) It's a cliche, but this game helps us come March. We've played three very strong teams so far this year - one of 'em knocked us around a little. That's not a terrible thing.
- We've all known for a long time that Rick's ability to coach half-court offense has been his biggest weakness. If there's one thing for him to focus on, it's how to get his players prepared for games like this one. Good coaches with great athletes on the perimeter are all going to play Texas the same from here on out.
- Abrams hit about eleven three pointers after the game was decided, but was pretty subpar for most of the game before that. I don't want to be too hard on the kid on the night when he picked up his 1,000th career point as a Longhorn, but this wasn't a good night for him. The defense and shot selection both left a lot to be desired.
- Augustin's deservedly enjoyed some high praise this season, but he gets a nice slice of humble pie for tonight's game. He can learn a lot from his mistakes tonight, and I'm sure he will.
- That Morgan kid for Michigan State absolutely killed Texas tonight. He's super athletic, but he's also a true basketball player. That jump shot is smooth, his instincts are excellent, and he defends exceptionally well. He's got a big NBA payday in his near future.
- The lack of depth was especially problematic tonight, and a huge advantage for Michigan State. They threw bodies at us all night long, the refs generally let them bump and harass our guards on the perimeter, and we couldn't adjust. It's this team's biggest weakness and Rick's got to think hard about different gameplans for these kinds of games. Getting the ball inside to Atchley would be a nice start.
- Speaking of Atchley, I hadn't realized exactly how far he's come with his offensive post game. If teams are going to defend our perimeter that way, we need to have something working inside. Obviously, Gary Johnson is supposed to help there as well. In the meantime, getting the ball to Connor on the blocks would at least keep the defense more honest.
- That's all for now. Texas drops its first game, and though it's tempting to say we didn't play our best basketball, we mostly just got constrained by Michigan State. Credit to them, and - hopefully - some important lessons for us. If we can't improve against teams that can muscle our guards, our NCAA Tournament run will end the moment we play a team with that profile.
--PB--
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Lets face it
this is going to be Augustin's last year with us, so I don't have a problem criticizing him like he's a senior. I didn't think he was horrible, but the point is we really need to do something special this year (like Final Four) because this is it (unless Brown becomes an absolute star next year).
Anyways, I don't want to make conclusions yet as far as how good we really are until I see how good Johnson really is and how he plays with our team. If he's a physical type of guy like everyone says he is, then he's exactly they type of body we need to play a physical team like the Spartans.
We obviously could've used his rebounding to help out James today. And if he's any good offensively to the point that he needs to be double-teamed, then it will open looks for Connor and Abrams, who are both excellent spot-up shooters. It also opens up the play-book and lessens the pressure on Augustin.
by goingforthecorner on Dec 22, 2007 8:29 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Atchley
I wasn't so sure at halftime, but your suggestion was spot on - we needed to work it to him more on offense. In particular, we needed to get him involved in the post to help out our perimeter game, which MSU smothered.
by Peter Bean on Dec 22, 2007 8:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Conventional wisdom is that Texas
lacks size and depth so focus on making DJ and Abrams work, eventually they'll wear down, and down go the Horns. So obvious and so true. We battled hard tonight and played pretty well, but with no inside presence and bench play, it's clear that we're going to find ourselves lacking against physical teams in the Big 12 and in the Tourney. What can we do to get respect inside? Damion is a warrior, has good flashes, but is no steady interior threat. Wangmene has potential, but is clueless right now. I'm afraid Pittman is completely hopeless. I can't wait to see GJ, but it's probably unrealistic to think he can overcome the gross deficiencies we exhibit inside. Unless we hit an ungodly percentage from 3-point land, we're going to struggle against a lot of teams.
by Horntod on Dec 22, 2007 9:10 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Chill...
I don't see us struggling against "a lot of teams." First, lets give MSU credit - they are a very good, deep and well-coached ball club. There's no shame in losing to them in what was essentially a home game for them. Second, we didn't play particularly well. I don't think the gameplan was particularly good and it didn't look like we adjusted very well. We either didn't , or couldn't, get the ball inside to anyone. Our lack of experienced depth is going to hurt sometimes, and I think this was one of those times.
All that being said, we basically lost by 10 points (if you don't count the furious last minute rally) at a top-10 team. With the exception of playing Kansas, I don't see a game as hard as that remaining, and certainly not on the conference schedule. We'll learn from this and improve.
by SaintBevo on Dec 22, 2007 9:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
i thought
we played well tonight. we just got unlucky with some of the shots. some of those dunks by james and that lay up by mason went half way in then popped out. it was just that kind of night today. plus dj got into foul trouble early and our offense completely stalled at the end of the first half where michigan state made their run to take the lead. justin mason's only 3 was whistled off too. i think mason doesnt have any confidence in his shots.
by clra2 on Dec 22, 2007 9:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Mason
It's almost like he's regressing on offense. I love his defense and hustle, but we need more for a team that's so short on depth.
We can't afford to have one-dimensional players because of not having a competent bench. Everyone has to chip in on all aspects of the game. Mason has to work on his J. And don't blow layups either.
by goingforthecorner on Dec 22, 2007 9:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Kalin Lucas' coming out party
18 points and ended up tied as the leading scorer. He has blazing speed, and we couldn't contain it. Is this more about Lucas or how terrible our perimeter defense was?
Lucas and the other bench guys were one of the big keys today.
Michigan State bench: 29 points
Texas bench: 3 points
by goingforthecorner on Dec 22, 2007 9:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
JD Lewis ladies and gentlemen
He scored 100% of our bench points. 100%!
by the other Andrew on Dec 22, 2007 10:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Dunks, Layups, and Put Backs
How many did we miss tonight? It had to be close to double digits. I remember one possession where they were missed back to back. Part of the problem was the MSU defense making things tough. But, a top 10 team has to make some of those.
by JohnsonUT on Dec 22, 2007 10:15 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Next year
J'Covan Brown may not replace DJ Augustin, but by all accounts he is something special. Plus next year's team will still have everyone else, hopefully a full season from Gary Johnson, and as far as I know we are still in the running for Tyreke Evans. Even with only a couple of years from top players like Augustin, Barnes has shown he can reload well enough and often enough to keep the team moving toward higher and higher levels. TJ Ford got us Lamarcus Aldridge and Daniel Gibson, who brought in Durant and Augustin (and eventually James), who brought in Johnson and Brown. The more players you send to the NBA, the more you get. Barnes has hit critical mass and things will only get better.
by Caradoc on Dec 23, 2007 12:52 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
What's funny/fun
Is I thought THIS year was a reloading year... I honestly thought we'd need to be very, very patient until February.
by Peter Bean on Dec 23, 2007 12:56 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
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