Defense + Lucas help Spartans surge in back stretch, fueled by 61-57 win over Illini...

MSU wins 61-57 after a gritty performance over Illinois. MSU is now 15-11/7-7. The ES is bullish on the Spartans, trending up as they get back to basics (defense, inside game, rebounding) and heal. Anytime Delvon Roe is in the game, Spartans play grittier, smarter, and just better defense. And, Lucas is hitting his stride, playing like an All-American on both sides of the floor.

MSU vs opp last three games:

...................ILL...............Oh St............. Penn St
W/L.......... W................. L.................... W
K. Lucas:.. 25 pts.......... 14 pts........... 24 pts
Score:....... 61-57........... 61-71............ 75-57
Rebs:........ 38-30.......... 30-22........... 38-23
FG%:........ 42%-37%.... 57%-43%..... 52%-41%

Next up: @ Minn, vs Purdue, vs Iowa, @ Mich. The ES predicts 3 out of 4, and a 18-12/10-8 fourth place finish into the Big Ten and NCAA tourney.

Mich State favored by 1.5 over Northern Iowa

Michigan State is back to the Sweet 16, and the Big Ten Conference co-champion is listed as a 1 1/2-point favorite over Northern Iowa. The other two Big Ten co-champs: Purdue is an 8-point underdog at Duke, and Ohio State is favored by 5 over Tennessee. It would be sweet indeed to get a rematch with Ohio State for rights to go to Indianapolis in the Final Four

INJURY UPDATE: A ruptured Achilles' tendon in Kalin Lucas' left foot has been confirmed; he will need surgery and he will be out 4-6 months. Hopefully the additional rest will help Chris Allen's ankle heal enough to have a greater role vs Northern Iowa; Delvon Roe's knees are killing him and he may need surgery after the season. Hang in there, guys... leave it on the court. Damn you're a fun team to watch.

BIG TEN vs BIG LEAST: What about the Big Least and the Big Ten? All year long, everyone is talking down the Big Ten as a weak conference and the Big Least as the best conference in basketball. This discussion has been going on for years, matter of fact. And last year, well Michigan State defeated two #1-seeds back-to-back, both from the Big Least, in Louisville and UConn. And this year, West Virginia and Syracuse are all that are left... while the Big Ten has three teams in, all its regular season co-champs. When will people wake up that the Big Ten is superior to the Big Least? The numbers just prove it. We're among the last ones standing, again.

GREAT COMMENT BY REXRODE: "And how about this game, where does it rank? I claim most dramatic shot and win in MSU NCAA history. Steve Smith had a buzzer beater to beat Tony Bennett and UW-GM in 1991. But it was a tie game. This was a win-or-lose shot. And although the MSU-Kentucky game of 2005 is hard to top (and is still a "bigger" game because it was for the Final Four), I think this one buries it. No question. The last two minutes, the speed of it all, the emotional swings on both benches, were like nothing I've seen in person on a basketball court."

AWESOME ARTICLES by MIKE ROSENBURG/Freep: here (Mar 22) and here (Mar 23).

White-Out planned for Tuesday vs Purdue. Morgan and Summers need more and better offense

WEAR WHITE on Tuesday Nite!

The Michigan State athletics department is asking fans to wear white to the MSU-Purdue men's basketball game on Feb. 9 as a gesture of uniform support for the Spartans. The Spartans and Boilermakers will tip off at 9 p.m. White t-shirts are available at GMC Kiosk on the Breslin Center concourse outside Section 110. Fans can receive a free t-shirt in exchange for filling out a short GMC survey.

What is the problem in the past two games? USA Today hits the nail on the head: giving up perimeter shooting. "Perimeter defense is once again a concern for the Spartans, who have good numbers (opponents were shooting just 40 percent entering Saturday's game), but who are giving up more dribble penetration lately. Wisconsin shot 50.9 percent, Illinois shot 52.5 percent, and both team's guards got into the lane frequently. In the next week, the Spartans have to deal with penetrators such as Purdue's E'Twaun Moore and Penn State's Talor Battle. Kalin Lucas' quickness would be helpful if he can play." You can bet this will be a key in practice tonight and tomorrow.

Two players who need to step up for Michigan State: Durrell Summers and Raymar Morgan. Morgan scored 8 pts in each of the last two games, but just 1 foul in both combined... that demonstrates lack of physical play. Summers scored 11 pts in each game. Morgan shot 4-10 (40%) for both games; Summers shot 9-21/42% FGs and 2-8/25% 3pts. But, both are capable of greater shooting efficiency and better offensive output -- and we need their best play particularly when our best player (Lucas) is ailing.

Against Illinois, Morgan was 8 pts (3-6/2-2 FT), 3 rebs, 3 asts, 3 TOs, and 1 foul. Against Wisconsin, Morgan was 8 pts (1-4/6-9 FT), 10 rebs, 0 asts, 2 TOs, and 0 fouls.

Against Illinois, Summers was 11 pts (5-13/1-5 3pt), 3 rebs, 2 asts . Against Wisconsin, Summers was almost identical: 11 pts (4-8/1-3 3pt), 3 rebs, 2 asts.

Lucas "very questionable"

Joe Rexrode had a great column today, with insight on the Spartans heading into Illinois. Lucas is "very very questionable" but it is NOT a high ankle sprain and he is improving. Raymar Morgan had his best practice "ever" and the Spartans are flying around. Delvon Roe bumped his knee at the end of the Wisky game, but he is a GO. Time to whoop some Illini booty!

MORE ON DESIGN SCHEME
Word has it that there will be an announcement by MSU athletics tomorrow on the new design scheme for MSU, including the Sparty logo we've all seen. Stay tuned. Notably, the ES has had a poll up (at right) since the initial leak of the image, and of 253 votes, 12% positive; 22% says it is ok, and 62% negative opinions.

Lucas update? No update. Recruiting is "good"

No status update on Kalin Lucas, other than x-rays confirmed it was a sprain without any break. He is questionable for Saturday's game at Illinois (15-8/7-3), 9 pm EST.

Recruiting Class -

The pundits are saying MSU has one of its better football recruiting classes in recent years. Not great, but good, and the third good class in a row from MD.

But, the ES misses the days when you didn' t know who was new to your team until they suited up in the fall. And, having press conferences to announce which college to attend? Give me a break, what a waste of time. Sigh. So, who are our future Spartan gridders? No shockers on letter of intent day. Here they are. Now, let's get them enrolled, eligible, and keep them out of trouble.

Max Bullough, linebacker. 6-3, 228
Le'Veon Bell, running back. 6-2, 221
Joe Boisture, quarterback. 6-5, 195
Taylor Calero, defensive end. 6-3, 230
Darqueze Dennard, defensive back. 5-11, 170
Michael Dennis, offensive lineman. 6-7, 270
Kurtis Drummond, defensive back. 6-2, 198
William Gholston, linebacker. 6-7, 237
Mylan Hicks, defensive back. 5-11, 182
Nick Hill, running back. 5-7, 185
Travis Jackson, offensive lineman. 6-4, 265
Jeremy Langford, running back. 6-0, 185
Isaiah Lewis, defensive back. 5-11, 190
Tony Lippett, receiver. 6-3, 185
Keith Mumphrey, receiver. 6-1, 195
Niko Palazeti, fullback. 6-2, 245
Marcus Rush, defensive end. 6-3, 225
Mike Sadler, kicker. 6-1, 185
Skyler Schofner, offensive lineman. 6-6, 276
Anthony Rashad White, defensive tackle. 6-2, 310
Justin Wilson, linebacker. 6-0, 215

#2 Michigan State 75, Gonzaga 71

Wow, what a game. Michigan State looked awful early, and really couldn't hit its shots for the better part of the first 30 minutes. Give it up for Durrell Summers hitting clutch shot after clutch shot, and the Spartan captains, Kalin Lucas and Raymar Morgan for really making key plays both on offense and defense down the stretch. Gonzaga is a damn fine team, and with a pair of talented 7-footers they are gonna give teams fits.

But, as coach Izzo said in his post-game presser: "Give credit to Gonzaga. They punched us right in the mouth, and we didn't know what to do at first. But, I guess good teams find a way to win, and our captains really led a great comeback."

GO GREEN. 2-0, baby.

Official Basketball Box Score
Gonzaga vs Michigan State
11/17/09 8 p.m. at Breslin Center (East Lansing, Mich.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Gonzaga 1-1
                        TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
00 Sacre, Robert....... *  7-12   0-0    3-3    0  4  4   4  17  0  0  0  0  19
03 Goodson, Demrtri.... *  0-5    0-1    1-2    1  0  1   2   1  1  2  0  1  27
15 Bouldin, Matt....... *  5-15   2-7    3-3    1  2  3   1  15  4  4  0  1  39
20 Harris, Elias....... *  6-16   1-2    4-7    3  6  9   4  17  1  2  0  3  31
32 Gray, Steven........ *  3-14   1-8    6-6    2  3  5   1  13  4  2  3  2  38
01 Arop, Mangisto......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
05 Vilarino, G.J.......    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   3   2  0  0  0  1  13
13 Olynyk, Kelly.......    2-4    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   5   4  1  0  0  1  19
14 Poling, Andy........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
45 Foster, Will........    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   4   2  1  1  0  0  12
 TEAM................                         5  3  8
 Totals..............   25-70   4-18  17-21  15 23 38  24  71 12 11  3  9 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-38 36.8%   2nd Half: 11-32 34.4%   Game: 35.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-7  14.3%   2nd Half:  3-11 27.3%   Game: 22.2%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-7  85.7%   2nd Half: 11-14 78.6%   Game: 81.0%    3


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Michigan State 2-0
                        TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 Lucas, Kalin........ *  7-16   2-5    3-5    1  3  4   1  19  5  3  0  1  36
03 Allen, Chris........ *  2-7    0-1    1-1    1  2  3   1   5  4  2  0  1  30
10 Roe, Delvon......... *  0-1    0-0    0-0    1  4  5   5   0  0  4  0  0  12
15 Summers, Durrell.... *  8-9    1-1    4-4    1 10 11   3  21  1  3  1  1  32
41 Sherman, Garrick.... *  2-3    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   4  0  0  0  0  10
02 Morgan, Raymar......    3-8    0-1   10-11   2  3  5   5  16  2  2  0  2  22
22 Dahlman, Isaiah.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
23 Green, Draymond.....    1-4    0-0    4-6    2  8 10   4   6  1  5  1  1  25
34 Lucious, Korie......    0-4    0-3    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  2  0  0  0  16
50 Nix, Derrick........    2-5    0-0    0-4    4  1  5   0   4  0  1  3  0  16
 Team................                         1     1
 Totals..............   25-57   3-11  22-31  13 31 44  22  75 15 20  5  6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-28 32.1%   2nd Half: 16-29 55.2%   Game: 43.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-5  20.0%   2nd Half:  2-6  33.3%   Game: 27.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-12 91.7%   2nd Half: 11-19 57.9%   Game: 71.0%    5


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Officials: Michael Eggers, Brian Rood, Rick Bastell
Technical fouls: Gonzaga-None. Michigan State-None.
Attendance: 14759
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Gonzaga.......................   35   36  -   71
Michigan State................   30   45  -   75

Points in the paint-GONZ 30,MSU 28. Points off turnovers-GONZ 21,MSU 9.
2nd chance points-GONZ 9,MSU 12. Fast break points-GONZ 6,MSU 6.
Bench points-GONZ 8,MSU 26. Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-GONZ 2nd-01:47, MSU 2nd-00:39.
Largest lead-GONZ by 13 1st-07:54, MSU by 4 2nd-02:08.