Spartans favored by 2 1/2 over Louisville in Elite Eight

Odds for the Elite Eight via Vegas Insider:

Kentucky -11 over Notre Dame
Arizona -1 over Wisconsin
Duke - 2 1/2 over Gonzaga

and... Michigan State -2 1/2 over Louisville

LIVE BLOG CHAT - MSU vs Oklahoma: Sweet 16

Join the ES at 9:30 ET tonight for a LIVE CHAT - Cover it Live open for comments all evening as we watch the Spartans take on the Sooners in the Sweet 16 - on TBS.  Will go live immediately upon the end of Louisville-NC State.

Live Blog MSU vs Oklahoma, 2015 NCAA Men's Hoops Sweet 16

 

LIVE BLOG - MSU vs Virginia hoops 2015 NCAA Tourney

Live Blog MSU v Virginia - 2015 NCAA Tourney

 

Time for MSU to be an elite. Beat Duke!

GO BIG GREEN!  Step up and deliver the knockout blow to the Dukies, as 95% of the country is asking us to do!!!  

This is an opportunity for another "program" statement.  OK, Tom Izzo has built an elite program... but one need this Michigan State has NOT completed is a defeat of Duke repeatedly, and repeatedly in an arena to take a step to the Promised Land.  This is the opportunity.  Michigan State can permanently stamp itself as the elite of the elite. 

GO SPARTANS, BEAT THE DEVIL OUT OF THE DEVILS!  God, I hate Duke.

B1G Ten = Basketball; ES in the Ca$h?

Well, it's official.  The Big Ten is a basketball conference.  Adding the men's and women's tourney, the Big Ten is 16-3 in hoops in the NCAA tournament. The men are 10-3, and the women are 6-0. Thanks to Wisconsin men, the only squad that did not win a tourney game.

ES IN THE $$$$
Give the ES some love.   In the Peanut Barrell pool, he's sitting pretty in the money, at 5th out of 60 entries; the top six are in the money... ES has 11 of 16 teams still remaining, but to win the whole deal he will need to root for... GULP... Miami, Duke, and Michigan.  Looks like a nice payday, but the ES will certainly be rooting to lose his money, as the hatred for the three runs deep.  And, in the ES own pool, he is sitting in second place out of 18 entries, with the top two returning an investment.  In the third pool, the ES hasn't earned squat, but that is based on final digits of scores instead of wisdom and proclivity.

MSU ROLLS: Derrick Nix and the HOT LICKS

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Spartans, What is your profession???!!!! And the Big Green Machine just keeps ROLLING right along...

What a beautiful game by the Michigan State interior, particularly Nix, Payne, and Dawson.   This trio DESTROYED Memphis with its athleticism and just flat out great play.  This MSU Spartan team passes the eye test as a great team to watch, doing all the little things right.  Nix, Payne, and Dawson combined for – get this –  24 rebounds, 5 assists, 8 steals, and 6 blocks.  Combined shooting from the three was 12 of 26, a respectable 46%, but it was the dominance on the glass that made the difference.

For any who questions the Spartan dominance in the second half, just look at the box score: the Spartans scored TWICE as many points as Memphis in the second half: 38 to 19. Ouch. 

Read this lovely pin-up by ESPN's Michael Rothstein.  Nice.

Nix, in all honesty, has turned into an absolute beast for Tom Izzo’s gameplan in this tourney. Derrick Nix, the guy who was fat and couldn’t hit a free throw, is the next edition of Izzo’s great reclamation projects.  This guy has grown into the most consistent, dominant force for Michigan State.  Every single time he touches the ball, and he WANTS IT EVERY SINGLE TIME the Spartans are on the offensive end of the floor, he either takes a great shot or finds the guy to take the shot.  But, even more importantly, on defense, Nix can’t be moved.  He is an absolute brick wall of a defense.  It brings tears to mine eyes. 

Third man of the game?  Give Denzel Valentine some credit, he had a pretty good game and he seemed up to the task for most of the game, weaving in and around the Tiger defense all game long, with excellent ball handling and dishing for points.  Valentine finished with 9 pts, 6 rebs, 6 assists, and ZERO turnovers. 

Turning point:  the blow up on the MSU sideline. Nix and Appling were jawing at each other, and Dawson was brokering the concern.  Wow.  For us watching on tv, Nix was showing more concern and “give-a-shit” at that one moment than he did most of his career.  After that sideline demonstration, MSU exploded and crushed Memphis.  The intensity on defense was stifling. 

The Dukies or the Blue Jays better watch out. Here comes a Big Mean Green!