- Evan Turner didn’t play well and OSU still won

- MSU’s depth was a non-issue (even with OSU’s lone bench player fouling out) as the team seemingly did their own thing in the first half going against the game plan of run-run-run and if it’s not there pound the ball in the post (post-ups and drives) and what resulted was a 13 point deficit and OSU controlling tempo.

- Raymar played with good effort, and was the only player praised by Coach Izzo in the post-game, but was not too crisp. He made some plays and left it all on the court but was again limited by a few silly fouls. For the rest of the season – and his career – I just expect a good effort out of Ray and if he does that good things will happen. Ray can’t compensate for the lack of a true presence in the middle (cough – we really miss G – cough) or when the wings decide they know more than Izzo – So, from now on I’m Ray’s biggest supporter and as long as the effort is there I got his back (and thank him for a fine career in the Green and White).

Joe Rexrode at the Lansing State Journal has a very interesting blog post about the state of the team:

\”Hey Joe\” MSU LCD Issues

These “LCD” issues explain a lot about the last three weeks (and have been mentioned before, but no one pays attention to these things when the team is winning) so too does Kalin’s injury and of course the expectations factor discounting the loss of Walton, Suton, Gray and Ibok.

So, where does this team go from here? The discussion will focus on the Purdue game and the how far this team can go in the Tourney. And a lot of judgments about the latter will be based on the performance in the former. However, I still would not read too much into what happens next Sunday – and I still think a rested and prepared Spartan Team can win in West Laffy (as a matter of fact the Flintstones began to build their legacy one cold Indiana winter night back in 1998 at Mackey Arena – maybe Kalin, Raymar and DayDay can re-build their own legacy there too… but I digress) – as certainly the Big Ten regular season hangs in the balance but MSU has built its program based on the NCAA Tournament not the Big Ten regular season (don’t get me wrong I like BT Championships as much as the next guy but banners hung in the center rafters with Final Four logos are more important than banners hung on the side rafters that say BT Champ). And I still think this team has a Tourney run in them. They’ll have to work out the “LCD” issues and it’s a good thing Tom Izzo is there to guide that process. If they can do that in time for the 3rd weekend in March this team can play for more than two games in the Dance. Of course, based on my last post I wouldn’t go wagering the house on my predictions.

I’ll also keep it brief and focused. I think there are three key questions/factors in this game:

- How will Raymar play? Here’s hoping the Ohio Native has a re-awakening in his last game against the home state school. If Ray posts double digit points and grabs a nice number of boards it bodes well for MSU’s fortunes.

- Can MSU keep OSU’s other four in check? Evan Turner is going to get his, no matter who is guarding him Turner will get his. The question is can MSU check Lighty, Buford, Diebler and Lauderdale? The defensive key for MSU is keeping OSU from getting that second guy to score.

- How will MSU’s depth effect OSU? I wrongly predicted that depth would not be an issue in the PU @ OSU game and I think if MSU can get a lead early they can ride that depth to the win in the second half.

Overall, it should be a good game. I think the Breslin will be rocking and the home court will be a big benefit for the Spartans. Of course, I will be rooting for the Spartans and I think MSU will get the home win.

A couple of points about this last stretch of games:

- Obviously the injury to Kalin’s ankle has been a big factor. He played last night but at about 70% and his injury still impacted playing rotations. I would imagine that it has thrown off practice too – but his performance last night would seem to indicate that he’ll be back to normal soon.

- Morgan and Summers have been MIA. I do not like to pile on Ray and Rell as they both are good guys and Ray put out effort last night – it was just miss-directed. Both guys have a very high ceiling talent-wise and that is what is so frustrating to MSU fans when they struggle. Turning these guys around and getting them playing well again won’t just fall on Izzo and the coaches it will be a test of Draymond and Kalin’s leadership. The issue is in their heads, they need to shake it off and get going. Their success is directly proportional to the team’s success. Raymar is the key factor in determining what this team will become.

- I love Draymond Green – love him. But DayDay has been forcing things over this stretch and I can’t fault his heart and effort one bit but in the absence of others (some physically and some mentally) he has forced his game. He played great at Illinois but even then had some un-forced turnovers that lead directly to points (forcing passes in the post & knocking un-contested defensive rebounds out of bounds). I think a little rest and some help on the offensive end will get Draymond back on track, here’s hoping that comes soon.

- Korie Lucious has taken a lot of heat due to the turnovers of late and some of it is warranted. Long-term I think this stretch will help him next year and beyond when he’s the primary 1. Of course, given how things have gone recently I’m leaning more and more that Kalin will be back next season.

- As soon as Delvon Roe realizes that very few people can stop him within 10 feet of the basket he will be an offensive force. The defensive and rebounding aspects of his game are good but on offense he seems sort of tentative creating his own chances – he shouldn’t be, he has the tools and just needs to use them.

- One scheme issue has really reared its head over this stretch and that’s the high ball screen switching issue. The reason uw, UofI and PU got so many open looks from deep is that on high ball screens our bigs are not playing over and causing the wing defender to get buried below the screen (see Moore’s shot last night to stop MSU’s run after cutting it to 3). Last night all of the switching was off (see the open cuts and back doors) but this lack of communication and adjustment on the high ball screen has been an issue all season. I have to believe they’re being told the right way to play it but for some reason it just isn’t sinking in – the defense needs to step up from everyone and this issue is a big factor in the defensive play.

- Overall, the conference championship is still very much a possibility. The next two games are on the road but against Penn State and Indiana. PSU is terrible but after these 3 losses I start to get a pit in my stomach that MSU will be their miracle game this season too – Talor Battle is good but he shouldn’t be good enough to beat MSU by himself. And IU is improved but MSU still outmans them and should beat them no matter where they play. If the Spartans take care of business and win these two it sets the stage for the 21st against OSU – that will be a lynchpin game in the BT Championship race.

At the end of the day I still have faith in Izzo and the talent that’s on this team. And I still have faith in the aforementioned’s ability to get the team chemistry on track and nothing helps team chemistry like a conference road win – So, Go State Beat PeeSU.

And a quick note of thanks to Chet for the ticket to last night’s game. The travel was tough and the game ugly but there are few places in the world I’d rather be than in the Breslin with a good friend. Thanks again Chester.