Now that Michigan State has clinched a share of the Big Ten title like most Michigan State fans I have been overcome by a profound sense of relief. Not being able to close out the Big Ten in 03 and 04 to Wisconsin had given Spartan fans a sort of psychosis. It was reinforced last season in the Big Ten tournament when the last 10 minutes of that semi final game turned into a Wisconsin free throw parade. If Michigan State had failed to clinch on Sunday at Illinois (which is another place that they have had trouble winning in the past mostly because of Dee Brown) it would have been a very tense environment around that program. That win should allow them to play Purdue on Sunday without the weight of the world on their shoulders, and go into the Big Ten tournament as the #1 seed relaxed and focused.
While Michigan State has been realigning the Big Ten and returning to their rightful place in the hierarchy of that conference the Western Michigan Broncos have fallen from the rank of contender in the MAC and are now on the list of also rans. The fall has been swift since big man Joe Reitz moved on to the Baltimore Ravens. His presence has been missed badly as Western’s frontcourt has deteriorated into a league wide joke. The lack of intensity in pursuing rebounds has become the calling card of this team. They are dead last in the MAC in rebounding margin and field goal pct. That is a poisonous combination that has ensured defeats in many close games this season. All everything G David Kool has played very well at times this season, and is probably an all conference performer. However without any supporting cast his outstanding junior season has been a waste. If some of these Freshman bigs don’t grow up this off season the only Mr. Basketball ever to attend Western Michigan is going to graduate without a conference championship, or a post season appearance. That would be an incredible waste.
While things are looking bleak in Kalamazoo bronco fans can always take solace in the fact that their program is still in better shape than Eastern’s. Eastern Michigan is just flat out bad. The coaching staff is overmatched. There are some decent players on this team but one gets the feeling when watching them labor through countless anemic performances that they are better individually than they are collectively. This in my mind speaks to the inability of the coaching staff to put players in a position to be successful. It is my opinion that a change in the leadership of this program is necessary, but this a cash strapped University is barely able to finance its athletic programs as it is so a buyout is probably out of the question (especially since they just bought out the football coach in December). My guess is that Charles Ramsey makes it back for one more season with a healthy Carlos Medlock available in what will be a make or break year for him. He might be able to squeeze out an above .500 season and save his job, but long term there is no way that he gets EMU back to the level Ben Braun had them at in the late 90’s.
Here is a list and brief synopsis of my February games that helped me to the above conclusions:
2/3 Akron @ Eastern Michigan: A late 3 pointer by Will Cooper helped get Eastern get above that oh so important 40 pt. mark in this 78-41 blowout of blowouts. The only mildly interesting thing about this contest was watching LeBron’s former high school coach Keith Dambrot stomp up and down the sidelines and yelling during free throw attempts. After the departure of Dan Dakich from Bowling Green and Jay Smith from Central Michigan I have been trying to determine who the biggest tool in the MAC is. Well congratulations Keith Dambrot you now hold that distinction.
2/15 Buffalo @ Eastern Michigan: EMU battled well in this game against the top team in the Mid American Conference but never seriously threatened. This spark of life they showed against the Bulls was lead by some tough defense by Tyler Jones and big post play by Brandon Bowdry who for one game at least resisted the urge to drift outside and take bad jumpers. Bowdry’s 11pt. 9 reb. day was nice but ultimately the offensively challenged Eagles had nowhere to go when they needed big bucket to cut into Buffalo’s comfortable lead and lost this one 58-49. The Convo was graced by the presence of Mr. Ed Hightower who stayed in town after the Michigan game to officiate this one. He was frequently out of position, used improper mechanics, and made some head scratching calls against both teams. He was slightly less animated without the TV cameras though.
2/21 Eastern Illinois @ Western Michigan: As part of ESPN’s Bracketbuster weekend the Broncos hosted a bottom feeder from the OVC, and gave one away on their home floor 59-57. It is a rare occurrence for the Broncos to actually outrebound an opponent, but on this day they did by a double digit margin (39-29) unfortunately they were only able to shoot 30% from the field and came up just short at the end of the game. Coach Hawkins was T’d up early in the second half allowing EIU to open up a 6 pt. lead once they made both free throws and scored on the ensuing possession. Nice going Hawk your T was the difference in this one.
2/25 Iowa @ Michigan State: This was my first trip to Breslin in awhile so I was just happy to be there and look the place over again. It was a sleep walking performance for the Spartans who never got their transition game going in this 62-54 win. Delvon Roe had his best game as a Spartan with 16 hard earned points, and Korie Lucious set his career high as well with 12. These two freshmen showed a brief flash of what they are capable of, and it was enough on this night to beat a bad Iowa team. They are going to need more in March from everyone else if this is going to be a special season.
2/28 Western Michigan @ Toledo: Toledo gets a nice home crowd for a team that has only won 4 games this season…well make that five games as the nose dive that is WMU’s 08-09 season continues. Despite a furious late rally that saw them close a 10 point to lead to one with 4 seconds left the Broncos feel short in this one 63-62. They were not able to secure the rebound of a missed free throw attempt with 4.8 seconds remaining even though Toledo had no one but the shooter to compete for the board. Another frustrating loss in a frustrating season. The 9-19 Broncos close out the season with back to back home games against division rivals Ball State and Central Michigan at home, lets hope they play with some pride. Either way though this is going to be a 20 loss season for WMU.
Its amazing to think about the fact that Selection Sunday is 4 weeks away. It is here that the field will be set and the trip will realize itself again, just like a tree growing leaves after the winter or Michigan missing the tourney yet again. Somehow nature always rights itself in the end.
You can add a couple more games to my log.
San Diego St @ UNLV (2/3) – Tough loss for UNLV and really put them towards the middle of the surprisingly decent MWC. Steve Fisher looks like he has aids, and I have no idea how he can recruit all of these power gangsters. It’s complete crap. Vegas should have pulled this game out before it even went to overtime. Missed Ft’s down the stretch kill you against an equally matched team. SDSU 68, UNLV 66 (OT)
TCU @ UNLV (2/10) – Revenge game for Las Vegas after they lost an early road conference game on the road at TCU. Wink Adams had a real nice game, reacting early to some boo’s from the home crowd after a couple of bad turnovers that would have been easy baskets. Next years starting backcourt of Willis and Bellfield continue to develop and excel with the ball in their hands. UNLV 71, TCU 57
Colorado St. @ UNLV (2/14) – Lucky for me I have a beautiful baby who did not mind us headed to the hoop game on Valentines day instead of the typical wooden roses and stuffed bears. What? Anyways, This was another revenge game for the Rebels after losing on the road to a horrible Colorado St. team earlier in the year. Tre’Von Willis had a monster game with 21/6A. He’s fast enough to check both guard spots which makes him versatile. When Bellfield is on the floor he slides to the 2 or 3 and has learned how to get to the rim towards the last half of this year. Great game all around for Vegas, with every game now entering must-win status to keep pace in the MWC. UNLV 89, Colorado St. 70
Coming down the stretch, Michigan State looks secure in the Big Ten (knock on wood), WMU will struggle to finish in the top of the MAC West, and UNLV has several tough games (@ Utah, @ SDSU, home vs BYU) left they’ll need to pull out if they wish to finish top one or two in the MWC. Everybody continues to say that the Mountain West will grab 3 or 4 spots, but I just don’t see it. Finish in 1st or 2nd in the conference, depending on how the conference tourney plays out for the auto bid, and you can breath easy. In the end, I think I like this spot for Las Vegas. The selection committee has proven previously the best you can expect as far as a seed, being the best team in the MWC is an 8 or 9. This is just crap as if you pull out a W in the 1st round, you mind as well just pack your gear, cause you’re playing Kansas. See: Last fricking year. If Las Vegas can get an 11 seed, that’s winnable vs a middle of the pack power conference team, and you’re in business.
Enough of that. You have to get there first. Flights have been purchased, hotels reserved and provisions accounted for. Whatever happens, happens. We’ll still be there.
As anybody could expect, returning from a vacation usually means you’ve got a stack of work just waiting for you when you return to your normal Monday / Friday routine. This was especially the case for me, which had me looking forward to this weekend, specifically yesterday with a great slate of games, and the chance for a few teams I follow to get off the schnide.
- Arizona @ UNLV – Arizona is ultra talented and ultra screwed up it seems. The whole thing with Olsen, then him bouncing at the start of the season, just a brutal way to handle things, especially with so much talent coming back. That said, they played well in the 1st half of this game, only to let things get out of hand early in the second half to the tune of Wink Adams dropping 3’s of greatness from all over the court. The Rebel defense was stellar. Switching and drawing charges and getting their hands in the passing lanes led to several fast break chances, which ultimately got the Thomas and Mack crowd riled up for most of the early afternoon. A sad note from yesterday was Baes Hamga leaving the program. Obviously he did not fit in with this hard working bunch. He wanted to play and had not earned it yet. Fair Theeee well, I’m sure he’ll find somewhere to play in a couple years. In the mean time he missed out on a great game and a great win for Vegas, UNLV 79, Arizona 64.
- Michigan State @ Texas – Neutral court my ass. I was able to enjoy this game much later in the day courtesy of the DVR, as I was at the UNLV game while it came on. What a difference having your whole depth chart available to you makes. Suton missed a single shot. While he’s not a big time mix it up down low guy, he’s been here forever and knows the rules / system. Taking him out has been brutal for Sparty. Nice to see them get a top tier win after a disappointing start to the season. Big Ten looking strong to start the season with Ohio State playing well, Purdue looking good, Michigan (barf) getting two top 5 wins, Michigan State righting the ship yesterday, and ‘ol Tubbs up in Minny going undefeated so far with a nice win over the ‘Ville and Johnny White Suits.
- Virgina Commonwealth @ Oklahoma – Was looking forward to seeing Eric Maynor playing. Oklahoma gave him the Stephen Curry treatment. Tried to take on too much, but when you’re the best player on a team, I suppose that is your job. Such is life.
There were several other nice match ups yesterday with Davidson @ Purdue, UConn @ Goncaga (again, forget your neutral court BS), and Dynasty in a neutral setting with Duke. Caught the end of the UConn game at the pub. Enjoyed seeing UConn come back, although there were a few small change calls at the end of the game that need not be called.
Game Log: WMU @ UNLV – Western could have pulled this game out. I had been looking forward to this game for a while, funny how it just happened and then it was over. I was impressed with the 500 or so Bronco fans who were in attendance at The Orleans Arena, just down the street from the Thomas and Mack. Would have likee to of seen Western play in a barn with a NCAA tournament championship banner hanging in the rafters. You can thank the rodeo for giving UNLV the boot for the better part of two weeks. Either way, Western looked talented enough to cause some racket in conference play, despite their horrid record thus far. David Kool is the Jesus. UNLV 70, Western Michigan 61.
Game Log: Campbell @ Florida Gulf Coast University – Yes, I did take it on the road to a small gym in Estero, Fl to take in a hoop game on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. The trip can now claim the Atlantic Sun. Michigan transfer Reed Baker threw up 26 perfectly timed points as FGCU pulled out the win. Campbell was well coached and made things interesting with 3 steals off of inbound passes in the final seconds that were converted into easy hoops or FT’s. Was also able to ham it up with the grandmother of a player for Campbell who gave a little insight into the road trips she goes on, how her son came to play at Campbell, and how her sun has “mad game”. It was a good afternoon. FGCU 72, Campbell 68.
So that’s numbers 8, 9 and 10 for me. Looking ahead I’ve got a small tourney here in Vegas I hope to catch a few games at, schedule pending. Here’s hoping to a decent short week at work, which would allow me to enjoy some hoops, time off, and a giant prime rib the lady friend has in the works. What else could one want? Final Four tickets? LOL.
I was able to take in the majority of two games last night as the Global Sports Classic held here in Las Vegas winds up to its final games tonight. Florida State vs Cincinnati and UNLV vs California. California basically ran UNLV from the start with 3 point shooting and good defense. Refs had a few bad calls at the end which squashed a Rebel comeback, but thats beside the point. UNLV goes against Cincinnati tonight, with California and Florida State facing off for the championship of the Global Sports Classic.
Note to Las Vegas Basketball organizers. The Las Vegas Invitational is currently being held here in town at the same time as the Global Sports Classic. Why would you do this? Stagger them. Two different weekends. I would like to go to both. Thanks.
Western Michigan is coming to town December 14th. Special thanks to my lady friend and her parents for arranging our travel plans to allow us to be back in town to catch this game vs UNLV. I will be away for a week in December, but could not stand to miss this game.
Speaking of the Broncos, here’s to hoping they wake up soon and pull out a few non con games. Something tells me they are looking forward to the comfort of the conference schedule and the chance to start again. Trips to the tourney do not come easily.
More hoops today. I know these tourneys are a sham, but I just can’t help but get into it as its the beginning of the season, and whats not to love? It is basketball.
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