It's currently 43 degrees with a high potential for rain in East Lansing. YAY. Well, we can't say this isn't football weather, as the Green and White teams will take to the field for an exhibition which is one of the more fun spring games in college football, mainly because the coaches let the players do fun things. Suit up Draymond Green at tight end? Why not! Hand the ball to Antonio Jeremiah for a run? Sure! Hopefully there's some fun wrinkle in today's game worth watching, because this is not late April weather. FOR SHAME, NATURE.

If you're looking for things to watch for, Rexrode has his here and a roster hyuh, while Jim Comparoni of Spartan Mag has a list of 24 things to watch.

Lastly, Ducking Delvon has created a fantasy game of sorts for the Spring Game, get your entries in here before the action starts.

This is the open thread. Y'all know the rules: No slurs, no links to illegal game streams (streams from BTN.com or BTN2GO.com are kosher), and be cool to one another (don't know why you wouldn't, unless there are some hyper partisan Green team fans out there). Enjoy the game everyone.

GO GREEN, GO WHITE, BEAT MICHIGAN STATE?

Hello Packer fans! If you're reading this your team has drafted defensive tackle Jerel Worthy, and we'd like to commend your team's front office on such a splendid pick. I speak for many Michigan State fans when I say that Jerel was a pleasure to watch over the past few years, and we hope he will be for years to come, so long as it's not against the Lions. Here's a little more on Jerel.

Continue reading this post »

Hey y'all! First off, some housekeeping -- I haven't forgotten about the NCAA Tournament prizes (or Big Ten for that matter -- nallington, it's coming, that I promise you). Here are the winners from the Traditional Bracket:

• Tied for 1st: Randall's Bracket and Everybody Loves Draymond
• 3rd: LK Reggie's Bracket

Continue reading this post »

In basketball games, a point arrives where a fan goes from "my team still has a chance to win this game" to "my team probably will not win this game". For me, this point came midway through the second half, after a 6-0 MSU run brought the Spartans within 4 and their win probability to 40%. The next plays were the following: Chase Benahan layup, blocked Adreian Payne shot by Gorgui Dieng, Chris Smith three-pointer, Keith Appling turnover, Kyle Kuric transition layup. Although Louisville ceased to score before the next media timeout, MSU added a Draymond Green turnover and missed layup, before the game stoppage. By that time Louisville led by 11, and Michigan State's win probability had slipped to 12%. Not game over, but game essentially over.

That was a microcosm of the Spartans' final game of the season, where the defense was good enough to win (held the Cardinals to under 1 point per possession), and the offense was not nearly good enough. 9-28 of two and 5-21 from three along with 15 turnovers were among the final stats that doomed a Spartan team that simultaneously lacked energy on defense and pressed on offense. I think that's about all of this game I can stand to recap, and now to put the bookend on 2011-2012 after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

This game will hurt you. Kyle Whelliston of the Mid-Majority was a proponent of that thought, and never has that seemed so true tonight. MSU looked discombobulated by Louisville's match-up zone, Keith Appling had several hiccups against the press, Draymond Green between rebounds and points had several questionable decisions, and MSU's season is over, going out to the Cardinals 57-44.

I think disappointment is something we're all feeling right now. Many of us started out this season expecting this team to contend in the Big Ten, then thinking they could be more, than celebrating when they took sole possession of first place. There was discontent when they tied for the Big Ten regular season title, euphoria when they won the Big Ten tournament title, then...this.

All credit to Louisville, they clearly were the more energetic team on offense and defense in this game and deserved the win. As for Michigan State, I'll remember a group of seniors who gave their all, while looking forward to the future, and how next year's team will gel.

Leave your thoughts in this thread. You've handled yourself commendably so far, let's keep that going.

ADRENALINE ON HIGH Y'ALL. I wasn't nervous much yesterday, but writing the preview and this game thread? The butterflies are going, I'm a bit shaky, and I'm worried that all the bad things that can happen to Michigan State will happen in the next two hours, booting MSU out of the NCAAs. This game features the KenPom #2 (Louisville) and #3 (Good Guys) rated defenses in the nation, offenses...well, MSU's 8th, and Louisville's 111th. However, 1+1+1 = 3, and all the Cardinals need are one hot night from three to take MSU out. Good lord I'm nervous. I can't really write anymore, so here comes the disclaimer.

This is the open thread. Y'all know the rules: No slurs, no links to illegal game streams, and be cool to one another. Enjoy the game everyone.

GO GREEN, GO WHITE, BEAT LOUISVILLE.

I don't want to start this preview by mentioning the 2009 Elite 8 game. One of the common ways to write a game preview (and one that I've used many times) is to A) recap the last game played between the two teams, B) detail what has changed since the last game, and C) predict how those changes might affect the game to be played. This game feels like it doesn't deserve a preview like that; a game of this magnitude deserves a piece of writing with original prose, structure, and clarity that NCAA tournament games such as this one deserve.

However, I can't think of anything original at this point, 8:47 AM on game day, so know this -- three years ago #2 seed Michigan State played Louisville in Indianapolis after coming off a comeback win against Kansas. Very, very few thought Michigan State could prevail against the overall number one seed, but not only did they prevail, the victory was decisive, thanks to Goran Suton's timely three pointers in the first half to keep the game close, then used a bevy of three-pointers to put the game away in the second.

This Sweet Sixteen match appears to bear little resemblance to the Spartans' and Cardinals' last meeting, as MSU is the higher seed, and Louisville appears to be much more mentally prepared than last time. After the jump, quotes, stats to know, and a key to win the game.

Continue reading this post »

"Like they said, they mucked it up, and we were able to play through that muckness or whatever," Nix said after Michigan State won 65-61 to advance to the Sweet 16. "We went at them, and they went at us. I think we just out-matched, out-beat their intensity."

That quote comes from, who else, The Nixer. It came from him after a game that saw Michigan State up by 11 with less than 12 minutes to play. And if Nix thought the game was mucked up before, did it get dirty thereafter as MSU scored eight points in the next minutes. and St. Louis managed to get the game within two with less than four minutes to play.

And as the Billikens inched closer and closer, the St. Louis fan contingent sitting in the sections below and to the right of me and my friend were getting ever rowdier, with the noise increasing for every foul SLU drew on the Spartans. Once the game got within two, it was literally put up or shut up time -- either St. Louis would tie the game on another drive or foul shots, or the Spartans would find an answer and quiet the blue and white crowd.

At these times, Dray's gonna Dray.

Continue reading this post »

Boy that game was fun, wasn't it? I just got back from Columbus and am a bit sleepy, so just a Briefcap tonight. For now:

• Some assumed that St. Louis would throw in a defensive wrinkle State hadn't seen before; that would be Appling's defender sagging off him at the three-point line to take away the drive. It was like the treatment Travis Walton received in '09 against USC, but while Appling would be defended if he penetrated, the Trojans didn't cover Walton at well. Regardless, Keith made enough long twos and lay-ups before his coup de grace, a three off a pass from Draymond that put MSU up seven with 1:34 left.
• If there was a bugaboo, it was MSU's interior defense. Even though it seemed like St. Louis was getting the benefit of the calls (unbiased outsiders -- were they? I have no hope of analyzing fouls impartially), there were numerous occasions where a Billiken guard either drove the lane or found an open big. Even though MSU allowed SLU to shoot 11-26 from two (and 7-25 from three, even though those were seemingly going in from all angles), some of those twos came far too easy; I think if Branden Dawson's healthy the Spartans win by double digits.
• Draymond Green -- 16 points on 6-11 (2-4 from three) shooting, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 floor cleaned. We've exhausted our lexicon at TOC to describe how impressive Day Day is, but we think it's just assumed right now.

Continue reading this post »

First, a word from our sponsors TiqIQ on last minute tickets for Columbus Friday and Sunday:

Ticket prices for Sunday's NCAA Madness in Columbus are down about 11% over the last week, and there are now 17 deals available for under $60. These are from all sellers, and you can find them here. You can also use TiqIQ's new Check in feature, called TiqIQ Connect to show everyone where you're sitting and look for tickets around any friends who may be going. Click here to check it out (below the stadium map). http://tiqiq.us/95o

If you're looking for the good stuff, there are also still a few deals from official Ticket Exchange, Primesport, including two pairs at center court about 10 rows up for under $100. Click here for those before they go: http://tiqiq.us/95r

Eight games are in the books, and out of the eight I'd say three were interesting. Harvard made it interesting late against Vanderbilt but the Crimson lost, Long Beach State and New Mexico was a hard, well fought game which New Mexico eventually pulled out, and Syracuse v. UNC-Asheville...well, let's just say officiating of that caliber makes one yearn for the gentle humility of Ted Valentine. On to the evening's matches:

Kentucky vs. Western Kentucky, 6:50 p.m. ET, TBS (Louisville)
Announcers: Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst), Lesley Visser (sideline)

Wichita State vs. VCU, 7:15 p.m. ET, CBS (Portland)
Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Dan Bonner (analyst), Jenn Hildreth (sideline)

Gonzaga vs. West Virginia, 7:20 p.m. ET, TNT (Pittsburgh)
Announcers: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Len Elmore and Reggie Miller (analysts), Marty Snider (sideline)

Baylor vs. South Dakota State, 7:27 p.m. ET, truTV (Albuquerque)
Announcers: Spero Dedes (play-by-play), Bob Wenzel (analyst), Jamie Maggio (sideline)

Iowa State vs. Connecticut, 9:20 p.m. ET, TBS (Louisville)
Announcers: Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst), Lesley Visser (sideline)

Indiana vs. New Mexico State, 9:20 p.m. ET (tentative), CBS (Portland)
Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Dan Bonner (analyst), Jenn Hildreth (sideline)

Ohio State vs. Loyola Maryland, 9:50 p.m. ET (tentative), TNT (Pittsburgh)
Announcers: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Len Elmore and Reggie Miller (analysts), Marty Snider (sideline)

This is an open thread -- you know the rules. No links to illegal game streams (I don't see why'd you have to unless you were abroad or cheap though), no slurs, and be cool to one another. Enjoy the games y'all.

Continue reading this post »

A month or so ago SB Nation sent out an e-mail to all their bloggers asking if they wanted to be a part of their YouTube channel. In case you haven't heard, SB Nation and YouTube have partnered together to create original programming, such as Spencer Hall and Jason Kirk's Shutdown Fullback (NSFW), Bomani Jones's Bomani & Jones, and Amy K. Nelson's Full Nelson among others. I received a camera rig as a part of this initiative, and after several failed attempts, hundreds of stutters, and not to mention awkward glares at the camera, I finally managed to create a video.

My first entry is below. In it I get ever so slightly ticked off about people suggesting the Spartans are lummoxes compared to Memphis and LIU, and you can literally FEEL THE EMOTION LEAK DOWN MY FACE. It's a beautiful thing.

There'll be many more to come, and I'm looking for other locales to do these in than my apartment. So here's the deal: If you e-mail me at pete.rossman@gmail.com and want me to film a team report at your place, club meeting, team meeting, etc., and it's not during my work hours or too explicit/dangerous, I will come and include you in the team report. You're a part of what makes this blog a force of awesome in the universe, and it's only fair that you should be a part of it.

Now without further ado, our YouTube debut. Post your opinions in the comments, and feel free to get critical: I am of the internet, I can take it, and it's one of the ways I'm going to get better at this.

UGH WHY CAN'T IT BE FRIDAY. It's not enough that we have to wait for Thursday for the NCAA Tournament to start proper, but MSU's one of the last teams to play, not taking the court until 9:20 PM Eastern Friday against Long Island University. Until then though, we'll have to entertain ourselves. I've found some links to do just that.

Beating the Top Teams - RealGM Articles Michigan State is not only the best squad against NCAA tournament teams, but also the hottest team in the past ten games. Unfortunately, two of MSU's region-mates are #2 in each category, as Missouri is the second-best team against schools in the NCAA tournament and Memphis is the second hottest team among tournament teams. It could get a bit dodgy for the Spartans.

And one pet peeve I've had so far with coverage -- analysts choosing Memphis over Michigan State because Memphis is "more athletic" and "has more NBA players" (for an example of what I'm talking about, watch this video.) I think the difference in athleticism between guards is negligible, and even though Memphis will be a quicker and stronger at the wing, the Spartans will have the bigger front court, and not to mention scads more experience against tough teams. SPOILER ALERT: I'm taking MSU in this one if this match occurs.

The Fifth Annual TOC Pick 16 NCAA Tournament Contest - The Only Colors Just a reminder -- entries are this are due before the first play-in game today. There will be prizes for first, second, and third place, I just have to make a trip to Curious Book Shop and browse eBay to pick them out.

Continue reading this post »

If you're anything like me, you've been trying to get the best prices to see MSU in Columbus. Luckily, thanks to our partners at TiqIQ and Primesport, we have some seats at prices that are more than reasonable. Right now some of the All Sessions seats look like a bargain, but act fast -- it won't stay that way for long. Is this an Ad? Yes, but TiqIQ and Primesport have some of the best prices I've seen, and I wouldn't be posting this if I didn't think it could help some of you out.

Friday, Session One (San Diego State vs. NC State, Georgetown vs. Belmont): Median: $77; Start from $46; Value zone is lowers behind baskets, which start from $47. Click here for all options: http://tiqiq.us/8p3

Friday, Session Two (MSU vs. Long Island, Memphis vs. St. Louis) : Median: $161; Start from $108; $108 is also the best deal for lower level from Official Ticket Exchange, Primesport. Click here to a filter on Primesport's good stuff: http://tiqiq.us/8ox

Sunday, Session Three (MSU/LIU winner vs. Memphis/STL winer; SDSU/NCSU winner vs. GU/BU winner): Median $191; Start from $136; Primesport again has the best deals in the lower corner, also starting at $136. Click here to see them all: http://tiqiq.us/8p6

All Sessions: If you're planning on making a weekend of it, tickets for all three sessions start at $50. Primesport has some nice lower corner seats for All Session from $121. If you are planning to go to all three, you'll definitely save a couple bucks going this route. http://tiqiq.us/8p9

The season ended roughly, but Michigan State earned the top seed and will face an Iowa team that held off an Illini team that is probably thankful their regular season is now over. If you recall Michigan State beat Iowa 95-61 in a game where MSU went 10-18 from behind the arc, scored numerous fast break points, and caused Fran McCaffery to turn a chair into an auction item that sold for thousands of dollars.

So how nervous should MSU be? I'll go with somewhat. Matt Gatens has been on fire the past few games, and that's where most of my concern lies -- if he gets hot from three, most likely Iowa's going to be in this game no matter what MSU does. Without Branden Dawson the defense will suffer, but a silver lining is that with Brandon Wood and Brandan Kearney taking most of Dawson's minutes, the three point shooting will improve, which could be a boon against zone defenses now and in the future.

Sidenote -- according to this LSJ article, I'll be in DTW watching this game in a bar before heading out to Phoenix this weekend. If you are an MSU fan and also leaving from DTW, the first drink's on me.

This is the game thread. You know what to do -- no slurs, no links to illegal game streams, and be cool to one another. Enjoy the game everyone.

GO GREEN, GO WHITE, BEAT IOWA.

via deadhomersociety.files.wordpress.com -- now the TOC motto for this month.

Once again it's March, the most wonderful time of the year for college basketball. While exhilarting, it does create quite the workload here at TOC Incorporated. At these times, we fall back on a tried and true method of content -- ask questions to another blog and have it do the preview for us. I sent some questions to RossWB of the often imitated, never duplicated Iowa blog Black Heart Gold Pants about the first match of the Big Ten Tournament, Day 2. My questions are in the block quotes, and if you saunter on over to BHGP I'm sure you'll find my answers to their questions as well.

Continue reading this post »

First, check out Spartan Dan's post below this one on rooting interests for the Spartans in hockey this week. You will be an expert in college hockey in no time.

Second, we also work in conjunction with TiqIQ and other online ticket sellers, and one of the perks of running this blog is that I get to pass on the deals to you. Even though MSU isn't officially playing in Columbus yet, unless something bizarre happens this weekend that's most likely where they'll end up. So here's a way to get tickets for next weekend in Columbus:

There is a lot of excitement and speculation about the NCAA Tournament, and where teams will play. So-called 'Bracketologists' are projecting that Michigan State will play at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. If you're thinking about making the trip, make sure you get tickets from the official NCAA Ticket Exchange, Primesport. With Selection Sunday only a few days away, below is a closer look at current ticket prices in Columbus.

All Sessions: Tickets start at just $247.50
Session 1: Tickets start at $135 per
Session 2: Tickets start at $112.50 per
Session 3: Tickets start at $135 per

If Michigan State is selected to play in Columbus, ticket prices are sure to increase so click here to see all current ticket options from Primesport: http://tiqiq.us/8dZ

The Big Ten tournament tips off today with Iowa vs. Illinois at noon. Predictions/guesses? Oh, I've got some. Speaking of, have you entered our Big Ten Tourney prediction contest yet? There's still time to enter before it closes at noon Eastern. Now predictions and links, feel free to use this as an open thread for the Big Ten Tournament today.

(8) Iowa vs. (9) Illinois The consensus seems to be that Iowa is a hot team and that the Fightin' Bruce Webers are dead men walking. However, don't forget that Illinois, albeit in a 2-11 rut, beat Iowa by double digits in Champaign no less than two weeks ago. This Illini team still has weapons -- Meyers Leonard is mercurial but effective, and one still does not want to be on the receiving end of a Brandon Paul points explosion. Combine that with the group consensus seemingly on Iowa's side by a wide margin, and I'm starting to like the Hawkeyes less and less. I picked Iowa in the contest, but I'm switching my pick here. Illinois wins, and I also like the Illini -2.5.

Continue reading this post »

Welcome to Tuesday y'all. The Big Ten Tournament starts in a couple days, and Michigan State doesn't play until noon on Friday against Iowa or Illinois. Either team will do, as the Spartans will face an Illinois team currently with a dead coach walking and an inability to feed its potential lottery pick at center, or they face an Iowa team which, although dangerous, plays very much to MSU's stylistic tendencies. If you want a bracket, it's HYUH (PDF). Now on to the rest of the links.

Shaw Lane Spartans -- Michigan State Football, Basketball and Hockey Blog -- Jim at A Beautiful Day for Football has moved his blog to a new server and location. Wish him a warm welcome y'all.

Green, Izzo get top honors - LSJ Blogs: Hey, Joe No surprises at the team banquet as Draymond Green took team MVP from both the coaches and the media. Derrick Nix won the most improved player while Adreian Payne won the Scholar-Athlete award.

MSU's Brandan Kearney might fill void left by Branden Dawson injury | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com That's one theory the Detroit News throws out there, but Izzo states in the article that he may throw in Gauna to run a lineup with three bigs. When Adreian Payne's running the three, I'm safely sure that would qualify as "big".

More links after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

To almost no one's surprise, Draymond Green is the Big Ten Player of the Year. What was somewhat surprising (although not unexpected) was that Tom Izzo was the Big Ten Coach of the Year; John Beilein and Tom Crean both had worthy cases. Do I think Izzo should've won? Well, yes. Although the talent level was there to contend for a Big Ten title, the way it gelled was unlike few Michigan State teams I've seen in my time, and the resilience they showed in bouncing back from a year where almost everything went down the toilet, in my view, makes the award well deserved. It's only Izzo's 3rd Big Ten Coach of the Year award (also won in 1998, 2009), one would think he'd have more by now.

More MSU merits -- Green also made the All-Big Ten defensive team, and Keith Appling is All-Big Ten Third team. Branden Dawson was honorable mention all-conference for the media along with making the All-Big Ten Freshman team.

Here's the list of honorees, I'll be updating this page as they're announced.

ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM

Draymond Green, MSU
John Shurna, Northwestern
Jared Sullinger, OSU
Robbie Hummel, Purdue
Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin (coaches only)
Tim Frazier, Penn State (media only)

ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM

Cody Zeller, Indiana
Trey Burke, Michigan
William Buford, OSU
DeShaun Thomas, OSU (coaches) Matt Gatens, Iowa (media)
Tim Frazier (coaches), Jordan Taylor (media)

ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM

Keith Appling, MSU
Tim Hardaway Jr., Michigan
Drew Crawford, Northwestern
Matt Gatens (coaches), DeShaun Thomas (media)
Brandon Paul, Illinois (coaches), Aaron Craft, OSU (media)

CO-FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR: Trey Burke (media), Cody Zeller (coaches)

ALL-BIG TEN FRESHMAN TEAM

Trey Burke
Cody Zeller
Branden Dawson, MSU
Aaron White, Iowa
Dave Sobolewski, Northwestern

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Aaron Craft

ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM

Aaron Craft
Draymond Green
Tim Frazier
Victor Oladipo, Indiana
Josh Gasser, Wisconsin

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR: D.J. Byrd, Purdue

MEMO: THIS GAME IS A WHITE OUT. WEAR A WHITE SHIRT. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE, STOP AT THE MEIJER ON LAKE LANSING BEFORE YOU ARRIVE AND BUY ONE. THEY'RE NOT TOO MUCH, AND A PROPER WHITE OUT WILL LOOK AWESOME. PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

One game to rule them all, one game to find them, one game to bring them all and in East Lansing crown one, two, or three Big Ten Champions. Tolkien references aside, this game that will bring the Big Ten title race to its conclusion has three possibilities. Possibility the first -- Michigan wins against Penn State (almost a given) and MSU loses to OSU; that would make Michigan State, Ohio State, and Michigan B1G champions. In a word -- ugh. Possibility the second: Michigan loses to Penn State (HA HA), OSU beats MSU, and MSU and OSU are Big Ten champions. Still not desirable.

That brings us to possibility the third: Michigan State, like in Columbus a month ago, beats the Buckeyes, and claim the B1G regular season title on a day where Brandon Wood, Austin Thornton, and Draymond Green will play their last collegiate game in the Breslin Center (it feels so good not to include the NIT in this statement like last year) along with properly honoring Delvon Roe for his three years of play.

After the jump: keys, and thoughts.

Continue reading this post »

It's not often you see movements born, live, and die in a day, but the "Let Delvon Play" hashtag was just that. To the best of my recollection, here's how it happened, with Twitter embeds (shameless plug: are you following The Only Colors on Twitter? How about Facebook? OK, I'm done.)

1:05 PM Jay Bilas, ESPN Commentator and trill dude extraordinare, Tweets this:

So, Wisconsin can play a pro baseball player at QB, but wrong for MSU to play injured cager and actor on senior night? bit.ly/AvKgGs

— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) March 1, 2012

Seeing that tweet, I thought back to Russell Wilson, and thought "hey, that's right!" I then thought about the Big Ten Championship Game, so I pushed the Badger out of my mind. Different college basketball writers discussed Delvon Roe's exclusion for a while, and I'm not sure who first created it, but Rob Dauster from Ballin' Is A Habit and our blog bros College Basketball Talk got the movement off the ground, so I'll credit him.

Continue reading this post »

Welp, that wasn't good. What are the five steps you ask?

1. Keep repeating this mantra: "Michigan State has at least a share of the Big Ten title. Michigan State has at least a share of the Big Ten title. Michigan State has at least a share of the Big Ten title." Just because they might share it doesn't make it any less true.
2. Draymond Green played every bit like the player of the year candidate he is. 29 points on 10-17 shooting, 3-6 from three, and 8 rebounds. Yes he had 6 turnovers, but as he was the only effective scorer for MSU tonight, you have to take that when the rest of the offense is sputtering.
3. Speaking of the rest of the offense -- 10-34 for field goals, which drops to 7-30 when you take away Austin Thornton's contributions. Call me an optimist, but I don't think Dawson, Payne, Nix, Wood, Appling et al. won't shoot 23.3% on Sunday.
4. They'll be a bit more energized and be able to guard OSU. Oladipo drove by MSU defenders at will seemingly, I think the four day rest will restore some zip to those legs.
5. Gary Harris did this to win a playoff game:

First, to answer the question of Derrick Nix's health:

Walked into the arena with headphones on and music blaring. I'd say yes. RT @NYCravens1: @insidethehall is derrick nix playing tonight?

— Alex Bozich (@insidethehall) February 28, 2012

MSU warming up, Nix seems to be moving fine. Trice dressed, moving a bit gingerly.

— Joe Rexrode (@joerexrode) February 28, 2012

That's good enough for me. Nix may be limited, but his presence was a major reason why Cody Zeller had a tough game last time. MSU will need the big man in the center to make sure that happens again.

Random people that are at the MSU-IU game tonight: Steve Mariucci, Jared from Subway in his Indiana gear, Jay Bilas, and a cast of thousands. Sole possession of the Big Ten regular season title is there for the taking. It's time to end three long years of having to share it.

This is the game thread. Same rules as they ever were: No slurs, no links to illegal game streams, and be cool to one another. Enjoy the game everyone.

GO GREEN, GO WHITE, BEAT INDIANA.

When Michigan State last played Indiana, the year was 2011. The United States Women's Soccer team was making a lively run for the World Cup, everyone wanted "Moves Like Jagger", and a little movie called "Jack and Jill" captured America's heart. The Indiana Hoosiers were riding high with a 12-0 record including a win against Kentucky. If you recall the first match was a game of runs. Michigan State struck first with at 15-2 salvo, Indiana fired back with a 38-11 megarun, but the Spartans landed the final blow with a 20-0 run that helped form the final score, Michigan State 80, Indiana 65. Our initial recap is HYUH if you want the game broken down in further detail.

Since their last meeting Indiana has looked like a talented, but young team. They've had their successes (wins at home against Ohio State, Michigan) and their pratfalls (lost at home to Minnesota, lost on the road to Nebraska). The Hoosiers do have something to play for; with a Wisconsin loss or two they could possibly receive a first round bye in the Big Ten Tournament. To me (obviously) it feels like Michigan State's stakes are (subjectively) greater -- securing MSU's second sole Big Ten regular season title in four years.

After the jump, three keys to the game.

Continue reading this post »