MSU is our main competition for a B1G title, and our lone game this year might decide the winner (@ East Lansing unfortunately). I was watching the MSU - UM game, and there was a sequence that really struck me. It was late in the 2nd half and MSU pulling away. They did that by making Dickinson defend the perimeter, and basically scored 8 straight points or 10 straight from whomever Dickinson was guarding. Watching the hapless Dickinson there gave me a sad feeling on the death of big men in NBA. It was why the other night I was watching the Lakers and they basically had Carmelo Anthony playing the 5. Being "too" tall actually hurts you in the NBA.
On the defensive end, just like they did against Haas, MSU used single coverage and had Hauser defending Dickinson 1v1 during the run. The refs let Hauser get physical, and it seemed to have gotten Dickinson frustrated, and he made some but not a stellar percentage. I am sure Izzo would be happy to take that trade off.
So my two thoughts:
1. That should be our game plan against Dickinson. He seems to come out a lot to the perimeter, and we should use that against them. Make him come out to defend.
2. Meanwhile, I'm sure the other teams will be doing what Izzo was doing. Defend the post 1v1 and trade 2s for 3s. I don't have a good solution, but Tredey probably needs to be shooting 70% to break that. Given our game will be at East Lansing, I am a little concerned. Their PG combo Walker and Hoggard also looked good pushing the ball, and I am not sure if IT + Hunter can slow them down.
Ultimately, against MSU, it comes down to TOs. They are pretty careless with the ball b/c they always want to push it. Yet, we are one of the worst team in forcing TOs. So it will come down to whether they self-implode and turn the ball over. If they don't, it might be a long afternoon.
On the defensive end, just like they did against Haas, MSU used single coverage and had Hauser defending Dickinson 1v1 during the run. The refs let Hauser get physical, and it seemed to have gotten Dickinson frustrated, and he made some but not a stellar percentage. I am sure Izzo would be happy to take that trade off.
So my two thoughts:
1. That should be our game plan against Dickinson. He seems to come out a lot to the perimeter, and we should use that against them. Make him come out to defend.
2. Meanwhile, I'm sure the other teams will be doing what Izzo was doing. Defend the post 1v1 and trade 2s for 3s. I don't have a good solution, but Tredey probably needs to be shooting 70% to break that. Given our game will be at East Lansing, I am a little concerned. Their PG combo Walker and Hoggard also looked good pushing the ball, and I am not sure if IT + Hunter can slow them down.
Ultimately, against MSU, it comes down to TOs. They are pretty careless with the ball b/c they always want to push it. Yet, we are one of the worst team in forcing TOs. So it will come down to whether they self-implode and turn the ball over. If they don't, it might be a long afternoon.
