I watched the game on tape delay, but at least I had a HopSlam to go with it, so that helped. Here are my not-so-hot takes:
1) I was very nervous about this game going in because Illinois was exactly the team that MSU did not need to see on the road 72 hours after the loss to IU. The Illini are playing better and their strength (creating turnovers) plays directly into MSU weakness, especially when MSU's confidence is a bit shaken
2) 24 turnovers and allowed 12 offensive rebounds. That is all you need to know.
3) MSU's odds to win the Big Ten were well over 90% after the Iowa game, but when you lose a toss-up game at Purdue and then drop two games where you were a 10+ point favorite, well, that is how you blow that lead. I will update those stats tomorrow. It won't be pretty.
4) Nick Ward is still basically MIA, we need more than 6 points from McQuaid, and Henry seems to have hit the Freshman wall. Ugh. I think these factors can improve... I am just not sure that they will.
That is the bad news, but I am the eternal optimist, so here are what I see as the bright spots:
5) I like what Izzo tried to do with giving Foster and Gabe a shift in the 1st half, even when MSU was down. I like this direction. He had to abandon it, but I like that he tried it.
6) The turnover and rebounding problems seem to be effort and focus related. There is a chance that these things can be corrected. Sometime a humbling loss (or two) is the best motivator.
7) Once MSU got the lead with ~5 minutes to go, I thought they had the game in the bag. Unfortunately, so did they. But, this can be a learning experience. I frankly thought that last year's team had too many come-from-behind wins and failed to learn a few lessons in the process. This team is getting those lessons now. I hope that they can learn from them.
8) I thought Ahrens looked better tonight. He is not where we need him, but better, I thought.
9) One thing to note is that MSU only needs to leave the state of Michigan one more time (next week at Wisconsin) before March 2nd and only twice more before the Big Ten tournament. There is time to rest a bit and fix things. I think the pieces are still there to win a lot more games. But, we need to somehow get the early January version of Ward, McQuaid, Henry, and Ahrens back.
10) If Purdue can win at Maryland on February 12th, go ahead and give them the trophy.
I will update the math in the morning.
1) I was very nervous about this game going in because Illinois was exactly the team that MSU did not need to see on the road 72 hours after the loss to IU. The Illini are playing better and their strength (creating turnovers) plays directly into MSU weakness, especially when MSU's confidence is a bit shaken
2) 24 turnovers and allowed 12 offensive rebounds. That is all you need to know.
3) MSU's odds to win the Big Ten were well over 90% after the Iowa game, but when you lose a toss-up game at Purdue and then drop two games where you were a 10+ point favorite, well, that is how you blow that lead. I will update those stats tomorrow. It won't be pretty.
4) Nick Ward is still basically MIA, we need more than 6 points from McQuaid, and Henry seems to have hit the Freshman wall. Ugh. I think these factors can improve... I am just not sure that they will.
That is the bad news, but I am the eternal optimist, so here are what I see as the bright spots:
5) I like what Izzo tried to do with giving Foster and Gabe a shift in the 1st half, even when MSU was down. I like this direction. He had to abandon it, but I like that he tried it.
6) The turnover and rebounding problems seem to be effort and focus related. There is a chance that these things can be corrected. Sometime a humbling loss (or two) is the best motivator.
7) Once MSU got the lead with ~5 minutes to go, I thought they had the game in the bag. Unfortunately, so did they. But, this can be a learning experience. I frankly thought that last year's team had too many come-from-behind wins and failed to learn a few lessons in the process. This team is getting those lessons now. I hope that they can learn from them.
8) I thought Ahrens looked better tonight. He is not where we need him, but better, I thought.
9) One thing to note is that MSU only needs to leave the state of Michigan one more time (next week at Wisconsin) before March 2nd and only twice more before the Big Ten tournament. There is time to rest a bit and fix things. I think the pieces are still there to win a lot more games. But, we need to somehow get the early January version of Ward, McQuaid, Henry, and Ahrens back.
10) If Purdue can win at Maryland on February 12th, go ahead and give them the trophy.
I will update the math in the morning.
