V Forgive me if these starting 5's are in-correct Michigan State Chris Hill Kelvin Torbert Alan Anderson Jason Andreas Paul Davis Duke Chris Duhon JJ Redick Daniel Ewing Lou Deng Shelden Williams There is alot on the line for people on here with loads of avatar bets.This should be a great game.
Michigan State's starting line is most likely incorrect, but I'm not just pointing that out to nagg you. I'm just pointing out that lately they've made some interesting roster moves. I believe Anderson starts at Point Guard now, and against DePaul (may have been Penn) Kelvin Torbert got some serious burn at Power Forward. I believe he may take Andreas' place there. Anyway, this game will be dictated by guard play. Michigan State has (in my opinion) the best backcourt in the nation. The only problem they have is that their backcourt consists of nothing but Shooting Guards (with the exception of Cotton who is injured). They have players like Hill, Anderson, S.Brown, Ager, and R.Johnson who have all logged minutes at point guard, but are essentially just short two-guards or forwards. That cast of players will probably do fine handling the point position, but they are not the quickest guys in the world. I blame the loss to Kansas on Miles' quickness. I don't think Duhon is any quicker than Alan Anderson though, so Michigan State should do fine. My prediction is - Michigan State: 68 Duke: 61 I basically base that on home-court advantage.
I heard on ESPN that Michigan State were mixing around their starting line-up so I was sure.Just basic guesses to be honest...Hopfully there will be some disussion at least on this game...This is afterall one of the biggest games of the year so far.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting allnet:</div><div class="quote_post">I heard on ESPN that Michigan State were mixing around their starting line-up so I was sure.Just basic guesses to be honest...Hopfully there will be some disussion at least on this game...This is afterall one of the biggest games of the year so far.</div>There's really a lot ridding on this game, but I think we shouldn't read too much into it untill after it happens. Then we'll see what effect this had on both teams. Neither team (both ranked 6th) wants to rack up two losses, especially Duke who had their first loss to Purdue. Here are some possible lineups - Best Lineup (my opinion): PG - Chris Hill SG - Maurice Ager F - Alan Anderson F - Kelvin Torbert C - Paul Davis Probable Lineup: G - Alan Anderson G - Maurice Ager FG - Kelvin Torbert PF - Paul Davis C - Jason Andreas
38-24 at halftime to Duke. It's a pretty ugly game, low shooting %'s but Duke is getting lots of points of Michigan State turnovers, which there are a lot of.
It's now the half time, and although I don't have the score (thanks, tmac15) I can tell you that it's far from over. Michigan State is one of the most notorious teams in the world for second half comebacks. They've come back from larger deposits to better teams in the past, and I believe they can now. The thing that Duke is doing right is really pounding Paul Davis every time he catches the ball. When you take Davis out of the game, you take out the only frontcourt player on Michigan State worth a darn. Haha, you guys better take it easy on me if Michigan State loses. My blood-pressure is off the charts from watching all the boneheaded mistakes Michigan State has made. It's not a big difference in talent. It's just a big difference in awareness.
With Duke up by eighteen, this game is pretty much over. It absolutely sickens me that Michigan State is losing again, and the fact that the team they are losing to is Duke makes the burn sting ten times worse. Is Tom Izzo really crazy for scheduling Duke, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kentucky, and Kansas as his first few games? I don't think so. As Duke Vital and his fellow duke riding analysts have said already, Izzo scheduled those teams with the thought that Randolph, Taylor, and Lorbek would be on the roster. Does this 3-2 start mean lights out for Michigan State? No, Michigan State is down, but not out. They have two great chances at redemption coming up against Oklahoma and Kentucky. They need to win both of those games to stay as one of the elite teams, but I'll be satisfied with two closely played games. In the end, I just want Michigan State to make the tournament with all the experience under their belt. They'll be a dangerous team as always. They're young and these big games are giving them a feel of what tournament basketball will be like. I know it's sad, but you have to look to next year also when they lose no significant player, yet Chris Hill, Kelvin Torbert, and Alan Anderson will all be entering their senior year. Paul Davis and Maurice Ager will be Juniors. Shannon Brown, Brandon Cotton, and Delco Rowley will also be Sophomores.
Duke wins in a blowout 72-50. As a Duke fan, I am very pleased with how we played tonight. Michigan State got killed all over the court. Turnovers were a major problem for the Spartans tonight. Part of that is due to the fact that they dont have a true point guard and part just because Duke outplayed them. Duke came ready to play tonight and they showed they can dominate the top teams when they execute their gameplan. They were tenacious on defense and did an excellent job down low on offense. Is Izzo crazy for starting off the year scheduling Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma, and Kentucky? You better believe it. No matter how good of a team you have, that is one tough schedule. The one play that would disgust me if I was a Michigan State fan was when Duke through it in during the third quarter right under the basket to Randolph for an uncontested dunk. Tom Izzo is pissed at his team for its performance and he should be. They got their tails whipped at the Breslin. All is not lost. They just need to regroup for their next game.........Oklahoma at Oklahoma.
Someone get Michigan a real point guard,a guy who can hold onto the ball..oh yes and a guy who can shoot.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dexter:</div><div class="quote_post"> Is Izzo crazy for starting off the year scheduling Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma, and Kentucky? You better believe it. No matter how good of a team you have, that is one tough schedule. Oklahoma at Oklahoma.</div>I'd just like to say two things. About the first comment, I would not call him crazy. Imagine their team right now with Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor (who would be All-Americans easily) and Erazem Lorbek (good chance at being an All-American). Well, Izzo thought he'd have all of them plus more. Things just don't work out the way you always plan them. He's not crazy. The game is not at Oklahoma. It's in Detroit/Auburn Hills.
Wave, if MSU doesn't beat Oklahoma, I don't think you have much to worry about. Their next game would be against UK, right? That game is going to be in Ford Field, and although UK will have it's share of fans, I think about 70% of the people there will be MSU fans, which gives MSU a whopping home-court advantage. Not only this, but Izzo always seems to have UK's number. This MSU game worries the hell out of me, but I hope for the best.
