Keys to The Game for MU

[Herman Cain]

1. Come out strong with the defense we played against Baylor.

2. Our less heralded guys are well positioned to be important factors today containing MSU's scoring threats.

3. Our stars just need to stay true to their on court advantages and not force anything.

4. We are well positioned to get some extra juice from our Freshman. This is a homecoming game for one of our freshman , expecting lots of Family , Friends and Local Support.

[mugrad_89]

Gotta be careful helping on drives that would leave Joey open - I'd like to see OMax stuck to him like glue.

[Carl]

Pick from the Athletic

No. 2 Marquette (-2 1/2) vs. No. 7 Michigan State, 5:15 p.m., CBS. Marquette's Tyler Kolek has been arguably the best point guard in the country, so you'd think his team might need him to be at his best in order to succeed in March. Yet, between foul trouble and a banged-up right (non-shooting) hand, Kolek shot 3 of 11 and had eight points in 26 minutes on Friday against Vermont. No problem. Five other players scored in double figures (led by Kam Jones, who scored 18 straight points during the second half), the Golden Eagles shot 5 of 20 from 3, and the Catamounts never had a chance. Marquette is a highly entertaining, very skilled team, and though a lack of size could leave Maquette vulnerable against taller, more physical teams, Michigan State is not one of them. The Spartans' starting center, 6-9 junior Mady Sissoko, averages 5.0 points in 21.6 minutes. We think of Michigan State as a great rebounding program, but this squad is 224th in the country in offensive rebound percentage per Ken Pom, and it's 334th in steals percentage. In other words, it's just like Marquette, only not as good. The pick: Marquette

[oilcan]

MU fans expected the Golden Eagles to win this game. Still, it took a gutsy performance after Tyler went out with the injured right hand. I think he jammed his thumb and went to the locker room for x-rays to see if it was dislocated or if it was broken. Obviously scary for us fans.

The team was energetic from the start and bigger than Vermont. Marquette's bigs had decent opportunities early and they got out to a lead. Vermont shot well and MU rebounded well. And of course when everyone was wondering, what will it take to beat this team without Kolek? Up stepped Kam Jones. Like Superman.

Get past the Spartans on Sunday and you have a week to get Tyler back to normal vs Kentucky. There is enough depth and hungry players on the bench ready to make an effort to contribute.
Obviously, Kolek will play on Sunday. But he won't be trying any right-handed lay ups like he did on Friday. He'll stick to what he does best and that will be enough. Marquette by eight.

[IrwinFletcher]

MU fans expected the Golden Eagles to win this game. Still, it took a gutsy performance after Tyler went out with the injured right hand. I think he jammed his thumb and went to the locker room for x-rays to see if it was dislocated or if it was broken. Obviously scary for us fans.

The team was energetic from the start and bigger than Vermont. Marquette's bigs had decent opportunities early and they got out to a lead. Vermont shot well and MU rebounded well. And of course when everyone was wondering, what will it take to beat this team without Kolek? Up stepped Kam Jones. Like Superman.

Get past the Spartans on Sunday and you have a week to get Tyler back to normal vs Kentucky. There is enough depth and hungry players on the bench ready to make an effort to contribute.
Obviously, Kolek will play on Sunday. But he won't be trying any right-handed lay ups like he did on Friday. He'll stick to what he does best and that will be enough. Marquette by eight.

You would have 3 days.

Tyler won't be 100% until next season.  Just hope that he is close as possible to his best.

[MuggsyB]

It seems to me that MSU is primarily reliant on the 3-Ball.  They are top 5 in 3pt% but are 200th in scoring offense. 

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Stevie, OMax, and to a lesser extent Chase disrupting MSU's offense is the key. Bring the BET defensive intensity and it's a W. Getting into a shootout instead makes it a coin flip.

[fjm]

Just thinking if this game is giving me an ulcer.

But thinking positive

[WarriorFan]

I don't trust OMAX on Joey.  I'd put Mitchell on him.  Come with a double if he tries to post up.  Recover to the shooters.

MSU is a very good 3pt shooting team, but Joey is their best 3pt shooter.  The other guards are just guys, and Kam/Kolek can hold them easily. 

Oso can help a lot and can double Joey because their C is a dork.

I don't think this will be an easy game.  MSU will be physical like St. Johns was.  MU will have 18 fouls in the first half.  MU is still the better team. 

[MuggsyB]

I don't trust OMAX on Joey.  I'd put Mitchell on him.  Come with a double if he tries to post up.  Recover to the shooters.

MSU is a very good 3pt shooting team, but Joey is their best 3pt shooter.  The other guards are just guys, and Kam/Kolek can hold them easily. 

Oso can help a lot and can double Joey because their C is a dork.

I don't think this will be an easy game.  MSU will be physical like St. Johns was.  MU will have 18 fouls in the first half.  MU is still the better team.

This is an interesting take.  Walker is capable of going off as well.  I'm not sure doubling the post is a great strategy versus teans that are really good with the 3-Ball but bad with the 2-Ball. 

[The Sultan]

Why don't you trust OMax on Joey? 

Mitchell takes the guy who brings the up the ball. It's how their defense is set up. 

[brewcity77]

Put their bigs into ball screens. We play our offense and Sissoko & their other bigs basically become unplayable.

Pressure Hoggard. He can be forced into turnovers and that will disrupt their entire offense.

Drive, drive, drive. They foul a lot and we can take advantage if we attack the rim.

Be selective. They won't rush us or turn us over, so take the time to get the best shot.

Grind the defensive pace. They want to play slow, our pressure can take time off the clock and force them into late shot clock situations.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Joey struggled with bigger, athletic, defenders. OMax is going to be fine.

[Mu8891]

You can't put Mitchell on Joey ...
He's not big enough, and they have two good guards to be defended

This game is giving me an ulcer too.
But ... win today, and I'm feeling a
FF

[JakeBarnes]

Put their bigs into ball screens. We play our offense and Sissoko & their other bigs basically become unplayable.

Pressure Hoggard. He can be forced into turnovers and that will disrupt their entire offense.

Drive, drive, drive. They foul a lot and we can take advantage if we attack the rim.

Be selective. They won't rush us or turn us over, so take the time to get the best shot.

Grind the defensive pace. They want to play slow, our pressure can take time off the clock and force them into late shot clock situations.

This.

Stevie needs to be the tip of the spear on Hoggard. This could be a 5 steal game for Stevie.

O-max will get into Joey. I trust him completely on him. Don't mess with anything on race day.

Interesting on the pace side--could see a fair amount of shot clock violations for MSU.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Joey struggled with bigger, athletic, defenders. OMax is going to be fine.

This. Joey is a good spot up shooter, but he doesn't scare anyone putting the ball on the floor.

[TVDirector]

And for goodness sake, don't foul the three point shooter

[MuggsyB]

Put their bigs into ball screens. We play our offense and Sissoko & their other bigs basically become unplayable.

Pressure Hoggard. He can be forced into turnovers and that will disrupt their entire offense.


B
Drive, drive, drive. They foul a lot and we can take advantage if we attack the rim.

Be selective. They won't rush us or turn us over, so take the time to get the best shot.

Grind the defensive pace. They want to play slow, our pressure can take time off the clock and force them into late shot clock situations.

Great points Brew.

[NickelDimer]

Please Shaka tell the defense to stop overhelping on drives leaving wide open shooters. It's the biggest glaring issue we have on defense imo

[brewnewsman]

March Madness prediction, Sunday: Marquette vs. Michigan State pick

By C Jackson Cowart , Action Network

It feels as if Marquette has been undervalued in just about every NCAA Tournament betting market despite playing like one of the best teams in the t for months.

And that continues to be the case ahead of its clash Sunday with Michigan State.

The Golden Eagles struggled to find a rhythm early in the year, carrying a 9-4 record with two overtime losses into late December.

Since then, they've ripped off an incredible 20-2 run — tied for the second-best record by any team in that stretch — with the nation's second-longest win streak (10 games) entering Sunday.

Over that 10-game heater, Marquette ranks eighth in T-Rank's power rating and is one of just five teams with top-30 efficiency on offense (12th) and defense (26th).

The key has been the turnover battle: Shaka Smart's group ranks 21st in defensive turnover rate (21.7 percent) and 31st in offensive turnover rate (13.8 percent), which allows star guard Tyler Kolek (7.6 APG) to facilitate this team's free-flowing offense in high volume.

That's a major concern for Michigan State, which is among the nation's worst teams at generating extra possessions via forced turnovers or offensive rebounds.

In fact, the only way the Spartans keep pace with elite teams is with their uber-efficient 3-point shooting (39.4 percent).

Defending the 3-pointer has been a weakness at times for the Golden Eagles, but they've held four straight opponents to 33.3 percent or worse from deep.

If they can limit Tom Izzo's group in that department on Sunday, this game won't be nearly as close as the line suggests.

The play: Marquette -2.5

[mugrad_89]

March Madness prediction, Sunday: Marquette vs. Michigan State pick

By C Jackson Cowart , Action Network

It feels as if Marquette has been undervalued in just about every NCAA Tournament betting market despite playing like one of the best teams in the t for months.

And that continues to be the case ahead of its clash Sunday with Michigan State.

The Golden Eagles struggled to find a rhythm early in the year, carrying a 9-4 record with two overtime losses into late December.

Since then, they've ripped off an incredible 20-2 run — tied for the second-best record by any team in that stretch — with the nation's second-longest win streak (10 games) entering Sunday.

Over that 10-game heater, Marquette ranks eighth in T-Rank's power rating and is one of just five teams with top-30 efficiency on offense (12th) and defense (26th).

The key has been the turnover battle: Shaka Smart's group ranks 21st in defensive turnover rate (21.7 percent) and 31st in offensive turnover rate (13.8 percent), which allows star guard Tyler Kolek (7.6 APG) to facilitate this team's free-flowing offense in high volume.

That's a major concern for Michigan State, which is among the nation's worst teams at generating extra possessions via forced turnovers or offensive rebounds.

In fact, the only way the Spartans keep pace with elite teams is with their uber-efficient 3-point shooting (39.4 percent).

Defending the 3-pointer has been a weakness at times for the Golden Eagles, but they've held four straight opponents to 33.3 percent or worse from deep.

If they can limit Tom Izzo's group in that department on Sunday, this game won't be nearly as close as the line suggests.

The play: Marquette -2.5

This is pretty good analysis - if we limit their threes, I think we win going away.

[GoldenEagles03]

There are so many interesting narratives and storylines for this game.

One that I just realized is that Marquette is either going to have its first 30 win season in program history or go 0-3 vs. the Big Ten this year.

[MUEng92]

Per Ben Steele:  Brian Dorsey, Lee Cassell, Clarence Armstrong are the refs. Don't know any of them.  Good sign?

[Herman Cain]

Per Ben Steele:  Brian Dorsey, Lee Cassell, Clarence Armstrong are the refs. Don't know any of them.  Good sign?

Mr High Knees not out there , so that is a good thing.

[cheebs09]

Mr High Knees not out there , so that is a good thing.

Oh wow. I could have sworn that was him out there. Good news.