Ohio State @ Michigan State – Shootyhoops live chat

(Today’s Michigan State Preview comes courtesy of guest writer Joe Ginley (Twitter: @JoeGinley). Joe is a student at John Carroll University, a Buckeye fan and contributes to a variety of news outlets, including Spartan Nation and the Plain Dealer)

Saturday’s showdown in East Lansing between #11 Ohio State and #18 Michigan State is a vital game for both squads. Though the two teams enter the contest from totally different positions, both the Buckeyes and the Spartans will be looking to establish themselves with a significant conference win on Saturday.

The Buckeyes have a major challenge ahead in the form of Michigan State. Ohio State is coming off a huge 56-53 win over That Team Up North, and riding high after point guard Aaron Craft and Co. spelled Michigan’s Trey Burke and the Michigan offense. Ohio State turned in an exceptional effort early in the game, racing to a 29-8 lead in the first thirteen minutes of the contest. The Buckeyes proved they can match up with some of the best the NCAA has to offer in the triumph over the then-second ranked Wolverines. But the Bucks can’t rest on their laurels in the upcoming game against the Spartans. Michigan State is a dangerous team, especially with a hometown crowd behind it.

Tom Izzo’s Spartans (15-3, 4-1) have not had an easy journey to this point. Injuries, less than stellar play at times and a recent altercation have all hampered the Green and White. Two of Michigan State’s top players, guards Branden Dawson and Gary Harris, have both caused concern this season. Harris has had repeated problems with both shoulders, while Dawson recently had knee trouble. Dawson had the MSU faithful holding their breath when he crumpled to the floor, holding his surgically repaired left knee during Michigan State’s 66-56 win over Nebraska on Sunday. “I was like, ‘Oh crap, there goes the season,’” MSU starting center Derrick Nix said. However, Dawson only tweaked his knee and was soon back in the game, a huge break for the Spartans.

Dawson was the source of anxiety once again when the sophomore engaged in an altercation with junior center Adreian Payne on Wednesday morning. The scuffle between the off-campus roommates began with some needling, but ended up in a small fist fight. Punches were thrown, damaging a wall at the Nittany Lion Inn, where the incident took place. Minor injuries were sustained, but nothing to keep either Spartan from competing. Izzo quickly cleared up the situation, as he benched both players for the first half of MSU’s game on Wednesday night against Penn State. “I spent my entire afternoon meeting with the players involved, and they are sincerely remorseful,” Izzo said following the skirmish. The Spartans went on to beat PSU, 81-72. After the game, Izzo complimented the two on how they handled the situation. “I like the way they both responded. They resolved it. It was joking like you do with your brother.”

Michigan State has also been plagued by poor play against lesser teams. The Spartans sneaked by Louisiana-Lafayette and Iowa with narrow three point victories, but were burned in an upset loss to Miami earlier in the season. Michigan State can come out sluggish against a weaker opponent, but the Spartans can also go toe-to-toe with powerhouses such as Kansas, who MSU defeated earlier in the season, 67-64.

Ohio State can expect to play the same type of game it played against Michigan State. The Spartans feature a stout defense that is third in the Big Ten in allowing only 58.5 points per game. MSU will likely hold the Buckeyes under 70 points, as Izzo’s squad has only allowed opponents to exceed that amount three times this season. OSU already plays at a slow pace on offense, not helping its cause. The Bucks will rely on Deshaun Thomas for points, as they have done all season. Thomas will need to duplicate the 20 point performance he notched against the Wolverines. Ohio State will also require production from Craft and sophomore forward Sam Thompson, who both notched nine points last Sunday.

The Buckeyes, known for their tough defense, will have to keep up that reputation against the Spartans. Michigan State has a number of offensive weapons, ranging from Dawson to junior guard Keith Appling. Though MSU is primarily known for its defense, the Spartans can light it up on offense, as they did against Penn State on Wednesday, scoring 52 points in the second half.

Schematically, if OSU can take away Michigan State playmakers Dawson and Harris, the zone defense can be an effective tool in stopping the Spartans. In the first half on Wednesday, the Nittany Lions utilized a 3-2 zone, holding MSU to 29 points. At the same time, the Buckeyes can also be vulnerable to a zone defense, as proven on Sunday. Ohio State excelled when facing Michigan’s man defense but did not do as well when challenged by a zone defense.

Look for this game to be a classic Big Ten brawl. Both OSU’s Deshaun Thomas and MSU’s Branden Dawson will be critical to the success of their respective teams. But the outcome will depend on which team’s secondary playmakers can take control. For Ohio State, Aaron Craft has to continue his stellar defense and also produce a lot of offense. Sam Thompson needs to have a solid day on offense. Big men Amir Williams and Evan Ravenal must secure rebounds and pick up points in the paint. For Michigan State, production from guards Gary Harris, sophomore Travis Trice and junior Keith Appling will be crucial. Trice and Appling are an especially dangerous pair when on the court together. Centers Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne also need to have solid outings for the Spartans to emerge victorious.

Regardless of the outcome, Saturday’s matchup between two stellar Big Ten foes (set for 6 PM on ESPN) should be an indication of where Ohio State and Michigan State stand in a highly competitive conference that boasts six teams ranked in the top 25.

Ohio State defeated the Michigan Wolverines, 56-53 in a hard fought basketball game that looked like it was going to end up like some other close games this year — Buckeyes dominate early, let their opponent claw their way back into the game and then go cold at the worse opportune time possible. This time it was the Buckeyes time to close out a close game against one of the better teams in the country.

I’d like it was a reverse psychology move on my part, doubting Aaron Craft’s skills and wondering if Trey Burke was perhaps the better point guard. It was only one game, but it was definitely Aaron Craft’s defense that flustered and smothered an obviously motivated Burke. Burke came out swinging, hitting the first three pointer of the game and looked like he was going to set the tone for the rest of the day. But the Buckeyes fought back, took a sizeable lead and never looked back.

Craft hounded Burke all game. Burke scored 15 points but it took 4-13 shooting to get that. Burke also had four turnovers. For whatever reason, either the Buckeyes play Tim Hardaway Jr. well or he simply struggles against the Buckeyes. He pitched in 12 but also was 1-6 from three point range and 5-15 overall. Deshaun Thomas played Glenn Robinson III as well as I think could be expected and made him a non-factor. His three at the end of the second half was clutch but other than that big shot, he really didn’t hurt the Buckeyes.

Speaking of Thomas, Deshaun was clearly motivated today to play well and even gutted through some pain near the end. When Deshaun is getting floorburns, you know it’s been a dog fight. Deshaun led all scorers with 20, hitting a couple important threes but his put back under the rim near the end was just as important.

This was a great game to watch, much more enjoyable than that debacle against Illinois. Thad Matta had his team ready for this Michigan game, had a clear defensive game plan to stop Burke and company and got his guys up for the game. This is just the start of a tough road through the Big Ten, but this was a huge win for both Craft’s confidence and this team as a whole moving forward.

Ohio State @ That Team Up North – Shootyhoops live chat

This “Michigan is getting good at sports again” thing is starting to make me itchy.

Sure, there football team is about to go through some major growing pains without the Magical Time Wizard Denard at the helm, but all signs point to a better, stronger Michigan team next year.

And yes, this isn’t the Fab Five that Coach Beilein is putting out on the court this year, but Burke, Hardaway Jr, Robinson III and company are an extremely dangerous team.

They are catching the Buckeyes at crossroads. After a severe beatdown at the hands of Illinois, the Buckeyes bounced back to take care of business against Purdue early this week. And today Michigan comes to the Schottenstein Center looking to impress voters and fans on national television, definitely eyeing that #1 spot in the polls after Duke went down to NC State (a previous foe of Michigan’s, by the bye).

The gameplan should be relatively simple — hound and get physical with Trey Burke (Aaron Craft, check!), prevent easy shots around the basket (Amir and Ravenel, check maybe?) and pray that someone in yellow and blue doesn’t get hot from beyond the three point line (the game is on Sunday, so check?).

Oh, and Deshaun Thomas and someone else needs to put points on the board.

(Interesting side-story here: Shannon Scott was the player Thad Matta added the same year Trey Burke was looking to join a team. Ohio State did not recruit Burke for a variety of reasons (already had Craft in the fold, Scott was interested) and the Ohio boy went up North while Scott signed with Ohio State. So while Scott was apparently Matta’s first choice, Burke has been enjoying relatively better success than his other counterpart. It will be interesting to see these two matched up from time to time, which should happen in this game.)

This game has all the fixins for a great home crowd for the Buckeyes and that should give them the boost they need (the fans have clearly spoken in our poll as to who the best point guard in this game is [Aaron Craft was winning at the time of posting, FYI]). A few high-flying dunks by Sam Thompson, a great shooting day from Thomas and this game could easily go Ohio State’s way.

A some hot shooting early by Michigan or a dominant performance from Trey Burke could spell doom for Ohio State.

I’m going with the former. How do you see this game going?