Category: Written Content

The Player of the Year race will come down to two finalists: Denzel Valentine and Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield. Ben Simmons, Kris Dunn and Kay Felder are all outstanding players, but this is a two horse race.

Both of their respective teams are nationally ranked. Both teams could make a deep run into the tournament. So what separates them?

Head-to-head

Valentine and Hield have gone toe-to-toe twice in their careers. Valentine is 2-0.

The first matchup came in their sophomore years in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. MSU was ranked No. 1 in the land and undefeated at the time, while the Sooners were unranked. Hield was in the starting lineup, while Valentine came off the bench. The Spartans came out on top 87-76. Here’s how they performed:

The next matchup came last year in the Sweet 16. Oklahoma entered the game as the favorite to move on as the No. 3 seed, while MSU played the role of underdog in the No. 7 seed. Valentine and Hield were both offensive forces for their respective teams, but it was Valentine who carried his squad to victory in the second half. Here’s how they performed:

Incredible how similar the two players were. We should have known that an epic showdown for Player of the Year was on the horizon.

Season Stats

Let’s take a look at how the two compare statistically this season (stats as of February 19):

According to College Basketball Reference, no player since at least 1994 has averaged 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game like Valentine has.

On the other hand, Hield could become the first player to join the elite 50-50-90 club (50 percent field goal shooting, 50 percent three-point shooting, 90 percent three-point shooting) since Salim Stoudemire in the 2004-2005 season.

Advanced Stats

Let’s take a closer look at some of the more advanced stats for all you sabermetric fans out there.

Confused? Here are some definitions:

ORtg – offensive rating, an estimate of points produced per 100 possessions. The current NCAA leader is James Thompson IV from Eastern Michigan at 139.5.

DRtg – defensive rating, an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions. The current NCAA leader is Egidijus Mockevicius from Evansville at 83.8.

PER – player efficiency rating, an all-in-one stat that factors in offensive and defensive measurements and is pace-adjusted. It also subtracts for bad stats such as turnovers. An average score is 15 and the NCAA leader is John Brown from High Point at 37.

Both players are offensive juggernauts, but Valentine clearly makes more of an impact on the defensive side of the ball. There is one area of the game that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet but might be the most important.

Versatility

Valentine has been asked to do so much for this Michigan State squad over the course of this season. He routinely plays three positions throughout the game and mostly runs the point, a position he has never played before.

“As far as the versatility and being able to do everything, I don’t think [Denzel] Valentine gets enough credit for his defense,” said Coach Izzo after the Indiana game. “Everything we’ve asked that kid to get better at, he’s gotten better at. He’s become a better shooter, he’s become more disciplined with the ball, but he can guard people. He can guard and rebound on the one end and pass and score on the other end. I don’t know anyone that I’ve had that can do that as thoroughly as he does it.”

Not so say that Hield isn’t versatile. You don’t get into the conversation for Player of the Year by being a one-trick pony. But Valentine makes much more of an impact on his team. Hield has had a steady, outstanding point guard in the backcourt with him all year in Isaiah Cousins. That stability has meant that Hield hasn’t been shuffled through the lineup and put in unfamiliar positions. The fact that Valentine’s performance has not dropped since being moved around is unbelievable.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a pure scorer, Buddy is your guy. If you are looking for a facilitator of the offense, Denzel is your guy. If you are looking for the most well-rounded player in America, well that just might be Denzel too.

What do you think?

Originally Posted: http://impact89fm.org/sports/denzel-vs-buddy/

Revenge was on the minds of every single Spartan in the Breslin Center on Thursday night, especially the ones on the hardwood. Wisconsin (16-10, 8-5) dealt Michigan State (22-5, 9-5) a crushing blow in Madison in January, edging the Spartans by one point on a last-second layup.

Thanks in large part to Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine and his all-around brilliance, MSU got their revenge. The Badgers limped out of the Breslin Center after losing 69-57.

“That was a big win against a very good team and they’re playing so much better than the first time we played them if you ask me,” said Coach Izzo.

Wisconsin star Nigel Hayes had a tough night. Tough might be an understatement. He had an awful night.

Freshman Deyonta Davis was tasked with guarding the preseason All-American and did a flawless job. Hayes hit just one of seven shots in the first half, with that lone jumper coming over Valentine, not Davis. You know it’s bad when the home crowd cheers when an opposing player comes back into the game, and that’s exactly what they did to Hayes.

The Badgers’ offense was futile in the first half, opening the game shooting 3-18. A nine point lead quickly opened up for MSU in the early minutes and eventually grew to 16 before the half was done. Valentine scored or assisted on the first 23 Spartan points, an unprecedented streak.

Valentine makes a sportswriter’s job easy. Just write that he nearly reached a triple-double every time and it’s right most nights. The senior finished with 24 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Buddy Hield should be on high alert.

Ethan Happ was the lone bright spot for the Badgers. The redshirt freshman led the team with 18 points. Junior guard Bronson Koenig chipped in with 12 and four assists. Hayes’ brutal night mercifully ended after a 1-13 performance.

Junior forward Gavin Schilling had one of his best games of the season after being quiet as of late. He nabbed five boards to go along with six points, three assists and three steals.

“He’s been working hard over this last month,” said Valentine, “and he’s been in the gym with Coach Garland working on his post moves, watching extra film. He’s getting what he deserves right now, he’s playing better, he’s working harder, he’s listening.”

Not to be overshadowed is the shooting performance of senior guard Bryn Forbes. He drained four from deep to finish with 17 points and four rebounds. The Sexton Connection of Valentine and Forbes had as many threes (six) as the entire Wisconsin team.

Davis led all Spartans in rebounding with nine on the night. The freshman saw 29 minutes of action, 11 more than his average due to the absence of Kenny Goins. It was one of the most impressive all-around performances of Davis’ young career, but Valentine expects more.

“We just kept in his head that he can impact the game more,” said Valentine. “We feel like he’s impacting it only to a certain extent, but what he did today, he can do that every night. He just has to make it important to him. Draymond (Green) was here Monday and he was talking to him about that too that he can impact the game better if he comes out and plays hard. That’s it, that’s all he has to do is play hard.”

With the win, Sparty moves into a four-way tie for fourth in the Big Ten with Purdue, Michigan and Ohio State, two games back of first place. Maryland’s shocking loss to Minnesota offered a glimmer of hope to MSU.

“That Nebraska game was really key,” said Valentine of the loss earlier this season, “giving up that game to Purdue, Wisconsin the first time. If we would’ve won one of those we’d be one down playing for the Big Ten. But you never know what can happen in these next few games, I mean three, four and five lost last night.”

Up next for MSU is a trip to Columbus on Tuesday for a matchup with the “Jekyll and Hyde” Buckeyes, as Coach Izzo described them. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN.

Originally Posted: http://impact89fm.org/sports/stingy-defense-stifles-badgers/

Not even the high-octane Indiana offense could spoil Valentine’s Day for Michigan State. Their 88-69 victory was their second in a row on the holiday, and the second in a row that Denzel Valentine shined. His timely baskets and adept passing fueled the win, even if he didn’t have to hit a game-winner.

“Gary Harris said it best, he said ‘Coach you gotta schedule more games on Valentine’s Day for Valentine,” said Coach Izzo after the game.

However, it wasn’t all roses for the Spartans. Indiana opened up a 10-point lead on the Spartans midway through the first half. Even the brief return of guard Tum Tum Nairn, who had missed the previous seven games with plantar fasciitis, wasn’t enough to inspire Sparty at that point. The big key for MSU in the huddle, according to Valentine, was to relax.

“I just kinda calmed down, calmed the team down, and we just stuck to our principles, came out and played how we play,” said Valentine.

To dampen the mood even more, walk-on forward Kenny Goins went down with an apparent meniscus injury and did not return the rest of the way. Goins has been the biggest surprise of this MSU squad thus far, providing solid rebounding and defense on the back end of the rotation. Marvin Clark Jr. was called into action to fill the void. Making matters worse, Gavin Schilling picked up two fouls in eight minutes.

But the Spartans’ not-so-secret weapon couldn’t possibly let his Spartans lose on his day. Valentine led an MSU rally at the end of the first half, shutting out the Hoosiers for the final 3:56 of the frame. Sparty clung to a slim 41-40 lead at halftime.

To say Indiana got knocked back on its heels to start the second half is an understatement. The Spartans busted the game wide open with a 16-2 run, capped off by a Valentine three from the top of the key.

IU could not get anything going on offense the entire second half. The Big Ten’s best scoring offense was held to a paltry 32.3 percent shooting in the period. The Spartan defense clamped down on one of the most lethal scoring threats in the nation, Yogi Ferrell.

The guard was hounded the entire game, finishing with only nine points on 3-10 shooting. Ferrell normally keeps defenses up at night, but MSU will sleep quite well after shutting him down, thanks in large part to the performance of Eron Harris.

“He did the best job I’ve seen out of him in the Big Ten so far,” said Valentine. “He was really aggressive, stayed disciplined and played really tough defense on (Ferrell).”

Valentine will get all the glory from this win, and deservedly so. His 30 points, five boards and career-high 13 dimes is nothing to scoff at. But senior Matt Costello was a spark plug in the paint.

He went off for a career-high 22 points and added 11 rebounds, missing only two shots along the way. The forward has been extending his range as of late, taking (and making) the occasional three-pointer. With Goins going down and Schilling plagued with foul trouble, the Spartans leaned on Costello. And he delivered.

Former Wolverine Max Bielfeldt fueled most of that first half run and had one of his best games of the season. The senior finished with a team-high 15 points and 10 boards, and played a phenomenal inside-out game.

One area Valentine improved drastically in was his assist-to-turnover ratio. He dished out 13 helpers and only gave up the ball once. Not only does that look good on the stat sheet, but it pays dividends on the court.

“There’s games where I have five, six turnovers and five, six assists,” said Valentine. “My assist to turnover ratio was the best and that led to good shots, more possessions, more shots for people.”

Injuries

Michigan State got a big piece of their rotation back when Nairn returned to action. After seven games off, it was understandable that Coach Izzo only played him two minutes. But even two minutes is encouraging progress. With Nairn sidelined, MSU is without a true point guard on the floor. Even though he is not a scorer, Nairn directs the offense and runs the break better than anyone.

“He hadn’t even practiced really,” said Izzo, “half a practice in a month. He probably won’t practice tomorrow or the next day, very little. We’re hoping it’ll be back to how it was in December, painful, won’t practice as much, but can still play. If we can get something out of him, 10 minutes a game, he’s willing to do that for us.”

On a sour note, sophomore forward Goins is in jeopardy of missing the rest of the season. According to Coach Izzo, he injured his meniscus during the first half. Goins is averaging 2.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game off the bench, but his impact transcends the stat sheet. Clark will be tasked with filling in for the duration, after barely playing all season.

“I heard that they’re a little worried about his meniscus,” said Izzo. “It’s a shame because he has been playing good. I go a week and a half without an injury, that’s probably not normal.”

Big Ten race

With the win, the Spartans improve to 8-5 in conference play, two and a half games behind Iowa for first place. With only five games remaining, MSU would need a considerable amount of help at the top for any chance at the regular season title.

For Indiana, the loss drops them to 10-3, only a half game back of first. Losing this game bruised their chances of taking over first after defeating Iowa Thursday night. But the Hoosiers are still within striking distance.

Next up

The Spartans will suit up Thursday night for a home contest with Wisconsin. MSU fell short earlier this year in Madison 77-76. After a rocky start to the season that included losses to Western Illinois and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Badgers have righted the ship, winning their last seven games. Wisconsin even knocked off Maryland in College Park on Saturday, who was nursing a 27-game home winning streak.

Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.

Originally posted: http://impact89fm.org/sports/valentine-sweet-on-valentines-day/

Since 2011, Purdue was 0-7 against Michigan State. With a roster loaded with huge (literally) talent, they were poised for some revenge.

The Boilermakers stormed out of the gates and knocked the Spartans down right away. Senior guard Rapheal Davisexploded for 16 points in the first nine minutes of the game, including 4-4 from three. Before Tom Izzo could blink, his Spartans were down 15. The first seven minutes went by without a single whistle.

Bryn Forbes and Eron Harris struggled mightily in hostile territory, combining for five points on 2-11 shooting. Purdue’s bigs manhandled Matt Costello and Deyonta Davis early. It seemed like anyone who stepped in the paint picked up a foul. *Deep breath* Costello, Davis, Kenny Goins, Gavin Schilling, AJ Hammons, Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan all picked up two fouls each before the half was over.

Someone must have placed a lid over the Spartan basket because they could not get anything going on offense. Purdue played stifling defense, cutting off passing lanes and forcing shot clock violations. On the other side of the ball, the Boilermakers destroyed their normal shooting rate, going 62.5 percent from the field and 75 percent from three. That would explain the 46-30 advantage after one frame.

The second half was the polar opposite of the first. Purdue suddenly went ice cold, going 4-21 in the first 10 minutes. The Spartans, meanwhile, 9-17.

Michigan State made a roaring comeback in the second half on one possession. Valentine buried a corner three to cut the lead to nine when a foul off the ball on Purdue was called. With a fresh shot clock, Valentine pulled up on the wing and knocked down another three. One possession, six points. Instant game-changer. 50-44 Purdue, four minutes into the second half.

Matt McQuaid sliced and diced his way among the trees for a tough basket, and all of the sudden MSU was within one, 56-55. Just over a minute later, the game was tied. An incredible comeback in an even tougher environment.

Both teams traded body blows for the next few minutes. To say the game was physical is an understatement. There were no easy layups with Hammons patrolling the paint. He finished with eight blocks, more than every Spartan combined.

MSU held a slim lead for the latter stages of the second half. Their largest lead of the entire game was only four. Swanigan tied the game at 72 with a jump hook over the outstretched arm of Davis. Hammons continued his block party on the next possession with a swat on Davis.

With a chance to put the dagger in his former team, Swanigan pulled up for an NBA-range three-pointer with less than 10 seconds left and badly missed everything. Valentine missed a contested jumper at the last second and the game was headed to overtime.

Davis fouled out two minutes into overtime after scoring eight points and nabbing four rebounds. Schilling followed right behind him the next possession. That left just Costello and Goins as MSU’s only big men left in the game to deal with Purdue’s giants.

Purdue gained a four-point edge with 90 seconds remaining when Goins was left wide open for an easy layup. A missed shot by the Boilermakers on the next possession gave MSU the ball with 21.3 seconds left, down 81-79.

Valentine came out of the timeout and drove to the basket for a layup in traffic, tying the game. Purdue called timeout with 6.7 seconds left, drawing up one last play. Valentine was called for a foul fighting over a screen, giving Purdue two free throw attempts. Rapheal Davis only made one, but a mad scramble for the ball ran the clock out. Purdue finally defeated MSU 82-81.

Davis finished with six of Purdue’s eight three-pointers to go along with a team-high 24 points. Hammons dominated the boards with 13 rebounds and eight blocks.

For MSU, Goins had one of the best games of his young career with nine points and nine rebounds. Costello pitched in 11 and five boards. But the star of the night, unsurprisingly, was Valentine. Once again, the senior was a hair away from a triple-double: 27 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds.

Next up for MSU is a home matchup with Indiana on Valentine’s Day. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and can be seen on CBS.

Originally posted: http://impact89fm.org/sports/furious-comeback-falls-short-in-overtime/

Saturday’s reprise of the “backyard brawl” certainly didn’t disappoint…if you’re a Spartan fan.

“To say I’m ecstatic about the performance would be underserving what we did,” said Coach Izzo after the game.

Bryn Forbes was named the new mayor of Ann Arbor after Saturday’s 89-73 MSU wallop. The senior elevated above human status with his electrifying stroke from outside. Forbes opened up 5-5 from distance and single-handedly sucked the air out of the Crisler Center in the first half.

On the other side of the ball, Michigan knew they had to hit the three ball if they wanted to stay competitive. That didn’t exactly happen. The Wolverines opened the game shooting a brutal 1-7 from three, resulting in a 26-11 MSU run. Forbes capped off the hot streak with another long gun to push the lead to 29-11 with 8:04 to play in the first.

The once-raucous Michigan crowd finally got something to cheer about when the Wolverines awoke from their shooting slumber to put together an 11-4 run. The lead was cut to 11 with 4:41 to play in the first half, and shimmers of hope began to creep back into Crisler Arena.

State eventually pushed the lead back to 16 at halftime. For U of M, this was coming off the heels of a shellacking at the hands of the Hoosiers a few days ago. Not good.

Michigan State had a clear size advantage in the post, but the Spartans rarely went inside. When the jumpers are falling, layups just seem so inefficient. Playing with a lead in the second half, MSU started to look inside more. Denzel Valentine was able to penetrate for open shots and the bigs muscled their way in the post.

Meanwhile for Michigan, three-point specialist Duncan Robinson wasn’t so special. He finished 0-3 from deep and hardly made any impact on the offense.

“I told our players we have to guard (Duncan) Robinson like we guard Forbes,” said Izzo. “I thought we did a pretty good job on Robinson.”

The Wolverines were especially weak inside when Mark Donnal was forced to sit on the bench with three fouls just five minutes into the second frame. However, Michigan led the points in the paint margin for most of the game, largely due to MSU settling for outside shots.

Unfortunately for Michigan, the worst was yet to come. The threes kept falling for the Spartans, and the Wolverines kept bricking. The lead widened to 69-42 midway through the second half after a thunderous transition dunk by Matt Costello. That was all she wrote.

MSU amazingly finished with a 65 percent mark from the field, their best since Boston College when they shot 62.7 percent. That’s now four of MSU’s last five games shooting above 50 percent from beyond the arc. Even Michigan coach John Belein said he’s “never seen anything like this before” in his life.

Valentine quietly put together another outstanding performance. The senior was an eyelash away from another triple-double, putting up 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Not bad.

“I didn’t want to leave him in there,” said Coach Izzo, “but the guy was close to a triple-double which would have been an incredible feat for him here. But the victory was every bit as good.”

It was Forbes and his unworldly shooting who cast a large shadow over the game with his 29-point outburst. His eight three-pointers were just as many as the entire U of M side made. Also not bad.

The bigs for MSU were supposed to dominate the game and control the scoring. Instead it was the outside shooting that was key. Costello was a mark of consistency throughout the game, going for 14 points and nabbing eight boards. Just what State needed down low.

“I think he’s kind of an unsung hero that we don’t appreciate as much,” said Izzo, “but I’m starting to appreciate him more and more.”

Michigan is falling on extremely hard times, now losing two home games in a row by double digits and trailing at halftime by 21 and 16 points, respectively.

“I’ve been in Michigan’s shoes,” said Coach Izzo, “I told John (Belein) that after. There’s no rhyme or reason why one day you play good one day you play bad. It seems to be an epidemic this year.”

Up next for the Spartans is a marquee matchup with the Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette on Tuesday. Purdue is a polar opposite of Michigan, with tons of bigs and not much perimeter play. Costello and Deyonta Davis will face their toughest frontcourt test yet. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.

Originally posted: http://impact89fm.org/sports/backyard-brawl-turns-into-backyard-blowout/

On January 10, Michigan State was 16-1. They had just finished dismantling the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. The loss to Iowa, their first of the season, seemed to be just an abnormality, a symptom of playing without arguably the best player in the country. The next day, the Spartans moved up in the rankings to No. 4 in both polls, even receiving a first place vote. Safe to say the ship was righted, and MSU was back on track. Then the nightmare week began.

First came a revenge game with the Hawkeyes. With a now-healthy Denzel Valentine and the home crowd behind them, it seemed like a win was certain, maybe even a rout. There’s no way a Tom Izzo team could lose to the same school twice in two weeks, right?

20 minutes later, MSU walked into the locker room at halftime down 22 on their home floor. The biggest and only halftime deficit the Spartans faced at home this year was three points against Louisville. The most MSU has been behind at the break at the Breslin Center in the last two years was seven points against Nebraska in 2014. Needless to say, the Spartans were in trouble.

One main area of concern for Izzo: toughness, or lack thereof.

“It’s kind of funny, a lot of people have laughed at me over the years because I want to be a football team on hardwood,” said Izzo after the Iowa loss. “You saw one, it just wasn’t us.”

This loss was most concerning for Spartan fans because rarely has a Tom Izzo team been out-toughed, especially at home. Iowa looked a lot like the MSU teams of years past, getting to every loose ball, playing tough defense and making threes. But still, it was just one loss, right?

“We’re 16-2 not 2-16,” said Izzo after the game. “We’ve beaten some good people. Basketball is about matchups, and we just didn’t matchup very good with this team.”

Next up for the Spartans was a date with the Wisconsin Badgers, the first time is what seems like forever without Bo Ryan at the other bench. This has been a definite down year for Wisconsin, which lost to Western Illinois on opening night and dropped four of its first five conference games. Seemed like a good opportunity for a bounce back win for MSU.

However, the Kohl Center has never been kind to Tom Izzo teams. The Spartans hadn’t won in Madison since January 2013, but Wisconsin isn’t good this year, right? Well, things got off to a rocky start when the team announced sophomore guard Tum Tum Nairn would be sidelined with plantar fasciitis, an injury he had been fighting through since last season.

Forty minutes later, a Valentine three-pointer rimmed out, a Matt Costello put back was too late, and suddenly the Spartans lost two games in a row.

That’s a lot of doom and gloom. But there is a silver lining, believe it or not.

Remember that team last year that made it to the Final Four as a No. 7 seed? Let’s take a look at how they stacked up against this year’s squad by this point in the season.

As of January 18:

This is a team built for March, not January. Valentine is finally settling back into the rotation and playing like the Player of the Year candidate he is.

Freshmen Deyonta Davis and Matt McQuaid are developing quicker than expected and are making solid contributions. Both are main parts of the rotation and have cracked the starting lineup.

Senior forward Costello is having the best season of his MSU career, averaging 9.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Frontcourt mate Gavin Schilling is coming along nicely after being sidelined with an injury of his own, shooting 61 percent from the field in eight games.

Bryn Forbes is proving to be one of the best shooters in the nation and even improved on his impressive shooting numbers from a year ago. His three-point percentage is at a career-high and his scoring is up by five, all while his minutes are at a career-low.

Top to bottom, this 2015-16 team has much more talent than last year’s, and look where they ended up.

While it may be tempting to push that panic button and look for another team’s bandwagon to jump onto, I urge you to stop. Just take a breath, look at the stats, watch a game and don’t abandon ship.

March can’t come soon enough.

Originally posted: http://impact89fm.org/sports/16608-2/