Tag: Spartans

Scouting Report: Columbia Lions

NOV 14, 2013 –

The Columbia Lions visit the Breslin Center on Friday night at 9 p.m., as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Here is a quick rundown on the Lions as they prepare to take on the Spartans:

Head Coach: Kyle Smith (42-45, fourth season)

Last Season: 12-16

This season: 1-1

Key Players: Grant Mullins, Cory Osetkowski

The Columbia Lions come into this game as heavy underdogs. The Ivy Leaguers have virtually no chance against a soon-to-be number one ranked Michigan State team. Head coach Kyle Smith has done fairly well in his tenure at Columbia. 12-16 may be considered a disappointing season for a Big Ten team. But for a small school like Columbia, they are pleased.

Last year, the Lions were giant killers, knocking off two eventual NCAA tourney teams in Villanova (75-57) and Harvard (78-63). Columbia finished last in the Ivy League with a 4-10 record. However, they gave up the second fewest points in the Ivy League.

Two key players to watch out for are sophomore Grant Mullins and Cory Osetkowski. Mullins is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18 points per game. He’s shooting at an amazing 69% from the field and is 5-9 from behind the arc. At 6’3”, he will most likely be matched up against Gary Harris. Junior Osetkowski is the tallest player on the Columbia roster at 6’11”. He’s averaging 12.5 points and seven rebounds per game this season. Matt Costello or Adreian Payne will most likely draw this matchup. I don’t expect either player to struggle defensively or on the boards against Osetkowski.

This season, the Lions are 1-1. They came out victorious in their first game against Maryland-Eastern Shore 73-54. Their second game they fell to mighty Manhattan 71-70.

Columbia might seem like a weak matchup for Michigan State, but the Spartans are coming off a huge win over Kentucky. Too often, teams have letdown games after a huge victory, which could be Columbia’s only chance of winning. They are overmatched in every single position and don’t have nearly the depth of MSU. The Spartans proved on Tuesday that they deserve to be the number one team in the nation, and absolutely dominated the Wildcats. The game should have never been as close as it ended up being, which further proves how good MSU really is.

There is no telling what the Spartans will do to the Ivy League cellar-dwellers. This game could get ugly.

– See more at: http://impact89fm.org/sports/2013/11/14/scouting-report-columbia-lions/#sthash.zagRW3Nm.dpuf

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2013-14 MSU Basketball Season Preview

Nov 8, 2013 – McNeese State will kick off the action for the Spartans on Friday before they head to the Windy City to take on John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats. But before the season begins, all of the experts have weighed in on how the Spartans will fare. Here’s a sampling of what they had to say about the green and white.

Bleacher Report recently published a list of the top 100 players in college basketball. They had four out of five of coach Tom Izzo’s starters on the list: Branden Dawson (88), Keith Appling (33), Adreian Payne (22), and Gary Harris (9). They also released their Big Ten predictions, putting MSU at the head of the class and Adreian Payne as the Big Ten Player of the Year. However, they have the Ohio State Buckeyes winning the B1G Tournament in Indy.

ESPN released their annual preseason poll, ranking MSU No. 2, behind Kentucky and in front of defending national champion Louisville. In a separate article, 18 out of 20 experts had the Spartans making the Final Four, with six writers predicting them to cut down the nets in Jerry-World Dallas in April. Three experts said that Tom Izzo would be Coach of the Year, and nobody picked a Spartan for Player of the Year.

CBS Sports released their preseason All-American teams, with Adreian Payne being the only Spartan selected, making the third team. Their top 25 slated Michigan State at No. 3, trading positions with Louisville. Their preseason bracketology gives Michigan State the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, with Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke claiming the other three No. 1 seeds. For their Big Ten preview, the Spartans are again predicted to finish first. Gary Harris and Adreian Payne made the preseason All-Big Ten team, with Harris also picked as the preseason Player of the Year. Izzo was selected as the Coach of the Year as well. Their top 100 players list included Gary Harris (7), Adreian Payne (15), Branden Dawson (56), and Keith Appling (82).

According to CBS Sports, Las Vegas released their odds on several different categories in college basketball. For the National Championship, they gave MSU 9-1 odds, fifth best in the nation. For Player of the Year, they gave Adreian Payne 14-1 odds (ninth best) and gave Gary Harris 50-1 odds (13th best). They gave MSU 2-1 odds to win the Big Ten, tops in the conference.

Overall, everyone seems to be high on the Spartans this year, as expected. The season would be considered a disappointment if Sparty didn’t make the National Championship game. This is one of the deepest Michigan State teams that Izzo has been fortunate enough to coach in years, with four NBA prospects on the team and experience everywhere.

The Spartans will get a chance to prove themselves early in the season, facing No. 1 ranked Kentucky on Tuesday in Chicago. Izzo also scheduled North Carolina (12th in the AP poll, 11th in the ESPN/USA Today poll) on December 4 at home, and unranked Georgetown on Super Bowl Saturday at Madison Square Garden. This matchup might be the most intriguing because of its timing. Most coaches don’t schedule non-conference games in the middle of conference play, but Izzo isn’t most coaches. The Spartans have never been afraid of stiff competition in their non-conference schedule. Just last year, they played Connecticut, Miami, Texas and Kansas all before they started Big Ten play.

Froling’s Prediction: Michigan State will finish first in the Big Ten during the regular season and will win the tournament. Branden Dawson will be the most improved player, Gary Harris will be the Big Ten Player of the Year and finish in the top-five in the voting for Naismith Player of the Year, along with Adreian Payne, but Creighton’s Doug McDermott will take Player of the Year the honors. The Final Four in Dallas will include MSU, Kansas, Duke, and Ohio State, with MSU losing to Kansas in the Championship Game.

– See more at: http://impact89fm.org/sports/2013/11/08/2013-14-season-preview/#sthash.YTNlVTC0.dpuf