Tag: Tom Izzo

Payne Drops 41, Spartans Cruise Past Delaware

MARCH 20 – The road to North Texas started out on the right foot Thursday, as Michigan State soundly defeated their first round opponent, No. 13 Delaware.

Adreian Payne played like a man among boys from start to finish, scoring 23 points in the first half alone. MSU muscled their way to a quick 18-point lead with less than six minutes to go in the first half, but Delaware made a run and cut the deficit to 11 by halftime.

The Fightin’ Blue Hens scored the first six points of the second half, slashing the lead to five and causing all MSU fans to actually start to get nervous. But the Adreian Payne show rolled on and snuffed out any chance of an upset. Delaware was vastly undersized and outmuscled as the Spartans dominated the glass. MSU kept building the lead throughout the second half, eventually winning by a 93-78 margin.

Payne set the NCAA tournament record with a 17-17 performance at the charity stripe. He also set a career-high in the tournament with 41 points, which was the most in the Dance by any player since Tayshaun Prince scored 41 against Tulsa in 2002.

Travis Trice played a major role off the bench, scoring 19 points on 7-8 shooting in only 23 minutes. He picked up the scoring load from Keith Appling, who only connected on two shots. Branden Dawson and Gary Harris each scored 10 points, with Dawson pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. Harris was in foul trouble and only played 25 minutes. He eventually fouled out.

Up next for No. 4 Michigan State is No. 12 Harvard. The Crimson upset No. 5 Cincinnati early on Thursday to move on to the third round. Harvard likely will have a tough time handling Payne down low, so expect the Spartans to move on to the Sweet 16.

Blake Froling is the co-host of Impact Izzone for Impact Sports.

Photo: David Defever/Impact Sports

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Big Ten Title Hopes Fading Fast

FEB 26 – With Sunday’s 79-70 loss at the hands of the Wolverines, Michigan State is virtually eliminated from one seed contention for the tournament. The Spartans dropped five spots to No. 18 in both polls this week while Michigan moved up four places to No. 16. With only three games remaining in the season, MSU must focus on their own play, not what everyone is doing around them.

In Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, he has the Spartans down to a three seed. With only three games left in the regular season, MSU needs to focus on winning out for any chance at a Big Ten regular season title. The Spartans are one game back in the loss column from Michigan, who has a much easier end to the regular season.

Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana finish out U-M’s season, who have RPI’s of 122, 47, 83 and 96 respectively. This means that Minnesota is the only team out of the four expected to make the March tournament. Michigan is playing its best basketball of the season and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Meanwhile, MSU’s remaining schedule of Illinois, Iowa and Ohio State have RPI’s of 83, 33 and 17 respectively. This does not bode well for MSU’s chances at a comeback.

MSU beat the Illini in Champaign, Ill. 78-62 in January, beat Iowa on the road 71-69 in overtime and almost collapsed at home to Ohio State, eventually winning by four in overtime. Normally, the experts would say that the Illinois game on Saturday is going to be a cakewalk for the Spartans, but Nebraska proved last Sunday that there are no cakewalks in the Big Ten.

The good news for Tom Izzo is that Branden Dawson is expected to return to action against Illinois for the first time in nine games. The big question is how long will it take him to return to form. Will he jell with his teammates rights away like Adreian Payne? Or will the recovery come slower, as it is with Keith Appling? Dawson leads the team in rebounds and most of the time is the most athletic player on the court.

Earlier in the year, I wrote an article on how Dawson could be the team’s X-factor if they wanted any shot at a title. Later, I wrote another article about how he has been disappointing this year. In retrospect, the latter article seems a little shortsighted. The saying “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” applies perfectly here, and so does this song. He filled a role that no one on the team can quite like him. He makes big plays when he wants to and out-rebounds guys five inches taller than him.

Even though Dawson is a stonemason outside of 10 feet, he is a great complement to Payne, who can draw defenses away from the post and free up Dawson. It is basically like having a more skilled Matt Costello in the game.

Just because one player is back does not guarantee that MSU will suddenly transform into the best team in the nation. The addition of a “new” player to the rotation could just throw a wrench into things and State could drop two out of their final three games. Or it could be like a shot of adrenaline into the team’s collective arm and fuel a Big Ten Tournament title run.

As of right now, no one knows what is going to happen, but it should be fun regardless.

Blake Froling is the co-host of Impact Izzone for Impact Sports.

 

– See more at: http://impact89fm.org/sports/2014/02/26/big-ten-title-hopes-fading-fast/#sthash.BBxZnZRP.dpuf

Road to the B1G Title Even Tougher with Loss to Nebraska

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FEB 17 – When Terry Braverman, the PA announcer at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center, announced the score of the Wisconsin vs. Michigan men’s basketball game, the crowd erupted. Bo Ryan and his squad did their job and dismantled Michigan in Ann Arbor.

All Michigan State had to do was beat a middle-of-the-pack team and they would sit alone atop the Big Ten.

But the Cornhuskers had other plans.

“They came in here and punched us in the mouth and we didn’t punch back,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said in his postgame press conference.

Now MSU and U of M are tied for first place in the conference, each with a record of 10-3. The Spartans have a tougher schedule remaining than Michigan, so a win at home against Nebraska would have been huge. MSU travels to Purdue on Thursday, who is 4.5 games back in the conference and fresh off a win over Indiana. Then comes the showdown in Ann Arbor next Sunday.

Last year, the Wolverines edged the Spartans in Ann Arbor 58-57. Trey Burke had a dunk with 22 seconds left that gave Michigan a two-point lead. Derrick Nix went to the line with eight seconds left and split his free throws, leaving MSU behind by a point. U of M came into the Breslin Center earlier this year and toppled a wounded Spartan squad, 80-75.

Although Gary Harris led the team with 18 points, his shooting was off. He finished 5-15 from the field and an abysmal 1-7 from behind the arc. He has been in a funk for the past six games, shooting only 32.5 percent from the field and 24 percent from deep.

“He’s in here morning, noon and night shooting,” Izzo said. “I don’t know what you do. It’s not what I do, it’s what he does and all I can tell you is he’s working on it. We’re just going to keep going to him, because he is what he is.”

Harris has had to shoulder most of the scoring load with Adreian Payne and Keith Appling missing significant time. Appling played 19 minutes against Nebraska and wore a brace on his right wrist. He was a game-time decision and many did not expect him to suit up.

“We decided after warm-ups that we were going to try and play him some,” Izzo said. “He tried to do what he could do, but when you don’t practice for two, two-and-half weeks, when you’re not a skill guy it’s easier, but if you’re a skill guy, it’s a little harder.”

By next Sunday, Appling’s wrist should be healed more and he might be able to play without the brace. The Spartans will need all the help they can get and that includes the possible return of Branden Dawson. He is scheduled to get the pins removed from his hand on Thursday and testing and x-rays will determine if he will play against the Wolverines.

After the Michigan battle, the Spartans return to East Lansing for a two-game homestand against Illinois and Iowa before finishing the regular season in Columbus, Ohio for a rematch with Ohio State. MSU’s last five opponents have a combined win percentage of 0.667.

The loss to Nebraska shows just how deep the Big Ten is. Anyone can beat anyone on a given night. Nebraska had already won against Ohio State, Minnesota and Indiana and possibly played their way into bubble consideration. No game in the conference is a lock, and the Cornhuskers showed that on Sunday

– See more at: http://impact89fm.org/sports/2014/02/17/road-to-the-b1g-title-even-tougher-with-loss-to-nebraska/#sthash.jEXw56j4.dpuf

3-Point Play: Nebraska Edition

FEB 17 – The Spartans (21-5, 10-3) found themselves on the losing end of a knockdown, drag-out battle with Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. The Cornhuskers (14-10, 6-6) found their rhythm early, opening up a 13-4 lead by the first media timeout. MSU proceeded to charge back with an 11-0 run of their own, holding Nebraska without a field goal for over eight minutes, but the Cornhuskers tightened up their defense toward the end of the half and took a 32-25 lead into halftime.

Nebraska maintained their lead for most of the second half. Whenever MSU would start to make a run, the Cornhuskers would answer back with a basket of their own. Gary Harris was fouled on a three-pointer and made all of his free throws with 4:42 left, cutting the Nebraska lead to 51-47, but Terran Petteway was a shooting machine, seemingly stopping every single MSU run with a three-pointer.

Adreian Payne missed a breakaway layup and Nebraska quickly converted on one of their own to give them a 56-51 lead with just over a minute remaining. When MSU had to foul, Nebraska made their free throws and the Cornhuskers came away with the huge 60-51 upset. Here are three factors of the game.

1. Gary Harris is Still in a Funk

Although Harris led the team with 18 points, his shot was off and he kept forcing the issue. He shot just 1-7 from beyond the arc and 5-15 overall. Over his last six games, Harris is shooting 32.5 percent from the field and 24 percent from deep.

“He’s in here morning, noon and night shooting,” said Coach Izzo in the postgame conference. “I don’t know what you do. It’s not what I do, it’s what he does and all I can tell you is he’s working on it. We’re just going to keep going to him, because he is what he is.”

Although his shot is not falling, he continues to heave them up. With Appling and Payne missing significant time, Harris has felt as though he has to shoulder the scoring load. To his credit, he started taking it to the hole more frequently against Nebraska and converted on all seven of his free-throw attempts.

2. The Spartans Need Branden Dawson Back ASAP

In the last seven games that Branden Dawson has missed, the Spartans have been outrebounded in two of them, both losses. Not only is Dawson the best rebounder on the team, his is also a the top defender against big wing players. Coach Izzo called Dawson the “second-best defender on this team.” The game could have gone in a much different direction had Dawson been guarding the hot-shooting Terran Petteway.

“They made some circus shots,” Izzo said, “at least four of them (Terran) Petteway, two of them in the first half and two in the second with guys right on him. It was too late then; he was already into his thing. On the bench, we just said, ‘are you kidding me?’”

3. Road to B1G Title More Difficult

When the score of the Wisconsin vs. Michigan games was announced at the Breslin Center, the crowd erupted. All Michigan State had to do was beat a middle of the pack team at home and they would be atop the Big Ten. But with a stumble against Nebraska, MSU and U of M are still tied at 10-3 with a head-to-head matchup coming next Sunday in Ann Arbor.

“They came in here and punched us in the mouth and we didn’t punch back,” Izzo said.

Michigan State travels to Purdue on Thursday before heading to the Crisler Center for the showdown with the Wolverines. The schedule does not get any easier, with Illinois and Iowa on the horizon and the season finale at Ohio State. There is a chance that Dawson could return against Michigan, but his status is uncertain.

Michigan’s remaining schedule is more favorable, with Purdue on the road and Minnesota at home coming after the MSU game. Illinois and Indiana close out their season. It should be an exciting finish to the regular season, and the matchup next Sunday could crown the conference champion.

Role Players Plugging the Hole for MSU

JAN 30 – One slam of a hand, and MSU’s season could have been up in flames.

Without their top two rebounders, the Spartans could have imploded and limped along until Adreian Payne came back. But the role players for Michigan State have done their best to plug the gaping hole left by Payne and Branden Dawson so far.

Matt Costello played a key part in Michigan State’s last two games. In the hard-fought loss to Michigan, the sophomore scored nine points while grabbing eight rebounds. He is not needed to score, but more to clean the offensive glass. In his last two games, Costello has had nine offensive rebounds, leading to key second-chance points for the Spartans. His defense is also solid in the post, swatting the Hawkeyes twice in the overtime win.

Denzel Valentine played a major role in the overtime victory in Iowa on Tuesday. He played 29 minutes and pitched in 12 points and six rebounds. He also had two assists, including a huge one in overtime. Although he turned in a lackluster performance against Michigan, his overall numbers this season are up from last year, with 2.5 more points and nearly two more rebounds per game.

Perhaps the best moment from the Iowa game was Russell Byrd hitting the three-pointer in the corner to seal the game for the Spartans in overtime. Byrd has dealt with a slew of injuries throughout his career at Michigan State that have completely shot his confidence.

Despite being healthy all season, Byrd has only played in 11 games this year, scoring in double digits once. He had not hit a three since mid-December, but it could not have come at a better time. Those were his only points of the game, but he could be considered the game’s MVP.

With the best head coach in the Big Ten and possibly the nation, the Spartans should be in good shape even without two starters. Coach Izzo has dealt with similar situations in the past, specifically in the 1999-2000 championship season. Mateen Cleaves had to miss the first 13 games of the season due to a stress fracture in his right foot and the Spartans stumbled to a 9-4 start, including a loss to Wright State (4-8).

The rest is history. So do not despair Spartan fans. Izzo knows what he is doing and he has the players to step up and carry the team until Dawson and Payne are back.

– See more at: http://impact89fm.org/sports/2014/01/29/role-players-plugging-the-hole-for-msu/#sthash.vg6N3HpN.dpuf

3-Point Play: Minnesota Edition

JAN 11 – It took five extra minutes, but the Spartans (15-1, 4-0) were able to overcome a second half deficit to beat Minnesota (13-4, 2-2) on Saturday, 87-75. They did it without both Adreian Payne and a less than 100 percent Travis Trice, whom coach Izzo describe as “zone busters.”

The Golden Gophers had the hot hand from outside to start the game, connecting on seven of 12 from deep in the first half. They went on a 13-4 run to take a 29-21 lead with six and a half minutes remaining in the first. Kaminski was lights out from deep for MSU, making his first four three-pointers in the first half. The Spartans trailed by five at the break.

Michigan State chipped away at the deficit throughout the second half. They finally took the lead with just under 11 minutes remaining, their first edge since midway through the first half. A pair of Matt Costello free throws extended MSU’s lead to five with 22 seconds remaining. Malik Smith hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left for the Gophers, then Deandre Mathieu made a layup in the closing seconds to send the game into overtime.

The overtime period was dominated by Michigan State. Minnesota didn’t get onto the board for the first four minutes. The Spartans outscored the Gophers 16-4 largely on free throws and won by a score of 87-75. Here are three storylines that stood out in the overtime win.

1. Kenny Kaminski: Pure Shooter

Redshirt freshman Kenny Kaminski had his coming out party against Ohio State, in which he hit three shots from beyond the arc. None were bigger than his three-pointer in overtime to give the Spartans a two-point lead. Against Minnesota, he was scorching. Kaminski connected on his first five three-pointers and earned extra minutes with Branden Dawson disappearing in the first half (I’ll get to that later).

Kaminski has responded as well as coach Izzo could have hoped after his second suspension of the season. He has missed six games this year due to suspensions, mostly for academic reasons.

“He has made some progress,” Coach Izzo said in the post game press conference, “he has been handling it pretty well and we are going to keep moving forward.”

Izzo went on to say, “If he continues to improve and we try to get a rebound once in a while and guard someone once in a while, he can shoot it with anybody. We do have to do more than just score on one end, but he did give us a lift at a point in time when we weren’t very good.”


2. Will the real Branden Dawson please stand up?

Zero points and three rebounds is the disappointing stat line that Branden Dawson turned in through one half of play on Saturday. Coming off another disappointing game against Ohio State in which he only scored four points and grabbed four rebounds, many thought he would be fired-up to bounce back.

That was not the case in the first half.

When he was on the court, Dawson looked disinterested at times, not fighting for rebounds like we are accustomed to seeing. “There is something wrong with Branden, there is no question about it,” Izzo said.

He was benched at the start of the second half with the hot Kaminski replacing him. His first basket came on a tip-in with 11:30 remaining in the second half and his play picked up after that, but still not the level that coaches expect out of him.

“You can see the look on his face, everybody can see it,” Izzo said, “My mother calls; she’s 87, she is wearing her bifocals looking at the TV and she can see it.”

With Dawson being a nonfactor in the first half and a slightly better version in the second half and overtime, this leads us to wonder, which player is the true Branden Dawson? The one who scored a season-high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds against Penn State? Or the player who turned in four points and four rebounds in the overtime win over Ohio State?

“He was averaging a double-double going into that Carolina game,” Izzo said. “He really struggled in that game, and then he had the big stretch where he played very well, and then he has not played with that same energy and it’s nothing with his teammates, it’s nothing with his coaches, it’s nothing with school. It’s something and we just have to figure it out and get him back.”

The hope is that Dawson will bring a consistent effort on a nightly basis because his pure athleticism makes him one of the most exciting players to watch, and the sky is the limit for his potential. His freakish jumping ability makes up for the height he gives up in the paint, and he leads the Spartans in rebounding with 8.7 per game. Dawson grabbed some important boards near the end of regulation and overtime, which is a good sign. The only question is, why can’t he perform at high level consistently for a full game?

3. Costello and Valentine fill in nicely for Payne

Adreian Payne played through pain to score 18 points and grab eight rebounds in a heroic effort against Ohio State. Due to a right foot sprain, Coach Izzo didn’t even think the senior would play when he got to the Breslin Center on Tuesday night. But Payne gritted his teeth throughout the game and played a major role in the overtime win.

The pain was too much for Payne to play through on Saturday, however, so the Spartans found themselves without 16.2 points of offense.

But that’s where MSU’s team displayed its depth, which has been better than expected, with all of the injuries and suspensions that have plagued the team. He has seen multiple players step up when their team needed them throughout the year. On Saturday, Matt Costello returned to the starting lineup and played his best game since he came down with mononucleosis. He scored seven points and added eight rebounds and three blocks.

Denzel Valentine was in the starting lineup on Saturday and had a tough time shooting. With the emergence of Kaminski, the Spartans didn’t need Valentine to be a scoring machine. He did come up clutch when his team needed it, though, and finished the game with nine points and ten rebounds.

“He got some big rebounds late. I thought he defended better late,” Izzo told reporters.

UP NEXT

Michigan State travels to Evanston, Ill for a matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats on Wednesday. With the days off, the Spartans should have a fully healthy Travis Trice and a much-recovered Adreian Payne. Tipoff is at 7:00.

Dawson Stars in Return as Spartans Rally Past Nittany Lions

JAN 2 – With Branden Dawson and Matt Costello returning to the lineup, MSU (12-0, 1-0) looked to steamroll the up-and-coming Nittany Lions (9-5, 0-1). Dawson missed the New Orleans game with an injured shin, and Costello missed the last four games with mono.

In his last press conference, Tom Izzo said his team would have their work cut out for them in Happy Valley.

The Spartans stumbled out of the gates, finding themselves in a 10-3 hole in the opening minutes of the game. MSU was as cold as the weather outside, starting 2-10 from the field. Penn State was lights out from deep, going 7-12 from three-point land in the first half.

Michigan State was able to claw their way back, taking a two-point lead with six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. But Penn State quickly responded with an 18-4 run of their own to retake the lead. The Nittany Lions had a 47-40 edge at halftime.

Michigan State would not trail for long in the second half. Gary Harris came out blazing, scoring eight of the team’s first 10 points of the half.

MSU went on a 10-0 run before the first TV timeout to take a 50-47 lead. Branden Dawson made his presence felt in the second half as well, scoring 12 points, grabbing four rebounds and picking up two blocks along the way.

Once the Spartans got on a roll, Penn State had no chance at a comeback. The Nittany Lions could only muster 16 points in the second half while shooting 5-20 from the field.

The Spartans continued their hot outside shooting, going 5-9 beyond the arc in the second half. Michigan State kept extending their lead throughout the half, eventually winning 79-63.

Branden Dawson did not miss a beat after sitting out against New Orleans. The junior led all scorers with 20 points on 8-14 shooting and added nine rebounds. Adreian Payne was quiet throughout the game, only scoring five points on five shots.

Travis Trice contributed 12 points from the bench, and Matt Costello was held scoreless in 12 minutes in his return. Michigan State dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Nittany Lions 45-26.

Michigan State will travel to Bloomington to square off against the Hoosiers on Saturday before hosting Ohio State next Wednesday.

The Big Ten will be a far cry from a cakewalk this year, with three teams in the top-five and four in the top-25 in the nation. The Indiana game will be played at 2 p.m. and will air on CBS.

– See more at: http://impact89fm.org/sports/2014/01/02/dawson-stars-in-return-as-spartans-rally-past-nittany-lions/#sthash.SpWnY7Rc.dpuf

Appling Shines as Spartans Rout New Orleans

DEC 28 – Coming off a huge win in Austin, the Spartans (11-1) were definitely at risk of having a letdown game against the New Orleans Privateers (3-5). With Branden Dawson ruled out with a shin injury and Matt Costello still not able to play, this game could have looked similar to the Columbia matchup.

Michigan State was shaky to start, committing six turnovers in the first eight minutes. Gary Harris missed his first four shots, and the team started out 3-10 from the field. The Privateers held a slim 10-9 lead at that point, but it was the last time they would be ahead of the Spartans.

Michigan State proceeded to go on a 17-3 run, capped off by a transition dunk by Keith Appling. New Orleans had no answer for the Spartans’ high-powered attack and simply could not keep up with the number five-ranked team in the nation. The combination of Harris, Appling, and Adreian Payne combined for 63 points, 21 rebounds, and 14 assists. The Spartans went on to win the game 101-48.

The Spartans out rebounded the Privateers 54-31, but Izzo was still disappointed in Payne’s performance, saying, “Adreian didn’t focus in early.” He continued, “He had seven rebounds, but it should’ve been 15.” The team shot 54.5% from the field, including 13-25 from beyond the arc.

Here are three factors that decided the game:

1. Appling Recovers From Tough Two-Game Stretch

Keith struggled mightily in his last two games for the Spartans. He only scored eight against North Florida and four against Texas, shooting a combined 4-19 in the span. Coach Izzo said that Appling’s wrist has been sore ever since the North Carolina game, where he took a nasty spill and used his wrist to break his fall.

Appling started off hot and never cooled down. He scored seven of Michigan State’s first nine points to kick things off. He led all scorers with 16 points and six dimes at the half. With Harris struggling with his shot early, Appling had to step up in order for the Spartans to pull away from the Privateers.

Keith finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Izzo raved about Appling, calling him the “biggest thrill of the night.” If the Spartans hit more of their open shots in their first half, Appling could’ve easily had a double-double.

2. Spartans Didn’t Miss a Step Without Dawson, Costello

With the combination of coming off a huge road win and two starters not playing, the Spartans could’ve found themselves in big trouble against a pesky New Orleans squad. But Denzel Valentine and other players stepped up and played a huge role. Valentine started in place of Dawson, scoring 10 points and adding 13 rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes on the court.

Alex Gauna also pitched in for MSU, posting six points and five rebounds in only 10 minutes of work. He added a block and an assist, but was limited due to foul trouble. Travis Trice scored five with three assists, but seemed sluggish. According to Coach Izzo, Trice was “sicker than a dog” during the game. Michigan State’s bench scored 22 points on 50% shooting. Coach Izzo is known for squeezing production out of his players, and he certainly did that tonight.

Izzo was pleased with the performance of his bench. He said, “I feel like Mark [Dantonio] with his quarterbacks.” He said he would be comfortable with playing “seven, eight, nine, or ten guys” in the rotation.

3. Spartans Sprinting to B1G Season

Michigan State’s final tune-up game couldn’t have gone any better. The Spartans won by their largest margin of the season and look to get Costello and Dawson back in time for conference play. MSU kicks off the Big Ten season at Penn State on New Year’s Eve. Coach Izzo is not a fan of playing on New Year’s Eve. He said that Penn State is much improved, and “we have our work cut out for us.”

Izzo said in his press conference said that Costello was cleared to play, but wasn’t yet in game shape. He fully expects Matt to play at Penn State.

Branden Dawson, meanwhile, was kicked in the shin during a drill in practice. His leg swelled up but there was no bone damage. Although Dawson didn’t play, he still made a big impact on the game.

Izzo said, “He was a way better coach than I was.”

Dawson is also expected to play against Penn State.

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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

Opinion: Branden Dawson is the Spartans’ X-Factor

Branden Dawson’s freshman season ended during the final regular season game of the year versus Ohio State, when he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament. That injury changed the trajectory of Dawson’s career. Instead of spending the summer of his sophomore year developing his game or possibly preparing for his rookie season in the NBA, he was forced to rehab his knee.

 Dawson saw his production drop in his sophomore campaign, going from 16.4 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted to 13.7. Although he was healthy, the mental aspect of recovering from such a serious injury still lingered.

“The mental aspect was hard. When I came back from my ACL injury, there were times where I was thinking too much, and there were times where I went in for a dunk and I just went in and just laid it up. The mental aspect, it was very tough on me. I was going out there, and I was thinking a lot,” Dawson said in an interview with Spartan Nation Radio.

This prevented Dawson from having the breakout season everyone expected from him. If he hadn’t injured his knee, he would probably be in the NBA right now, but a slight letdown of a season made Dawson think twice about making the leap to the pros.

Now entering his junior year, Dawson says he is “100 percent now,” and is due for that breakout year. This is why he will be the Spartans’ x-factor. Without having to worry about his knee, Dawson was able to spend his summer working on his game, especially his jump shot. Although he shot 53% from the field last year, that number was down four percent from his freshman campaign. Branden Dawson has not made a three point shot in a Michigan State uniform, but this year looks to be different. He is so proud of his new jump shot that he posted a video on his instagram account of him shooting.

http://instagram.com/p/cfAR1LGiRj/

Dawson has improved so much over the summer that coach Tom Izzo had this to say about the junior in an interview with Spartan Nation Radio:

“This summer he’s improved his shot. He’s improved his body. I think he’s had the best summer of his life, and I think he’ll be ready for hopefully a breakout junior year.”

Everybody can talk about how important Adreian Payne, Gary Harris, and Keith Appling will be for Michigan State this year, but Branden Dawson might be the player that could carry the team from very good to the best in the nation. With an improved jumper and better ball-handling skills on the wing, Dawson could spread out opposing defenses and open up driving lanes for the guards. Assistant coach Dan Fife said this about Dawson in an MLive article:

“Branden’s got huge hands, but one thing that when he came in, he was a good ball-handler,” Fife said. “He really was. I think he’s working to become a great one.”

The 6’6” junior is one of the best defenders on the team. Dawson led the Spartans in steals last season with 57. His defensive rating was the sixth best in the Big Ten according to sports-reference.com. He had 1.4 blocks per 40 minutes last season, which was second among all wing players in the nation according to draftexpress.com. Dawson was also named the Big Ten’s Most Entertaining Player and a preseason third-team All-Big Ten selection by Lindy’s College Basketball Magazine.

This season, draftexpress.com has Dawson as the sixth best junior in the nation. He’s on the second best team in the nation according to the coaches poll. If Michigan State wants to make it past the Sweet 16 this year, they will need a better Branden Dawson. He had a disappointing showing in the NCAA Tournament, averaging four points and 4.7 rebounds per game. This was another big factor in Dawson’s decision not to go to the NBA. His poor performance in the postseason hurt his draft stock.

Michigan State’s roster is star-studded, with three players almost guaranteed to make the NBA, not including Dawson. With so much talent on the court with him, he could fly under the radar of opposing defenses and explode for huge nights. Don’t be surprised to see Dawson post a couple double-doubles this season.

This year, there will be a new Branden Dawson. He’s hungry to prove that he is ready for the next level.  He wants to prove that he’s back. The knee injury is just a thing of the past. This will be a more confident, high-flying Branden Dawson who will dunk on you without a second thought. He is Michigan State’s X-factor.

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