Dominant first half carries Michigan State past Kansas

The Michigan State Spartans clearly look like the class of the Big Ten as the middle of January approaches. The Kansas Jayhawks had the misfortune of playing Tom Izzo's team at the wrong time on Saturday in East Lansing.

MSU's convincing 75-62 win, built on the strength of an overwhelming defensive performance in the first half of play, showed why the Spartans are a legitimate Final Four contender. After locking down a very young but considerably talented KU crew in the first 20 minutes, Michigan State has to feel more confident than ever about its capabilities and credentials.

Before the game's first TV timeout, the Jayhawks blitzed the home team by snatching a quick 11-6 advantage. While some ball clubs would have flinched in the face of an early onslaught, the Spartans used their sluggish start as motivational fuel. When Durrell Summers--a bench player given solid minutes by Izzo in this contest--dunked an alley-oop pass to give MSU a 14-11 lead at the 12-minute mark, the pilot light finally went on for the eighth-ranked team in the country. Following that dunk, which electrified the Izzone and the rest of the Breslin Center, the Spartans flew across the court, swarming the ball and displaying championship-level energy. For a stretch of several minutes, the Jayhawks couldn't breathe at the offensive end of the floor. Izzo's defense proved to be that suffocating.
 
Two stats tell the tale from a first half that floored Kansas. First of all, Michigan State held Kansas to just 7 points in the final 15 minutes of the half. Secondly, the Jayhawks tallied just 18 points before halftime, all while committing 12 turnovers against MSU's relentless pressure. Those staggering numbers suggest complete defensive domination, and the scoreboard was consistent with the action that unfolded on the court. When the two teams headed for the locker room, State held a 37-18 advantage that wasn't seriously threatened in the final 20 minutes. Kansas made a late push to get the lead down to nine (61-52) with 3:49 left, but that's as close as the Jayhawks would get. MSU certainly let its foot off the gas pedal in the second half, but the Spartans never had to sweat bullets down the stretch.
 
As they look forward to the continuation of the Big Ten season, Izzo and his assistants have a great situation on their hands. MSU's coaching staff knows it has a team with the tools to make a deep NCAA run, but they'll also be able to look at this Kansas conquest and see a number of deficiencies they can correct in the coming weeks and months.
 

For all their defensive excellence on the afternoon, the Spartans should be aware of the kinds of matchups that will give them trouble in March. For one thing, an opponent with an agile and imposing big man will give MSU problems. Kansas center Cole Aldrich--who is not a particularly quick post player--still owned the boards by snatching 11 rebounds, nearly half of KU's total of 28. Aldrich outworked the men Izzo threw at him--Goran Suton, Marquise Gray, and Idong Ibok--and altered shots in the paint. Michigan State needs its big men to score and finish plays in the low post so that opponents can't extend to the perimeter and contain the Spartans' many outside-shooting threats. Suton, for instance, went 2-for-8 in this game, with the two made shots being long jumpers. Izzo has to get low-post scoring in order to provide the floor spacing that will suit point guard Kalin Lucas. In many ways, this win--as solid as it proved to be--nevertheless exposed MSU's weakness on the interior.
 
The other thing to keep in mind about State--despite its clear upward trajectory at the moment--is that Kansas, for all its talent, isn't terribly deep. KU star Sherron Collins--while admittedly helped by whistle-happy officials--scored 25 points despite being the Jayhawks' only credible scoring threat. If MSU takes on a team with three or four legitimate scoring options in postseason play, the Spartans might find it a lot harder to defend the way they did today.
 
Yes, these criticisms might seem uncharitable, but they're merely intended to show that this year's Kansas isn't last year's Kansas. Today's 13-point win was a decisive display for Michigan State, but if the Spartans feel they've fully arrived after this triumph, they'll lose the forward momentum that has propelled them to the catbird seat in the Big Ten Conference.

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