Looking into the rosters there are four distinct aspects that jump out. Michigan State has four legitimate 3-point threats, they are a terrible rebounding team(As some of the MSU forumites have suggested this could be a cause of a slower tempo), they are a great free throw shooting team, and they only have three players averaging double-digits per game. On paper it boils down to UConn stopping the perimeter, staying out of the bonus early and pounding the glass. Twos can hurt, but Threes can kill. They’ll need to play their best perimeter defense of their careers against this team and be content with the dribble drive.
The Main Players:
It is fairly obvious that Kalin Lucas is the centerpiece to what Michigan State wants to accomplish. He averages 14.6 points, hits .388 from behind the arch, dishes out 4.6 assists a game, and hits .814 from the line. He has a 2 assists to 1 turnover ratio. Walker has the best chance of defending him.
Goran Suton needs to be contained and is their most effective offensive player hitting an outstanding .516 from the field, .848 from the line, and .419 from deep, though he has only made 18 of them. He is the only legit rebounder and only averages 8.4 a game. He could cause trouble for the Huskies. He plays out of Adrien’s comfort range and can extend Thabeet.
Raymar Morgan is a high flyer and athletic player. He isn’t a deep threat only making 5 all season, but he is .525 from the field, so his mid-range game and ability to get to the rim is deadly. He isn’t great from the line, hitting .654 from there. He is second on the team in rebounding at an unimpressive 5.3 a game. This will most likely be Robinson’s man. He needs to bottle up Morgan’s game like he did with Hummel.
The Role Players:
Chris Allen is one of their many outside threats, taking a team high 158 attempts and hitting .329 of them.
Durrell Summers is also a deep threat, hitting .396 from behind the arch, but he doesn’t take as many shots from deep as does Allen, around 50 less attempts. They whole team needs to keep Summers in check and let him be a mid-range shooter.
Delvon Roe is a threat in the paint but only hits .459 from the line. He is third on the team in rebounding at 5 a game. He leads the team with .7 blocks a game.
Travis Walton has attempted a handful of threes but isn’t a threat, and does most of his damage inside. He leads the team in steals a game at 1.5.
2 comments:
WHoever posted this blog needs to do their home work.
1) They have 4 guys that can shoot 3 ball, but 3 legitamite in Lucas, Allen and Summers. Suton took around 20 attempts during the reg. season and started taking 3 pt. shots just recently (during the Kansas game in Sweet 16).
2) State is a GREAT rebounding team!! They avg. a margin of +9.9 rebounding advantage. (Tops in the nation).
3) State's FT shooting is ranked 164th in the nation during the regular season. They've been shooting over 80% as a team in the tournament.
Get you facts straight and do some more research. You lose credibility when posting inaccurate information.
Thanks Chris for taking the time to read my blog. Sorry if my piece came off as inaccurate, but here is where I came to my conclusions.
1) Lucas, Allen, and Summers are your consistent three point shooters and Suton is emerging as a new threat, but you also have Lucious off the bench who is hitting .347 from deep.
2) I never trust rebounding margin, so I went with rebounding average per player. Teams inflate numbers by playing inferior teams. From 1 through 9 on Michigan State, they total 34.9 a game. UConn is at 42.5.
3)Again you can't always trust team free throw shooting. Michigan State has three players that are at 80% from the line and one hitting 70%. It is Delvon Roe that is sinking the average down, but overall they are a good free throw shooting team. UConn only has one player hitting 80% from the line.
Please don't let team stats mar the individual talent on the team and sometimes homework can have two correct answers.
Post a Comment