+3 and -3 from MSU vs. DePaul

+3

1. I'm not sure where this team would've been without Matt McQuaid's offense tonight. His 11 first half points were the only reason this team wasn't down 5-7 at half. It was a breakout shooting performance for someone who hasn't shot the ball well from "3" for 1.5 years as he went for 20. Maybe this is what he needs for a big jump start which would REALLY change the potential for this team.

2. The second half showed some glimpses of what this team could do on offense. The #1 reason for that was we started the 2nd half JAMMING THE BALL INTO THE POST. Right from the start of the half, post touches and dribble-pen into the lane. We didn't try to rush 100 mph up the court and jack the first open perimeter shot. It was slower but more calculated and much more efficient. We cut down on turnovers, made the extra pass, and stopped settling for contested 3's. We also made some perimeter shots (and shots in general), which make all things look so much better.

3. Important stats...dominated rebounding 38-24. MSU shoots 47%/44%/77%. I know people will point to DePaul's 26% shooting and tell you how GREAT we defended...I think DePaul missed plenty of really good looks, but I thought we defended fine.

-3

1. The first 20 minutes was very bad basketball but not complicated. You got 7 points on 2/12 from Ward, Langford, and Winston. Minus Bridges, if those three put up those kind of numbers, it's hard to beat anyone. The second issue was DePaul shoots 15 free throws in the first half to MSU's 6. MSU commits 13 first half fouls. You take how those three played and the fouls, and you get an ugly 31-31 game.

2. Izzo complained about the officiating to the ESPN reporter at halftime. He complained about guys just driving at someone. I agree in principle with Coach. I've went off on "freedom of movement" for 2. 5 years. I don't think the game was ever broken and didn't need a "fix." I'm the opposite end of the world from Jay Bilas on this one. But he shouldn't be surprised. That is what the game has become. Which is sad. Again, I agree with him. On a daily basis this program teaches toughness. In teaches you to bang guys, to check guys, to get into guys. It's the lifeblood of what MSU basketball is. However, it is starting to run contrary to how the game is being called and I'm sure that is frustrating for Coach. That leads him to get upset like at halftime today. But, what types of things will/can he change? Do you change if you feel like it's not "right?" We did drive the ball at guys quite a bit in the 2nd half...but we fouled just as much in the 2nd.

3. Through about 35 minutes there was 3 points for Ward and 6 points for Winston. We all know that greater consistency from those four sophomores will be a major factor in the ceiling for this team. They got some buckets down the stretch but for the first 30+ minutes, Ward and Winston weren't as good as we need them to be. Loved the way Cash shared it with 8 assists, but also need him to make shots.

MISC

* Zone offense early in the second half was VERY good. Great ball movement led to a good post touch for Ward (he missed), a mid range jumper for Jackson (he missed), and then 2 makes for Langford. MSU ran one specific zone set, double-side screen for Cash who comes up the middle, but other than that, got good looks in base "X" look w/ post step-out.

* Early in the 2nd half MSU fouled 3 times in one possession. One on Langford, Winston, and McQuaid. They were all fouls. The last two were because Winston and McQuaid were simply too slow vs. dribble-pen. One of the reasons we foul is that we do not have great perimeter defenders and spend a lot of time grabbing when we give up half a step.

* Connor George with a handful of good hustle plays in his minutes. At least 5 offensive rebounds.

* One of my favorite possessions of the game was with about 8:45 left. MSU had the ball and DePaul went from zone to man. Tum had the ball. He didn't need to look for a play call from Izzo. He called a 1-4 high set where George caught and there was a double for McQuaid. It went in and out, but it shows Tum's basketball IQ, both of the playbook and that McQuaid was on a heater.

* Here is an official issue I have. Jaren Jackson gets called for 2 "posting up away from the ball" foul calls about 12 minutes into the 2nd half. Neither time was the action significant. Neither time was he one pass away. Neither time was the ball going anywhere near him. These are big/strong kids banging into each other a lot. The best officials know what they can let go that have 0% impact on play. Those were 2 examples where that easily could've been the case. I believe it was Terry Wymer on both calls.

* Tum's minutes continue to be very important to this team's success.

* Langford gets elbowed in the face and fouls out. Watch the play again. Langford does foul him, but AFTER he is hit in the face. Officials went to the monitor but what were they really going to do? Call an intentional on the guy who was fouled? How hard would that have been to explain?

* A brutal start to the non-conference season for the B1G. Not good.