2011-2012 Michigan State Basketball Preview

2010-11 Results

Overall: 19-15 (Home 12-3, Road 4-8, Neutral 3-4, Postseason 2-2)
Big Ten: 9-9
Conference Tournament: Lost in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
Postseason: Lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to UCLA.

Tom Izzo guided the Spartans to a disappointing 19-15 record a year ago. The team finished 9-9 in the Big Ten and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Without much success against top 25 teams, the team’s 8-4 non-conference last year doesn’t look that good. The Spartans lost to Syracuse, Connecticut, Duke, and Texas during non-conference play. That was followed by a 9-9 conference record with their only two wins against ranked opponents coming against Wisconsin on January 11 and they managed to upset Purdue in the Big Ten Conference Tournament.

Michigan State was seventh in the conference a year ago in scoring offense averaging 68.8 points per game and seventh in scoring defense allowing 66.6 points per game. Last year’s team was eleventh in shooting percentage making only 43.1 of their field goal attempts. The Spartans were average when shooting free throws finishing eight in the conference. On the bright side the team finished with a plus 4 rebounding margin with ranked third in the conference.

Roster

Returning Starters
Draymond Green
Keith Appling

Other Returning Players
Travis Trice
Derrick Nix
Dan Chapman
Anthony Ianni
Adreian Payne

Newcomers
Brandon Wood
Branden Dawson
Travis Trice
Brandan Kearney
Russell Byrd
Alex Gauna

Head Coach
Tom Izzo

Key Losses

The Spartans will have to replace a lot this year. Gone are all-time great point guard Kalin Lucas and shooting guard Durrell Summers. Lucas was the team’s top scorer a year ago averaging 17 points per game and 3.4 assist per game.
Additionally the team will be without Delvon Roe (6.1 ppg 5.0 rbg) who had to quit basketball due to a knee injury. Garrick Sherman a promising center transferred to Notre Dame. Not to mention that Lucas’s heir apparent was kicked off the team last season and transferred to Iowa State.

Schedule

https://www.msu.edu/user/roudabus/basketball1112.htm

2011-12 Preview

Some are predicting that the Spartans will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 seasons which is the third longest streak in the nation. However never count out a Tom Izzo coached team.

Overall with the transfer of Brandon Wood from Valparaiso and Adreian Payne moving into a starting role at center the team has the talent to make a 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and may even make a run at the Sweet 16 if the team gels well.

Backcourt

Keith Appling and Brandon Wood will start in the backcourt. Appling will play the point even though he is better suited to play shooting guard. Last year he shot 41.1 percent from three-point range and made 89.5 percent of his free throws. He averaged 6.4 points a game last year which should increase this season.

Wood averaged 16.7 points a game last year for Valparaiso and is an excellent shooter making 46.3 percent of his field goals a year ago. His one weakness is his foul shooting. He only shot 66.7 percent from the foul line a year ago.

Freshman Travis Trice will see plenty of playing time off the bench. He is an excellent ball handler and is quick. He needs to work on his touch in order to become a top notch player.

Branden Dawson is a tough kid and will be a major contributor this season for Michigan State. He will immediately start at small forward. Dawson was ranked as the number 14th overall recruit by ESPNU 100. The Spartans get a player that can both score in rebound with Dawson.

Frontcourt

Draymond Green and Adreian Payne will team up in the frontcourt. Green was the team’s second leading scorer last year averaging 12.6 points per game and 8.6 rebounds. He has played in two Final Fours and will attempt to help lead the Spartans to their four tournament appearance during his career. Green is a 36.6 shooter from three-point range and is hard for opponents to defend. He is a two-time, third-team All-Big Ten member.

The 6-foot-10 Payne should be a major rebounding factor inside. He was plagued with injuries a year ago. With more playing time he should be able to take advantage of his athleticism and could wind up as the team’s top rebounder. Now if he can just and a scoring touch to his game he will become a complete player for the Spartans.

Derrick Nix will come off the bench and is looking great after losing 30 pounds in the offseason. Last season Nix averaged 2.7 points per game off the bench and 2 rebounds a game.

More Big Ten Basketball Predictions

Ohio State Buckeyes	Michigan State Spartans	Michigan Wolverines
Wisconsin Badgers	Indiana Hoosiers	Purdue Boilermakers
Northwestern Wildcats	Iowa Hawkeyes	Minnesota Golden Gophers
Illinois Fighting Illini	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Penn State Nittany Lions

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