In the beginning of the year I thought Michigan State would be challenging for the the NCAA title. Yet, they have already lost 7 games this season and have sunk to #25 in the nation according to the AP poll. On top of that they are riding a 2 game losing steak, and have to deal with this...
"Michigan State announced Tuesday night that it has dismissed junior guard Korie Lucious for the rest of the season.
"Unfortunately, Korie Lucious displayed conduct detrimental to the program," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said in a statement. "My focus is on this team for the remainder of the season."
"I didn't live up to the standards of the program," Lucious said in his own statement. "Unfortunately, I let my teammates, my coaches, and myself down, and wish them the best for the rest of the season."
Neither Izzo nor Lucious elaborated on what may have led to the guard's dismissal from the Spartans (ESPN)."
I have been trying to find out exactly what he did, but so far have been unsuccessful. This isn't the first time Lucious has been in trouble though, he was suspended for a game last season for missing class. Then he pleaded guilty in September to misdemeanor reckless driving and was suspended again for the season opener against Eastern Michigan. So, it sounds like this was the final straw, and I'm not surprised because Izzo usually runs a tight ship.
Lucious doesn't light up the state sheet (6.5 pts 4.1 asts), but he has been a big part of this team in the past when made a game-winning 3 against Maryland in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament last season.
Michigan State still has Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Draymond Green but they are going to have a really hard time getting back to the Final Four, which is too bad, because like I said before, going into this season I would have had them as a lock for the Final Four.
Tom Izzo has a difficult decision to make, and it isn't getting any easier. His time at Michigan State has been nothing short of amazing, but word is that he is sick of having to go out and recruit. I can understand that, it has to get taxing as you get older. Still, he has to take the right offer.
Izzo wants to speak with LeBron James before he makes a decision on whether to coach the team or not, which would be stupid if he didn't. Lebron has no plans to talk to him, so it is unlikely that Izzo will have any idea of Lebron is coming back to the Cavs or not. This leaves Izzo in a tough spot.
The smart move would be to wait until Lebron decides where he is going to sign, but reports say that Izzo in unwilling to wait long, and this experience is already getting taxing enough that he would not be able to wait that long.
2 "close sources" to Izzo say that "Tom Izzo said the latter is tired of recruiting but believe he'll still turn down an offer to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers ... Those same individuals expect Izzo to make a decision in the next 48 hours."
ESPN is reporting that Tom Izzo is getting close to signing with the Cavs. This would crush Michigan State, but there is still hope. All of this information is coming from a "close" source. We have seen many times in the past that these can just be made up. I have to say that I would be very surprised if Izzo left for the NBA, and I also think it would a terrible mistake.
Izzo has a great thing going at Michigan State, and he is one of the best college coaches in the nation, but I just don't see him as an NBA coach. The obvious question is whether or not this move would get Lebron back, but to be honest I don't think Lebron gives a fuck about Izzo.
The only way I would be fine with Izzo going to the Cavs is if Lebron doesn't come back, because then I can root for Izzo and Jamison, but I can't bring myself to ever root for Lebron.
Fuck Cleveland, Go STATE!
***UPDATE***
The Associated Press reported Thursday that Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo will travel to Cleveland later in the day to meet with Cavaliers officials and tour the team's facilities.
The News-Herald in Northern Ohio reported on its website Sunday night that the Cavaliers -- fresh off dismissing coach Mike Brown and parting ways with general manager Danny Ferry -- have formally extended an offer to Izzo to replace Brown. ESPN
I get really wary of Coaches who make the jump from college to the pros. I think a bad NBA coach is better than a college to pro coach. Tom Izzo is a great coach for the Michigan State Spartans and has probably done the best coaching job in college the past 5 years.
But where there is smoke, there is fire, and I actually believe he is going to the Cavs. If that's the case, the Cavs get a sexy new coach, but will that be enough to convince Lebron.
When I read this I got so mad I nearly had to leave work. Well, that doesn't take a lot, but still this is complete bullshit.
There are some reports saying that Oregon is going to throw all the money it can at Izzo to get him to leave Michigan St. Sorry, not gonna happen. This guy is a God at MSU. He puts this team in the Final 4 every year. He might just be the best coach in college basketball, so there is 0% chance that the Michigan St. is going to just let him walk.
I fucking hate stories like this, because you know their isn't a shed of truth to them. So, if you see this story on your TV, just change the station, because trust me it ain't happening.
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo (aka God) said today there's a "90 percent chance" tests later in the day would confirm Lucas has a torn left Achilles tendon that would keep him off the court for about 5 months. The affect on State is going to be huge. Lucas is 1st on the team in mins, points, and assists. Yet, there is hope...
Kansas is no longer in their way. Even without Lucas I think the Spartans can take down Northern Iowa. After that they will most likely have to play Ohio St, and you know what? I think they can win that game too. After that, yea, they are probably done, but you never know.
Well there goes the feel good story that Michigan State and Detroit was feeling. Last night the UNC Tarheels whooped the shit out of the fiesty Michigan State team from the starting tip off. It was a very easy March, and behind the unrelenting play of Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson, the Tar Heels stomped out Michigan State's inspirational run Monday night. Hansbrough scored 18 points, Ellington had 19 and Lawson led all scorers with 21 and also had a record eight steals. Now, they and Danny Green can all head to the NBA feeling good about their decision to return to school. Either way this game sucked. Michigan State didn't have a chance. And another question that has to be asked is if this Proves the ACC was the best conference this year?
Fuck UNC and Fuck MSU. Tyler Hansbrough is not going to amount to shit next year, Welcome to the D-Leagues.
Well the long road ends tonight, and either Michigan St or North Carolina will be the Champions. I know what a lot of our readers are thinking...Who is BMack rooting for? He loves both these teams. Well I am rooting for Michigan St.
First off I love underdogs, and most people thought that there was no way that Michigan St. would get past Louisville let alone UConn, but they did. How did they do it? Great coaching, defense, and toughness. UNC better be ready because this team is going to be all over the boards, and will do anything to beat them up.
Saying that UNC has way to much talent to let this game slide past them. Their transition offense is scary good. Lawson is by far the best PG in college basketball, and I just don't know how anyone can shut him down, and even if they did UNC has so many scorers it is just almost impossible to hold them down.
For the sake of Michigan, who is just devastated by this economy, I hope they can somehow find a way. Sometimes stories like this can make the sport seem like more then a sport. The people in Michigan need some kind of silver lining, and maybe just maybe Izzo can find just enough magic to pull off an unbelievable upset.
64 Michigan State, 52 Louisville As part of the Dave Pearce fuckfest Michigan State decided to beat Louisville to knock my second finals team out of the tournament. Goran Suton had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the second seeded Spartans played the game at their pace and reached its fifth final four in the past 11 years. Michigan State played incredible man to man defense the whole game and led to an amazing zero fast break points for Louisville. Also, be careful Tom Izzo, Magic is trying to give you AIDS!
72 UNC, 60 Oklahoma
UNC advances, so that means I get to watch more clips of Beaker. It came pretty apparent that Oklahoma is a one man band with Blake Griffen. Griffen had another amazing game scoring 23 points and having 16 boards, but that wasn't enough for the total team effort of UNC. Ty Lawson had 19, Danny Green had 18 and Deon Thompson had 10. Beaker, I mean Tyler Hansbrough only had 8 due to foul trouble. But as of right now, UNC looks like the team to beat in the tournament.
The year of pretenders in the top 5 continues as Purdue wiped the floor with Michigan State last night. The Boilermakers have been over achieving this year and made their run much more impressive with this win.
Purdue forced 22 turnovers, blocked eight shots and held Michigan State to 33 percent shooting.The Boilermakers (20-6, 9-4 Big Ten), who have five games left, won their third straight and moved within one game of the Spartans in the conference standings. So it is a ridiculously huge win. JaJuan Johnson scored 17 points, E'Twaun Moore had 13 and Robbie Hummel added 11 for Purdue in his first start since missing three games with a hairline fracture in his lower back. Michigan State will need to find more scoring if they want to make a run in the tourney. Their scoring or lack there of would scare the hell out of me going into March.
102 Nova, 84 Marquette Scottie Reynolds scored 27 points and Corey Fisher 21 as the 13th ranks Villanova continued it's impressive big east run as it upended number 10 Marquette. Villanova knocked off its third top 25 team in its six game win streak.
54 #9 Michigan State, 42 Michigan Looks like BMack's team won again as they beat rival Michigan last night. Freshman Delvoe Roe scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half and Kalin Lucas scored 13 of his 15 after the half. State has now moved 2.5 games ahead of Ohio State and Illinois.
(10)Georgia vs (22) Vanderbilt Georgia is a better team and I hate Vandy. Moreno and Stafford are due for a big game and Georgia needs to win this game if they ever want to be talked in National Title talks again. Their defense is good enough to stop the Vandy rushing attack. Watch for AJ Green to have a huge game.
Georgia 35-10 (1) Texas vs (11) Missouri After a huge loss against Oklahoma State, Mizzou is going to pissed and the Video game offense is going to knock out the number 1 team in the country again. Colt McCoy is going to be able to throw all over Mizzou's secondary, however this is going to be a game of points.
Mizzou 42-35 (20) Michigan State vs (12) Ohio State This game should be focused on two players Michigan States Javon Ringer and Ohio States Terrell Pryor. Unfortunately for Ohio State, I am really high on Michigan State and Ringer so they are going to win a tough fought battle.
Mich State 21-14 (4) Oklahoma vs (16) Kansas Sam Bradford and Oklahoma are going to come into this game pissed and believe it carries into the game. Even though Oklahoma's secondary is sometimes suspect, I believe the will keep Kansas' Todd Reesing in check.
Breaking News: Javon Ringer should get Heisman consideration.
Yes, I am all about Michigan State, but Ringer is the real deal, and this is the third straight game that he has been shredding defenses. This kid is the real deal, and it is a shame he doesn't have more weapons on offense, so that defenses wouldn't key up on him. Anyways, lets get back to the game.
Michigan State dominated Notre Dame, and finally put to bed any hope for Irish fans that they were going to be anything good this season. The Spartans defense looked fantastic, causing 3 turnovers, and only letting up 15 yards rushing. In the end Irish QB Clausen just looked overwhelmed, while only being able to get Notre Dame on the board once. On the other side Michigan State just ran the ball right down their throat as Ringer ran for 201 yards and 2 TDs. Even with the loss to California in the beginning of the season, Michigan State has to be getting some top 25 consideration.
The first week of college football usually features huge spreads as D-IA powerhouses take on IAA cupcakes. For everyone besides Michigan, these are essentially preseason games, with the starters taken out at halftime. These huge spreads make finding good bets a bit harder, but here are 5 that I like...
One spread that really caught my eye was Hawaii @ #5 Florida (-34 1/2). I know Florida's extremely good, Hawaii lost some key players, and the game's in Gainesville, but I just don't see anyone outscoring Hawaii by 5 touchdowns. If Florida racks up 49 points, they'll have to hold Hawaii to 14 in order to cover. Pick: Warriors +34 1/2
Another good one was #17 Virginia Tech (-9) vs. East Carolina in Charlotte (which is actually closer to Blacksburg, VA than Greenville, NC). I honestly don't know much about ECU, but they have Va Tech and West Virginia back-to-back on their schedule, so they got some balls. Still, 9 points isn't enough for them against Virginia Tech in a neutral location. Pick: Hokies -9
Michigan State @ California (-4). Michigan State isn't good enough for such a low spread against a solid Pac-10 team on the road. Pick: Golden Bears -4
#24 Alabama vs. #9 Clemson (-5 1/2) in Atlanta. This is the game I'm looking forward to seeing the most, with Illinois-Missouri a close second. Alabama is one of those SEC teams that's good enough to pull off a big upset of teams like LSU, Auburn, or Tennessee. But I don't think they're good enough to stay with these teams, and teams like Clemson, week in week out. So an upset is very possible, a close game is even more possible, but a Clemson victory by 7+ points is very likely. Pick: Tigers -5 1/2
Another good looking game is Oregon State (-3) @ Stanford. This is a very small spread, which is rare in college football. Stanford might be better than they were in 2007, and Oregon State might be worse, but the Beavers are still on top of the Cardinal. Besides, beavers chop down trees to make dams. Pick: Beavers -3
I hate the BigTen. I hate it because I don't like the Midwest. I hate Michigan. I hate Ohio State. And the state of Wisconsin sucks. And most of all, I hate people who can't count. And if you don't hate the BigTen, just realize it's the biggest supporter of the BCS system, and the biggest fighter of a playoff.
I think the BigTen is a bit overrated. They were 3-5 in Bowl games last year. Then again, the BCS decided to put Illinois into the Rose Bowl to face USC, which was a complete joke.
Let's get to the teams...
1. Ohio State One of the favorites to win a national title, as always. OSU is usually ballsy enough to schedule a big non-conference game and this year is not different. They play USC on the road. But they never play more than one quality team. Their other non-conference opponents are Ohio, Youngstown State, and Troy. The Buckeyes have 9 returning offensive starters, and a loaded defense. They'll go 11-1 and make the national championship game... unfortunately.
2. Wisconsin The Badgers are solid, but I don't know why anyone considers them to be close to a top ten team in the country. They have Zach Brown and Lance Smith at QB, but neither has significant experience, nor does either one stand out. PJ Hill rushed for 1200+ yards last year and is the main reason Wisconsin will end up in the Rose Bowl. Actually, the main reason is that the rest of the BigTen blows.
3. Illinois Without Rashard Mendenhall, the Fighting Illini become one of those teams that drifts into and out of the top 20 from week to week. Juice Williams returns at QB, but his 13 TDs and 12 INTs are a cause for concern. They've got a solid and deep defensive line, but elsewhere their defense is missing that little extra something that makes a unit great. Missouri will avenge their BCS snub on August 30th when they destroy Illinois.
4. Penn State There's always a great deal of optimism surrounding Penn State, and that's why I hate them. Although the Nittany Lions have some promising players like RB Evan Royster (6.3 yards per carry in limited time last year), there are too many questions that will go unanswered (like who will be QB, what kind of offense will the team have, etc.). Like Illinois, they'll drift in and out of the top 20 all season.
5. Michigan No I-AA teams on Michigan's schedule this year. Michigan will be utilizing a speedier spread offense, which may work out in 2009 or 2010, but will be funny to watch in 2008. Only 3 returning starters for the Michigan offense, none of whom are significant. On the other side of the coin, the defense returns 8 starters, including all 4 linemen. So they'll be in a lot of games, but their offense will struggle to capitalize on the opportunities their defense creates for them. It will be a frustrating season for Wolverine fans, which makes me very happy.
6. Purdue The only BigTen team I like. QB Curtis Painter returns to lead the offense. He threw for 3,846 yards and 29 TDs in 2007. But he'll miss Dorian Bryant and Dustin Keller, his top two receivers from last year. The offensive line will also struggle, and the defense won't do much to impress. But they'll have a solid season and make a bowl game.
7. Michigan State RB Javon Ringer will be the star of the MSU offense. He ran for 1,484 yards and 6 TDs last year. Jehuu Caulcrick got the goal line carries, but he's gone. But QB Brian Hoyer has a problem: he threw 20 TDs last year, but 14 of them were to players who are now in the NFL (Devin Thomas and Kellen Davis). The Spartan defense is slightly above average. It won't win games on its own, but it won't lose games on its own either. MSU will be a fun team to watch in '08 because they'll be capable of stealing a few games here and there.
8. Iowa The Hawkeyes averaged a pitiful 18.5 points per game on offense last year, and things won't be much better in 2008. The offensive line allowed 46 sacks in 2007, but maybe returning most of the starters will help minimize that problem. The defense lost its best players from last year. So basically, a team that was 6-6 (4-4 conference) got a little bit worse.
9. Northwestern They'll probably finish higher than 9th in the BigTen standings. They return 15 starters from a 6-6 team, but they're still Northwestern. Their players go to class, so they're not competitive.
10. Minnesota Minnesota has 15 returning starters, but I don't know if that's much of a good thing for a 1-11 team to do.
11. Indiana The battle for 11th place in the BigTen will be more dramatic than the battle for 1st. But I think Indiana wins out.
