The Blue Board

I think he was dying for ANY offer. I wonder if he felt he was going to get an offer but didn't, and then MD gave a scholly to a long snapper. I don't know. Just wondering.

So who gets the W this weekend in EL? Still trying to decide who I'm rooting for yet.

The kid got shut out?

I did laugh at this quote, "It was an opportunity that I just came to realize could not be passed up,” McGrath said. “I grew up an MSU fan, and now I have completely flipped, and I couldn’t be more happy."

Yea, he did get shut out, though not in the tOSU parlance. He really wanted an MSU scholarship, but MSU liked Geiger better. Just is what it is.

That's the beauty of this. Cope mentioned possible grade issues. Grade issues are irrelevant because he will not use up a scholarship this year. If he doesn't qualify, no harm done. Likewise, if he does not work hard in the classroom his first year to show he can stay eligible academically, he won't be given a scholarship in year two. If he works out, fantastic, but there is minimal downside to UM if he doesn't.

I've heard nothing about grade issues; it was always about scholarship space. With the 3 JRs declaring, MSU had room for a K. They flipped the #1 K (per Rivals and 247) from BC (related: MSU fans need to stop complaining about other schools flipping recruits, everyone does it/tries to do it).

Reminds me of MSU not taking Manny Harris, the #1 SG in MI, in favor of Shannon Brown, the #1 SG nationally in that class.

Yea, I'm expecting Payne to have a nice day. He's really shown off some great offensive moves over the past few games. Could just be a hot streak, but if he can become a 12-14 PPG-type scorer, I think MSU's ceiling is raised a bit.

I'm worried about MSU relying on FR a bit; Valentine has clearly hit the wall. Gary Harris is fine still, but I'm getting a bit nervous that he's going to have his FR wall slump right in the middle of this crazy stretch of opponents.

I think he's the latest in the run of MSU PGs who are really undersized SGs. Nietzel, Lucas and now Appling are all 6'1 or shorter and scorers first. Team runs better with Trice at the point and Appling at the 2.

Edit: Sorry, the point was that the PG duties are making him a less-effective scorer. I think Trice should start at the 1, Appling the 2, Harris the 3, with Valentine spelling Trice/Appling.

MSU does have the potential to put a pretty darn big line-up out there from time to time though:

6'1 Appling
6'4 Harris
6'6 Dawson
6'11 Payne
6'9 Nix

Payne and Nix have played better together over the last few games than they did earlier in the year. Losing Kearney sucks though, pretty much makes it a 7 man rotation with Appling, Trice, Valentine, Harris, Dawson, Nix and Payne. Costello and Byrd will get 4-5 min/game each.

Wouldn't say definitely..

Opponent FG %.. OSU 37.9%.. MSU 38.8%

Opponent 3 pt %.. MSU 30.4%... OSU 31.3%

The dreaded points allowed per game.. OSU 57.8.. MSU 58.6.

Defensive points per possession.. OSU .849... MSU .869

Even total rebound rate is close.. MSU 54.8%.. OSU 54.2%

These two are the best defensive teams in the B1G, but I wouldn't say one definitely has an advantage on that end vs. the other.

I've watched both teams play. PSU was running layup drills on you the entire second half.

Edit: Not a big Kenpom guy, but he has OSU's D rated #9 and yours rated #25. Take it FWIW.

So that gives a "definite:" edge to OSU?

Hardly..

and the difference between 9 and 25 is a mere 2.8 points..

Again- nothing that gives a "definite" edge to OSU on defense.

One thing about Michigan is their length. Off the top of my head they run,
Burke: 6'
Hardaway: 6'6
Stauskus: 6'6
Robinson: 6'6
Morgan: 6'8

Bench:
Levert: 6'5
McGary: 6'10
Albrecht: 5'11
Horford: 6'10 (should be playing more minutes soon)

Always root for the home team between two contenders. Road wins are too valuable