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| Photo Credit: MLive |
In the first half of the game, Robbie Hummel went on a monster tear turning in 18 points to put Purdue up 38-35 in the half. Even in the first half, you could see Izzo starting to work the Matta blueprint by substituting in Kearney and Gauna to chip away at the Boilers recently eroded depth chart. In the end it was too much for Purdue as MSU outscored them 41-24 in the second half for the victory.
Four Factors
Obviously, MSU made it's hay in Effective Field Goal percentage and Offensive Rebounding Percentage against Purdue. Lately, the defense is getting lots of deserved dap from the lovers of MSU basketball but the offense has very effectively held up it's end of the bargain with an eFG of over 55 percent against Purdue and Wisky.
B1G Title Outlook
MSU moves into sole possession of first place(11-3) in the Big Ten after Michigan beat OSU 56-51 and MSU's win on Sunday afternoon. Michigan and OSU are close behind at (10-4). MSU has to win 3 of 4 to share a title with either OSU or Michigan. Michigan has the easiest path to winning their last four, they play no ranked teams, but three away games. MSU plays two ranked teams and two away games. MSU/OSU on March 4th will almost certainly decide the Big Ten.
If People Cared About Hockey the Way They Care About Football, Tom Anastos Would Be As Big A Deal As Brady Hoke Was In 2011
The Icers swept the Alaska Nanooks and defended East Lansing from it's YouTube demise over the weekend to move into fourth place in the CCHA standings. The last series of the regular season is this upcoming weekend at Notre Dame. The Spartans need to get five points at ND to clinch first round home ice. They've also improved their chances at an NCAA tournament bid and are currently projected as a #3 seed.
The parallels between Brady Hoke and Tom Anastos are significant. Both coaches inherited programs that wanted a return to core values. Both coaches inherited teams that were full of players that needed reworking to fit their new/old system. Both coaches were thin on experience. Only one is actually thin though, ZING! Both coaches have made great strides with their team in year one.
Speaking of Brady Hoke...
I think he got all liquored up and watched ALL OF THE GLENGARRY GLENROSS on his way to an eight commitment weekend. Here's some footage of Hoke's "Soft Sell".
MSU Junior Day is this upcoming weekend. Do not expect an eight commitment weekend. No one should ever expect that, your life would be a series of disappointing weekends. More info on who will be attending later this week. Little Brother Blog has a good post on how the Michigan recruiting bonanza helps clarify the MSU recruiting picture.
Bonus Bits
As it regards conference expansion, the hopes for the SunBeast conference aren't dead yet. The NFL Combine starts on Wednesday, lest you forget, and the Seahawks will be watching Kirk Cousins. The writer who penned the racist Jeremy Lin headline has been fired, but the ESPN anchor who spoke the words gets to stay, because he's Ron Burgundy?
