Rushed Reactions: #7 Michigan State 70, #10 Georgia 63
Posted by Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) on March 20th, 2015
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Three Key Takeaways.
Travis Trice led Michigan State’s decisive first half run.
(Kirthman F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press)
- Michigan State’s first half run was the key. After getting off to a slow start and trailing by six points early, the Spartans got it going at both ends of the floor and roared to a 12-point halftime lead. Georgia made a spirited effort to recover in the second half but could never quite catch up. During that first half, Georgia’s ball-handling deficiencies came to the forefront. The Bulldogs entered the game with five more total turnovers than assists on the season, and they played to form in that regard today by coughing it up 10 times in the first 20 minutes. That problem, combined with an inability to make shots (28 percent shooting in the first half), dug the Bulldogs a huge hole that it never climbed out of. Meanwhile, Michigan State got out in transition (eight fast break points) and heated up from deep with five threes before the intermission.
- Georgia’s bigs really struggled to finish at the rim. Georgia’s primary big men, Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic, each entered the contest shooting close to 50 percent from the field but neither came close to that mark today. The two combined to only make 4-of-17 shots against the Spartans, with most of the misses coming close to the basket. It could be attributed to non-explosive players failing to finish through the kind of contact that is allowed in NCAA games, because it wasn’t an effort problem (each player grabbed at least 10 rebounds). Credit goes to Michigan State for making those opportunities for Thornton and Djurisic tough ones, as the Bulldogs only converted 34.9 percent of their two-point shots for the game.
- Free throws are a problem for Michigan State. Michigan State was outscored by 10 points at the free throw line and that has been a recurring theme as the Spartans have made 106 fewer foul shots than their opponents this year. Part of the problem is that Michigan State just doesn’t shoot the ball very well from the stripe (63.3 percent on the year), but it also doesn’t get there very often either. Perhaps this is just a byproduct of these Spartans becoming more of a jump shooting team than we are used to from Tom Izzo, but it could hurt them as the competition improves open perimeter shots are tougher to find and knock down.
Stars of the Game. Travis Trice & Branden Dawson, Michigan State. Tom Izzo’s veterans came through for him, one in each half. Trice was the catalyst behind the first half spurt, with 11 points and four assists before the break that included a pair of threes that gave the Spartans a nice working margin. Dawson spent most of the opening stanza on the bench because of foul trouble, finishing the half with no points or rebounds. However, when Georgia made its push early in the second half, it was Dawson who helped get the game back under control. He finished with 14 points and six boards to hold off the Bulldogs.
Quotable.
- “We swore they wouldn’t get to the line 25 times, and they didn’t… they got there 26.” – Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, on Georgia’s propensity to draw fouls.
- “We had to play uphill.” – Georgia coach Mark Fox, on the consequence of Michigan State’s first half blitz.
- “Michigan State played like a team who’s been here before.” Georgia’s Marcus Thornton on the Spartans’ experience advantage.
Sights and Sounds. As the first game of the day, it took a while for the crowd to arrive and get engaged. Credit goes to the Georgia faithful who were numerous and loud all the way to the end.
What’s Next? Michigan State advances to Sunday’s Third Round where it will meet the winner of #2 Virginia and #15 Belmont.
