Throughout the preseason, the Big Ten microsite will be rolling out the featured breakdowns of each of the 12 league schools. Today’s release is the Michigan State Spartans.

Where We Left Off: Tom Izzo’s Spartans were poised for another postseason run last March but their plans took a hit when guard Branden Dawson went down with an ACL injury. Dawson injured his left knee against Ohio State on March 4 meaning that the Spartans had lost their best defender for rest of the season. Nonetheless, State finished conference play with a 13-5 record and beat Ohio State a week later to secure the Big Ten Tournament title. Izzo was able to regroup his team after the injury but they fell short in the Sweet Sixteen against Rick Pitino’s Louisville squad on its way to the Final Four. The Spartans struggled to find consistent offense during the second weekend of the postseason and finished with an overall record of 29-8. Even though MSU fans expect nothing less than a Final Four every March, Draymond Green’s final season should be considered an overall success.

Is Keith Appling ready to step in and fill the void Draymond Green will leave behind? (AP Photo)

Positives: Despite losing Green, Izzo has several players returning who understand his system and logged significant minutes last season. Forwards Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne will be excellent in the paint together and will cause match-up problems with other contenders such as Indiana and Michigan. Both players have a diverse array of post moves and can get key big men such as Cody Zeller and Jordan Morgan in foul trouble. Izzo’s teams are known to be tough on the glass and as such they ranked second in the Big Ten in rebounding last year (36% OR). The backcourt consists of an experienced Keith Appling (who averaged 11.8 PPG in 30.8 MPG last season) and sophomore Travis Trice, who has a really nice touch from the beyond the arc (evident in his 40.5% 3FG shooting). Freshman guard Gary Harris is one of the top 50 incoming recruits this year and he has the size at 6’4″ and 205 lbs. to become an excellent defender for Tom Izzo. If Dawson is back to 100% game shape by January, it will only add more depth to what appears to be a very tough, defensive minded, typical Tom Izzo team.

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1. John Beilein is in his 35^th year of coaching, but he’s nowhere close to ending his career. In fact, this might be the most talented team he has had in his long coaching career, and especially during his tenure at Michigan. At age 59, Beilein is still going strong, and he plans to be around for awhile, writes Nick Baumgardner for AnnArbor.com. As the article points out, Beilein stays young by using Twitter, listening to new music, and waking up early. Beilein better be ready for a youth movement, as his Wolverines are very young in addition to being very talented.
2. Last year, Draymond Green was the clear leader of the Michigan State basketball team. He broke out to have an All-American season and was a captain as a senior for the Spartans. This year, a young MSU team is short on leadership, meaning others will have to step up to fill Green’s void. Enter Keith Appling. The junior point guard wasn’t much of a leader last year, but this year, coach Tom Izzo said, “He’s a hell of a lot closer than he was.” Appling said he has become more mature this year, and although he wasn’t voted as a captain, he still plans to be the leader that his team needs. MSU will also need him to step up his game on the court if the Spartans want to win the Big Ten once again.
3. ESPN.com has a great wrap-up of Big Ten Media Day, with stories about Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan in addition to the best quotes of the day. Some of the most interesting quotes came from what is perhaps the most interesting team: the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa is considered one of the league’s sleepers, and coach Fran McCaffery said that his Hawkeyes should embrace that role. In fact, the team’s media guide had “on the rise” written on its cover. McCaffery knows that last year was an improvement, but he’s not going to settle there. Preseason expectations are high for Iowa this year — especially for a team that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 — but that’s the way McCaffery wants it.
4. Not many teams in the country can lose an All-American and a top outside shooter and still be ranked No. 4 in the following year’s preseason poll, but not many teams recruit like Ohio State. The Buckeyes must replace Jared Sullinger from last year, and while most people expect Deshaun Thomas to shoulder the load, the Buckeyes will also need some other big men to step up. That means an inexperienced player will have to progress, but OSU’s inexperience also comes with a lot of talent. Former McDonald’s All-American Amir Williams, a sophomore, is expected to help pick up some of the slack after Sullinger’s departure. He’ll be aided by senior Evan Ravenel and sophomore Trey McDonald. Even without Sullinger, the Buckeyes will still have a very talented frontcourt. Now, they must make sure they can consistently compete with the top teams in the league.
5. New Illinois head man John Groce has yet to coach a game in the Big Ten, but he already has the attention of Michigan’s John Beilein. Groce coached for Ohio last year and upset Beilein’s Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament, taking the Bobcats all the way to the Sweet Sixteen. Nevermind that Michigan is picked to finish well ahead of Illinois in the Big Ten, Beilein certainly won’t be taking the Illini for granted this year with the talent that Groce inherits. Beilein said Ohio did a good job of matching up against his Wolverines and he can envision Groce doing the same thing with the personnel currently in Champaign. So even though, as of now, Beilein looks far more likely than Groce to be successful come March, Beilein knows that a win against the Illini this season is far from a guarantee.

1. The news coming out of Minnesota hasn’t been great recently, first with Trevor Mbakwe’s DUI and then assistant coach Saul Smith’s arrest on suspicion of DUI. Needless to say, the Golden Gophers are ready for the season to begin to put their offseason troubles behind them. However, to lighten the mood, here’s something everyone in America undoubtedly wants to see: Tubby Smith doing “Gangnam Style”. Tubby actually isn’t too bad, though he messes up the parts of the dance a couple of times. Women’s coach Pam Borton clearly had practiced for her routine. The dance was part of the Gophers’ “All Star Friday Night,” which included a dunk contest and a scrimmage to go along with the awful dancing.
2. Iowa also held its kickoff event — the Black and Gold Blowout — this week, including a dunk contest and a scrimmage. Senior Eric May won the dunk contest with an alley-oop off a header. However, the highlight of the night might have been coach Fran McCaffery entering in a yellow Corvette. Scott Dochterman of The Cedar Rapids Gazette has some good stuff on the Blowout, including this nugget: The Hawkeyes had roughly 5,000 fans show up for the event, but the school averaged only 5,500 fans per game in May’s freshman season. This telling statistic shows that the Hawkeyes have certainly come a long way in two short years under McCaffery, both on and off the court.
3. Last year, Purdue was one of the smaller teams in the Big Ten, sometimes relying on forward Robbie Hummel to take on a “center” role. That team was successful because of its experience and deadly perimeter shooting, but while this year’s team will be inexperienced, it will allow the Boilermakers to sport a more traditional-looking lineup. In fact, Matt Painter hasn’t had this much depth in the frontcourt in his eight years as coach at Purdue, writes Jeff Washburn of the Journal and Courier. The Boilermakers have added four-star, seven-foot center AJ Hammons, as well as four-star forward Jay Simpson to their frontcourt. Overall, Purdue will have six players who are at least 6’8″ or taller this season. It may be a young team in West Lafayette, but it will certainly be a talented one, as well.
4. This doesn’t have much of a bearing on current news, but a friend pointed it out the other day and it’s an interesting point. This year, Northwestern will open its season against Texas Southern, and while that’s a game that typically wouldn’t have many storylines, it’s actually quite intriguing for several off-court reasons. Northwestern is one of only 17 schools to have never had a major NCAA violation. Texas Southern, however, is a walking NCAA violation. As pointed out by ESPN.com’s Eamonn Brennan, “Texas Southern is awful at following rules.” The Tigers were cited for “lack of institutional control” and the report on their transgressions is mind-boggling, as “the university allowed 129 student-athletes in 13 sports during seven academic years to compete and receive financial aid and travel expenses when they were ineligible.” There’s plenty more in the report, but the most hilarious thing is that Texas Southern is considered a “double repeat violator.” So this November, the goody-two-shoes of the NCAA will take on the double repeat violator. It should make for an interesting storyline, regardless of the yawner that is likely to occur on the court.
5. CBS Sports put out its list of the 50 best point guards in college basketball, and the Big Ten was well-represented with two players in the top four and five overall. Michigan’s Trey Burke was the top-ranked point guard in the conference at No. 3, while Ohio State’s Aaron Craft came in right behind him at No. 4. Penn State’s Tim Frazier was No. 15, Michigan State’s Keith Appling was No. 28, and Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell round’s out the Big Ten’s representation at No. 33. Ferrell made the list on speculation alone, but the first four are proven and all obvious choices for the list. The only two point guards better than Burke, according to CBS?  Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan and Missouri’s Phil Pressey, who check in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

1. Good freshman classes are usually not dominated by only one player. Indiana freshman Yogi Ferrell may just end up starting at the point guard position for most of the upcoming season but his classmate Hanner Mosquera-Perea has also been very impressive in practice so far. Tom Crean spoke recently about his early impressions of Mosquera-Perea and views his game as bringing a different angle to the Hoosiers. The freshman forward is recovering well from a foot injury he suffered over the summer and hopes to play an integral role on the front line off the bench. Derek Elston (2.4 RPG) will be the complementary big man to Cody Zeller (6.6 RPG) but Perea can earn some minutes if he commits to crashing the boards and playing solid defense in the paint.
2. Michigan State needs a primary scoring option this season after the graduation of All-American Draymond Green. Tom Izzo will look to returning guard Keith Appling and the junior guard does not want to disappoint his team. Appling has been working on his jumper after shooting only 25% from beyond the arc as a sophomore. Making 500 shots a day will certainly help his shooting form and he hopes to become more efficient with it as the Spartans look to give Indiana a run at the Big Ten title. Appling averaged 11.4 PPG last year and will undoubtedly be the primary scoring threat especially during the non-conference season until freshman Gary Harris gets used to the speed of the college game.
3. Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith can only hope that his star forward Trevor Mbakwe will stay out of trouble during the season. A healthy Mbakwe is key, but Smith more importantly needs him to stay disciplined and focused on the court. Mbakwe has consistently been in some sort of trouble the past several years and has one final chance to help the Gophers make the NCAA Tournament again. He averaged 10.5 RPG before injuring himself last season and he can be a formidable presence in the paint if he can play consistently. After the departure of Ralph Sampson III (4.6 RPG), the Gophers need his rebounding if they hope to compete for the top half of the conference standings.
4. Speaking of big guys and the need for rebounding, Michigan’s Mitch McGary will flex his muscle this season in Ann Arbor. McGary is 6’10” and weighs 250 lbs., which should help John Beilein with regards to rebounding as Jordan Morgan desperately needs help in the paint. Morgan averaged 5.6 RPG last season but the Wolverines struggled when he got into foul trouble and couldn’t stay on the floor during key stretches of the game. McGary has impressed the coaches and his teammates with his energy and personality during preseason practice. Having a good personality is a huge positive for McGary, especially if he hopes to mesh efficiently with a star-studded Wolverines squad that features explosive fellow freshman Glenn Robinson III and returning wing Tim Hardaway, Jr.
5. Former Indiana head coach Bobby Knight continues to remain in the headlines. Knight, who has acted as a regular commentator on Big 12 games for ESPN, has been assigned to the SEC for the 2012-13 season and is scheduled to call two Kentucky games. Why is this a big deal? It is because Knight has been vocal about Kentucky’s approach to recruiting, specifically voicing his issues with John Calipari’s strategies. Knight called the “one-and-done” player a “disgrace” to college hoops and is clearly not a fan of the current state of Kentucky basketball. Regardless of Knight’s views about Kentucky, he makes for an interesting watch anytime he calls a game for ESPN.

Tom Izzo knows what the summer means. The legendary Michigan State coach always talks about how valuable the hottest months of the year can be. For one, it gives him the chance to get out and evaluate recruits to lay the groundwork for the future of the program. But back on campus, it’s when players develop and grow — both physically and psychologically — in preparation for next year. Whatever he’s got them doing, it’s worked masterfully over the years. Here’s our Summer Check In with the defending Big Ten champion Spartans:

Is Keith Appling ready to step in and fill the void Draymond Green will leave behind? (AP Photo)

• Evaluating Last Year: Michigan State is one of those programs that you can never count out, no matter what the pundits believe at the beginning of the season. MSU entered the year without Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers, eacah of whom left a huge scoring void (Lucas, especially) but many were left wondering if the chemistry of the club changed with addition by subtraction. There were plenty of questions, particularly when Delvon Roe announced his early retirement, and the team lost its first two games of the season. Then All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year Draymond Green grabbed the reins and put the team on his back, leading the Spartans to another Big Ten Championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They fell short of reaching another Final Four, but when all was said and done, it could have very well been Izzo’s best work yet. Read the rest of this entry »

Besides the fact that Michigan State bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet Sixteen as a #1 seed, it was an incredible year for Tom Izzo‘s group for no other reason than the fact that the Spartans were  a #1 seed at all. Michigan State began the year unranked and lost its first two games but worked its way to a share of the Big Ten regular season title, the Big Ten Tournament title, and the program’s fourth #1 seed in the Izzo era. And as far as that era is concerned, this year’s group may be one of its best in terms of chemistry, defensive tenacity, and the other qualities that have come to define Michigan State basketball. Here’s a look back at the year that was:

Draymond Green helped Michigan State to a fantastic season nobody saw coming. (AP)

• In a nutshell: It sounds like a broken record by now, but this team really recaptured what has made Michigan State basketball so great over the years — defense, rebounding, toughness, and chemistry — after it had been lacking, particularly with last year’s group. Draymond Green emerged as one of the best players in college basketball, not to mention the most valuable, with his incredible arsenal of capabilities. Role players like Austin Thornton and Brandon Wood as well as freshmen Travis Trice and Branden Dawson produced. Izzo was not shy in saying how much he loved this team and he had good reason to.
• Overachievement: Without Delvon Roe, who “retired” before the season after battling chronic knee injuries, it wasn’t clear how the Spartans’ frontcourt would fare. Green is a talented forward who can produce from the left block pretty much at will, but the inside presence of Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne together was really what took the Spartans to the next level. Nix has slowly been progressing over the last two years, but Payne really took a giant leap from his freshman season. Nix jumped from 8.2 minutes per game and 2.7 PPG last year to 18.9 and 8.1, respectively, this season. Payne jumped from nine minutes to 17.9 and 2.5 PPG to seven a night. What made them particularly dangerous, though, was their contrast in styles. Nix is a more traditionally-styled, big-bodied center while Payne is a long, athletic big man. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Bad news for Big Ten fans last night, as Michigan State fell to Louisville, 57-44.  Not only were the Spartans the best chance for the conference to claim a national championship, they also became the first #1 seed to fall.  Michigan State looked sloppy and out of sync all game long, thanks to the swarming pressure defense of the Cardinals, and also the shot-blocking presence of Gorgui Dieng, who swatted 7 shots.  Many other stats were disappointing for Spartan fans to look at, including the final score, 44, which is the lowest total point output by a 1-seed in the college basketball shot clock era.
2. One Spartan who had a game to forget was sophomore point guard Keith Appling.  Appling scored just one basket, and had four turnovers, struggling withe the Louisville pressure.  Following the game, Appling was dejected in the locker room, with the realization of how quickly fortunes can change in the NCAA tournament washing over him.  He’ll be expected to lead the transition out of the Draymond Green era next season, so hopefully Appling doesn’t keep his head down for long.
3. Wisconsin came oh-so-close to upsetting Syracuse, but the Badgers fell just short, as Jordan Taylor and Josh Gasser could not covert last-second attempts.  Wisconsin was able to slow the pace down, as evidence by the 64-63 score, but the Badgers also ruled the three-point line, knocking down 14 of 27 for a stunning 52% from beyond the arc.  It wasn’t enough though, as Dion Waiters scored 13 points, and also had some key baskets down the stretch that helped the Orange hold on.
4. The Big Ten only had one successful team on the evening, and that was Ohio State, who’s win over Cincinnati put the Big ten at 1-2 on the night (against the Big East no less), but more importantly sent the Buckeyes to the Elite Eight, a place they haven’t been since the school went to the Final Four in 2007.  Things looked dicey as Ohio State coughed up a 10-point halftime lead five minutes into the second half.  But Thad Motta’s crew collected themselves, and behind 26 points from Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State guaranteed the conference will have Elite Eight representation.
5. As brackets continue to bust this weekend, Nebraska basketball fans are keeping tabs on a quiet coaching search taking place in Lincoln.  No big names are linked to the Husker jobs, but that doesn’t mean the search lacks for interesting candidates.  Colorado State head coach Tim Miles is a name that not many have talked about, but after taking his Rams to the NCAA tournament and helping turn around that program, he seems like a good fit for a struggling Nebraska.

On Thursday night, Florida will play in its seventh Sweet Sixteen, facing Marquette . Here we preview the game between the Gators and Golden Eagles as well as the possibilities for the Gators in the Elite Eight. The West and the East are the two regions to feature four prior champions.

SEC NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal Capsule

WEST Region 

For some pundits on the national scene, Michigan State is thought of as the team “after Kentucky” most likely to win a national championship. The Big Ten co-champs and Big Ten Player of the Year Draymond Green have a tough task ahead of them with #4 seed Louisville. It’s a rematch of the 2009 Elite Eight when Michigan State upset Louisville 64-52.  What will happen this time around?  Let’s take a look:

Can Tom Izzo lead Michigan State to another Elite Eight? (photo: AP)

1.  How will Louisville approach this game?  Last time these two teams met in 2009, Louisville came out with Rick Pitino‘s bread an butter–the full-court press. However, the Spartans were able to break the press and get some easy baskets, so the Cardinals backed off. Will Louisville decide to attack the Spartan guards again this time around? My guess would be yes. While Keith Appling is a solid ball-handler, he can be turnover-prone at times, as evidenced by his seven-turnover performance against Ohio State on February 11 and his five-turnover game in a loss to Illinois on January 31. The other guards charged with handling the pressure will be senior Austin Thornton (a shooter not known for his handle), Brandon Wood, and true freshman Travis Trice. Don’t be surprised if Draymond Green takes an active role in bringing the ball up the court in an effort to negate the speed and trapping abilities of the Cardinal guards. Louisville relies heavily on guys like Russ Smith (84 steals on the year) and Peyton Siva (63 steals) to create opportunities, and they will need their guards to be better than the Spartan guards if they hope to score the upset.

2.  Will Keith Appling once again be dared to shoot? In a surprising turn of events against Saint Louis, Keith Appling turned into Rajon Rondo. Meaning, the Biliken defense routinely sagged off Appling at the three-point line, daring the Spartan point guard to shoot the ball. It was perplexing to those who have followed Appling’s career because Keith has always been known as a scorer and a guy who certainly has three-point range. In fact, he started the year shooting 52% in the first six games of the year even going 3-5 in a win over Florida State. But the scouting report in this season cannot be denied: Appling hasn’t hit more than one three in a game since December 28. He admitted after the Saint Louis game that he felt disrespected by the defense, yet he was able to knock down a big outside shot late in the second half. Will Louisville employ the same strategy? And if they do, will Appling be willing to pull the trigger to try and make them pay?

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1. The Illinois gig is probably the most high-profile job opening in college hoops right now, and the name that keep rising to the top of the list is VCU coach Shaka Smart. There have been reports that Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Smart to get him to come to Champaign and, though Smart has pledged his allegiance to VCU in the past, there remain reports that the rising star is still considering the move.
2. If we asked at the beginning of the season who Ohio State‘s most important player was, the near-unanimous answer would be Jared Sullinger. Same goes for the midway point, probably. But now? It’s safe to say Deshaun Thomas would get a few votes. As the BuckeyeSports.com’s Ari Wasserman writes, Thomas has evolved from an X-factor for the Buckeyes into one of the team’s front men, if not the front man.
3. Big Ten fans know better than to consider Bo Ryan‘s Wisconsin clubs to be an underdog. They are never flashy and rarely grab headlines but anybody who follows basketball in the Midwest knows that the Badgers are always hanging around. Now, with Wisconsin on the national stage in the Sweet 16, FOXSportsWisconsin.com‘s Jesse Temple examines the idea of a Bo Ryan group overachieving. With the loss of several key players from last year’s team, it looked like Jordan Taylor would have a lot on his shoulders. But once again, who’s surprised the Badgers are here now?
4. One way to judge a program’s dominance in its home state is with in-state recruiting, and Michigan State has had a good handle on the Mitten State for a while now. Future Spartan Matt Costello was named the state’s Mr. Basketball this week, and fellow Michigan State commit Denzel Valentine finished second. Costello, who averaged 25.1 PPG, 17.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 4.0 BPG  this year, will join 2010 winner Keith Appling and 2009 winner Derrick Nix in East Lansing next year. Last year’s winner, Dwaun Anderson, committed to Michigan State, but chose to switch his enrollment to Wagner after working through family issues. The Spartans also landed the Mr. Basketball winners each year from 1999-2002.
5. Of all things written and said about the style of play in the Big Ten, rarely does the term “poetry” come up. But the fine folks at CBSSports.com have found a way to link the two ideas. (It’s good to know we’re not the only ones a little antsy for this second weekend’s slate of games to get here already.) In just a matter of syllables, Matt Norlander wonders who this year’s UConn is, explores how things changed for Indiana and says hello to Bo Ryan.