(Mario Chalmers will not be shooting for Kansas)
I wanted to take a minute and look ahead to one of the weekends marquee college hoops games, in Kansas vs. Michigan State. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. from the Breslin Center, perfectly scheduled to avoid any NFL playoff action. There are probably better games on Saturday (Nova-Louisville and WVU-Marquette come to mind), not to mention the game of the week in North Carolina vs. Wake Forest on Sunday night, but when the defending National Champ comes to the Breslin Center to take on the Big Ten favorite Spartans, it’s a welcome change of pace from the monotony of Big Ten play.
Kansas lost most of their Championship team, but they have reloaded quite well. They are led by Junior Guard Sherron Collins and Sophomore Center Cole Aldrich, who create a nice one-two punch. Additionally, they have some really nice Freshmen making contributions. Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus Morris are the notable new kids on campus. Kansas sports an 11-3 record and has recovered from a disastrous loss at Arizona to win 3 straight including an impressive home win against Tennessee last weekend. While they have had some bumps in the road this year (losses at Albany and vs. UMass), Kansas has shown the ability to reload and maintain their status as one of the nation’s elite teams.
Michigan State is playing its best ball of the season. They’ve won 8 straight coming off the drubbing by UNC, and carry a 12-2 record. Wins in the 8 game stretch are highlighted by a win vs. Texas in Houston, and consecutive road wins at Minnesota and Northwestern. Tuesday night they handled Ohio State to improve to 3-0 in the Big Ten. The improved play can be attributed to a more healthy group of players. Goran Suton is rounding into shape, and each game Tom Izzo is able to set his rotation and minutes more definitively in the up to this point unstable front-court. A healthy Delvon Roe and Suton allows the Spartans to display their depth and win important battles down low.
The matchup favors MSU in a few key areas. The home court will help, as the Izzone will reappear for the first time since early December. MSU also has an important defensive weapon, as Travis Walton has shown the ability to lock up on opposing guards, as evidenced by his job on AJ Abrams in the win at Texas. He will undoubtedly shadow Sherron Collins all afternoon. That matchup combined with the multiple bodies MSU can throw at Cole Aldrich should ease any worries that Spartan Nation has. MSU also boasts much more depth than the Jayhawks, which may allow them to methodically wear down Kansas and create a 2nd half advantage. Should Walton eliminate Collins as a weapon for the Jayhawks, they don’t have much else and the Spartans may cruise. But if MSU allows Kansas to hang around they have the firepower to steal what would be a huge win for them. It looks to be an entertaining game between two of the nations perennial powers.
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