Michigan State 75 Kansas 62; Officials 0

Immediate reactions and things to consider while Verne Lundquist still struggles to say Idong Ibok's name correctly.

• In contrast to the last MSU vs. Big 12 clash (Texas), this game was really sloppy. Kansas turned the ball over around 134 times in the first half, and MSU seemed to return the favor in the second.

• MSU started slow but soon after asserted themselves as the more talented team. The late first half run wasn't so much an offensive explosion as it was consistent defense, limiting Kansas' shots and forcing them into turnovers. The Spartans also shot very well from beyond the arc to extend their lead.

• We all know official Eddie Hightower loves to take the game away from the athletes and put the spotlight on himself, but today was incredible. He and Dan Dorian decided to call everything and then some more, leading to the slowest second half in history. Both teams were in the double bonus by the 6:00 mark in the second, and the officials continued to blow their whistle like it was going out of style. What's most incredible is that the third official was out "with a foot" so the inordinate amount of fouls was called by only two refs! Both teams have legitimate gripes with the officiating. This all came to a climax with Hightower calling Travis Walton on a phantom shooting foul on an apparent Sherron Collins 3 point attempt. Hightower checked the replay to confirm that it was a 3 pointer, which clearly showed Collins' foot well over the stripe, yet Hightower proceeded to give 3 free throws. A fantastic display of poor officiating.

• I'm not sure how old Verne Lundquist is, but his last day can not be too far away. Instead of announcing the game action like a play-by-play man is supposed to do, most times Verne was telling anectodes, chatting with Clark Kellogg, or reminiscing about his glory days. He failed miserably at pronouncing Idong Ibok's name, instead consistently calling him "Ibong" all game; a combination of his first and last names. Verne even acknowledged his error early in the second half, then never corrected it and proceeded to call him "Ibong" the rest of the way. I guess that Gus Johnson was too much to ask for...

• CBS mic'ed up Tom Izzo, which would have been cool except they only showed Izzo yelling very basic things. "Hands Up!" and "Push It!" and "Ray! Ray! Ray!". The highlight undoubtedly came when they had Izzo's audio up for the mid-court meeting between coaches and officials after the official got hurt. After hearing the injured official yell "Son of a bitch!" we were blessed to hear someone suggest they "Just put his ass in a chair at mid-court." Which would have made the official the most capable of them all...

• Michigan State can not make free throws. It's something correctable, but usually that's what people say all year while they continue to miss. Make no mistake, missed free throws will be the reason for a loss at some point this year, and it's usually in March...

• It was good to have the Izzone back in action, but they were pretty vanilla most of the game. After getting fed up with some foul calls and after Kansas cut the lead to 9 they woke up for the end, constantly booing and harrasing Jayhawk players and making themselves be heard.

• The Izzone wasn't the only whiteout, as Izzo made a mass substitution with 12 seconds left. He emptied the bench and every last white guy came onto the court, creating a little unintentional comedy.

• Sherron Collins is a very talented player, and at first glance he had a great game. But he turned it over 8 times which really hurt the Jayhawks. He was their only real offensive threat and has great speed and finishing ability. I was a little surprised to see MSU covering him with a combination including Kalin Lucas, Travis Walton, and Chris Allen. I expected Walton to shadow him close, but they played off him mostly and he burned MSU with 25.

• Kansas' other threat, Cole Aldrich, wasn't really effective on the offensive side. MSU had plenty of bodies to throw at him and he seemed to be uneasy with the physical play. He was really good defensively though, blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. He finished with a quiet 14 pts, 11 reb.

• Kalin Lucas continues to impress. He was again MSU's best offensive threat, scoring 22 highlighted by 3-4 on three point attempts. He scored 9 of MSU's first 10 points which kept them in the game early, then spearheaded the run that put them up by double digits.

• While the game never really got close enough to worry, I'll bet more than one Sparty held their breath with 2:30 left when Sherron Collins threw up the 3 pointer that would have cut the lead to 6. He missed, and after Raymar Morgan made two free throws the game was over.

• Kansas has twin freshmen that have inexplicably similar names. Markeiff and Marcus Morris are very difficult to tell apart. The easiest way is to watch the game for a minute, and the one that picks up 3 fouls in that minute is Markieff, who fouled out today after 14 minutes. He is improving, however, because his record is 5 fouls in 7 minutes.
  

• Michigan State now turns to conference play at Penn State on Wednesday and hosting Illinois on Saturday. MSU lost at Penn State last year and Illinois is tough this year, so a 2-0 week would be very big for the Spartans. While it is almost a given they will lose before then, the Spartans may be favored in every game up until the road trip to Purdue on February 17th.