Don’t mess with Texas?  Someone didn’t tell Tom Izzo.  On Saturday, Michigan State did exactly that, hooking the fifth-ranked ‘Horns to the tune of 67-63.  It marks the third straight ‘W’ for the green and white over Rick Barnes’ Texas squad, and the biggest one since… well, the last time they took on the Longhorns.

Let’s look back, shall we?

December 22, 2007: After falling to UCLA and being embarrassed at home in exhibition by Division II Grand Valley State, the 2007 Spartans needed a quality win to cure the early-season blues.  Texas turned out to be just what the doctor ordered, with a spectacular coming-out party for freshman Kalin Lucas, upstaging now-Charlotte-Bobcat D.J. Augustin.

Pair that with a 2006 buzzer-beater from Drew Neitzel and you’ve got plenty of reason to want this one if you’re the Longhorns.  Despite a couple of early injuries for Texas, MSU seemed to be playing catchup for most of the game.  It wasn’t until the final minutes, thanks to an awe-inspiring defensive performance courtesy of Travis Walton (”Mantoman”, Mr. Raftery?) and a great supporting cast that the Spartans made this one to remember.  With just 18.6 seconds left on the clock, Morgan passed to Summers who hit the go-ahead triple and sent the burnt orange home empty-handed one more time.

Think they’re sick of us yet?  Analogically speaking, MSU : Texas :: UNC : MSU.  Sorry, I had to.

Notables:

• Maybe try granny shots? Unfortunately, all won’t be perfect in East Lansing until a couple issues are resolved, namely free throw shooting. Going 8-for-17 from the line is great when you’re Memphis, but MSU’s got a date coming up with Kansas, and just ask Coach Calipari what happens when you don’t hit the free ones against the Jayhawks.

• I’d “Beilein” if I said they stunk: Regardless, expect to see this team’s confidence skyrocket heading into the Big Ten season, one that features just a single game against the (improved) Maize and Blue weasels, where the Spartans are hoping to get their first win in Ann Arbor since… 2004?  Yikes.  However, if the team continues to mature and show the same toughness they showed against Texas, they’ll be just fine.

• Go Green! I also can’t go without giving some love to Draymond Green, who posted a near-perfect stat line by scoring, stealing, blocking, and rebounding at both ends of the court.  Oustanding job by the freshman.

• And when did Suton get post moves? MSU gets a week to rest before playing Oakland, so let’s hope they come out focused and hang on to the momentum from Saturday’s big win. 

Oh, and hit the damn free throws!

Nate Erickson is a senior at Michigan State University. He can be reached at NateMSU@gmail.com.

Nate Erickson, Michigan State student blogger

It was a tale of two cupcakes – after blowing out Alcorn State by 58 points last weekend, the men of Sparta were heavily favored Wednesday night against The Citadel, .500 on the season with a couple of bad losses including Iowa and riding a two game streak of close L’s to Elon and UC Davis.  Early on, things looked to be going the Spartans way, getting off to an 8-0 start with the help of Lucas, Morgan and Roe.  From there, however, there was little indication that this game was going to be anything close to the blowout we saw on Saturday.  MSU won the game 79-65, but these types of games won’t cut it down the stretch, especially with big games against Texas, defending national champion Kansas, and the always-tough Big Ten slate just around the corner.

The Good:

• Raymar Morgan. Morgan goes as the team goes.  One night he looks like a Naismith contender, the next, you wonder if he even likes basketball.

• Delvon Roe. While it didn’t show in the points column, Roe played a solid game – four steals and a blocked shot helped us keep our momentum.  Look for his minutes to continue to rise moving toward the season.  This kid is a player, he loves MSU (check the tattoo on his left arm), and he’s got a lot to show us.

• Kalin Lucas also did a great job distributing the ball and is really starting to mature as a leader on this team.  Eight assists, one turnover.

• It’s good to see Suton back, too.

The Bad:

• Free Throw Shooting.  On an Izzo-coached squad, you can’t shoot 23 for 35 from the charity stripe.  We’ve all seen the commercial.

• Chris Allen did a lot of shooting, but it was just wasn’t there tonight.  He had more shot attempts than Morgan but less than half as many points.

• Travis Walton can’t just be the vocal leader of this team, he’s going to have to lead by example.  Last night was most definitely an aberration, but five turnovers with no points is simply unacceptable.

What do we take from this win?  CitadelSports.com’s headline reads, “Michigan State Outscores The Citadel, 79-65.”  Outscores.  Fitting, because at moments, it certainly didn’t look like the Spartans were outplaying The Citadel by any stretch of the imagination.  From one game, we see the athleticism and toughness of the Flintstones era, I see glimpses of the Brown-Ager-Davis, “we’ll-just-win-because-we-shoot-better” mentality – and we all know how that ended.  Remember George Mason?  From game to game, this squad leaves us wondering who – if anybody – is going to show up?  For the depth of this Spartan team, you can forgive cold shooting, but you can’t forgive sloppy ball-handling and being out-hustled for easy rebounds – something I’m sure Izzo has and will remind his team of plenty before playing the Longhorns.

Nate Erickson is a senior at Michigan State University. He can be reached at NateMSU@gmail.com.