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Welcome to The Final Four Is Not on the Schedule discussion board. A forum for the serious and casual MSU fan. Opinions welcome – stay respectful.
The last tune up before Big 10 play ended up looking like a much easier matchup than it truly was. Buffalo has some solid players and kept it close for 30 minutes.
The Good
1. Welcome back Malik Hall! His shot was falling, his defense was great. Need to get him back to 100%.
2. Tre Holloman looking comfortable initiating some offense. That three was huge for him to build on.
3. This team is so balanced. Scoring can come from a lot of different places.
4. Jaden Akins, Hoggard, and Hauser had typical efficient games. Love their consistency.
5. Turnovers were back to normal (in a good way). If they could just rebound a little better they could be a top 10 offense with their efficiency.
6. Going to need Kohler to build on the second half performance. The talent is there.
7. Attacking and drawing fouls is smart with how good the free throw shooting is.
The Bad
1. This rebounding issue needs to be fixed. The defensive boards are a glaring concern.
2. Tyson Walker has AJ Hoggard-itis with his charges. Gotta be smarter.
3. Basketball is a game of runs, but can’t allow inferior opponents to go on runs right out of the half.
4. Dane Fife was kinda cringe. Not sure this is the gig for him.
The Injured
Is Malik ok? He seemed fine but definitely was nursing that foot. Let’s hope it’s nothing.
Hauser seems to be playing with so much more confidence and assertiveness than ever before. I’ve been especially impressed with his rebounding and improved defense.
This team can be really good because they have so many strong defenders. Everyone knows that Walker and Akins are excellent, but players who had once been liabilities (Sissoko, Hauser, and Hoggard) are turning into good defenders, too. Hall has never been that bad, but his intelligence and experience are making him strong at both ends.
The last tune up before Big 10 play ended up looking like a much easier matchup than it truly was. Buffalo has some solid players and kept it close for 30 minutes.