Even after an ugly one-point loss to Big Ten rival Illinois and a knee sprain, Green declared that only “death” could keep him from suiting up against the Wolverines.

Michigan State’s do-it-all forward even possessed the brashness to guarantee a win for his team last Sunday. He then proceeded to back it up with one of the gutsiest performances in Spartan history. His 14-point, 16 rebound, 4 assist effort helped lead his team past Michigan 64-54.

For Michigan State basketball players though, this insatiable will to win exhibited Sunday by Green is expected, not applauded, primarily thanks to one man.

Spartan’s head coach Tom Izzo is a Michigan man himself, hailing from a town called Iron Mountain.

Not only does Iron Mountain signify Coach Izzo’s birthplace, but also his uncompromising coaching style.

One of Coach Izzo’s favorite practice drills, imitated in hundreds of high school gyms across the country, is called “war.” The idea of the drill is fairly simplistic: five players starting on the interior try to collect a rebound against five players spaced out along the three-point line. 

Nearly every basketball rule is tossed out the window during war. Fellow teammates crash into each other like linemen, until the drill eventually resembles a scene from Fight Club. Izzo’s motto, that “players play, but tough players win” is never more evident than during a competitive game of war.

The physicality that Izzo demands has been a calling card for the program since 1995, when he assumed head coaching responsibilities.

Since that time, Spartan fans have witnessed a remarkable stretch of sustained excellence: One NCAA national championship, 14 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, six Big Ten championships, six Final Four appearances and a 19-11 record against Michigan.

For Izzo, the formula for success always goes back to his team’s ability to out-work any opponent they face. Year after year, Michigan State excels in rebounding and team defense—two areas of basketball dictated more by will than skill.

From the recruiting process on up, State keys in on team-first players who set their personal agendas aside for the team’s benefit.

During MSU’s remarkable 15-year run, Coach Izzo has continually proven that he doesn’t need North Carolina or Kentucky talent to make a deep run in March; only the right group of guys.

This culture of toughness has paved the way for one of college basketball’s elite programs and will always place them a cut above the neighboring basketball program in Ann Arbor. Whether it’s head-to-head matchups (19-11 in the Izzo era) or postseason success, the Spartans remain superior to Michigan in almost every way.

Unlike the Spartans who pride themselves on this aforementioned effort, Michigan’s basketball program has never been about out-working opponents. Even during its golden days of the high-flying, trend-setting “Fab Five,” Michigan relied mostly on unbridled athleticism and raw talent. Since that time, the Wolverines have struggled mightily.

While Michigan has failed to discover an NCAA Tournament bid identity this side of the new millennium, Tom Izzo has been hard at work cultivating one of the finest basketball programs around.

From the 2000 NCAA Championship “Flintstones” team, whose nickname even oozes an element of ruggedness, to this year’s squad lead by battle-tested senior Draymond Green and a collection of younger players, each squad has been expected to physically and mentally strain immeasurably.

Michigan State will continue to re-load their arsenal with talented recruits intent on doing things the “Spartan way.” It doesn’t appear that Coach Tom Izzo’s impressive run will fizzle out anytime soon.

With all of his astounding MSU basketball records in mind, perhaps Izzo’s greatest accomplishment will be the indelible, rugged mark of expectation left on the Michigan State’s basketball program. 

Toughness will forever be synonymous with Michigan State basketball. And until Michigan can overcome this either through tremendous talent or similar fortitude, they will never be considered the Spartan’s equals.

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It was a great matchup where Purdue ended up winning in style. Mackey Arena was on fire, as was E’Twaun Moore who had 38 points. Purdue fans in attendance likely have this game at the top of their list of Purdue games. It was simply unbelievable, but the tides have turned.

After losing JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore to graduation, the Boilermakers have yet to rediscover the key to success.

While the Buckeyes are still one of the best in the nation, the Boilermakers are struggling to make the tournament.

Matt Painter summed up the issue with this squad in an interview after the loss to Indiana at home:

We’re inconsistent, we don’t have a balance. That’s the actual issue. We’re an inconsistent basketball team on both ends of the court.

In a loss that seemed to be gut-wrenching for both players and fans alike, it seemed like the Boilermakers lacked intensity, effort and focus. 

This is scary for a Purdue program that prides itself upon making the extra play to save the ball or get the steal on defense. 

In the same interview, Matt Painter said his team lacked intensity and Indiana wanted it more. 

With the lack of NBA talent on this squad, they are going to have to do those extra things to be successful in conference play and beyond. 

The only player that seemed to really care was D.J. Byrd. 

Byrd was 5-of-10 from the field for 15 points, two rebounds and a block before fouling out. Byrd was diving for loose balls, hustling up and down the court—all while keeping Christian Watford in check for most of the game. The issue is that it’s going to take more than Byrd. 

With the shooting woes this team is having, it’s going to take some serious luck to get out of Columbus with a respectable performance.

If Purdue comes out like they have in the last four or five games, this one is going to be over before it starts.

This game isn’t necessarily a complete loss if Purdue doesn’t win, however. Sure it goes as an “L” in the loss column, if it’s a loss. But the heart of this team will really show in Columbus. 

With Purdue likely to be a 10-point underdog in Columbus, where the Buckeyes haven’t lost since 2010 to the Boilers, it will show how much fight this team has left in it.

Matt Painter put this pretty well:

I don’t mind the struggle, I just want to fight. You are going to struggle. I just want guys to stay together and fight.

Struggling is fine, but giving up is unacceptable. 

Following Purdue for a while now, it isn’t unforeseeable to see them surprising a few people tomorrow night.

If the Boilermakers can get out of this shooting slump, it could be a huge momentum swing for the season.

Against Indiana, the starting lineup for Purdue shot just 22 percent from the field. As a team, they were outrebounded by 14.

Purdue has a lot to work out against Ohio State. Win or lose, something positive can come out of this game.

We’re going to see if this team is ready to give up, or if there is still hope for the rest of the season.  

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Marquette made a late run in the first half and then listened to coach Buzz Williams tell the team why it was so important. Darius Johnson-Odom scored 23 points and Jamil Wilson added 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the 18th-ranked Golden Eagles to an 89-76 victory over DePaul on Monday night. Trailing 41-29, Johnson-Odom scored nine points during an 11-2 run by the Golden Eagles (20-5, 9-3 Big…

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It was obvious that when Jones was aggressive, Kentucky as a team was better on offense. But how much better? More importantly, how much does Terrence Jones’ play affect Kentucky’s win margin?

In this article, I researched (via ESPN.com‘s team statistics) just how much Kentucky’s margin of victory was affected by Terrence Jones and the other five players that have started games for John Calipari, when they score more than 15 points in a game.

I have double-checked every statistic, but if you see any errors feel free to let me know.

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Purdue Basketball is coming off a loss to Indiana and has a lot of questions to answer if they plan on making this season a successful one. 

On a Saturday evening in Mackey Arena, it was loud. Loud actually doesn’t do the environment justice—it was rowdy and one could feel the energy in the building. Unfortunately for Purdue, it didn’t have a profound effect, as the team came out flat and sloppy.

When asked after the game about the performance Purdue coach Matt Painter said:

To me it looked like it meant more to them, just right from the start. You could see guy’s facial expressions, guy’s body language; it just looked like they(Indiana) were more engaged.

This should be alarming to Purdue fans.

Purdue is known for being tough, gritty and playing hard all of the time. Since Gene Keady took over the head-coaching job at Purdue, players have had the obligation to give 110 percent all the time. “Play Hard” is the program’s motto.

To not be ready mentally following a week of anticipation and buzz around campus, means there has to be a serious issue somewhere. 

This team is flat, and needs a change of pace. 

After the loss against Indiana, Purdue has the daunting task of heading to Value City Arena, where the Buckeyes have been undefeated since Purdue defeated them in 2010.

Although many will question this bold statement, Painter really should consider a new lineup that features no seniors.

This team’s poor performance may not be a direct result of the seniors this season, but as the leaders of the squad, a statement should be made. 

Robbie Hummel and Lewis Jackson are two Boilermakers that are fan favorites, but they haven’t been able to practice this season. That has been a key to Purdue’s lack of chemistry during games along with the poor starts.

Maybe starting a lineup that plays a lot together in practice would be beneficial to this team.

As for Ryne Smith, he has hit a cold streak and would be better off coming off the bench right now. He doesn’t seem to have a rhythm out there at the moment, but could catch fire anytime. 

An intriguing lineup for Matt Painter would be Kelsey Barlow, Terone Johnson, Anthony Johnson, D.J. Byrd and Travis Carroll. 

This would be very interesting with both Johnsons playing well right now and Byrd being the lifeblood of this team. 

Matt Painter is one of the best coaches in the nation. He has a great basketball mind and will make the decision that is best for his team. Right now however, it wouldn’t hurt to change it up a bit, including the starting lineup.

With a team that is having an identity crisis at the moment, the only place to go is up. Maybe some change will help.

Going into Ohio State may seem like a very daunting task. Anyone can see this team has talent; it just needs to use it.

With Purdue in a slump, it is only a matter of time before the team catches fire and clicks. When they do, they could be a very dangerous team.

This Purdue team is very reminiscent of the 2006-2007 Boilermakers that were led by Carl Landry and David Teague. The team went on to lose a close matchup against eventual national champion Florida.

Both teams were awfully inconsistent; one of the few differences being that Landry was an NBA talent and a great post player.

The clock is ticking on Matt Painter’s Boilermakers. The only question is, will someone step up and turn it off? 

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Louisville senior guard Chris Smith emphatically answered a question meant for teammate Chane Behanan. After a resounding 80-59 victory over Connecticut on Monday night, the Cardinals are in sync on the court and off it. “We just had more fun than they did,” Smith declared. They outworked the Huskies, too.

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The game featured an evenly matched first half in which the Illini were led by Meyers Leonard who did not miss a shot until 6:43 left in the second half.  Reggie Hearn led Northwestern with 4-of-4 shooting from three-point land in the first half, and the ‘Cats held a 36-33 lead at half.

The second half witnessed a Northwestern hitting a quick layup and then experiencing a scoring drought that lasted 7:32.  Illinois held the lead for 8:18 in the middle of the half, but the Wildcats stayed one step ahead of Illinois in the last five minutes of the game.

When Illinois was forced to start fouling, the ‘Cats began hitting free throws and stunned Assembly Hall.

How each player looked

John Shurna has not stopped scoring this year.  He leads the Big Ten with per-game averages of 19.6 points and 2.6 three-point shots made.

He dropped another 24 points on Illinois and surpassed Evan Eschmeyer for second place on the all-time Northwestern scoring list.  Five of those 24 came when he stepped up and nailed two big shots in consecutive possessions to end Northwestern’s scoring drought in the second half.

He has also showed versatility in the past several games, putting in minutes in the inside while Davide Curletti sits.  On his drives and off-balance shots, Shurna has mastered using his length to get away from defenders and creating easier shots.

Aside from Dave Sobolewski and his transition from high school to Big Ten play, no one has stepped up even close to as much as Reggie Hearn.  Formerly a walk-on, Hearn is one of only three players to start every game this year.  Sobolewski and Shurna are the other two.

He missed only one shot all game and added 20 points, including 12 from behind the arc.  Hearn is one of the main reasons Northwestern’s postseason hopes are still alive.

Drew Crawford’s athleticism shined against the Illini.  The best athlete on the team, Crawford is averaging 17.4 points per game this year and scored a hard earned 13 in Champaign.

Although he had two turnovers from out of control drives in the paint, he is stepping up and trying to be the spark on offense Northwestern needs to get out of its long scoring droughts.

Dave Sobolewski is doing the little things right.  He is showing the confidence necessary to drive the basket more, and he added 14 points in this contest. More importantly, he recorded zero turnovers and spent the entire game fighting with Leonard, the center who is listed as a foot taller and 60 pounds heavier than Sobolewski.

Alex Marcotullio did not add an offensive presence, but he pulled in seven big rebounds and helped the ‘Cats win the rebounding contest, something they do not often do.

Curletti slowed down Leonard with his tight defense, but he needs to begin making more of a difference on offense.

What still needs to improve

Even a good win is not perfect, and Northwestern continued troublesome trends of scoring droughts, consistently weak interior play and spotty free throw shooting.

After Sobolewski set off the second half with a beautiful drive around an Illini defender, Northwestern went the next 7:32 of game play without a score.  In this stretch, the Wildcats missed two free throws and five shots, four being three-pointers.

Having to settle for threes is a result of weak play in the paint that has been a continuing problem for the ‘Cats.  Again Luka Mirkovic did not play, and Curletti took zero shots from the floor, grabbed zero offensive rebounds and added only one point off a free throw.

With so little offensive production from the interior, coach Bill Carmody once again started a small lineup with no center.  Shurna is a consistent enough scorer to continue adding buckets from the post, but when a guard subs in for Curletti or Mirkovic, Sobolewski and another guard end up dealing with other teams’ giants on the defensive end.

While the ‘Cats only shot five free throws before 0:42 left in the second half, they missed every one of them.  Even though they buckled down and went 8-of-10 in the closing seconds, their usually dead-on free-throw shooting has been shaky recently. 

Tournament chances

With two straight conference wins, an ailing team suddenly received a much-needed injection of life.  However, with eight games left, Northwestern needs to finish 5-3 in order to claw back to .500 in the Big Ten.

Thursday’s game is huge against a Hawkeye team that is showing more promise than Iowa has seen in years.  Both Iowa and Northwestern are riding two-game winning streaks and are fighting to keep postseason hopes alive.

If the ‘Cats can find a true home-court advantage at Welsh-Ryan Arena and pull off a third straight Big Ten win, they will have the momentum necessary to face a tough road trip through the Hoosier State at Purdue and Indiana.

A win on this stretch would pay huge dividends for the Wildcats, and an upset in one of the final three home contests—Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio State—could make dreams of Northwestern’s first ever bid to the NCAA Tournament become a reality.

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