BleedGopher
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per the Detroit News:
Ready or not, Big Ten basketball is here, and for Michigan State and coach Tom Izzo, it’s the chance to put an inconsistent first month and a half of the season in the rearview mirror.
The Spartans (8-5) entered the season with high expectations and a brutal schedule in the first month of the season full of games against some of the top teams in the nation along with a difficult travel schedule. It had its share of ups and downs, but now it’s on to conference play with Tuesday's 9 p.m. tip-off at Minnesota.
“For the most part I am kind of looking forward to the Big Ten season starting,” Izzo said. “It gives you a chance to wipe the slate clean a little bit and hopefully learn from your mistakes. Hopefully (we) can learn from what we have been preaching and put it together on film and get a chance to look at it with our guys and hopefully are moving forward.”
Coach Richard Pitino has a young lineup but one that has been stingy on defense, allowing opponents to shoot just .371 from the field. Junior guard Nate Mason is averaging 13.2 points and 5.5 assists a game while freshman Amir Coffey is scoring 11.9 a game.
“I feel like they’re much-improved for a variety of reason,” Izzo said. “Mostly a guy like Mason is a much better player than he was last year. I think the freshman Coffey is gonna be a very good player for them, a kid we recruited some. … So it’s a more experienced team, it’s a deeper team. The guards have been around a while. Inside they’ve got some very good players that now have some experience and the transfer, (Reggie) Lynch, has given them a big boost I think in a lot of respects.”
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...er-big-ten-opener-vs-12-1-minnesota/95854546/
Go Gophers!!
Ready or not, Big Ten basketball is here, and for Michigan State and coach Tom Izzo, it’s the chance to put an inconsistent first month and a half of the season in the rearview mirror.
The Spartans (8-5) entered the season with high expectations and a brutal schedule in the first month of the season full of games against some of the top teams in the nation along with a difficult travel schedule. It had its share of ups and downs, but now it’s on to conference play with Tuesday's 9 p.m. tip-off at Minnesota.
“For the most part I am kind of looking forward to the Big Ten season starting,” Izzo said. “It gives you a chance to wipe the slate clean a little bit and hopefully learn from your mistakes. Hopefully (we) can learn from what we have been preaching and put it together on film and get a chance to look at it with our guys and hopefully are moving forward.”
Coach Richard Pitino has a young lineup but one that has been stingy on defense, allowing opponents to shoot just .371 from the field. Junior guard Nate Mason is averaging 13.2 points and 5.5 assists a game while freshman Amir Coffey is scoring 11.9 a game.
“I feel like they’re much-improved for a variety of reason,” Izzo said. “Mostly a guy like Mason is a much better player than he was last year. I think the freshman Coffey is gonna be a very good player for them, a kid we recruited some. … So it’s a more experienced team, it’s a deeper team. The guards have been around a while. Inside they’ve got some very good players that now have some experience and the transfer, (Reggie) Lynch, has given them a big boost I think in a lot of respects.”
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...er-big-ten-opener-vs-12-1-minnesota/95854546/
Go Gophers!!
