Michigan State's Chances of going all the Way
by Ian James
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has been to four Final Fours, and won the national championship in 2000, so his team gets the benefit of the doubt in the preseason rankings more often than not. This being said, this appears to be MSU's best assembled talent since the 2005 Final Four team.
This Spartan team began sixth in the AP poll and seven in the coaches' balloting which appeared a little high after early blowout losses to Kansas, so maybe it was an ACC-Big 12 thing with Michigan State. They did close out the season with 6 straight wins over everyone in the Big 12 and ended up as the 2 seed in the Midwest bracket.
Sophomore point guard Kalin Lucas, who might be 6-feet tall in his shoes, is slippery quick, following up on a super freshman season by taking the leadership reins of the team from departed Drew Neitzel. Lucas' assist-to-turnover ratio led the nation for part of the season, and he's a fearless 3-point shooter. Ho-hum, just another outstanding Michigan State point guard.
As always, Izzo demands tough halfcourt defense and a team effort in rebounding. This is the best rebounding outfits in the nation, led by senior center Goran Suton. Does he get enough scoring help inside? One of the interesting developments was the play of touted freshman forward Delvon Roe, who was coming off high school knee injuries. He became a starter, but can he give a good 25-30 minutes per game in the pressure cooker atmosphere of March Madness.
With the domination on the glass and Lucas pushing the pace, the Spartans can run and score. They have plenty of balance in that regard with Lucas, forward Raymar Morgan, Suton, guard Chris Allen (20 points against Memphis in last year's NCAA) and Durrell Summers. If MSU can ride their current hot streak, they might be playing in front of their home fans at Ford Field in Detroit on April 6th.
