To avoid paying any more monthly server costs, I’ve moved the SW archives back over to the free WordPress platform.  I think the only major loss is the Java-based StatSheet charts.  Other than that, everything should be here for your browsing pleasure.  If anyone finds any other major glitches, shoot me an e-mail. For fresh Spartan blogging content, of course, head over to The Only Colors.

Barring future developments of an unforeseen nature, this is the final post of the Spartans Weblog. I won’t repeat everything I said when I first announced the transition to the new site, except to say how much I’ve appreciated everyone’s kind words about my work here.  (Announcing the end of this blog has been the best [...]

14 seasons as head coach 14 .500-or-better Big Ten regular season finishes 12 NCAA Tournament appearances 12 first-team all-Big Ten player selections 10 20-win seasons 8 Sweet Sixteens 6 Elite Eights 5 Final Fours 5 Big Ten regular season championships 5 former assistants currently coaching Division 1 teams 4 Big Ten player-of-the-year selections 3 30-win seasons 2 Big Ten Tournament...

Anatomy of a Basketball Possession Super sweet flowchart.  (Hat tip: UMHoops.) A Tough Decision Why Mike Kebler didn’t get to play in the national championship game. Big Ten in 2010 Beware Purdue. It’s never too early to predict the 2009-2010 Big Ten basketball standings The Daily Gopher agrees re: Purdue. KANSAS DUO RETURNING TO SCHOOL; JAYHAWKS PRESEASON NO. 1 How many other teams [...]

A couple months ago, KenPom added something called “defensive fingerprint” on each team page.  Mr. Pomeroy’s explanation: Defensive Fingerprint attempts to objectively identify the style of a team’s defense. Inputs into the system are the departure from the D-1 norm of the following defensive characteristics… - assist percentage (triple weight, higher means a more likely...

From a four factors perspective, rebounding was clearly the dominant strength of this year’s MSU basketball team.  The team ranked 6th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage and 11th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage.  In none of the other six offensive/defensive four factor components did MSU rank higher than 50th nationally. It seems clear that, given the [...]

I’ve decided not to post any commentary of a forward-looking nature until we get over to the new site. For now, let’s revel in the season that has been. One of the things that made this season so special was the number of guys who stepped up at various times during the season to get [...]

Amidst all the excitement of MSU’s tournament run, I haven’t been posting updates on our NCAA Tournament contest.  Here are the final standings, courtesy of the incomparable SpartanDan: 1. Seer 151 2. DP99 137 3. Alex 122 4. Mark in Chicago 113 5. Chris 112 (tiebreaker: 74 possessions) 6. rook34 112 (68) 7. SpartanDan 110 8. gbbound 107 9. Jackson22 106 10. TMadison25 104 11. dougieb [...]

Lucious, Allen break bones Talk about a game going as badly as it possibly could have.  On a positive note, my sense is that a broken bone doesn’t involve major rehab.  (Hat tip: MooTheKow.) Spartans can find motivation in loss to Tar Heels Draymond Green: Leader.  (Hat tip: Jason.) 2009-10 Insanely Too Early Rankings Consensus: MSU is #3, behind Kansas [...]

North Carolina obliterates Michigan State 89-72 in a 76-possession game.  StatSheet box score. This four-factor graph does not tell the story: NCAA Basketball Stats The turnover differential obviously shows up loud and clear, but the other bars understate the degree to which the Tar Heels outplayed us.  Statistically speaking, this game was played in two distinct phases: The first [...]

North Carolina obliterates Michigan State 89-72 in a 76-possession game.  StatSheet box score. This four-factor graph does not tell the story: NCAA Basketball Stats The turnover differential obviously shows up loud and clear, but the other bars understate the degree to which the Tar Heels outplayed us.  Statistically speaking, this game was played in two distinct phases: The first [...]

76 possessions 21 turnovers Turnover percentage: 27.6% I don’t think this North Carolina team was going to be beaten under any circumstances tonight, but I sure would have liked to see the MSU team that played with such poise and precision in the two previous game give the Tar Heels a run for their money. A disappointing finale to [...]

(I must say, it’s really fun typing in blog post titles that include the words “National Championship Game.”) The time for analysis and prognostication is over, my friends.  Now, it’s all about believing.  And what better way to express a dose of irrational optimism than with the opening theme to our favorite late-80’s sitcom? No [...]

Is destiny enough to win a national title? Luke Winn with some behind-the-scenes stuff.  MSU’s video coordinator got a policy escort back to the hotel after the UConn game. King of the quick turnaround More on MSU’s top-of-the-line video system. Crashing the Dance: Irony The graphs say we’ve actually been better on offense and UNC’s been better on defense in [...]

Thursday Night Links Final Four: The Ultimate Viewers’ Guide Mr. Gasaway says to watch out for Kemba Walker. The Walton method Travis Walton is watching tape right now. Learning process: Thabeet tries to keep blocks in bounds Thabeet says he and Stanley Robinson will rotate on Suton. Herzog doing his best Thabeet impression Nice to have a seven-footer on the scout team. MSU’s Morgan [...]

Samuel Greenberg of The Center of the Universe (a UConn-centric blog) suggested exchanging thoughts about our respective teams ahead of tomorrow’s big game.  He’s posted my responses to his questions on his site.  Below, you’ll find his responses to mine. 1. A.J. Price is clearly the guy that drives your offense, but he hasn’t gotten as [...]

The scariest piece of UConn’s statistical profile is the number of shots they block.  The Huskies swatted away roughly one out of every six (17.2%) shots their opponents attempted from two-point range this season. MSU, meanwhile, improved somewhat this season in avoiding getting their shots blocked, reducing their offensive block% from 9.8% to 8.4%.  But it’s [...]

Suton’s Final Four trip a miracle On the front page of ESPN.com at the moment. Don’t dismiss Spartans; they’re redefining elite Fun fact: Since 1999, MSU has been to more Final Fours than the entire SEC or Pac 10. Heathcote and Johnson To Be Inducted Into National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame I’m going to assume this is a [...]

It’s been a long and winding road, but we’ve arrived at our destination–at least geographically speaking.  Two more enormous steps remain if we are to reach the ultimate basketball destination. The Spartans Weblog clan will be hitting the road shortly to make the trek down I-96 to Ford Field.  Here’s your open thread to converse before, [...]

I guess we can run a little, eh, Digger? Raymar Morgan: 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Who’s the bozo that called him a “role player”? Game recap after I get some sleep. For now, more of The Dunk:

The Spartans run, not walk, past the Huskies 82-73 in a 74-possession game. StatSheet box score. At this point, it’s hard to find more words to describe how well this team is playing.  This game was almost a carbon copy of the Louisville game in terms of scoring flow: It was back and forth in [...]

Heels, Spartans playing for school of the ’00s Just to add to the pressure. First thoughts on the Tarheels Short rest may give us an advantage? Izzo Is a Master of the Quick Turnaround 14-2 in the second games of NCAA Tournament weekends. Lucas-Lawson, Walton-Ellington Makes sense to me.  Not sure either Lucas or Wlaton can stop Lawson; might as well [...]

Question: What was the defensive play that preceded The Dunk? (While you’re thinking about it: I’ve decided that Summers’ throwdown is definitely worth of being labeled “The Dunk.”  The combination of the spectacularness of the play and the stage on which it was made make it the greatest dunk in the history of the program.  The [...]

Monday night, 9:21.  Ford Field, Detroit.  CBS. This has become a routine for me now: Overanalyzing the statistical profiles of #1 seeds we’re about to play and convincing myself we’re massive underdogs.  I’m going to try to keep this preview short, to avoid that danger (and because I need to get some sleep tonight). The numbers: [...]

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