Let's be real guys...

[HawkeyeMHA]

Yes, let's be real. They pass the eye test. They have some athletic, good players and absolutely do pass the eye test. Tell me that Eron dude doesn't pass the eye test when he went baseline last night and threw that monster dunk down. Valentine has numbers like magic did when he was playing, a true triple double type player. What they don't do, is play as smart and as good as a team as we do. We are a legit, good team. We have some freaky good shooters, we are well rounded with players that know their roles, we move the ball well, we are unselfish, we play hard and smart. IF...we continue to play like this we will do good things.

 

[WestCoastHawk]

Still not buying it. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[damnfinn]

Still not buying it. I hope I'm wrong.

you probably said the same thing when the fb team was 6-0 and then 10-0

 

[WindsorHawk]

Still not buying it. I hope I'm wrong.

You're wrong! Michigan State has played 17 teams this year and beaten 16 of them. You don't know basketball or you're a troll...probably both.

 

[bcl20]

You're wrong! Michigan State has played 17 teams this year and beaten 16 of them. You don't know basketball or you're a troll...probably both.

If you can't enjoy last night's win then sports give you no joy and you should probably do something else.

 

[HawkAssassin]

Whether they have Valentine or not, to beat Sparty you must do 3 things. You have to match their intensity, maintain your composure through thug ball, and obviously have really good players.

It sounds simple, but it takes a special kind of effort to not only pull it off once but to do it a second time was remarkable. Bring out the koolaid and enjoy this team.

 

[InGoodCo]

Still not buying it. I hope I'm wrong.

yeah, the jury is out on whether or not Michigan State is even a good basketball program really

Iowa waxed a basketball power, arguably one of the best programs in the sport the last 20 years while they were ranked in the top 5, not once, but twice and once in their house. If you can't buy that than you're not buying anything to begin with.

 

[PCHawk]

If it wasn't for Iowa, they would still be ranked number 1. So maybe they're over rated and really "only" a top 10-15 team. We still beat that team twice by an average of 15 points per game.

 

[Lazersharpe]

If Michigan State is bad, who else have they lost to? They have only lost to one team and that team beat them twice. You can't argue with their record.

 

[CPHAWK82]

I know Michigan State is traditionally a top tier program every year, but they just don't pass the eye test. On top of that I was looking at their schedule and they haven't played ANYONE other than us. I'm going to be casually optimistic about this team even after last nights win.

This is factually incorrect. When I watched MSU earlier this year, first thing to came to mind is they're on a different level than Iowa. That's how much Iowa has improved since losing to Dayton and Notre Dame in that tournament. They seemed to grow even more from the iSu loss as well. Senior leadership is coming to the surface and everyone seems to be reaching their potential all at once and it's beautiful to see this recruiting class come full circle. I can understand being hesitant to be optimistic, but this is the mentally toughest team Fran has had.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

I'm passing out thumbs up like candy in this thread - except for WestCoastHawk.

Is MSU a top 5 team? That's up for debate, but anyone who can beat KU, Louisville, Florida, Providence, etc. is doing something right. Maybe Iowa is just a better team than most of us expected.

 

[WestCoastHawk]

you probably said the same thing when the fb team was 6-0 and then 10-0

Sure did, and then we lost to a team that lost 38-0 in the first game of the CFP and got our arses kicked in the Rose Bowl. Affirmed my position.

 

[HawkeyeMHA]

And finished #9. Not too bad

 

[homes]

you probably said the same thing when the fb team was 6-0 and then 10-0

Of course he did. Anyone that unimpressed, surely did. It's tough being that judgmental, you're always having to be so "judgy".

 

[smhawk]

Uh...they beat kansas, providence and louisville

thanks man, this thread is nonsense. Now MSU didn't look themselves yesterday, but teams have up and downs. Iowa played as good as defense in this game as the second half of Purdue.

 

[HuckFinn]

Glad we played MSU early. Look at their history and tell me that Izzo does not get them to "peak" about the time the NCAA's come around. End of the year: MSU in the top 10-12; go to the NCAA and win 2 games, minimum. I am the biggest Hawk fan around and believe we are better than MSU, which means that we have a shot at finishing in the top 12 and winning a couple of NCAA games. Maybe more, maybe more. But don't be silly enough to underestimate Sparty.

 

[Seth53]

Michigan State has one of the best resumes in the country. Our resume is starting to look pretty impressive itself. Just think if we wouldn't have blown a huge lead against ISU. We might be looking at a top 5 ranking.

Honestly, I think the ISU loss will do more long term good than bad for this team.

Keep this team hungry. Keep this team with a chip on its shoulder. It's all good.

 

[Thawki]

I know Michigan State is traditionally a top tier program every year, but they just don't pass the eye test. On top of that I was looking at their schedule and they haven't played ANYONE other than us. I'm going to be casually optimistic about this team even after last nights win.

Actually, the only team they have played all year where they didn't maybe pass the eye test was when they played us in two separate games. They have looked really good the rest of the season against some of the better programs around, including KU and Louisville. By the way, KU is Kansas not Kentucky. The novice fan might not realize that. Maybe to an untrained eye that is not passing the eye test. But to someone that knows something about basketball, they would say Iowa did a lot of the damage that made it appear that the Spartans didn't pass the eye test.

 

[Thawki]

Still not buying it. I hope I'm wrong.

How many times have you seen MSU play this year?

 

[DDThompson]

Uh...they beat kansas, providence and louisville

Well, other than those three, they really haven't played anybody.


No one just walks into the Izzone and puts a beatdown of 20 pts on Sparty. Iowa did.


A worse beatdown with their best player on their court where the average Iowa loss has been 17 points in the last 20 years.




I'm convinced. Iowa is for real; no fool's gold.