Not to panic...

Three losses in a row.  A sobering statistic indeed but is it time to panic?  No.  In fact, I find it impressive that MSU managed to play lackluster defense (except at the end when they had a chance to win) with little passion and energy and manage to ALMOST beat Indiana, Ohio State, and Michigan.  And lets not forget that two of our starters, Appling and Dawson, contributed very little offensively in those matches.

What does this mean for the Spartans as we rapidly near the end of regular season and head into the post?  If MSU wants to go all the way, which they are undeniably capable of, they need Appling and Dawson to STEP UP!  Appling is our finisher and Dawson is our spark plug.  Both are important to the play of the game.  Even if they scored 10 points rather than two, we'd be okay.

Appling's issue is fixable: attack the defense.  This is what he is good at.  He thrives on transitional offense: We rebound and outlet to Appling who runs it up the court at full speed and attacks the defense by dribbling inside the paint.  At this point, one of three situations generally happens:

 1) Appling takes the ball all the way to the basket and either makes his shot, gets fouled, or, my favorite: both.

2) Appling ACTS like he is taking the ball all the way and then stops mid-paint for a short-range jumper.

3) Appling takes the ball in the paint, drawing two or three defenders.  He then kicks it out to one of his open teammates for a shot.

Even when MSU is not transition, Nix has been amazing at setting screens for Appling so he can follow one of the previous steps.  But again, that hasn't been happening.  No worries, though, this will be fixed.

Some positives: major shout outs go to Adreian Payne who has played with a toughness and brilliance that have the NBA scouts on the lookout.  Harris deserves much praise as well who continues to play with a maturity and depth atypical for freshman players.

The Spartans play Wisconsin tonight.  I say, "It's Appling time."

Big Ten Watch:

With Indiana's losses to Minnesota and Ohio State, MSU still has a chance to share the Big Ten Title.  To do so, they have to win their last two games AND Michigan must beat Indiana.  Looking forward to seeing how this all pans out.