The Final Four Is Not On The Schedule - A Podcast Discussing Michigan State Basketball.

January 27, 2023: After losing a heartbreaker to Purdue in East Lansing two weeks ago, MSU has a chance for revenge. Aside from being in a different arena, this time the Spartans will have Mr. Versatility, Malik Hall. In the previous matchup, MSU chose to largely play Edey straight up and double hard off Morton. The strategy largely worked as they held Edey to just 50% from the field (he averages...

January 26, 2023: In a game where MSU didn't play smoothly offensively against a poor defensive team, they did just enough to squeak out a win over the Hawkeyes. In good news for the Spartans, Malik Hall returned back to the floor and looked like Malik Hall without a bit of rust. He played 25 effective minutes on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Michigan State effectively bottle...

January 24, 2023: Iowa is coming to town and bringing another fantastic Murray brother into the Breslin on Thursday evening. Fran McCaffrey once again has a team with a very good offensive efficiency rating. And... once again they are terrible on defense. Michigan State looks to defend their home court and return to winning ways before heading on the road next Sunday at West Lafayette. Interesting...

January 23, 2023: Rod and Eric introduced 2023 incoming freshman, Gehrig Normand, to the Spartan Nation in this interview. Normand is a 4* recruit, 6'6" shooting guard from the Dallas-Forth Worth, TX area who was the third commit for MSU this summer. Many describe his game as similar to former Spartan, Matt McQuaid, who was from the same area and had sneaky athleticism. McQuaid became a great defe...

January 22, 2023: In a game that MSU controlled for the first 10 minutes, it looked like they might come away with a big road win at Indiana in Assembly Hall. Unfortunately for the Spartans, the Hoosiers caught fire from behind the arc and at the free throw line and were too much. Before the game, there was a lot of discussion for how Michigan State would defend against Indiana's elite center, Tra...

January 21, 2023: Now that MSU is back on the the winning track they head down to Bloomington, IN to take on the Indiana Hoosiers who are riding high after two straight wins including an impressive beat down at Illinois. The Hoosiers have been an up and down team this year and have suffered injuries to two starters in Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson. Michigan State seemed to find its shooting str...

January 19, 2023: Michigan State ended their 2 game losing streak with a decisive victory over Rutgers on a rainy night in East Lansing 70-57. On a night that might be viewed as a coming out party for Jaxon Kohler who finished with a double double and played the most minutes at the 5 spot, he contributed a lot to MSU's great defensive effort. Rutgers' phenom shooter, Cam Spencer, managed only 1-8...

January 17, 2023: MSU enters into the game on Thursday against Rutgers on a two game losing streak after dropping close games at Champaign and by one point at home to first place Purdue. Rutgers, however, isn't the usual slouch team that they were in their early days in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights are ranked #14 in KenPom and have one of the best defenses in college basketball to challenge MS...

January 16, 2023: Zach Edey and the number one offense in America, the Purdue Boilermakers, came to the East Lansing and took on a Michigan State team down one of its veterans due to Malik Hall's injury in the Illinois game. Despite being down a man, MSU almost pulled out the win against a talented Purdue team and even outplayed the Boilers in a number of aspects of the game. It's certainly a game...

January 14, 2023: Michigan State's seven game win streak was snapped in Champaign on Friday night and the Spartans look to return to their winning ways against a top rated Purdue squad. Per usual, Purdue enters the game with a monster center, 7'4" Zach Edey who is a national player of the year candidate. Edey is a beast scoring in the paint, rebounding offensively, and more than competent on the f...

January 13, 2023: In a game that Michigan State led for the majority of the first and second half, Illinois proved to be too much at home in a 75-66 win. Illinois uncharacteristicly took care of the basketball and finished the game with only 5 turnovers. They also shot free throws well above their average at 83%. In contrast, MSU failed to hit a single 3 point shot going 0-7 despite surprisingly d...

January 11, 2022: The Spartans will take their 7 game winning streak (four in Big Ten play) into Champaign to take on a hot Illinois team. Illinois has won their last two conference games dispatching Wisconsin at home and blasting Nebraska in Lincoln. Illinois features a test for MSU as they have size all over the court which is giving teams fits both offensively inside the arc and on the defensiv...

January 10, 2023: In another Big Ten road test, MSU headed into Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Badgers and try and extend its winning streak to 7 games. In what can only be described as a poised effort, the Spartans were perfect from the floor down the stretch hitting their last 8 field goals and all their free throws to win the game. Wisconsin was down their leading scorer, Tyler Wahl, but got...

January 8, 2023: Michigan State heads back onto the road and will try to continue its winning streak of six straight and two in Big Ten Play as they head to Madison to take on the Badgers. In an arena that has historically been a house of pain MSU will look to stay in first place in the Big Ten. Rod has stated it a number of times that MSU has a profile that looks more and more like a Wisconsin on...

January 7, 2023: In an ugly offensive game, MSU pulled out a win at the Breslin Center 59-53 over rival Michigan. Neither team could hit their shots as the Spartans launched at least 3 wide open air balls for 3. The only thing worse than MSU's outside shooting was Michigan's who shot 15% on 3-20. It was a game where MSU controlled by double digits halfway through the first half until late in the g...

January 5, 2022: Rivalry week is officially here now that MSU has dispatched Nebraska and awaits a matchup at home with cross state rival, Michigan. The Wolverines have struggled at times in the non-conference schedule but are in first place of the Big Ten with a 3-0 mark after defeating Penn State on Wednesday. Last year, the teams split their series but if either team has title hopes, a series s...

January 3, 2023: Michigan State welcomed in the new year with a decisive 74-56 victory over the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers. In what is probably MSU's best complete game since the early season, they coasted out to a 22 point half time lead behind suffocating defense and a fantastic first half scoring effort from Tyson Walker (16 points). MSU had one of their best offensive rebounding efforts col...

January 1, 2023: As we enter a new year, Michigan State begins the Big Ten campaign in full with 18 games and a march to a potential championship. However, there are no easy wins in the Big Ten this year and protecting home court is a necessity after already losing their first to Northwestern. Fortunately, the Spartans will be full strength with a limited minutes Malik Hall as they host a feisty s...

December 30, 2022: In what is the most significant development for anyone with hopes of MSU making some sort of run for a Big Ten title or NCAA tournament Final Four, the return of Malik Hall back on to the court was a big one. Now that Jaden Akins is almost back to where we hoped he would be starting the season, Hall played limited minutes but looked as if he hadn't ever stopped playing. Malik Ha...

December 29, 2022: Michigan State has its last non-conference tune up before Big Ten play resumes with the new year as they welcome in the Buffalo Bulls from the MAC. Buffalo has had a recent history of success with multiple NCAA tournament wins under coaches Bobby Hurley and Nate Oats. However, this year is clearly a rebuilding year with them holding a 6-6 record (2 against non-Division I opponen...

December 27, 2022: The first commitment to MSU's 2023 class was PG Jeremy Fears Jr. from Joliet, Illinois. Fears is the #7 ranked point guard and #37 overall player according to On3 recruiting rankings for the 2023 class. After playing at LaLumiere Academy last year, Jeremy elected to return to his high school and play with his younger brother, Jeremiah, for what might be his last chance to play o...

December 26, 2022: Coming into this season, there were uncertainties everywhere within the Big Ten teams. A lot of teams had almost complete turnovers from last year with incoming Now that we've had a few Big Ten games played and have watched most of the non-conference season we figured it would be helpful to look back at our predictions and handicap them. Rod goes through the surprises from Nebra...

December 23, 2022: In a big thank you to our fans we held an ask me anything session where we answered questions about MSU, what happens when Izzo retires, what are the best basketball books, how do we pull together the show, and who exactly is in Rod's avatar photo. This session and the success of the show are due entirely to how great our listeners are. If you want to support the show go to our...

December 21, 2022: The Spartans faced perennial pest, Oakland University and beat them for their 21st straight win against the Horizon League team. Although it was an uninspiring game, Michigan State showed some glimpses of smooth offense, transition game, and connected defense. Head Coaches Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe both decided to wear ugly sweaters and at times their team's games matched their ga...

December 18, 2022: Michigan State's players are done with finals and will prepare for their perennial matchup against the Grizzlies from Oakland University. Head Coach Greg Kampe usually brings in very competitive teams into the contest. Oftentimes, Oakland has a pro or very high level player. This year, is not like others. Oakland is struggling this year coming in at 2-9 (we recorded before their...