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Convoluted thinking will only get the Spartans in trouble
If Michigan State beats Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament. Or wins the Big Ten Tournament. If Michigan State goes considerably deeper in the NCAA tournament than Michigan. OK, then the Spartans can maintain their claim as the preeminent college basketball program in this state.
And I'll be the first to give MSU that credit. And I said as much in my recent entry in this blog.
But to look at the vividly defined evidence that strongly suggests the Wolverines have pulled even with the Spartans on the basketball floor and refute it, is ridiculous.
- Same conference record.
- Split head to head.
- Michigan had a couple bad losses in the Big Ten. So did MSU. Remember Illinois and Northwestern? Michigan won road games in both those gyms. MSU lost there.
- I didn't mean to slight MSU's incoming recruiting class. I wasn't writing "War and Peace." Just an entry in my blog. MSU's class is excellent. But a strong case can be made Michigan's is equal. Let's put it this way, Tom Izzo would somehow find room for a scholarship for Mitch McGary, don't you think?
- Worse of all, is this pathetic whining by MSU fans when they are presented with the truth. It's like Michigan fans claiming the Spartans haven't pulled past the Wolverines on the football field based on the past.
They can't stand this behavior by Michigan fans, yet they are acting the exact same way, if not worse.
I said or written it a hundred times the last couple days. If the Spartans are really all they claim to be in basketball, they must prove it on the floor. Honestly, they didn't the last two games of the regular season. They blew it, and all the cache that would have come with a victory in one of those two games and an outright Big Ten title.
They have a shot a redemption this week in the conference tournament, especially if they meet either OSU or Michigan. And the NCAA tournament is even more important in that regard.
Until then, Spartans should quit thumping their chest about their three-way tie for the Big Ten regular season title and claiming entitlement based on 2010 and back.
Michigan can make the exact same claim about the conference title this season, and has played as well or better than MSU for nearly two seasons.
It's up to State these next few weeks to prove that's an aberration, not a trend.
And I'll be the first to give MSU that credit. And I said as much in my recent entry in this blog.
But to look at the vividly defined evidence that strongly suggests the Wolverines have pulled even with the Spartans on the basketball floor and refute it, is ridiculous.
- Same conference record.
- Split head to head.
- Michigan had a couple bad losses in the Big Ten. So did MSU. Remember Illinois and Northwestern? Michigan won road games in both those gyms. MSU lost there.
- I didn't mean to slight MSU's incoming recruiting class. I wasn't writing "War and Peace." Just an entry in my blog. MSU's class is excellent. But a strong case can be made Michigan's is equal. Let's put it this way, Tom Izzo would somehow find room for a scholarship for Mitch McGary, don't you think?
- Worse of all, is this pathetic whining by MSU fans when they are presented with the truth. It's like Michigan fans claiming the Spartans haven't pulled past the Wolverines on the football field based on the past.
They can't stand this behavior by Michigan fans, yet they are acting the exact same way, if not worse.
I said or written it a hundred times the last couple days. If the Spartans are really all they claim to be in basketball, they must prove it on the floor. Honestly, they didn't the last two games of the regular season. They blew it, and all the cache that would have come with a victory in one of those two games and an outright Big Ten title.
They have a shot a redemption this week in the conference tournament, especially if they meet either OSU or Michigan. And the NCAA tournament is even more important in that regard.
Until then, Spartans should quit thumping their chest about their three-way tie for the Big Ten regular season title and claiming entitlement based on 2010 and back.
Michigan can make the exact same claim about the conference title this season, and has played as well or better than MSU for nearly two seasons.
It's up to State these next few weeks to prove that's an aberration, not a trend.
posted by Pat Caputo at
2:07 PM
9 Comments:
Pat, I grew up reading your column. You were easily my favorite read, but somewhere along the way you became this guy who just wants to bash MSU whenever possible regardless of if it makes sense to do so or not. I refuse to believe that you have surrendered to the blue wall. You are a Spartan, and we don't very often get a fair shake around Detroit. Please be respectful of our university, and the basketball program that Tom Izzo has taken to heights well beyond anywhere any u of m coach not named Fielding Yost has taken any of their teams.
We need you on the side of the good guys,
Jeff P.
Pat - I think the venom that was generated on your last blog post was due to the comments that the two programs have grown to be even. I think a better comparison would be to state that this season, they have been even and there has not been any great distance between the two for the 2012 recruiting class. However, I don't think it's a valid comparison to state that the two programs are now "equal". If you were to make a one year comparison then Northern Iowa should be compared to kansas a few years back. I think to evaluate the current state of the program you have to at least include the last 5 seasons to make this valid. In this span, there is no comparison between the two. However, 5 years from now maybe this will change.
Pat, come on, don't play us for dupps.
Michigan is not even close to MSU in stats ... SoS, Rebounds, Big Ten schedule, etc.
Please don't use this blog to incite your supporters with this nonsense.
I don't think you even believe what you wrote. You were looking for a reaction, got it, liked it and decided to do it again today. I would agree with the above post that UM had an "even" year with MSU but c'mon. What happened to you, at State, to cause you to go after our athletics the way you do?
I think there is a difference between (i) two programs having equal seasons and; (ii) two programs being equal. Apparently, you don't.
1 - State would have beat OSU if Dawson didn't get hurt.
2 - With Dawson hurt, you can't make any comparisons between MSU & UM in the B1G tournament unless UM has a similar injury, like maybe Hardaway.
3 - U of D just won their conference tournament. If neither MSU or UM win the B1G tournament, has U of D passed both programs?
Convoluted thinking is your forte!
Some people don't like to admit when their wrong because of pride or what have you, and that's exactly what you are doing.
Your first blog headline on this stuff had the words "HARD EVIDENCE" but it lacked it. Then Valenti lit you up on air with the actual hard evidence you talked about which got you upset to the point that you weren't going to give in and admit you were wrong, but rather go completely off the deep end with this garbage.
I feel bad for you. You are so far into this mess that you have to cheer against your alma-mater just to try to save face, and now that UM got blown out by OSU, you keep throwing more logs on the fire that make even less sense then your original argument.
I think MSU (and Ohio) have righted any perception issues between the two programs' relative status...
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