Wednesday, February 13, 2013
How vulnerable is Michigan's frontcourt?
By Joe Kaiser
Michigan State's convincing route of in-state rival Michigan on Tuesday revealed how vulnerable the Wolverines are inside the paint without a healthy Jordan Morgan.
Diamond Leung of mLive.com wrote earlier on Tuesday that Spartans senior big man Derrick Nix had a chance to dominate against the undermanned Michigan frontline of Jon Horford and freshman Mitch McGary, and that is exactly what he did. Nix finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds, and showed early on that he was going to be too much for the Wolverines to handle.
"Nix, fueled by the emotion of the rivalry, put together one of his best performances," Leung wrote. "He put himself in position to make plays down low early and often, connecting on his first four field goal attempts. He played solid defense on Mitch McGary and Jordan Morgan, who at one point was met at the rim with a foul in which the basketball was blocked away. It was a statement that this was going to be Nix's night."
Few teams are as big and tough as that of MSU, but for those that are this game could serve as somewhat of a blueprint as to how to beat Michigan. Even still, duplicating the Spartans efforts won't be an easy task -- they limited Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III to two points apiece as the Wolverines' typically high-scoring duo combined to shoot 2-for-15 from the field.
