Michigan State 75 - Kansas 62

My Observations

How out of sync were the Jayhawks in this game?  Well, Cole Aldrich couldn't even get his high-fives done properly after his first FT attempt at the line each time.  He'd hold his hand out, but nobody would be there to slap it.  Then, Sherron Collins would notice and come up to slap it, but Cole had removed his hand, leaving Collins with only one option ... slapping Cole's butt.  Well, it's almost like KU tried that with MSU, leaving MSU with one option ... spanking KU's butt.  I'll refrain from any more graphic (and probably more appropriate) alternatives to that analogy.  Although statistically, this wasn't the worst game performance for KU thus far this season (Arizona and UMass games were worse), the first half sure felt like the worst half in recent memory.  Nothing went right for the Jayhawks, and everything was good for the Spartans, often with back-to-back plays looking like a "before and after" video of a team that ran a drill.  Embarrassing to see that first half, but at least the team tightened up some things in the second half and made a run.  Who would have thought that it'd be a three-possession game with a little over 3 minutes left after that first half debacle?  Kudos to KU's players for not giving up when practically their entire fan base probably already had.

Player Performance Analysis

Kalin Lucas certainly had himself a nice game.  He entered the game with the third-lowest efficiency on the team, but he punished the Jayhawks repeatedly with his shooting on Saturday.  Lucas finished with 22 PTS on 59 eFG% shooting (3-of-4 from 3FG) and 9-of-10 FT's to go with 5 DREB and just 1 TO and no fouls.  Although he wasn't quite as efficient as Korie Lucious, it was Travis Walton who did the next most damage to KU's chances.  Walton came into the game shooting 45 eFG% but blazed his way to 63% this time (no 3FG attempts), and although he fouled out and didn't do much else statistically, he did manage to avoid any turnovers.  Other players of note for MSU include Lucious shooting 75 eFG%, Delvon Roe with 3 OREB, Goran Suton with 5 OREB (7 total), and Raymar Morgan with 8 REB (4 OREB).

It's not like all the Jayhawks had terrible games.  In fact, three at the top were very respectable.  The fact that both Collins and Aldrich had pretty efficient outings, yet Kansas struggled, is troubling.  This may be one of those cases where the timing of the statistics is extremely important.  Once KU was down by 19 at the half, many of the points scored by Collins didn't really "move the needle" for Kansas much.  Still, those points helped prevent the final result from being a true blowout.  If not for his 8 TO's, Collins would rate much, much higher.  He shot a respectable 50 eFG% but, more importantly, went to the line an astonishing 14 times (making 11), plus he dished 8 AST, swiped 2 STL and grabbed 3 DREB.  Really, he carried the team in stretches, but he also missed eight shots (on a day when KU rarely had an OREB) and gave the ball away eight times.  Essentially, Collins was responsible for KU coming away empty on about about 15 possessions (21% of KU's possessions for the game).  It's those kinds of calculations that show why he doesn't always rate higher even when he appears to have a huge contribution.

Aldrich finished with another double-double (yawn, in a good way), but he had a rare sub-50 eFG% day.  He managed to finish with 14 PTS on 44 eFG% shooting mainly because he made 6-of-8 FT's (actually worse, but he got a few lane violation freebies).  Although he had 3 BLK and 10 DREB, he wasn't his usual presence on the offensive boards (1 OREB).  Believe it or not, Brady Morningstar rated out well this time, too.  He tied with Tyrel Reed for a team-high 63 eFG% (1-of-2 from 3FG), grabbed 2 OREB, 1 DREB, dished 2 AST and 0 TO, to go with 2 STL in 29 MIN.  On a day where KU struggled so much, these are pretty healthy numbers.  The only other player to rate positively was Tyrel Reed.  Although he has his deficiencies on the defensive end, Reed was the catalyst for a potential comeback.  He finished with 10 PTS on 63 eFG% shooting (2-of-6 from 3FG) but not much else, including an uncharacteristic 0-of-2 from the foul line.

Who struggled for KU?  Well, Mario Little probably had the most embarrassing outing, fouling out in just 7 MIN with only a few rebounds to show for it, basically.  Of players with 10+ minutes, it was Releford whose numbers were least impressive.  In 21 MIN, he missed both his FG attempts, both his FT attempts, grabbed 1 DREB and committed 2 PF's.  He had an opportunity or two to convert layups and/or alley-oops, but he just couldn't find the handle.  Still, Coach Bill Self spoke highly of Releford's performance after the game.  And given his higher playing time than usual, he must have been doing some things right that don't show up on the boxscore.

Tyshawn Taylor continues his string of subpar outings.  His last good game was against Temple.  This time, Taylor didn't really attempt much, and when he did it failed.  He shot only 1-of-3 from the field, had 2 TO's and 1 PF.  For a guy with his speed and apparent NBA skills, it is disappointing to see numbers like these.  It is too early to label Taylor anything, but his performance so far this season leaves something to be desired.  As of now, he has the lowest efficiency on the team of any player who averages at least 8 MIN/gm.

The Morris twins basically "phone it in" this time around.  Marcus looked like he was injured, but that probably wasn't a bad thing on a day where he really struggled.  Markieff was able to do some good things but fouled out in just 14 MIN.

Offensive and Defensive Performance

Using the outcome of the game and the adjusted offensive and defensive efficiencies for each team, performance indicates (in PTS per 100 Possessions) how each team would have fared against an average team.  That is, KU's offensive performance is how many points per 100 possessions KU would have scored against an average defense.  This provides a standard performance we can compare across teams.

Four Factor Analysis

(Actual statistics moved to Game Projections table below)