THE SHRINK
ODU GURU
- Joined
- Feb 26, 1999
- Messages
- 20,881
- Reaction score
- 3
HOW THE TEAMS MATCH UP...
Mich State
Drew Neitzel -- pg -- Freshman who was inserted into the starting line up midway through conference play. Learning how to pass and run the break and really improving lately. Still makes freshman mistakes and is hesitate to shoot, although he will make them if left open.
Maurice Ager -- sg -- Junior who can absolutely light it up. Their best player (my opinion) who can slash and shoot the three. Runs the break real well and knows how to finish. His defense is suspect though. Will make free throws as well. Look for Ager to slap the floor 42 times and than give up a lay up.
Shannon Brown -- sg -- Sophomore who runs like Ager. Also excellent running the break (like our whole team). Loses his shot and goes cold for long stretches but can instantly catch fire. Great slasher and passer who will cause match up problems for any team.
Alan Anderson -- pf -- Senior versatile player who plays 4 positions. Team leader on the floor who plays great defense for an undersized player. Excellent passer and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. Has a tendency to miss foul shots at end of games.
Paul Davis -- c -- Junior big man who can score and pass. excellent decision maker and preaty good defender. dubbed a little "soft" by many people but can take over a game if they feed him the ball. Can shot both inside and outside. Hard man to defend.
Bench
Chris Hill -- g -- Senior who can light it up from outside. Good defender with excellent shot. Runs the point real well and doesn't turn the ball over very much. Don't leave him open, or you will pay. Started for a long time before giving way to Neitzel.
Kelvin Torbert - g -- Senior who can defend and shoot, Excellent player as well. Our bench is on of the best in the nation. He can run like all the other spartans. Great shut down defender as well.
Tim Bograkos -- g -- Senior who can defend. Can't shoot.
Matt Trannon -- f -- Junior football player with great heart and toughness. Rebounds extremely well and plays above average D.
Delco Rowley -- c -- Sophomore when he is in the game go right at him. He sucks.
Drew Naymick -- c -- Freshman big man who is improving rapidly. Can block some shots.
OLD DOMINION...
ODU, when healthy, does play 11 players, bringing 2 guards, one swing man, two forwards, and a center off of the bench. That is depth and it is depth at all positions. ODU should be less susceptible to being worn down than the typical MSU opponent.
ODU does not turn the ball over frequently at all. They rank in the top-25 nationally in protecting the basketball and start a PG in Drew Williamson who leads the nation in AST/TO and just completed the conference tournament without a turnover.
ODU tends to be a very disciplined team that does a good job running its offense and does not take many bad shots. This, combined with an ability to protect the basketball, should help slow down MSU's running game somewhat. It's harder to run without the other team helping out with turnovers and/or rushed shots.
ODU does not shoot an impressive percentage as a team from three point range, but nearly the entire team must be respected because they can knock the shot down. All of ODU's top nine players have shown themselves to be decent three point shooters at worst.
ODU knows how to win. ODU does not own an impressive top-50 win, but they have won many, many games against the next lower tier of teams, including victories on the road and at neutral sites. As an example, ODU played three conference USA teams on the road and defeated two of them, TCU and ECU. At home this year TCU beat Texas Tech and UAB. ECU beat Charlotte and lost a very close game to Cincinnati. ODU has shown an ability to win in situations where other NCAA teams have struggled.
PREDICTION: OLD DOMINION PLUS 8 1/2 POINTS VS. MICHIGAN STATE...
It's all about match ups and ODU matches up very well with this team...
Best of Luck,
THE SHRINK
Mich State
Drew Neitzel -- pg -- Freshman who was inserted into the starting line up midway through conference play. Learning how to pass and run the break and really improving lately. Still makes freshman mistakes and is hesitate to shoot, although he will make them if left open.
Maurice Ager -- sg -- Junior who can absolutely light it up. Their best player (my opinion) who can slash and shoot the three. Runs the break real well and knows how to finish. His defense is suspect though. Will make free throws as well. Look for Ager to slap the floor 42 times and than give up a lay up.
Shannon Brown -- sg -- Sophomore who runs like Ager. Also excellent running the break (like our whole team). Loses his shot and goes cold for long stretches but can instantly catch fire. Great slasher and passer who will cause match up problems for any team.
Alan Anderson -- pf -- Senior versatile player who plays 4 positions. Team leader on the floor who plays great defense for an undersized player. Excellent passer and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. Has a tendency to miss foul shots at end of games.
Paul Davis -- c -- Junior big man who can score and pass. excellent decision maker and preaty good defender. dubbed a little "soft" by many people but can take over a game if they feed him the ball. Can shot both inside and outside. Hard man to defend.
Bench
Chris Hill -- g -- Senior who can light it up from outside. Good defender with excellent shot. Runs the point real well and doesn't turn the ball over very much. Don't leave him open, or you will pay. Started for a long time before giving way to Neitzel.
Kelvin Torbert - g -- Senior who can defend and shoot, Excellent player as well. Our bench is on of the best in the nation. He can run like all the other spartans. Great shut down defender as well.
Tim Bograkos -- g -- Senior who can defend. Can't shoot.
Matt Trannon -- f -- Junior football player with great heart and toughness. Rebounds extremely well and plays above average D.
Delco Rowley -- c -- Sophomore when he is in the game go right at him. He sucks.
Drew Naymick -- c -- Freshman big man who is improving rapidly. Can block some shots.
OLD DOMINION...
ODU, when healthy, does play 11 players, bringing 2 guards, one swing man, two forwards, and a center off of the bench. That is depth and it is depth at all positions. ODU should be less susceptible to being worn down than the typical MSU opponent.
ODU does not turn the ball over frequently at all. They rank in the top-25 nationally in protecting the basketball and start a PG in Drew Williamson who leads the nation in AST/TO and just completed the conference tournament without a turnover.
ODU tends to be a very disciplined team that does a good job running its offense and does not take many bad shots. This, combined with an ability to protect the basketball, should help slow down MSU's running game somewhat. It's harder to run without the other team helping out with turnovers and/or rushed shots.
ODU does not shoot an impressive percentage as a team from three point range, but nearly the entire team must be respected because they can knock the shot down. All of ODU's top nine players have shown themselves to be decent three point shooters at worst.
ODU knows how to win. ODU does not own an impressive top-50 win, but they have won many, many games against the next lower tier of teams, including victories on the road and at neutral sites. As an example, ODU played three conference USA teams on the road and defeated two of them, TCU and ECU. At home this year TCU beat Texas Tech and UAB. ECU beat Charlotte and lost a very close game to Cincinnati. ODU has shown an ability to win in situations where other NCAA teams have struggled.
PREDICTION: OLD DOMINION PLUS 8 1/2 POINTS VS. MICHIGAN STATE...
It's all about match ups and ODU matches up very well with this team...
Best of Luck,
THE SHRINK
arty:
:shoot3:
