Can Tom Izzo Scheme Michigan State Past North Carolina in Championship Game?

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Saturday’s semi-final round from Detroit was full of strategic maneuvering by Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Villanova’s Jay Wright.

Wright has been criticized by some for his decision to run with Carolina. Results notwithstanding, however, his decision is defensible. Facing the prospects of having his unimposing interior decimated by Tyler Hansbrough in a half-court game, Wright decided to roll the dice and play to his strengths by letting his guards push tempo and create in the open court.

It might have worked, or at least kept things closer, had his team not shot a woeful 5-of-27 from three-point land.

Had Nova shot shot anywhere near their season average of 36.8%, they would have nailed four additional three-pointers, adding 12 points to their total. Something to think about, considering that they lost by 14.

Depth was a factor here, as the fast pace of the game left Nova’s shooters with tired shooting legs down the stretch. Still, Wright’s strategy was a sound one. Overmatched as he was, he needed some luck in the form of a hot shooting night to spring the upset. He didn’t get it, but he gave his team their best possible chance to win.

Luck had very little to do with Michigan State’s win over Connecticut. Michigan State is deeper, more balanced and even more athletic than Wright’s Nova Bunch. And State’s Tom Izzo had the advantage of facing a UConn team that had a couple of weaknesses, namely transition defense and free-throw shooting, that left them vulnerable to the right team with the right plan.

Izzo had that perfect plan, and the roster to carry it out. Coming into the game, the assumption was that State, an excellent half-court team, would slow things down and run their sets against the speedy Huskies.

Considering that UConn was felt by many to be one of the best half-court defensive teams in the nation, there was some concern as to whether the Spartans would be able to avoid some debilitating scoring droughts.

Most predicted a low-scoring, defensive struggle (Vegas set the over/under at a relatively low 134, envisioning the teams to score in the 60’s).

Here’s where Izzo confounded conventional wisdom. Evidently sharing the concern that his team would struggle to score in a half court game, Izzo pushed the pace, allowing MSU to create in the open floor and generate some easy buckets in transition.

The decision to take their chances against UConn’s transition defense as opposed to their half-court set proved brilliant, as the Huskies big men- so menacing in the half court- struggled to keep up with the Spartan fast break.

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