MSU's plan: Keep running

Finally, Michigan State has solved the puzzle. Sunday's 103-74 home romp over Indiana was the beginning of a fast-break renaissance that will continue tonight at Illinois and beyond.

Or not.

There's one thing to remember about Indiana in that game.

"They didn't get back at all," MSU coach Tom Izzo said.

And Illinois? Illinois will get back on defense. The Illini - like most Big Ten teams that play MSU - always get back.

Still, the Spartans think they made some strides, very fast strides, on Sunday that they can take with them for the rest of the season. No. 17 MSU (23-6 overall, 11-5 Big Ten) knows it must do what it can to quicken the pace against the disappointing-but-defensively sound Illini (12-17, 4-12).

For that matter, the Spartans need to speed things up against just about anyone who might appear on the other side of the court in the postseason. It's usually easier against nonleague opponents who don't know all your strengths and tendencies.

But Indiana allowed MSU to show off just how potent it can be. The Spartans took advantage, collecting 22 fast-break points and running relentlessly, which was the plan entering the game.

"I think it was just more ourselves," MSU's Raymar Morgan said. "The goal was to run and that's what we did. It was an overall team effort. That's our focus, to run."

Unless the opponent takes it away. That's what Wisconsin did three days earlier, forcing MSU to play slow and scrape for points in a 57-42 Badgers victory.

Izzo has always preferred running, and Big Ten teams have done their best to slow down MSU for years. This season, MSU has the depth and athleticism to play fast, but sometimes the personnel on the floor limits the Spartans.

For example, when Izzo goes with the "three-point guard" lineup of Drew Neitzel, Travis Walton and Kalin Lucas, he does not have traditional "wings" running the lanes.

MSU also did not work on the break as much for a stretch of the season, Izzo said, because he was worried about preserving his players' energy. It has returned as a priority in the past couple weeks.

The play of Lucas and Walton, MSU's primary point guards, is a key. Izzo said they've had "tunnel vision" at times this season, but on Sunday they saw and used the entire floor.

Walton, who has worked hard to be a better transition point guard, picked up 11 assists. Lucas made dazzling play after dazzling play, going for 14 points and seven assists.

"I think it was one of my better games," Lucas said. "It just wasn't me coming down and scoring. I was trying to do it all, run the team."

MSU grades things such as "point guard pushes," and Izzo said Sunday's grade was "unbelievable." At times, MSU looked like "the best fast-break team since I've been here," he said.

Tonight, as mentioned, Illinois will do its best to make it a grinder. MSU had to slog through a 51-41 home win over the Illini on Jan. 30.

"Nobody will score 103 points on Illinois if you added two games together," Izzo said. "So we can't get frustrated, we've got to find a way to win the game."

The faster, the better. It's not just about traditional fast-breaks, with an outlet pass, a push and a dunk on the other end.

MSU needs to use its "early offense" more, to avoid stagnant, half-court possessions that result in scrambling with the shot clock winding down.

The Spartans have a plan for when the initial break is halted. MSU looks for a quick "pin-down" screen to pop open a shooter, often Neitzel. If that's stopped, MSU is supposed to quickly feed a big man in the post.

Good shots can be found before the defense is totally set.

"But you've got to do the whole thing," Walton said, and that hasn't always been the case this season.

At least the Spartans have a model now. The high-yield Hoosiers helped them construct it.

"But it was one game," Izzo warned. "I'm not ready to solve the world or anything."