Michigan State has not had that difficult a pre-conference schedule and has lost to Oregon, Syracuse and Notre Dame and had to go to OT to beat Western Michigan. Janoska showed grit, a quick release and -- as someone characterized her -- is a baller. Without Powers, this is going to be a tough conference year for them. Don't see them doing much more than "ole" to Maryland and Ohio State and Northwestern and Michigan look to have more players on the bench worth getting in, as well.
As for ND, I don't think they're uninspired at all: in fact, I think they've played two of their better games of the year in consecutive order against Toledo (who are not "cupcakes," to borrow Huskynan's description of some teams) and now Michigan State.
As for the uninspired/indifference aspect:
- This is not an overly demonstrative team, very much being like their coach. There is no Skylar, Kmac or Natalie Achonwa who visibly takes charge. There's not even a Mikayla Mabrey who used to be the ringleader on court, particularly during stoppages in play. But they care. However, Allen plays with a quiet confidence and Turner is determined. And there's passion...Mabrey keeps it bottled in and you can tell it's ready to blow at times. And Ogunbowale can be exuberant, in her own way.
- ND teams have a way of not going for the jugular. Could be personality. Could be Muffet playing an extended rotation or perhaps tinkering to see what works best. It can be frustrating, but a few years back I'd take an 18-point win on a hostile away court and be quite content. Some high expectations these days.
- A lot of folks thought ND was returning a veteran team. Yes, three starters came back (Turner, Allen and Westbeld), but Kat was an incidental starter (when Reimer left) and she didn't play as many minutes as most. Mabrey2 and Arike were superfrosh, but still came off the bench. Plus, we were working in two new frosh and hoping Koko Nelson and Ali Patberg would come into the rotation. The mixing and matching takes time to get it right.
Interestingly enough, we might have a case of addition by subtraction. I think we've gotten a bit stronger since one player has been out. That's not to knock Jackie Young, who may become the most talented guard we've had in years, but it has allowed Muffet to shorten the rotation and that group has played it's roles: ball is going down to Turner more regularly and she'd delivering; Mabrey is shooting better but also playing well overall; Allen is steady as per usual; and, Westbeld continues to become a vital cog,with consistency and more scoring and rebounding as of late. Ogunbowale has cooled a bit, but I suspect she'll run hot and cold, as scorers do.
So, I think we're actually playing better and with more drive since the UConn game. The Irish may not show it on their sleeves, but it's there.
