It’s the Mitten’s first ever free association column, a group of disjointed thoughts on college basketball following last night’s MSU victory over Michigan at Crisler Arena.

• Michigan State seems really to have taken the Penn State and Northwestern losses to heart. Specifically, if there’s a defensive weakness to a typical Tom Izzo team, it’s on the perimeter, where the Spartans are vulnerable to a lights-out shooting night from opposing guards. Kevin Coble and Talor Battle both exploited that weakness. But State’s defenders have looked much better on close-outs since the Penn State game, holding Michigan to 35% shooting (17% from 3); Indiana to 31% (19% from 3) and Minnesota to 29% (25% from 3). Michigan’s shooters missed some good looks, but the lion’s share of the credit has to go the defense for causing a 17% 3-point shooting night from a team that emphasizes the long ball. Most nights, you don’t have to face a red-hot jumpshooter; but in the NCAA tournament, you probably will.
• The Spartans’ frontcourt is coming into its own. If you’re looking for signs that this isn’t the same MSU team that got pounded by North Carolina, start there. It’s not just Goran Suton, it’s the emergence of Delvon Roe and Draymond Green. Add Raymar Morgan back into the mix, not to mention Marquis Gray, and this is an exciting group. The only weakness here is that Green and Roe are scoring on putbacks and great feeds; only Suton has shown the ability to score consistently as a back-to-the-basket post threat. If only Roe could get that baby hook going . . .
• Michigan’s NCAA hopes are dimming, but the Wolverines aren’t playing bad basketball. The defense looked good last night, and the offense just needs to add another dimension so that opposing defenses can’t concentrate so hard on taking the Wolverines’ shooters out of the game. MSU’s defense was extended, something Michigan exploited with nice drop-step moves from the free throw line by DeShawn Sims and later Zack Gibson, but U-M needs a genuine post threat or a guard who can get to the lane consistently to force defenses to adjust. If that happens, Michigan can turn the corner. (Or re-turn the corner, since it seemed to have had the corner turned earlier in the season with the big wins over UCLA and Duke.)
• It’s especially encouraging for State fans to see these smothering defensive performances without Raymar Morgan. Both because Morgan is an outstanding performer and because the guys replacing him — Durrell Summers and Chris Allen — aren’t known for their great D. Neither will yet be mistaken for Travis Walton, but they’re making strides.
• Now MSU has a week off to prepare for Purdue. That’s a tough game, on the road in West Lafayette. But if State can come away with a victory, it would put a chokehold on the Big Ten race. It would be nice for MSU to wrap the regular season conference title up early, so it can focus on tournament play. But considering how many times State has finished on the cusp in recent years, the race will exact a heavy emotional toll on MSU if it goes down to the wire.