The 3-2-1: Michigan State HC Robyn Fralick already has Spartans in NCAA Tournament contention
East Lansing, Mich. – Anytime you are tasked with taking over a college basketball program, establishing culture is a huge hurdle but a necessary step if the program is expected to be successful going forward. It appears that first year Michigan State women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick has mastered that and more.
In the team’s 82-61 blowout over rival Michigan on Saturday, the Wolverines attempted a two-pronged strategy in an effort to spoil Fralick’s introduction to the rivalry: lock down Michigan State’s leading scorer, graduate senior guard and captain Moira Joiner; and bully the undersized Spartans in the post by pounding the ball inside against a team, whose tallest available healthy player measures 6-foot-2.
It didn’t work.
The Spartans employed quickness, good ball movement and near flawless sharing of the basketball to thwart the Wolverines’ chances for victory.
Michigan State shot 46 percent from the floor, had just 11 turnovers and converted 24 field goals on 17 assists. Oh and by the way, the Spartans out-rebounded Michigan, 33-31.
And they had fun doing it, which Fralick intends to be a staple in her program as she puts her spin on what Michigan State women’s basketball should be about, now and in the future.
The now Spartans (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten) will travel to Rutgers for a Tuesday evening matchup (7 pm on Big Ten Plus) in an effort to extend a mini run that has produced victories in two of their last three games.
A victory would tie last season’s overall win total and increase the chances of getting back to the NCAA Tournament with eight games remaining after Michigan State’s visit to Rutgers.
Continue below for Three Things We’ve Learned, Two Questions, and One Prediction as the Spartans come down the home stretch in Big Ten play.
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. FRALICK SHOULD GET COACH OF THE YEAR CONSIDERATION
It’s not likely that Fralick will win Big Ten Coach of the Year, but she should get consideration for the job she and her staff are doing with a group that is down four players due to season-ending injuries, and is making due with post shortages befitting a mid-major team.
You can expect Iowa’s Lisa Bluder, Ohio State Kevin McGuff or Indiana’s Teri Moren to vie for Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, depending on which of the three wins the regular season conference title.
Fralick isn’t likely to get a first-place vote. But the truth is Fralick has crafted something special in Season 1 and if you don’t believe me, listen to her players, especially the upperclasswomen, who were thrust into change when Suzy Merchant’s tenure as head coach came to an end.
“She (Fralick) just let’s us be us and I think that really helps and it’s helped us when we’ve faced some tough times and situations,’’ graduate senior guard/forward and captain Julia Ayrault said.
Michigan State was not selected to finish among the top five in the Big Ten by the coaches or media. Yet as we wind down regular season play, the Spartans are among the upper tier teams of the Big Ten, sitting in fifth, above Michigan, Maryland and Illinois, all teams picked to finish in the top five by either the coaches or the media.
By the way, Michigan State also didn’t have any preseason All-Big Ten picks. At least two should finish with some sort of all-league recognition by season’s end, with Moira Joiner (5-10, Gr., Saginaw), Julia Ayrault (6-2, Gr., Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and DeeDee Hagemann (5-7, Jr., Detroit) prime candidates.
2. THESE PLAYERS HAVE EACH OTHERS’ BACK
One of the main reasons for Michigan State’s success this season has been this team’s ability to pick one another up despite adversity.
Despite losing four players to season-ending injuries, the Spartans have won 15 games with a predominately seven-player rotation.
Against Michigan, with Michigan’s defense determined to shut down Joiner, junior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, who followed Fralick to East Lansing from Bowling Green, picked up the slack with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 24 minutes of play.
Tate entered the game averaging just seven points per game.
“I would say it’s just really positive vibes and really positive energy and everyone feeds off of that,’’ Ayrault said “We all really trust each other and trust in each other’s ability and we know that okay, whoever’s night it is, let’s do it. Let’s roll with it.’’
Against Maryland, a 74-69 win, speedy tough sophomore guard Theryn Hallock came off the bench to contribute 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes.
And against Purdue, a 97-70 victory, Hallock and graduate senior guard/forward Tory Ozment came off the bench to combine for 47 points on 17-of-20 shooting.
“I would say it’s us building each other up and us trusting each other but also the coaching staff,’’ Ayrault said. “They (the coaching staff) do a great job of trusting us and telling us to just do what you’re good at and that that’s all we can ask of you. They’ve done a really good job of just giving us confidence and us giving it to each other. It’s been really good.’’
3. FRALICK’S PHILOSOPHY HAS EASED THE PATH
It’s been mentioned before but deserves to be visited once again.
Fralick refuses to put the added pressure of performance in big time athletics upon the shoulders of her players.
Smiles, dancing and a positive and upbeat approach, even in times of stress, are encouraged and almost required when you look at the environment surrounding the Spartans’ bench during games.
It’s probably the biggest reason why Michigan State has not lost two games in a row so far this season.
Now, don’t mistake Fralick’s approach with an inmates running the asylum mentality.
Case in point, DeeDee Hagemann and Ozment missed Michigan State’s win over Central Michigan for violating team rules.
The message was delivered and received and both players have been instrumental in the team’s success as the Spartans have gone 7-3 since the victory over the Chippewas.
“It’s a kid’s game. You grow up playing it as a kid and you’ve got to keep that,” Fralick reiterated after Michigan State’s win over Michigan. “As you move up levels, there can be different expectations (and) different pressures but at the end of the day, it’s a kid’s game. And when you can have that piece of you in the center of how you play, you play different. That’s hard to do but we try our best to remember and keep a culture and an atmosphere of it’s a kids game.’’
TWO QUESTIONS
1. HOW SIGNIFICANT WOULD AN NCAA TOURNAMENT BID BE?
Okay, so maybe a WNIT bid would have been nice in Fralick’s first season in East Lansing but it seems we are beyond that.
And to Fralick’s credit, the goal of getting to The Big Dance has not been something Michigan State, its players and coaches have shied away from.
Michigan State, as a program, has embraced the idea of getting into the field of 68 and it seems like most, if not all of the women’s college basketball analysts and pundits agree – Michigan State is an NCAA Tournament team.
“We’ve talked about and we talk about it all of the time,’’ Hagemann said. “We have goals and we have places we want to get to.’’
The Spartans enter their game on Tuesday night against the Scarlet Knights projected as a No. 9 seed out West but it looks like this team could improve its standing, maybe even grabbing a No. 7 seed, before the regular season ends.
In it’s final eight regular season games before the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan State still has to play at No. 10 Indiana (Feb. 8) and at home against No. 8 Ohio State (Feb. 11) and will face Michigan again in Ann Arbor on Feb. 18th.
“Well, we’re playing for something,” Fralick said. “You have to savor this (the win over Michigan) and then you’ve got to move (on) because there’s tons of games left. This team is playing for something so we got to have a mentality around that.’’
2. WILL THIS TEAM’S SUCCESS AFFECT RECRUITING?
It seems the Spartans are already getting a boost by getting pledges from two players ranked in the 2024 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings – ESPNW Top 100.
Juliann Woodard, a 6-foot forward out of North Vernon, Ind. is ranked No. 59, while Sinai Douglas, a point guard out of Toledo, Ohio ranks No. 90.
The Spartans are also adding 6-3 forward Ines Sotelo Miguez out of Spain and Helen Holley, a 6-1 forward out of Cleveland.
And in the 2025 class, Michigan State has already received a verbal from the No. 43 ranked player in Minnesota guard Jordan Ode.
Those are strong commitments, with indications that stronger days are ahead on the recruiting front.
ONE PREDICTION
This team will finish with 19 regular season wins and maybe 20 if they can grab a signature win over Indiana or Ohio State.
While it is more likely that Michigan State will finish 4-4 in its last eight regular season games after Tuesday night, don’t be surprised if a 5-3 finish is in the cards.
The Spartans should beat Rutgers, Wisconsin and Illinois, all teams that entered this week with losing records. Grabbing more wins in meetings with Michigan and Minnesota seems doable with the way this team is playing as the regular season winds down before the Big Ten Tournament starts on March 6.
Robyn Fralick huddles with Moira Joiner, Theryrn Hallock and the rest of the Spartans during Saturday’s 82-61 victory over Michigan before more than 9,000 fans at Breslin Center. (Photo by Nick King | USA Today Network).
