I am finishing off a glass of pinot grigio that I am drinking to dull the pain of tonight's MSU loss to Louisville, and desultorily watching the Ohio State Buckeyes finish off Cincinnati. My mood will not be helped by the Buckeyes advancing to the Elite Eight. I must admit that I don't like seeing other Big Ten teams advance further than Michigan State. I know it's petty, but I don't care. (Actually, that's not entirely true. I'd love to see Indiana beat Kentucky tomorrow night).
Tonight was just not MSU's night. They couldn't shoot, they were continually out-hustled and out-worked by Louisville, they had a terrible time with the full-court press, and they struggled with the Cardinals' matchup zone. Heck, the Spartans couldn't even make uncontested layups tonight, in the rare occasion they actually had uncontested layups. And it's sad to say that most of MSU's shot attempts in the paint were extremely contested, and often blocked about ten rows into the stands by the Cardinals' giraffe-like center, Gorgui Dieng.
In short, the Spartans just looked tired tonight.
It is now approaching midnight as I write this, and I really need to wrap it up and get to bed. I've spent most of tonight commiserating with other Spartan fans on Facebook and the Red Cedar Message Board. Overall, it was a great season for MSU, but we have reached the point where NOT making the Final Four is a bit of a letdown. That shows the extent to which we've been spoiled by the incredible success of Tom Izzo.
I'll be back soon to offer some final observations on MSU's 2011-2012 basketball season. In the meantime, nighty-night everyone.
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