Random thoughts from the aftermath

After wimping out and only watching the first half of the Oklahoma game, I'm happy to report that I watched the ENTIRE Louisville game, start to nerve-wracking, heart-pounding finish. I was so nervous during the final few minutes of regulation and overtime that my hands were shaking.

It's funny that no matter how many of these games I've watched over the span of my sports fandom, it never gets any easier. I am always a nervous wreck when these big games are closely contested and go right down to the wire.

Michigan State is now one win away from tying Indiana for the most tournament wins of any Big Ten program. I can't think of a more satisfying victim than Duke for that 64th win.

Just out of curiosity, I took a look at the four rosters of Michigan State, Wisconsin, Duke, and Kentucky to see where their players are from. Seven of MSU's 16 players are from Michigan, and seven of Wisconsin's 16 players are from Wisconsin. MSU has only two players from outside of the Midwest, Lourawls Nairn (Bahamas--but played prep basketball in Kansas) and Colby Wollenman (Wyoming).

Based on a quick Wikipedia search, I've determined that give or take a few vacated John Calipari wins, the combined career won-lost record of the four Final Four coaches is 2842-909. That has to be the most combined victories of Final Four coaches in any individual year.

I don't want to get overly political in this blog, but I'm disturbed by Indiana's "religious freedom" law, which I see as merely an excuse for legalized discriminatory policies against the LGBTQ community. Imagine if Duke University, the University of Kentucky, Michigan State University, and the University of Wisconsin all boycotted the Final Four in Indianapolis? Of course, it won't happen, but if it did it'd make a huge statement and quite possibly bring the state of Indiana to its knees. It's a nice fantasy.

I was surprised to see that Loyola, a team that Michigan State beat handily on November 21 (a game that I actually attended) is playing against Louisiana-Monroe for the CBI championship. Good for them. Go Ramblers!

This will be the third Final Four in the last seven years that I won't be at home. Final Four weekend always takes place during my kids' spring break, so this year I'll be in Toronto on Final Four weekend. In 2009, I was in Chicago and in 2012 it was--of all places--Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The funny thing was, when we made these vacation plans, I said, "Ah, no problem, it'll be fine. MSU doesn't stand much of a chance to be in the Final Four, so no big deal if we're in Toronto." Maybe I should say that ever year.

If I think of any more random nonsense, I'll add it later.

A most improbable Final Four

I can't remember being this happily stunned in my almost four decades as a Michigan State sports fan. Who would have ever guessed that this team would end up in the Final Four?

 

This is a team that lost at home to Texas Southern (which I suppose isn't such a bad loss in retrospect since Texas Southern rolled to a conference title and NCAA tournament berth), blew a lead and lost its Big Ten home opener to Maryland, and for the remaining 3/4 of the conference season was up-and-down, at various times making the fans and media wonder aloud if Izzo's NCAA tournament streak would end at 17.

 

To this team's credit, they improved, they fought, they scratched, they believed in themselves. The Spartans demonstrated an inner resolve in the last few conference games and finished alone in 3rd place in the standings. After a loss to Wisconsin in Madison on March 1 concluded an 0-2 week (which included an ugly loss to Minnesota at Breslin), a switch turned on. Since the regular season loss to Wisconsin, Michigan State has won eight of its last nine games. 

 

Then they rolled in the Big Ten tournament before losing a heartbreaker against Wisconsin in the championship. It was a game that the Spartans should have won, but let slip away.

 

By now, we should know better than to EVER doubt Tom Izzo's ability to mold and motivate a team.
 

I don't know what will happen from this point. The Spartans have been playing with house money since at least the round of 32 game against Virginia. Duke, the next opponent, has been the constant immovable object in MSU's way. Certainly, few will expect the Spartans to win, but for that reason they should play with no fears or worries.

Enjoy the ride, fellow fans (even if you can't stay up past 11:30)

10:07 is entirely too late to start any athletic contest, but it's the price you pay for having a successful basketball team playing in a Sweet Sixteen. It just means that I have to find a strategic approach to staying up to watch the game.

 

Well, I meant to publish the comments above before the game. I'm sorry to admit I was only able to stay awake for the first half of last night's game. I had too much going on this morning and simply couldn't stay up that late.

 

Some kind of fan I am.

 

Is it safe to say that, considering the travails this team had earlier in the season (actually less than a month ago), this is the most unlikely and surprising Elite Eight of Izzo's tenure?

 

Tomorrow, the next opponent is Louisville, a program that ended MSU's season in 2012. Let's hope for a different outcome this year. At this point, any more wins the Spartans achieve is gravy.

Enjoy the ride.

"These guys enjoy being around each other"...(and it shows)

Did anyone, outside of Tom Izzo and the Spartan players, think that Michigan State basketball had a realistic shot at the Sweet Sixteen this season?

In a game that was frequently hard on the eyes--due to the sludgy, barroom brawl-with-a-basketball style of hoops implemented by Virginia coach Tony Bennett--the Spartans beat the Cavaliers at their own game--due to Tom Izzo shaking up MSU's defensive scheme in the one day turnaround between the Georgia game and the Virginia game. It was the best defensive performance I've seen from Michigan State all season. Travis Trice provided a big offensive spark early on, Branden Dawson displayed his prodigious athleticism and did the little things that aren't reflected in the stat sheet, and the Spartans basically out-muscled Virginia 60-54.

It's high time I sang the praises of this team. They're certainly not the most talented team MSU has ever had, and heaven knows they are the worst free throw shooting team in Tom Izzo's tenure, but as the coach said in his post-game press conference, "These guys enjoy being around each other." That is a key component to their success this season.

I liked Travis Trice as a player as soon as I saw him as a freshman. He simply had the look of a kid who would develop into a great leader. To borrow from sports cliches, a "glue guy," a "program player." In other words, a player who is not gifted with the greatest athletic ability in the world, but has court vision, a knowledge of the game, leadership, and a strong work ethic. But in this last month or so, Trice has even exceeded what I saw as his potential. He has a great step-back jump shot and has developed an ability to drive the lane, lay up beautiful floaters or elevate high for a slam dunk, Trice has been a fun player to watch his entire four years in East Lansing.

There has never been a question about Branden Dawson's athletic ability. He is able to do things on the court that are awe-inspiring. The problem has been inconsistency: there have been times Dawson has played like the best player on the floor and others where he has disappeared. But Dawson has elevated his game recently and is playing with an urgency of someone who knows his college career is almost over and doesn't want it to end. I like Dawson about as much as I like Trice, and hope that he can at least have a good career for himself overseas, playing in Europe or elsewhere. Perhaps, with enough work, he can develop into a legitimate NBA small forward. He certainly has the rebounding ability. I don't know the last time I saw a player his size dominate the glass--and Dawson is also the best "glass cleaner" or "trash man" I've ever seen in a Michigan State uniform. I can't count the number of times I've seen Dawson seemingly arrive out of nowhere to put back a missed shot. He's a master at that.

Denzel Valentine has the ability to amaze and aggravate like few players I've seen. One minute, he can make a brilliant pass the likes of which Magic Johnson might envy, and the next moment make a mistake that has you either pounding your head against a wall or cursing your television. But that's what you get with Denzel. He's a little reckless and extremely fearless, much like Connor Cook on the MSU football team. Like Cook, he doesn't allow mistakes get him down, and this is one element that makes him an outstanding basketball player.

The rest of the team has grown over the season, and all the players know their roles. Nobody on this team seems to have an ego. Matt Costello does the dirty work in the paint, Lourawls Nairn brings energy and toughness, Marvin Clark has overcome a rocky start to his freshman year and now plays solid defense and hits the occasional shot, Alvin Ellis has made huge strides in just the last few weeks, Bryn Forbes can provide instant offense, at least when he makes his shots (and he's been making many more of them lately) and is much better on defense now than he was earlier in the season. Though Gavin Schilling has had a rocky season, and draws fouls at an Aloysius Anagonye-esque rate, he has tremendous upside (and next to Dawson is probably the most ripped guy on the team). Schilling is another player with a high ceiling.

Anyone who is a Michigan State basketball fan has to be extremely proud of how far this team has come this season, and any more victories they obtain from this point forward is gravy. Maybe, just maybe, this team will end up being the Final Four team we expected to see last season. If so, it will be one of the most memorable seasons in Spartan hoops history.

According to plan

Friday's game against Georgia went pretty much according to plan. MSU builds a double-digit lead, watches it evaporate, but manages to hang on and win. Though the free throw shooting was predictably atrocious through most of the game, Denzel Valentine hit six in a row down the stretch to seal the victory. Kudos to Denzel, he saved the day.

I wasn't terribly impressed with Virginia's win over Belmont. Granted, it's only one game and hard to make a blanket judgment; but it demonstrated that the Cavaliers are vulnerable. It probably also helps that the Spartans beat Virginia in last year's tournament and know what to expect from Tony Bennett's defensively-minded style.

The game starts in about one hour. 12:10ish on a Sunday afternoon. It's good in that it'll be over by about 2:30 leaving the rest of the day free to get some things done. Of course, my degree of motivation will largely be dependent on the result of this game, and I can't say whether a win or loss will increase motivation--but clearly I want a win.

March Madness

I just finished watching Purdue lose an overtime thriller to Cincinnati, while a few hours earlier I saw Ohio State escape VCU in overtime. Harvard came back against North Carolina and only lost by two. Two 3-seeds have already gone down (Baylor and Iowa State). March is mad, as usual.

I'm sufficiently recovered from the Spartans' heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament championship game. (That makes two gut-wrenching, and somewhat controversial, losses to Wisconsin in conference championships--football in 2011 and now basketball in 2015. I'm done with playing the Badgers in conference title games. It never ends well).

 

I have no idea what to expect from MSU's game against Georgia tomorrow. (I won't be around to see it anyway, since it starts at 12:40. I'll be at work and will have to follow it on my phone). The team has been so unpredictable this season that anything is possible. I don't know much about Georgia either. Looking at their season, they have no wins over any team currently in the top 25, though they played Kentucky close both times they faced the Wildcats--for whatever that's worth.

 

My main concern with MSU is their inability to put teams away. I could see the Spartans having, say, a 10-point lead with two minutes left and somehow managing to let it slip away, either losing in a buzzer-beater or hanging on to win by two or three points. I suppose what would shock me is if MSU is either blown out by Georgia or blows out the Bulldogs themselves. This will most likely be a close game decided by less than five points.

 

Playing with house money

It was the most satisfying basketball victory of the season...at least so far.

MSU's 62-58 comeback win over Maryland reminded this fan of the great Tom Izzo-coached teams of the past. The game that immediately came to mind was the 1999 Elite Eight win over heavily favored Kentucky. The Spartans overcame a 17-4 deficit, fought and clawed back, and beat the Wildcats 73-66.  Against the Terrapins yesterday, the Spartans overcame deficits of 12-1 and 23-7 to come back, repeatedly punch Maryland in the mouth, and render the Terps wounded and defeated. It was a script followed by many great Izzo teams in the past.

There was a resilience and resolve in yesterday's performance that I've rarely seen this season. It's a testament to the greatness of Tom Izzo and his uncanny ability to mold and shape a basketball team through the course of a season.

As a fan who has endured more nailbiting close games than I can even count this season, I decided to simply turn off my emotions as much as possible yesterday and simply let the game unfold. It made for a less harrowing experience.

Now the Spartans are playing with house money. I don't expect MSU to beat Wisconsin in today's tournament championship, but neither would I be shocked if it happened. As we've come to expect, Izzo has the team playing its best basketball when it matters most and almost anything seems possible.

Beating Wisconsin will be a tall order, as they are clearly the class of the Big Ten. Frank Kaminsky should be national player of the year. The guy can beat you in so many ways: great post player with nimble moves who can also shoot from the perimeter. The Badgers also have a great supporting cast in Koenig, Dekker, Hayes, and Gasser.

Still, I love how MSU is coming around in March. They may not have enough to knock off Wisconsin, but the game should certainly be interesting.