“It’s the best story in years,” I gushed to a Spartan fan, hours after MSU nailed Louisville to win the East Region’s crown.
Courtesy: thesportsbank.net
MSU’s tournament run is classic: an underdog—a 40/1 shot at winning the championship—has risen to the occasion, big-time. It also rings true to what’s becoming a gambler’s credo: “Never count out Izzo come tournament time.” Hyperbole, you say? Well, what about the guy in Las Vegas who put 20k on the line, betting MSU will win it all—in December, mind you? Yowza! The payout if MSU wins: a cool million.
But here’s the thing: From a national perspective we’ve seen this storyline before—not years or decades ago—but just last year. UConn did it. The Huskies were the first 7-seed to win the NCAA championship since the tournament expanded to over 60 teams. The Spartans are the second 7-seed to make The Final Four. And, just like the Spartans, few prognosticators took the Huskies seriously at the outset of last year’s tournament. UConn was lumped with teams in the 50/1 to win category.
Truth be told, fellow Spartan and TSC columnist Kraig Ehm reminded me about UConn ‘14. Me? I was in Spartan myopia, caught up in my own team, oblivious to broader circumstances—even recent history.
Courtesy: cdn.breibart.com
What UConn did last year MSU is doing this year—and the two teams are following an eerily similar script. Consider these facts. The Huskies were a 7-seed last year, just as is MSU this year. UConn finished 3rd in its conference last year (regular season), just as did MSU this year. UConn lost in the conference tournament title game, just as did MSU this year. And the NCAA tournament runs look very much the same.
Last year the Huskies started with an OT win over St. Joe’s (10-seed). That victory was followed by three more wins—all unexpected—against 6th-ranked Villanova (2-seed), 9th-ranked Iowa State (3-seed), and 11th-ranked Michigan State (4-seed). The national semi-final was against Florida, a team UConn played earlier in the year. UF, a -6 pick against the Huskies, were odds-on Vegas favorites to win the national crown. UConn won by 10. Two days later the Huskies beat Kentucky (by 6) to win it all.
Courtesy: wikipedia.com
This year MSU also began tournament play by beating a 10-seed (Georgia). Then the Spartans peeled off three unexpected wins—as did UConn last year—also against 2-4 seeds: Virginia, Oklahoma, and Louisville in that order. In the national semifinals MSU will go up against Duke, a team the Spartans played earlier this year. The Blue Devils, a -5 favorite with a money betting trend of over 70%, are to MSU was Florida was to UConn last year.
The team profiles are similar, too. UConn guard Shabazz Napier ran the team. He did for UConn what Travis Trice is doing for MSU. Ryan Boatright (G) and DeAndre Daniels (F) are other names that stood out for UConn in ‘14. MSU analogues this year are Denzel Valentine (G) and Branden Dawson (F).
What does the UConn-MSU experience tell us? First and foremost, it says it can be done. Teams can come out of “seemingly nowhere” to win it all. We know that, intellectually, because it has happened in the NCAA’s before. Take Villanova. The Wildcats won it all in 1985, but they weren’t ranked in the Top 20 going into the tournament and VU lost the regular season finale by over 20 points. And UConn won the title in 1999, the year it was called “The Duke Invitational.” The take-away message is this: The great team doesn’t always win, but the winning team always plays great.
Courtesy: ctpost.com
The second thing it tells us is that “it”—the impossible to describe and difficult to predict phenomenon—is present when a team begins playing at a championship level. In some cases it’s the leadership exhibited by a single player. After last year’s UConn game MSU players talked about “the look” they saw in Napier’s eyes. It was his will to win. Napier took over games, putting the outcome squarely on his shoulders.
Courtesy: freep.com
What’s “it” this year? One answer is this: Master Teacher Izzo has pupils who are internalizing, then executing, lesson plans at a high and consistent level. Witness the fact that Izzo installed a new defense in about one day—between the end of the Georgia game (on Friday) and the beginning of the UVA game (on Sunday)—to attack the Cavalier’s mischievous “Circle Offense.” It worked.
When everything is said and done it’s probably a stretch to label any story “as the best in years.” There are a lot of really good stories and UConn ’14 and MSU ’15 are certainly two.
Stories like these share something in common, too: they make fans swell with pride and bring tears to their eyes.
Great article! I just love the fact that MSU is considered an almost prohibitive underdog. It will motivate these Spartans. Ir\t will also relieve them of the pressure that is certainly weighing heavily on Kentucky and Wisconsin, one of which I predict will under-perform from the pressure. I think MSU can beat either of those teams. Duke and Coach K will absolutely not take MSU lightly. The advantage for MSU, I believe, is their tenacity and chemistry. They will just not quit. I have little doubt Duke will start fast, smack Sparty in the mouth early, and try to overwhelm them. If MSU’s collective heart shows up, and I think it will…and if they play signature Spartan defense…they ill be there, in the end, fully capable of winning. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Great article!!