As everyone knows by now, Michigan State lost to North Carolina 89-72 in the NCAA Championship game back on Monday. The Tar Heels proved that they were the best team in college basketball this year, but having said that, the Spartans looked out-of-sync for essentially the entire game (but particularly in the first half). However, even if State had played at the level they showed in the Louisville and UConn games, I think North Carolina still wins the game by about 7-10 points.
What a great run the Spartans had this year. If someone had told me back in November or early December that this team would not only win the Big Ten title, but play in the national championship game, I would not believe him (or her). This team improved exponentially from the beginning of the season to the end. Delvon Roe finally got reasonably health and was excellent during the Big Ten season (but looked like he ran out of gas in the tournament), Goran Suton fulfilled his great promise in a big way, and Draymond Green was the most pleasant and unexpected surprise of the season. Add to that the emergence of Durrell Summers, the blossoming leadership of Kalin Lucas, and the awesome defender and emotional sparkplug that was Travis Walton, and it all added up to a great season. They weren't always a fun team to watch play during the regular season, but by the NCAA tournament they were positively exhilirating. The future looks bright for Michigan State basketball.
I only attended two MSU basketball games in person this year, but the two I saw demonstrated the two "Jeckyll and Hyde" extremes of this team. The first was a non-conference game against the Citadel, in which the Spartans sleepwalked their way to a sloppy and uninspired victory against a much weaker opponent. (In fairness to MSU, how inspired can you get against the Citadel, for crying out loud? Plus, the game took place just before the Spartans were about to go on the road to play Texas--and I'm sure they couldn't help but look ahead to the Longhorns). The other game I saw in person was the home game against Minnesota. State had just come off the devastating home loss to Penn State, and the poor Gophers were in the wrong place at the wrong time. MSU came out as focused and inspired as I saw them the entire year (until NCAA tournament, that is) and completely demolished Minnesota. It was an awesome display of nearly flawless basketball.
Anyway, congratulations to the Spartans on providing us with a season we will remember and cherish for a long time.
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