Junior guard/forward Branden Dawson guards Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff on March 6, 2014, at Breslin Center during the game against Iowa. The Spartans defeated the Hawkeyes, 86-76. Julia Nagy/The State News
Even though the scoreboard said the regular season ended on a sour note, the No. 22 Spartans are confident as ever heading into March Madness.
“I still believe that this team has enough juice left in the tank,” head coach Tom Izzo said at Tuesday’s press conference.
“And I think we’re gaining a little bit of confidence.”
MSU ended its season with a 69-67 loss to Ohio State , giving the Spartans the No. 3 seed for the unpredictable Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. The top-four finish was enough for the Spartans to lock up ?a first-round bye, making their first game this Friday against the winner of the Iowa-Northwestern matchup on Thursday night.
Having an injury-depleted roster for the better portion of the season, the Spartans have played the last three games with a full lineup.
Junior guard Branden Dawson, who missed nine games with a broken hand, agrees 100 percent with Izzo that despite the loss in Columbus, the now-healthy Spartans are on the right track.
“We just know how good we are as a team,” Dawson said. “We know that we have the team, we have all the pieces, we have all the guys who are just getting better.”
After the game, Dawson said if there is one facet MSU needs to work on, it’s communication and staying on the same page on the hardwood. That sentiment is highlighted by a 48 combined turnovers in the last three games.
Following Tuesday’s practice, Dawson said the team is making strides, saying they ran through drills that harped on communication, something that’s been a repeated issue.
The team will need to be sharp in every aspect of the game during the competitive tournament coming up this weekend. Going deep in the Big Ten Tournament will put all eyes back on the Spartans, and senior forward Adreian Payne said it’s also a chance to make up for lost time.
“We definitely got something to prove,” Payne said. “We didn’t play great in the course of the season, (except) at the beginning of the season, we played really well. Now it’s just trying to get back to that level.”
Those tuning in will be watching arguably the most puzzling Big Ten Tournament in years, as every team won at least five conference games.
Dawson has taken note of the parity, saying this is the strongest field he has seen in his three years at MSU.
“You have Michigan, you have Wisconsin and we have a lot of teams that are good,” Dawson said. “During the regular season, we have teams like Nebraska that was beating good, ranked teams, so I would say the competition is better.”
The Spartans will tip off Friday around 9 p.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indy.
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