SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Travis Trice collapsed near half court, clutched his chest and began sobbing in long, dry heaves.
He told Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. the night before he wouldn’t cry after the game if the Spartans pulled off the improbable. That was a lie.
“You don’t ever want to see your baby cry, however, this, I said, ‘Just let it go, baby,’” Trice’s mother, Julie Trice, said after the game.
After everything he’s been through in his career — multiple injuries, a brain infection and two missed summers of offseason work — in addition to the turmoil the Spartans have dealt with this season, he couldn’t hold the tears back.
A year after MSU fell to UConn in the Elite Eight round, snapping head coach Tom Izzo’s famed streak of bringing every four year senior in his program to a Final Four, the Spartans found redemption Sunday.
Behind Travis Trice’s 17-point, five-rebound and five-assist performance, the No. 7 seed Spartans defeated No. 4 seed Louisville in overtime, 76-70, to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2010.
The streak has begun once again.
“I can’t put it into words,” Travis Trice, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional, said. “Just everything we’ve been through just this season alone. The ups and the downs, people doubting us.”
Trice said there was an obvious point this season when everything clicked.
“There came a point in the year where it was just us, just the people in our locker room and our program,” he said. “I’m just more happy for us as a whole. We stuck together. We could have quit. We could have rolled over and died, but we didn’t. We just kept fighting.”
A gutsy win
It almost didn’t happen.
Leading 65-64 with 40 seconds left, freshman forward Marvin Clark grabbed a key defensive rebound and was fouled.
He stepped to the free throw line with a chance to extend MSU’s lead to three, and missed both attempts.
It could’ve cost MSU the win, but lucky for MSU, Louisville redshirt sophomore forward/center Mangok Mathiang split a trip to the line on the following possession to send the game into overtime.
Clark was a key player in overtime, where the Spartans took the lead early with a 3-pointer by Bryn Forbes and never looked back.
Izzo trusted Clark to hold down the paint with sophomore forward Gavin Schilling and junior forward Matt Costello on the bench with five fouls, and the freshman rose to the occasion.
“I told him, ‘We wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for you,’” Trice said. “We wouldn’t be in this situation.
“Listen, dude, we’re going to get another rebound. You’re going to get a chance at this. We are not going to lose because of this. Don’t worry about it. Just get a stop on defense, and we’ll be fine.”
It was a tale of two halves for MSU on Sunday, and lucky for the Spartans, the second half was the stronger one. MSU held Louisville to five made field goals in the second half minutes after allowing the Cardinals to shoot 53 percent in the first half.
Junior guard Denzel Valentine was a major part of the turnaround, totaling six points, six rebounds and six assists in the span. He finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Izzo said he played Valentine at four positions Sunday, relying on him to exploit his full skill set.
“He’s our emotional leader, and sometimes that makes him crazy,” Izzo said. “I thought early in the game he was so wound up that he took that one shot — I don’t know where that one came from, but I could just tell he was just so jacked. I think, if you got one thing that I got out of these guys today — and I’m with them every day, but I think the burning desire to be at this Final Four and to realize that they didn’t want to be a group that didn’t make it.”
Senior forward Branden Dawson also shook off a slow start to make impact plays down the stretch. Mindless turnovers by Dawson helped Louisville stay in the game earlier, but he locked down toward the end of the second half and in overtime.
His tip-in of a missed 3-pointer by Bryn Forbes in overtime ended a 4-0 Louisville run that threatened to give the Cardinal the lead.
“I put it in my mind that I wasn’t going to let us lose,” Valentine said. “Travis and Bryn and B.J. (Dawson) all stepped up big time and made big plays down the stretch. I think that’s why we deserve to be in the Final Four.”
Redemption
When MSU fell to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, Izzo said he wanted that banner as a symbol that the Spartans could overcome anything to find postseason success.
Almost a month later, the Spartans have earned that banner. Through the difficult losses, missed free throws, injuries to key guys and criticism from both fans and media, MSU has done what many thought was impossible.
“This is a bigger banner,” Izzo said. “I don’t know if it will be in size, but it will be in meaning.”
Izzo wouldn’t say this is his best Final Four run, but he did admit it is the most improbable run of his career.
Trice said in hindsight, he’s happy the Spartans lost last year. It makes this year’s accomplishment that much sweeter.
“It’s been motivation,” Trice said. “I think it’s made, especially us three (Trice, Valentine, Dawson) over here, a lot better. It’s added extra motivation for us in the summer, in the fall, even in practice. We push harder now than we ever have.”
The loss last season motivated the Spartans, and now they find themselves going to Indianapolis for the Final Four.
“I feel like it’s brought not only us three closer but our whole program together,” Trice said. “Losing last year the way we did, especially with the expectation, it’s just added to this year. It just makes it so much better.”
It’s been 15 years since Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans to Izzo’s first national title. Izzo didn’t think the Spartans would get this far. He’s excited to see where they end up.
“It was a dog-eat-dog day, boy, and I think both teams spent themselves,” Izzo said. “Just can’t believe where we’re going. I’m going to feel that way until the plane lands, and then it will be fun to go to work and see if we can keep this magical journey going.”
