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COLUMN: Anybody can fall victim to March and it is a mere setback for MSU

March 21, 2016
Senior guard Bryn Forbes talks to head coach Tom Izzo during the game against Middle Tennessee State University on March 18, 2016 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The Spartans were defeated by the Raiders, 90-81.
Senior guard Bryn Forbes talks to head coach Tom Izzo during the game against Middle Tennessee State University on March 18, 2016 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The Spartans were defeated by the Raiders, 90-81. —
Photo by Sundeep Dhanjal | and Sundeep Dhanjal The State News

There is a particular notion about sports that I’ve come to vehemently believe in — chaos is king. Chaos is unpredictable, it’ll enter the proverbial scene unannounced and that’s why it’s so enamoring to millions of sports fans.

It’s what causes us to believe in a ragtag group of college kids in a matchup with a heavyweight hockey machine. It’s what causes you to scramble and fall over yourself to a TV when an upset alert is streamed to your phone.

It’s what you love about sports, until it happens to your team.

MSU was thoroughly outplayed. After all the hype and ramblings that MSU deserved a No. 1 seed and was the favorite despite its seed, MSU fell flat on the national stage. It wasn’t just a bruise on the nose, but a broken one, which led to a concussion that was further amplified into a battered ego.

There’s nothing like a stunning upset to humble the masses. There’s nothing like March to fall victim to. Maybe it’s coincidental that the day we are reminded to beware the Ides of March happened but a mere three days before MSU’s stunning loss.

The month has been claimed as MSU’s friend but as March’s Madness swooped in to stab the Spartans in the back, it left the Spartans to turn and say “Et tu March?”

MSU’s Denzel Valentine, perhaps the best player in college basketball, has looked at times as if he ought to call another planet home. On Friday, Middle Tennessee reduced him to a regular Joe. Bryn Forbes was lost in the shuffle while Matt Costello could only do so much in the post.

Middle Tennessee couldn’t miss and, in the face of losing its upset bid, it just kept driving, fueled by a stoic demeanor common in teams who have vanquished perennial contenders in the past. The Blue Raiders had the cast of shooters, the coaching and the toughness. All they needed was to prove it.

March has a way of rewarding the little dog in the fight. Middle Tennessee’s recipe was right, MSU’s was bitter.

The special thing about March is, it doesn’t seem to care who ought to win on paper. There can be arguments the tournament needs to be changed or done away with. There is logic behind the idea that a 68 team tournament is no way to determine a national champion.

But no matter who MSU played in the first round, whether a No. 15 seed or a No. 16 seed, it needed to get the job done. If you can’t win a single game against a supposed inferior opponent, should you have been deserving of the title?

I remember one thing Izzo said multiple times in the beginning of the year, the knock against shooters is that they can’t defend other shooters. It seemed to be MSU’s downfall Friday.

The stunning loss brought to mind U-M football’s shocking loss to Appalachian State that went down as the biggest upset in college football history. Will MSU’s loss to Middle Tennessee become college basketball’s biggest upset? Arguably, yes.

But MSU can take solace in the company it now keeps. Duke and Mike Krzyzewski have fallen to significantly lower seeds multiple times, once as a No. 3 seed to  No. 14 seed Mercer and once as a No. 2 seed to No. 15 seed Lehigh.

Coach Krzyzewski is one of the best coaches of all-time and yet he’s suffered huge upsets along his path. Bill Self had his No. 3 seed Jayhawks bow out to No. 14 seeded Bucknell in 2005. Krzyzewski and Bill Self went on to win national titles following those upsets in the years after.

If Spartan fans are to believe in Izzo and this program, they’ll have to faith in the face of MSU’s Appalachian State moment. But it seems many Spartan fans have trouble with accepting MSU’s successes. I by no means advocate for complacency, but there never seems to be any satisfaction for MSU fans.

Izzo has taken the program to heights it’s never been to. In my 18 years of existence, MSU has reached seven Final Fours and won a national championship. Yet how many years has the program swam in mediocrity before that? Yes they fell flat on the biggest stage with Izzo’s most talented team, but if people really believe in the program, they should rightfully believe it will be back.

I always go back to something my father said to be when I first became cognizant of sports and my fandom. After a tough loss he looked at me and said, “Are you sure you want to do this? If you sign up for the ride and want to take the ride, you have to stay on it through the ups and downs.”

And for many Spartan fans I hope my father’s words will give perspective. 

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