In a Midwest region stacked with high-quality opponents, it was clear the road to the Final Four would be long and treacherous for the MSU men’s basketball team.

But the Spartans caught fire at the perfect moment: tournament time.

When standout junior guard Kalin Lucas went down in the second-round game against Maryland, the Spartans’ chances to return to the Final Four looked bleak.

But a different Spartan stepped up every game for MSU — most notably sophomore guard Korie Lucious — in one of the most unpredictable trips to the Final Four in school history.

The team simply ran out of gas in the national semifinal game against Butler.

However, the Spartans went on a 9-0 tear to kick off conference play, and it looked as if the team might not lose another game all season.

Reality kicked in when the team dropped three straight games in early February to lose its stranglehold on the conference race. Then there was the early exit in the Big Ten Tournament at the hands of Minnesota.

It would be tough to say MSU limped into the NCAA Tournament. But they certainly weren’t playing like a team poised to make a deep run, even though they earned a three-way share of the regular season title.

When the brackets were announced, MSU received a No. 5 seed in an extremely challenging region, leaving even the most hard-core MSU-faithful scratching their heads. Could this team really knock off No. 1 overall seed Kansas in the Sweet 16?

I didn’t think so.

But MSU didn’t need to eliminate Kansas. That was done for them. The perfect path opened up for the Spartans and they charged through en route to the team’s sixth Final Four appearance in 12 years.

And with Lucas and junior guard Durrell Summers sticking around for their senior seasons, it’s not a long shot to imagine the basketball team heading to a third straight Final Four.

Field hockey

For the second straight season, the MSU field hockey team was one win away from reaching the Final Four.

Despite a heartbreaking one-goal loss in the national quarterfinal game, the Spartans finished Big Ten play undefeated. The team also went on to win the Big Ten Tournament for the third time in MSU history.

Seniors Floor Rijpma and Jeamie Deacon led the team during their tenures and helped keep MSU field hockey on the map.

Women’s golf

At the start of the season, the MSU women’s golf team set a goal to finish among the top 10 teams in the country.

Heading into the NCAA Regionals this week, the women golfers have won three tournaments and finished in second place at the Big Ten Championships.

The Spartans are led by senior Laura Kueny, the Big Ten Women’s Golfer of the Year.

The season hasn’t concluded yet, as the team received a bid in the NCAA Tournament and will try to finish strong and accomplish its preseason goal.

Men’s soccer

With the MSU men’s soccer team losing six of its 11 starters at the end of the last season, expectations weren’t very high entering this year’s campaign.

Although the Spartans only posted a 2-4 conference record, the team received a bid into the NCAA Tournament thanks to clutch nonconference victories.

The Spartans had a young core of talented players who received loads of playing time and gained valuable experience this year.

And with the team losing only one senior this season, next year’s team might be one of the best in program history.

Women’s basketball

The women’s basketball team upset three top-10 teams during its impressive run this season.

At one point during the regular season, the Spartans went on a tear, willing 11 of 12 games en route to the their seventh straight 20-win season.

The team also boasted the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (senior center Allyssa DeHaan) and the conference’s Sixth Player of the Year (senior center Lauren Aitch).

The Spartans were bounced from up-tempo Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Alex DiFilippo is a State News sports reporter. He can be reached at difilip3@msu.edu..