The swagger might be back.

MSU head coach Tom Izzo had it after Wednesday's 83-69 win over Ohio State, when he declared that for the men's basketball team, it was now "us against the world."

As he scanned the statistics sheet, his grin grew larger knowing his team was responding.

"I'm going to enjoy one for once," Izzo said.

Forget worrying about the rest of the college basketball world, which the Spartans believe has written them off. Forget about the critics that are quick to point out their lack of hardware. Don't worry about past losses to ranked teams.

"I think these guys are under so much pressure and scrutinization that we just talked a lot this week about 'it's us against the world guys,'" Izzo said. "Let's worry about the guys in this room. Not worry about anybody else. I really think they're doing some of that."

In Izzo's post-game press conference, there was no looking forward.

All season, the team has used a game-by-game focus. But on Wednesday, everyone wanted to just finally savor the moment before moving on.

"That was just about as pleased and proud as I've been in a while here, as far as how we got the win," Izzo said. "It was a workman-like win, a win like those we used to have."

All season it has seemed the championship banners hanging in Breslin Center kept rising higher and higher; that pressure has weighed heavily on MSU.

The Spartans lost to two teams ranked in the top eight in the country - No. 1 Illinois and at No. 8 Duke. MSU also lost to a hot George Washington squad and at No. 21 Wisconsin, where it let a lead get away after playing 38 minutes of tough basketball.

And that painful streak keeps coming up: 12 straight losses to ranked teams.

Izzo hates hearing or reading about it - partly because it's true and partly because most of those games were on the road or on neutral courts. Plus, only two of the 12 losses were this season and an opportunity to end the streak might not come until post-season play, unless Wisconsin stays ranked.

But it's been hard to act like a 16-4 basketball team, especially when Illinois (24-0 overall, 10-0 Big Ten) has a two-game conference lead.

"We've got to find a way to enjoy being out there a little more," senior guard Tim Bograkos said on Monday.

It's possible that Bograkos helped pull MSU over the hump last weekend at Iowa, when the senior hit two high-pressure, free throws to stop a Hawkeyes run. Others followed, making shots late in that game.

And on Wednesday, the Spartans exploded out of the locker room, riding on the coattails of senior guard Chris Hill, who gave all doubters a reason to believe, scoring a season-high 26 points.

"We haven't felt good after a win in a while and I think we deserve to do that," Hill said. "It just kind of seems like people all over have kind of written us off. All that matters is what we think we're capable of in this locker room."

Izzo has spent a lot of time trying to mold his team of athletic and talented players into champions. He's tried to get them to be more like him - showing emotion after big plays, buckling down on defense and communicating constantly.

He's spent countless hours with Hill, trying to get him through his shooting slump. He's met regularly with junior center Paul Davis, who might be under more pressure to perform than anyone on the team. He's also spent extra time with the seniors, who took early hits of criticism from fans and the media for lacking toughness.

"Players are more fragile and so it affects people more and I think that's what you see nationwide," Izzo said of the number of inconsistent teams around the country.

And in a generation where the Internet opens up communication instantly, allowing anyone to chime in, and sports talk radio is broadcast constantly, it's harder for teams not to feel the pressure, he said.

"This is a new generation, I'm learning on the go, some of this is virgin territory," Izzo said. "It's the way people respond to things now, the way things are said, the way things are out there. We have to adjust to it."

Although the loss to Wisconsin is still lingering over the team, Izzo wants MSU to be able to close out games, much like the Spartans almost did at Duke, trying to fight back in the closing minutes.

"We're not far off, I'd like to have a little more consistency," Izzo said on Monday. "I'm driving to try to get to some place special and I don't think you can do that if you can't close the door."

But the coveted senior class has never been here before. A 16-4 record with seven Big Ten games to go. In fact, the 1999-2000 National Champion team was 15-5 at this point, and the Final Four team the year before was 16-4.

"Once we put it together it's gonna be scary," junior guard Maurice Ager said. "We're gonna be rolling once we play 40 minutes and play all game. If everybody keeps continuing to get on the same page, I think we can go all the way."

But beyond pure records of the past, the Spartans are two games behind the undefeated No. 1 Illinois in the race for the Big Ten title - but the Spartans can't worry about that right now.

After an impressive showing at Breslin against the Buckeyes on Wednesday, the swagger was alive in the locker room, too. Armed with their new attitude, confidence was high.

"It's great," Davis said. "We live and die with each other in this room. Everybody has seen everybody at their lowest point and their highest point.

"It's kind of fun like that. We're not worried about anybody outside."