It's late March and the lights are still on in both the men's and the women's offices at the Berkowitz Basketball Complex.
The MSU basketball teams are in the Sweet 16 together for the first time. Both teams are still practicing, coaches are staying up all night watching film and fans are thirsting for their seasons to live on.
"This is the greatest time ever," men's head coach Tom Izzo said. "I don't look at the clock or the calendar. I look at if we get done with practice, and if it's still light out, then we're playing at the right time of the year."
As the honors received by both teams so far rank high in the history books, the mood in the coaches' Tuesday press conferences showed there are much higher goals to accomplish.
MSU joins Duke, North Carolina and Texas Tech (as of 11 p.m. Tuesday) as the only universities with both their men's and women's basketball teams still alive in the NCAA Tournaments.
After beating No. 12 Old Dominion and No. 13 Vermont, the No. 5 seed men's team returns to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in eight years. The team faces No. 1 seed Duke for the second time this season on Friday in Austin, Texas. MSU lost to Duke by seven points in November.
The road to the Final Four will pit MSU's men's team against two of the most successful programs in college basketball, but it's a path Izzo said he and his players want to take.
"What a great way to get to the Final Four if you have to play Duke and Kentucky - you can't beat that road. It'd be a road any college wants."
Kentucky has to knock off Utah on Friday to reach the Elite Eight with MSU, which must first beat Duke.
And, in another first for MSU, the No. 1 seed Spartans women are in the Sweet 16, where they will face off against No. 5 seed Commodores of Vanderbilt in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday. But the Spartans aren't satisfied.
"For us, it was a step of getting to the national championship," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "We got four steps left. When you're where we are right now, it's part of what you got to do to get there."
The women's team is two wins away from the Final Four, a goal that seems far off to McCallie. To reach St. Louis, the Spartans might have to face No. 2 seed Stanford, which is ranked No. 1 in the latest Associated Press poll.
"It doesn't feel that close," she said. "The reason why is there is a team in front of you who wants exactly what you want. You always feel very far away from where you want to get."
Keys to women's game
from ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman
1. 3-point shooting
2. Transition game
3. Rebounding
4. Defense
Other thoughts
She says MSU will reach the Final Four.
"I like everything about Michigan State. They've proven they can win on the road."
Keys to men's game
from ESPN analyst Jay Bilas
1. Free throws
2. Controlling the glass
3. Valuing the ball
4. Stronger team
Other thoughts
Difference between the first meeting (loss Nov. 20) and now:
"Duke is not as deep nor as fresh as the first game," Bilas said.
