The Spartans? They’ve had the number four spot in the Big Ten locked up for weeks and neither a win nor a loss was going to change that.

MSU almost snuck out the back door of Value City Arena with a win Sunday. The team was leading by eight at the break and were up by as many as 12 in the second half.

Then the Buckeyes took a do-or-die sucker punch to the mouth and woke up. They finally began rebounding and playing defense. The open Spartans that had been appearing under the basket all afternoon suddenly vanished.

MSU looks didn’t present themselves and the shots didn’t fall. It was as if the Spartans were only allowed a 25-second shot clock and any contact was called a foul. For the first time in the last six games, the Green and White had more than 11 turnovers. After focusing on those — the Spartans’ arch nemesis — MSU head coach Tom Izzo appeared to have his team solving its own problems.

But there is a bright side. The Spartans may be down, but certainly not out. You better believe they’re chomping at the bit for the rubber match against the Buckeyes on Friday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament and you can count on it being a different situation. The Buckeyes got their wake-up call in the second half of Sunday’s game.

The Spartans got theirs when the final buzzer sounded.

It may be just the spark MSU needs to make the run they’re capable of, deep into the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

Regardless, as it happens in many scenarios, the team that wanted it more was the team that came out on top. In this case, it also was the team that needed it more.

Joey Nowak is a State News men’s basketball reporter. He can be reached at nowakjo2@msu.edu.