Denver — Flash back five months. The MSU men’s basketball team was ranked No. 8 in the country, chosen as a favorite to win the Big Ten and Drew Neitzel was named the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year.
Now, back to today. The Spartans are one of 16 basketball teams alive in the country with a shot at a national title and they owe a great deal of thanks to the senior captain Neitzel.
If you look back to all that happened in between the two junctures — a nonconference loss to UCLA, defeats at the hands of Iowa and Penn State, an undefeated record in East Lansing and a semifinal loss in the Big Ten Tournament — it’s puzzling and sometimes frustrating.
The team that was picked to go deep into March showed, at times, how easily it could, and then … could not. Words like “highs and lows,” “ups and downs” and “roller-coaster ride” were tossed around with ease.
But look at the original prediction and look at the outcome. They’re here, aren’t they?
The reality is that no matter what this MSU team endured in the regular season, they’ve done their part and lived up to the expectations set for them. Tom Izzo has his team clicking at just the right time. There are coaches who would kill for their team to be a letdown in the regular season just so they could advance to the Sweet 16.
Consider the doubts the Spartans silenced just this weekend. They put to sleep any chance of the famed 5-12 upset against Temple by outworking the Owls in just about every facet of the game and running away with it at the end of the second half.
They proved they could win without Neitzel and then Neitzel proved that he should never be counted for dead. Scoring only five points against Temple, Neitzel came out in the second half Thursday looking to open up shots for his teammates, finding them with backdoor screens and slips. Then, he led the way for the Green and White in the game against Pitt with a game-high 21 (not to mention his games of 26 and 28 in the Big Ten Tournament).
In the battle of the two famously tough schools, the Spartans proved their physical and mental toughness against a team that won arguably the country’s best conference. The Panthers had won six in a row, including four straight to take the Big East Tournament title in New York. On Saturday, the Spartans outrebounded the Panthers, and shot a higher field goal percentage and had more points in the paint despite going up against a thicker and arguably stronger group of players.
So the next test: Can they advance and beat Memphis? Ask me a month ago and it’s a firm no. But look at this team today and anything is possible.
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