On Friday, Allen made his shot — a 30-foot buzzer-beating style floater that touched nothing but nylon. It wasn’t the only shot the Lawrenceville, Ga., native made on the evening.

Allen finished with 10 points, all of which came in the first half when MSU was pitted in a dogfight with the No. 15-seed Colonials. He finished 3-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-4 from deep off the Spartans’ bench.

He also played terrific defense in 20 minutes of action, helping the Spartans limit Robert Morris’ three-guard starting backcourt to 25 points on 10-of-31 shooting.

Did he play well because he made his customary pre-game shot?

“Nah,” Allen laughed. “Actually, I missed that shot and I did real good against Northwestern. I could miss and still play good, I could make it and still play good.”

Regardless of whether his shot falls, Allen needs to summon the attitude with which he’s played the last few games if the Spartans want to make a deep run in this tournament.

And in order for him to play this well, he needs to continue playing this aggressively. The past three games, Allen has played like a new man, not just in the sense that his scoring production has increased, but also in the sense that he’s been taking the game more seriously.

There have been times in his career when Allen has played so well, he could drop a dozen without burning a calorie. But the past few games, he’s craved his points like Dunkin craves Donuts.

Dating back to the first day of the Big Ten Tournament, Allen’s motor hasn’t stopped running. His cuts have been faster, his drives to the basket have been harder and his defense has been night-and-day better.

Allen will need to keep his engine burning until Sunday, when the Spartans take on another high-octane offense in Southern Cal.

The Trojans are bubbling with NBA-quality scorers, meaning the burden could be on players like Allen to make sure MSU keeps pace.

If the last few games are any indication, he should be up to the challenge.