“Playing at home was great,” junior forward Aisha Jefferson said. “We are focused enough to be able to play on the road this time of year, especially this time of year. We do want to prove we can play on the road, we had a tough time at the beginning of the year with those four road losses. We did a good job turning it around in conference play, winning on the road. We are pretty confident we can win on the road.”

The questions stem from the fact that the higher seed normally is given a fan friendly place to play the opening rounds, whereas Duke was saddled with an angry mob of Spartans fans that tore the roof off Breslin and stormed the court in celebration following the win. Head coach Suzy Merchant was hesitant to say that the crowd was the deciding factor in the game and said MSU could have own that game on any court.

“I believed those kids, with the intent and focus that they had, you could put that on any court or you could put it in Cameron Indoor (Stadium, Duke’s home floor) and I really believe we would have come out on top,” Merchant said. “I think at this point in the season every coach knows their team and they were not going to be denied. (Home court) was a nice advantage, but I don’t think it was the ultimate reason why we won the game.”

The talk then turned to Big Ten basketball, a style all of its own that has been called in many circles ugly and hard to watch.

“The physicality in the Big Ten is misunderstood,” junior center Allyssa DeHaan said. “It is very physical, it is good for us because we have been in that situation all season and we know what it is about. We are on a mission to not just represent Michigan State, but the Big Ten.”

Through all the talk about home, the team said they have one thought on its mind, advancing.

“It’s sunny, it’s 70 degrees and sunny (in California),” DeHaan said. “We don’t want to go back to Michigan.”

The Spartans tip off against Iowa State at 9 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN.