It happened after a home loss to Illinois.
Or maybe it was in the ensuing game in Evanston when MSU used 13 three-pointers to bury Northwestern.
Maybe it was in the final minute against Ohio State, somewhere around the time junior guard Denzel Valentine netted the game-winner.
Something changed in head coach Tom Izzo’s team, from their season-long role of the underdog to the more established role of March masters.
That role has seemed to please Izzo more than the underdog role his team employed earlier in the season.
“I just can’t believe in this program that anyone would look at us as underdogs,” Izzo said. “One year you can be, but these guys have been through the others. We’re not underdogs. We’re not that much better than anybody. I think they have to be able to accept that.”
His team has shown that they are back in their role of playing well late in the season.
They have beaten teams they haven’t matched up well with, such as Maryland, and have shown versatility in performances against other teams like Virginia.
The Spartans are a steady force in March once again and as is expected within the program, MSU has its sights set on a Final Four appearance. In order to do so, MSU will need to win the weekend in Syracuse, New York, in what appears to be a “wide-open” regional, according to Izzo.
Sooner rather than later
Against Virginia, MSU dealt with a disciplined defense that would make teams work for their shot. On the offensive end, the discipline carried over and the Cavaliers would take as much time as they needed to get a high-quality shot of their own. Some would characterize this style of play as boring, but if staying entertained has been issue for viewers, it won’t be Friday night.
Oklahoma (24-10 overall, 12-6 Big 12) employs a high-octane offense, and much like the Spartans, the Sooners want to push the ball up the court in transition.
“We told our guys last week, you’re going to have to play defense probably for 34 seconds, maybe a little less, with Georgia,” Izzo said. “But we felt with Virginia, that’s what we had to do. Now I think we’re going to have to play defense for a lot less seconds, but our transition defense is going to be very, very critical.”
No. 3 seeded Oklahoma opened the tournament with a win over Albany and used a 13-0 second half run to storm past Dayton and into the Sweet 16. The Sooners are led by head coach Lon Kruger, who has coached five different teams to the NCAA Tournament. With this year’s appearance, he has taken four schools to the Sweet 16.
“When you can do it at five, six different schools, it means you got a hell of a system,” Izzo said of Kruger.
On the court, Oklahoma is led by junior guard Buddy Hield, a product of the Bahamas and teammate of MSU freshman guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas. As the Big 12 Player of the Year, Hield averages 17.3 points per game for a Sooner team that scores 71.9 per game.
In addition to its transition game, Oklahoma attacks the glass and is 23rd in the nation in rebounds per game. The Spartans have been uncharacteristically out-rebounded in each of their two tournament games, first by Georgia, 43-35, and then by Virginia, 39-32.
“Probably the biggest negative of all for me, I think I have a reason for it, we’re only like a plus?one or two in the last 13 games rebounding the ball,” Izzo said. “Been out-rebounded in the NCAA Tournament, including killed on the offensive glass by teams. That has to be fixed.”
The winner of MSU-Oklahoma will play the winner of NC State-Louisville on Sunday in the Elite Eight.
Consistency off the bench
In the first two games of the tournament, forwards Valentine, Dawson and Costello, along with guard Nairn, all found themselves in foul trouble at some point.
Against Georgia, Dawson had two fouls early in the first half, keeping him off the floor for a stretch of time. Costello was in foul trouble almost the whole game and ended up fouling out.
In the win over Virginia, Valentine played only nine first half minutes because of two fouls and didn’t manage to score in the half. With 5:33 left in the game, he picked up his fourth foul and it looked like MSU might be without one of its most important players in the final minutes.
Izzo said that Valentine and Dawson can’t get into foul trouble, because when they do, it affects so many parts of the game. Rebounding is one of those areas, and foul trouble is a large reason the Spartans have been overpowered on the boards.
In their absence, however, some of the role players have filled in and held their ground. Freshman forward Marvin Clark, sophomore guard Alvin Ellis, and redshirt junior forward Colby Wollenman have been reliable options off the bench.
Izzo said a large factor in Clark’s development has been the voice of Dawson. He has mentored his freshman teammate, something that’s a bit out of character for Dawson.
With Costello and sophomore forward Gavin Schilling finding themselves in foul trouble over the last handful of games, Wollenman’s presence has been important. Against Georgia, he bodied up some of the more physical forwards in the tournament and finished with five rebounds in 11 minutes. Once again, he bailed out his teammates.
“Everybody loves Colby,” Izzo said. “I know he’s going to end up a doctor. He’ll save me. Maybe they’re thinking the same thing, he’ll save them.”
No distractions
As a result of its Sweet 16 charge, many analysts and pundits have pegged MSU as the Final Four favorite from the East region. Las Vegas has the Spartans as the odds-on favorite to win the region and the fifth-best odds to win the national championship.
There are plenty of distractions in which the players could get caught up, but Izzo said to his players, “Take your phones, stick ‘em where the sun doesn’t shine.” He asked for his players to stay off Twitter and offered a warning to his team.
“Don’t read the stuff,” Izzo said. “All the people that adore you now had you in the NIT.”
