This was long before the banner was raised, or the seniors kissed the Spartan head, or Tom Izzo’s press conference began over an hour after the buzzer sounded. Long before the outcome of this game — a 75-63 victory for No. 9 Michigan State over No. 7 Michigan — was decided, things were not looking promising for the Spartans.
It was Michigan that came out with the fire and energy necessary to win a championship, sinking seven of their first nine shots and quieting a raucous Breslin Center crowd to the tune of a twelve-point lead. Junior point guard Cassius Winston was on the bench with two fouls, and the deficit was at ten, when an unlikely source brought the crowd to its feet again.
With 1:44 remaining in the first half, redshirt junior forward Kyle Ahrens caught a pass from freshman point guard Foster Loyer in transition, crossed over Michigan sophomore guard Jordan Poole with an instant freeze dribble, rose with two feet, and finished over two Michigan defenders. He fell to the ground at the end of the finish, and was slow to get up.
Ahrens was a “maybe” all week, after missing Tuesday’s game against Nebraska with a back issue that has bothered him all season.
Here he was now, though, making an impressive move, and barely even getting up. He grimaced, gritted his teeth, but also let out a massive, positively Izzo-esque fist pump and slapped the floor as Michigan called timeout. The crowd erupted. The lead was cut to six by halftime, and the Spartans cruised past their rival with ease in the second half.
“I don’t know what made it click, but something switched in his head,” sophomore forward Xavier Tillman said. “I just saw the look in his eyes, he was like ‘I’m not coming out regardless, like I’m good, I’m fighting through this. I’m doing it for (senior guard Matt McQuaid), I’m doing this for (senior forward Kenny Goins).’ You could just see it clicked. He slapped the ground and he was all good. It was like his back wasn’t hurt. He just toughed it up.”
In Ahrens’ last performance, against Indiana last Saturday, he was unable to stay with his matchup defensively, and couldn’t run enough to make an impact on the offensive end. Izzo said after that game that he wished he wouldn’t have played Ahrens, who posted a -14 in 10 minutes of play.
He talked of the downside of having a tough player, who will always tell a coach that they’re healthy enough to play, even when they’re lying.This Saturday, though Ahrens only scored four points, the Spartans were 12 points better than the Wolverines with him on the court.
Izzo spoke after this win about the team’s reaction to Ahrens’ play, as well as giving insight into his thought process to put him back on the floor.
“You could see the pain, couldn't you? They were so fired up for him in the next huddle,” he said. “You talk about a guy with some grit, now. I mean that guy, we couldn't even practice him. It was almost decided that we wouldn't play him. I just felt like I needed a guy who's a threat to shoot and could do some things. The admiration I have for him.”
On a night that Izzo said checked "all the boxes” — winning a share of the Big Ten championship, on Senior Night, against archrival Michigan — perhaps the biggest play of the game wasn’t really a highlight at all. It didn’t come from the seniors, both of whom had solid games in their last ever Breslin Center performances. It didn’t come from Winston, who was held in check in the first half before a masterful second.
Ahrens’ back has prevented him from making the athletic plays that he was known for this season. In the biggest game of the season, when his team needed him most, he reached for one more.
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