Now, the Spartans are left with conflicting feelings of being proud of the performance and the grief that the season is over at the hands of a team that played flawlessly in crunch time.
Michigan State's season comes to an end with a 85-76 loss to Duke.
The game marks Head Coach Tom Izzo's 16th head-to-head matchup with Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“He played about as complete a game as any forward I've had here in a long time, if you look at all the things he did," Head Coach Tom Izzo said.
It certainly wasn’t the prettiest win possible for MSU, but all they could ask for was to be standing after the duel and not picking themselves up off the canvas to make sense of a completed season.
With the win, MSU moves onto the round of 32 to take on second-seeded Duke, who defeated 15-seeded Cal State Fullerton 78-61 earlier on Sunday.
MSU takes on Davidson at 9:40 p.m. on Friday, March 18.
While I cannot guarantee that my Cinderella choices will be a better option than your uncle’s strategy of picking the team with the better mascot, we may at least provide a source to blame your busted bracket on.
After transferring from Michigan State, Loyer's success at Davidson brings him to a crossroads with his past and present.
Even though they are juniors, they are getting their first true taste of the Big Dance on Friday when they take on 10-seeded Davidson in the first round.
Foster Loyer. Remember the name?
Foster Loyer has flourished with the change of scenery and averages 16.6 points and 3.3 assists per game.
“I feel like our guys is confident. I feel like all our coaches is confident in us. We've just got to keep on working and keep on pushing every day and it starts in practice,” senior forward Gabe Brown said.
The hopes of a deep run in the NCAA tournament could rest on the recovery of tendons in Walker’s left ankle and if Hoggard and the team can duplicate the gritty performance.
As the buzzer sounded, Purdue advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship with a 75-70 win while Michigan State only has 40 more minutes guaranteed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The senior center tied his career-high with 19 points and 11 rebounds to play a huge role in another upset win.
Just a week after it looked like MSU reached its lowest point defensively in back-to-back losses to Ohio State and Michigan, the Spartans' defensive identity looks stronger than ever.
Michigan State, with the win, will face the winner of Penn State and Purdue.
“Obviously a win is a win, but it was ugly at the end and that's something we've got to make sure that can't happen," Max Christie said.
“I think we've all been waiting for Max. It's been a tough go for him for a while, for a couple weeks.” Izzo said.