Michigan State and the Peter Principle

Against Duke in the national semi-finals, the Spartans started very well. After a few minutes of play, they were leading the Blue Devils 14-6. But then the tide turned, and in a big way. Over the last 15 minutes of the first half, Duke would outscore MSU by a margin of 30-11 to lead 36-25 at halftime.

Even a dummy like me can do that math. After a slow start, the Blue had outscored the Green by a whopping 19 points.

In hindsight, the game was all but over at that point. But one never knew. Perhaps the Spartans could start the second half on a run and get back in the game. Alas for the East Lansing faithful, the opposite happened. Duke would methodically extend its lead.

The Dukies would eventually prevail 81-61. "Garbage time" in the waning minutes of the game didn't affect the score.  The Blue had outscored the Green by another 9 in the second half in similar convincing fashion. In totality, it was what it was -- a 20 point blow-out.

Yes, Michigan State has been to a lot of Final Fours and once even won it all way back when a guy named Clinton was still in the White House.

Yet over the years, Duke has always seemed to have their number. The Spartans are now 1-9 against the Blue Devils. Granted, Duke was a 5 point favorite going into this game, so the Blue Devils coming out on the winning end was no great surprise. But 20 points? And this was no fluke, but rather a systematic beatdown. Few would have foreseen that outcome. For that matter, the Peter Principle seemed to come into play whenever MSU tangled with either North Carolina or Duke in a big game over the years. It's a hurdle they just can't seem to overcome.

Though the Spartans should be commended for making it to yet another Final Four, no small feat, there's really only one objective way of describing what happened against Duke.

Michigan State was out-played, out-smarted, out-coached, and out-toughed by a vastly superior team. The final score was very much indicative of the overall level of play during the 40 minutes of action.

Let's not forget, Duke was a #1 seed going in, while MSU was only a #7. A number seven is not supposed to beat a number one. Maybe that NCAA tournament selection committee isn't as dumb as many thought.

So the Dukies move on to the title game, while the Sparties limp back home to lick their wounds after being blistered on national TV.

That's just the way it goes sometimes......