Check out their season, to date.
After opening against the usual patsy, the Dukies put a convincing loss around their necks at a neutral site. 88-81, while Coach K's bunch was without their best player.
Down slid the Spartans in the ratings.
Yet they roared right back with 14 wins in a row. Back up went the Green into the Top 5. After all, the Blue Devils are always pretty good, so maybe that was just an anomaly.
Oops. A road trip to unranked Ohio State saw the Sparties get hammered to the tune of 80-64. a definite eye-opener. A thrashing like that can hardly go unnoticed. Back down they went.
The very next game, at home against lowly Rutgers, Izzo's boys barely squeaked out a 76-72 victory. Hmmm.
That was followed up by cross state rival Michigan coming into MSU's arena and start to finish convincingly handling MSU on route to an 82-72 thumping. The Wolverines had bragging rights. Ouch.
Down slid the Spartans in the rankings again.
But wait. They would reel off another 13 game winning streak. Back up they went. This, while other top contenders such as Virginia, Villanova, Xavier?, the above mentioned Dukies, and perennial powers such as Kansas and North Carolina were losing a few games. And those ever-lovable Bulldogs from tiny Gonzaga remain in the hunt.
With all the carnage elsewhere, Michigan State found itself #2 in the country. This was not too surprising, given there's no "super" team out there this year. Everybody's beatable on most given days/nights.
And then came the Big 10 (actually 14, but who's counting?) tournament under the bright lights in Madison Square Garden. Of course MSU was the #1 conference seed going in.
Yet while the world was watching, the Sparties wobbled against Wisconsin and were fortunate to squeak out a narrow 63-60 victory.
Then the rematch with those dastardly Michigan Wolverines in the semi-finals. It was time for Izzo's boys to make a statement and avenge the earlier loss. After all, UM was only ranked #15 in the country, and could hardly be expected to topple the then #2 Green Machine again.
But that's exactly what happened.
And it was no fluke. A thorough 75-64 beat down speaks for itself. As unlikely as it may have seemed, the Blue can rightly say they've faced that equally dastardly Green bunch twice -- and throttled them both times. Double ouch in Spartie-land.
Prior to this game, MSU was a lock for a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tourney. Now all bets are off. Sure, they'll get in, but the #1 seed is definitely in doubt after laying such an egg on the national stage.
The thing the Spartans have in their favor is the lack of powerhouse teams elsewhere. Everybody's been beaten a few times.
As mentioned at the top of this article, whatever the results may be concerning the ongoing investigations, it's also highly unlikely the "authorities" will bring that particular pot to a boil while the big-time hoops tournament is going on. That would definitely be bad form, not to mention various media outlets and sponsors sputtering in outrage -- see digging into their cha-chings at the worst possible time.
In the end, could Michigan State wind up winning the whole sha-bang for a second time under Izzo -- 18 years later? Sure, definitely possible. They're as good as anybody else out there.
But they also seem ripe for the picking on any given day. Especially when the competition seriously toughens up, say, in the Sweet Sixteen and afterwards.
The best possible scenario, at least for fans in the state of Michigan? Somehow the brackets match up where Michigan and Michigan State, assuming they both stay clean for a few games, get to lock horns a third time, with much more at stake.
How great of a Final Four game would THAT be?
Oops. A road trip to unranked Ohio State saw the Sparties get hammered to the tune of 80-64. a definite eye-opener. A thrashing like that can hardly go unnoticed. Back down they went.
The very next game, at home against lowly Rutgers, Izzo's boys barely squeaked out a 76-72 victory. Hmmm.
That was followed up by cross state rival Michigan coming into MSU's arena and start to finish convincingly handling MSU on route to an 82-72 thumping. The Wolverines had bragging rights. Ouch.
Down slid the Spartans in the rankings again.
But wait. They would reel off another 13 game winning streak. Back up they went. This, while other top contenders such as Virginia, Villanova, Xavier?, the above mentioned Dukies, and perennial powers such as Kansas and North Carolina were losing a few games. And those ever-lovable Bulldogs from tiny Gonzaga remain in the hunt.
With all the carnage elsewhere, Michigan State found itself #2 in the country. This was not too surprising, given there's no "super" team out there this year. Everybody's beatable on most given days/nights.
And then came the Big 10 (actually 14, but who's counting?) tournament under the bright lights in Madison Square Garden. Of course MSU was the #1 conference seed going in.
Yet while the world was watching, the Sparties wobbled against Wisconsin and were fortunate to squeak out a narrow 63-60 victory.
Then the rematch with those dastardly Michigan Wolverines in the semi-finals. It was time for Izzo's boys to make a statement and avenge the earlier loss. After all, UM was only ranked #15 in the country, and could hardly be expected to topple the then #2 Green Machine again.
But that's exactly what happened.
And it was no fluke. A thorough 75-64 beat down speaks for itself. As unlikely as it may have seemed, the Blue can rightly say they've faced that equally dastardly Green bunch twice -- and throttled them both times. Double ouch in Spartie-land.
Prior to this game, MSU was a lock for a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tourney. Now all bets are off. Sure, they'll get in, but the #1 seed is definitely in doubt after laying such an egg on the national stage.
The thing the Spartans have in their favor is the lack of powerhouse teams elsewhere. Everybody's been beaten a few times.
As mentioned at the top of this article, whatever the results may be concerning the ongoing investigations, it's also highly unlikely the "authorities" will bring that particular pot to a boil while the big-time hoops tournament is going on. That would definitely be bad form, not to mention various media outlets and sponsors sputtering in outrage -- see digging into their cha-chings at the worst possible time.
In the end, could Michigan State wind up winning the whole sha-bang for a second time under Izzo -- 18 years later? Sure, definitely possible. They're as good as anybody else out there.
But they also seem ripe for the picking on any given day. Especially when the competition seriously toughens up, say, in the Sweet Sixteen and afterwards.
The best possible scenario, at least for fans in the state of Michigan? Somehow the brackets match up where Michigan and Michigan State, assuming they both stay clean for a few games, get to lock horns a third time, with much more at stake.
How great of a Final Four game would THAT be?
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