Michigan State basketball<\/a> put on a display of excellence at Madison Square Garden on Thursday evening. It was a display so grand that it feels downright foolish to tag anyone as a loser.<\/p>\nBut this is sports. And somebody has to lose.<\/p>\n
That somebody was Michigan State. No, the Spartans did not get blown off the court. They did not blow a big lead. It wasn\u2019t a lack of execution or a lack of trying. They just got beat. That\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s what is so difficult about this result. For MSU and its fans, in this tournament, when the Spartans are playing at their best, they win. When Michigan State elevates its game to another level — at any point in any season — few can play with them. For this 2022-23 group, we didn\u2019t get a taste of that ceiling until this tournament. As we learned, it was good enough to keep playing \u2013 possibly into next weekend.<\/p>\n
Under Tom Izzo, Michigan State has prided itself on being tougher than everyone else. That toughness, combined with this program\u2019s culture, has raised the level of play in March for this program.<\/p>\n
On Thursday night, though, there was one guy in purple that was just a little bit tougher. Markquis Nowell was the difference. He put together a game and a stat line that will go down in March Madness lore. Each highlight was just as impressive as the last. Between his prolific passing, clutch shot-making, and toughness, he was the difference. In most team sports, the impact of one player is mitigated by what the rest of the team can provide. Basketball is the exception. One player can<\/em> carry a team.<\/p>\nIt’s the other side of March Madness. For all of the upsets, Cinderella runs, and buzzer-beaters, there is a team on the other side that goes home. The Spartans have been on the right side of so many of those runs over the years. It\u2019s what has created a standard that is higher at Michigan State than just about everywhere else. People expect Final Fours. With Michigan State\u2019s coaches, players, resources, and commitment to the program, it\u2019s a fair expectation.<\/p>\n
But as fans, alumni, and supporters of the program, the best you can ask for is relentless effort, dedication, and passion. This group checked all of those boxes. Just 13 days ago, they looked lifeless as they bowed out of the Big Ten Tournament against a sub .500 Ohio State team. They responded by playing their best basketball of the season with a renewed sense of urgency.<\/p>\n
Historically, that sense of urgency combined with their talent and coaching has been enough to propel Michigan State deep into this tournament. On Thursday, it wasn\u2019t quite enough. And that\u2019s okay, too.<\/p>\n
This program is beyond claiming moral victories. This certainly wasn\u2019t one of them, regardless. The season is over, and Michigan State will be left watching the rest of this tournament wondering \u201cwhat if\u201d? But they\u2019ll do so wondering more about their opponent\u2019s \u201cwhat if\u201d than their own. Kansas State won<\/em> this game. Michigan State did not lose it. The Spartans lost because this is a sport in America, where there are no draws (sorry soccer fans). There are no third-place games or do-overs. You simply go home.<\/p>\nSo as Michigan State basketball goes home, it’ll undoubtedly be frustrated. Their dreams were right in front of them. Right there for the taking. The Spartans took their opportunity and ran with it. Kansas State chased them down and took it right back. Devastating. No doubt. But that\u2019s sports. That\u2019s life. When your best is beaten by someone else\u2019s best, you tip your cap and move on.<\/p>\n
Saying that doesn\u2019t make it any easier. Believing it won\u2019t change the outcome. That\u2019s what comes with the territory of playing in the second weekend of this tournament. Single elimination. Winners and losers. Michigan State, for a change, had to play the role of loser.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There’s nothing to be ashamed of here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":2150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[59,190,189],"class_list":["post-2139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","tag-featured","tag-michigan-state-basketball","tag-michigan-state-spartans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}